In Between (dir: Maysaloun Hamoud, 2017, cert 15)
A brave debut feature from Palestinian director Maysaloun Hamoud that has led to her receiving death threats and fatwa’s from fundamentalists denouncing her as a corrupting influence on women. The gritty but simple tale of three Arab women sharing a flat in Tel Aviv fearlessly prods female taboo’s such as homosexuality, drugs and alcohol, powered by a thunderous soundtrack and some stunning verite style cinematography.
Tue 10 Oct to Thu 12 Oct at The Electric Cinema, Station Street, Birmingham B5 4DY £9.50 www.theelectric.co.uk

The Cloud Capped Star (dir: Ritwik Ghatak, 1960, cert PG)
Selected as one of the greatest films of all  time in a 2012 Sight and Sound poll, Ghatak’s melodramatic masterpiece is an awe inspiring cinematic vision that demands to be seen on the big screen. The first part of a trilogy exploring the partition of India the film follows the travails of Nita, played by Supriya Choudhury with a subtly detached emotional beauty, as she tries to keep her family out of poverty and avoid exploitation. Inventive and innovative, Ghatak is one of the most underestimated filmmakers in the history of cinema. Screened as part of the India On Film season.
Thu 12 Oct 2pm  at mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH £9 macbirmingham.co.uk

Black Britain on Film + Q&A 
Almost a century of black community; culture and characters represented on film, some of it grainy and worn but all of it compelling and powerful. Beginning at the cusp of the twentieth century with some stunning footage shot by legendary documentarians Mitchell and Kenyon this is an eclectic and fascinating trawl through some of the rarest items in the BFI’s archive. Our favourite is the 1964 Midlands News piece ‘Black Special Constable’ featuring an interview with the first black special constable in the UK, Astley Lloyd Blair. The screening will be followed by a Q&A.
Thu 12 Oct 6pm  at mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH £9 macbirmingham.co.uk

I Am Not Your Negro (dir: Raoul Peck, 2016, cert 12)
The one time Haitian Minister of Culture, Raoul Peck, brings to life the unpublished writings of literary heavyweight James Baldwin. Marrying imaginative contemporary clips with Samuel L Jackson’s electric sharp reading lends a heady resonance to a voice that was a powerful symbol of black and gay rights. In a nation still riven along racial divides this is a prescient and compelling documentary.
Thu 12 Oct 7pm at Irish Centre, 14 – 20 High Street, Digbeth, Birmingham B12 0LN £5 www.facebook.com

Hellraiser (dir: Clive Barker, 1987, cert 18)
The greatest English horror writer Clive Barker, whose three volume ‘Books of Blood’ revolutionized horror fiction and messed with our minds sparking ‘The Hellbound Heart’ novella upon which Hellraiser is based.  Hated by Roger Ebert who stated it had a ‘bankruptcy of imagination’ it has the twisted vision of Barker’s cruel fiction coursing through it. Bloodier than a thousand abattoirs the relentless murdering veers from slapstick to horrifying as The Cenobites exact their bloody will. A unique and violent experience. It will tear your soul apart.
Fri 13 Oct to Sun 15 Oct at Mockingbird, The Custard Factory, Gibb St, Birmingham B9 4AA £5 veezi.com

Friday the 13th (dir: Sean S. Cunningham, 1980, cert 18)
We can think of no better occasion to screen the seminal eighties slasher Friday the 13th than on well, Friday the 13th. Cunningham’s ice hockey mask wearing teenager hating killing machine Jason doesn’t take on full murderous responsibility until part 2, and doesn’t start wearing his iconic mask until part 3, but in the original of a series that has spawned nine sequels it’s Ma Vorhees getting all stabby with the promiscuous young visitors to Camp Crystal Lake. Gory, bloody fun.
Fri 13 Oct 11.59pm at The New Alexandra Theatre, Suffolk Street Queensway, Birmingham B5 4DS £10 atgtickets.com

Not One Less (dir: Zhang Yimou, 1999, cert U)
Yimou’s neorealist documentary style film has polarised critics with claims and counter claims that it was propaganda for the Chinese regime, a controversy that led to the director himself withdrawing the film from Cannes. Whilst Yimou himself has admitted some interference, he was advised to ‘not show China as too backward’, it shouldn’t detract from a quietly powerful story of village life in the Chinese countryside under the grim shadow of the big city. The use of non-professional actors adds a deep poignancy, as 13 year old substitute teacher Wei arrives in Shuiquan, and the film’s languid pacing is intellectually seductive, a poetic masterpiece.
Sun 15 Oct 7pm at Cafe Ort, 500-504 Moseley Road, Birmingham B12 9AH £5 www.meetup.com