Notes to Eternity (dir: Sarah Cordery, 2016, cert n/a) + Q&A with director and Sara Roy
Ten years in the making Sarah Cordery’s authoritative documentary is loaded with heavyweight gravitas as four of the most respected contemporary thinkers discuss the Israel-Palestine conflict. It’s a sobering antidote to the sometimes hysterical coverage of what is a deeply complex issue, disagreeing with Iraeli politics does not make one an anti-Semite. It may sound quite dry but is filmed with a stylish flair and listening to an animated Noam Chomsky is somehow smoothly reassuring. Part of The Screening Rights Film Festival.
Mon 30 Oct 7pm at mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH £9 macbirmingham.co.uk

Under The Shadow (dir: Babak Anvari, 2016, cert 15)
An Iranian made Farsi language feminist horror may not have been on many people’s movie wish lists but that will certainly change now. Anvari’s debut feature is a slow burning thriller exploring the isolation of a mother and daughter trapped indoors by the incessant shelling of the Iran-Iraq war of the eighties and the growing sense that they may not be alone. Subtly oppressive and guaranteed to give you the creeps.
Tue 31 Oct 8.20pm at mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH £9 macbirmingham.co.uk

Nosferatu (dir:  F. W. Murnau, 1921, cert PG) with live musical accompaniment
The master German Expressionist director Murnau’s version of the Dracula story is a darkly atmospheric tale with an iconic and unsettling performance from Max Schreck as the titular vampire. Unlike Bram Stoker’s original novel Nosferatu’s victims stay dead, this deviation didn’t stop the author’s estate suing and obtaining an order that all copies of the film be destroyed. Luckily for us one of the greatest horror films ever made survived and even luckier for Birmingham cinephiles it can be viewed tonight with live musical accompaniment from Nigel Ogden on the Town Hall’s historic organ. As an added bonus J. Searle Dawley’s 1910 version of Frankenstein is also being screened.
Tue 31 Oct 7.30pm at Town Hall, Victoria Square, Birmingham B3 3DQ £18 www.thsh.co.uk

The Shining (dir: Stanley Kubrick, 1980, cert 15)
Kubrick’s punishing methods drew incredibly raw performances from Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall, with Duvall in particular suffering at the hands of the director’s will and becoming ill for months afterwards with stress, the emotional pressure the actors endured is palpable. Revered by critics and hated by the source novel’s author Stephen King, The Shining is one of the best psychological horror films ever made with Jack’s descent into murderous ‘here’s Johnny’ madness as unsettling as it is iconic.
Tue 31 Oct 3pm & 8.30pm at The Mockingbird, The Custard Factory, Gibb St, Birmingham B9 4AA £5 veezi.com

Raving Iran (dir: Susanne Regina Meures, 2016, cert n/a)
Back in the day free raves were all the rage; be it in a field, warehouse, club or wherever, club culture took to the wilds and exercised the boundaries of the law until that law stamped them out. Imagine attempting that in one of the most repressive countries on Earth, where kids have been sentenced to jail and lashes for listening to Pharrell’s ‘happy’. This is exactly what Anoosh and Arash, underground DJ’s in Iran, had been doing for years. The film explores that underground techno culture and the pair’s one last desert techno swansong before exile in Switzerland. Part of The Screening Rights Film Festival.
Wed 1 Nov 8.10pm at mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH £9 macbirmingham.co.uk

Käthe Kollwitz: Images of a Life (dir: Ralf Kirsten, 1986, cert n/a) + Anna Molska in discussion w/ Stuart Whipps & short films
Incredible evening of imaginative cinema at Centrala in association with The Ikon Gallery and Behind the Curtain begins with Polish artist Anna Molska discussing her 2009 historical short film The Weavers. Following the discussion there will be a screening of Ruth Lingford’s short film Death and the Mother (1997) and Ralf Kirsten’s insightful Käthe Kollwitz: Images of a Life (1987). An exhibition of Kollwitz’s work and Molska’s film The Weavers will be on exhibition at The Ikon until 26th November.
Thu 2 Nov 6pm at Centrala, Minerva Works, 158 Fazeley Street, Birmingham B5 5RT Free www.facebook.com

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (dir: Wallace Worsley, 1923, cert PG) with live musical accompaniment.
Universal’s most successful silent film stars the legendary horror icon Lon Chaney Sr as the unfortunate Quasimodo, wilfully manipulated by his evil master Jehan to a tragic fate. One of the most moving set pieces in film history is the beautiful Esmeralda (Patsy Ruth Miller) offering the pathetic and just flogged Quasimodo a drink of water. Opulent sets, stunning special effects and a beautifully nuanced performance from Chaney make this a timeless cinema classic. A live improvised organ score is provided by Alexander Mason.
Sat 4 Nov 7.30pm at Elgar Concert Hall, The Bramall, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT £8 thebramall.co.uk