SHOUT festival of queer arts takes over the city starting this Thu 9 Nov, see details below in Tom of Finland (pictured) and in our SHOUT film round-up here. Other arts events are available, see here for our top festival picks.

Cathy Come Home (dir: Ken Loach, 1966, cert n/a)
Originally broadcast on the BBC in 1966, it’s gritty documentary style was a revelation and shocked a captive audience, there was only one channel, with its portrayal of homelessness and unemployment. Watched by an astonishing 12 million people, a quarter of the UK population at the time, viewers had never seen anything like it before.  It led to the formation of the homeless charity Crisis and raised awareness levels to a degree that had never been seen before. Followed by a discussion with Tony Garnett.
Mon 6 Nov 5.45pm at The Mockingbird, The Custard Factory, Gibb St, Birmingham B9 4AA £5 www.facebook.com

Boy (dir: Taika Waititi, 2010, cert 15)
Kiwi director Waititi has been producing wonderful slices of delightfully askew cinema since the start of the millennium and he’s still only 42. Last year’s Hunt For The Wilderpeople garnered wide critical acclaim and you should really check out the hilarious Eagle vs Shark. Finally given serious Hollywood dough to direct the well received Thor: Ragnarok, The Electric is screening another one of his earlier classics, Boy. A sweet and pitch perfect coming of age drama starring James Rolleston as the Michael Jackson obsessed titular hero.
Tue 7 Nov 6pm at The Electric Cinema, Station Street, Birmingham B5 4DY £9.50 www.theelectric.co.uk

Deliverance (dir: John Boorman, 1972, cert 18)
Join Lewis, Ed, Bobby and Drew for a sedate paddle down the river in the Georgia wilderness before it is flooded by a new dam. What could go wrong? Well everything of course. Boorman ratchets the violence up to almost unbearable levels as our heroes are pursued by psychotic rednecks, and the infamous rape scene is as unsettling as ever. “He got a real pretty mouth, ain’t he?” You have been warned.
Thu 9 Nov 5.30pm at The Lighthouse, Fryer Street, Wolverhampton, WV1 1HT £8.15 light-house.co.uk

Predator (dir: John McTiernan, 1987, cert 15)
Thirtieth anniversary screening of Schwarzenegger’s relentless alien in the jungle romp. Littered with stunning action set pieces, glorious explosions, an iconic adversary and some classic Arnieisms. “Stick around”, after nailing a baddie to the wall with a knife and our all time favourite, “get to the chopper”.
Thu 9 Nov 8.30pm at The Electric Cinema, Station Street, Birmingham B5 4DY £9.50 www.theelectric.co.uk
Thu 9 Nov 8.30pm at The Mockingbird, The Custard Factory, Gibb St, Birmingham B9 4AA £5 veezi.com

The Conversation (dir: Francis Ford Coppola, 1974, cert 12)
A career best performance from Gene Hackman as the grizzly surveillance specialist Harry Caul who unwittingly discovers a murder plot through his work. The film is possessed of a certain prescience, it was released in the wake of Watergate and; with the orange president seeing spies everywhere, it has a contemporary resonance.  A complex and intelligent thriller from one of cinema’s greatest auteurs.
Fri 10 Nov 8pm at mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH £9 macbirmingham.co.uk

Tom Of Finland (dir: Dome Karukoski, 2017, cert 18)
You may not know Touko Laaksonen but as Tom of Finland he produced some of the most instantly recognisable and iconic erotic gay art ever created. Usually monochrome, his homoerotic depictions of muscular men challenged censorship laws and brought gay pornography into the mainstream, even being appropriated by Vivienne Westwood to be famously worn by Sid Vicious. The film follows Touko’s early years after returning from the Second World War and being exposed to homophobic persecution. Screened as part of SHOUT Festival. Read all our SHOUT Festival Film picks here and Top 5 SHOUT events here.
Sat 11 Nov 6pm at mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH £9 macbirmingham.co.uk

Kisieland (dir: Karol Radziszewski, 2012, cert n/a) + Q&A
Fascinating short documentary in which the director Karol Radziszewski recalls his meeting with Ryszard Kisiel, the gay activist behind the first Eastern European queer zine Filo. The film explores the persecution by the Polish secret service of homosexuals during the eighties when the authorities collected incriminating photos of their targets to use for blackmail. The screening, which is produced in association with CineQ, Shout Festival and Behind the Curtain, will be followed by a director Q&A.
Sat 11 Nov 6pm at Centrala, 158 Fazeley Street, Birmingham, Digbeth B5 5RS Free www.facebook.com

Dead Man’s Shoes (dir: Shane Meadows, 2004, cert 15)
Paddy Considine, who also co-wrote the film, is terrifying as ex-squaddie Richard returning to the nondescript town of Matlock to exact revenge on the local hoodlums that bullied his brother. The grim ordinariness of the setting is what lends the film such a powerful impact, the unstylised violence is jarring in its brutal execution. Shane Meadows is one of the most important English directors at work today. The film is being screened as part of a double bill with the excellent This Is England.
Sun 12 Nov 5pm at The Mockingbird, The Custard Factory, Gibb St, Birmingham B9 4AA £9.50 veezi.com