CUBA UNHEELED

05-05-2008

Birmingham movie buffs will soon have the chance to see an expanded range of world cinema in the city with the launch on Thursday of a new international film club. They’re kicking off with a Cuban season boasting four titles which have never been seen here.

One of the organisers, Allan Brookfield, used to run the old Birmingham Film Club which disbanded in 1984.

“At the time, we felt we were redundant because the Triangle was doing such a good job” he explains.

The Triangle Cinema formed part of Aston University’s Gosta Green campus, and screened the best of global cinema, as well as top notch American indie features.

Its closure (in the late '80s/early '90s) was arguably one of the greatest acts of cultural vandalism ever visited on the city, and few would argue that the arrival of the Birmingham International Film Society is long overdue.

Their season starts with 12 Chairs, Tomas Gutierrez Alea’s 1962 comedy about a wealthy woman who hides her jewels during the revolution and confides its whereabouts to her son-in-law on her deathbed.

It was later given a Hollywood makeover by Mel Brooks.

Brookfield says: “It reveals a lot about the conservative nature of film distribution and exhibition that this film, and four of the five we are showing in the season, have never been seen in the city before.

“We’re reliant at the moment on what the Cineworld or The Electric choose to show, and they won’t take anything with subtitles that hasn’t got a lot of marketing profile behind it.

“So you can see Persepolis at Cineworld now, and they had Pan’s Labyrinth for months last year, but for a city of our size and stature that’s not good enough.

“Much smaller places like Sheffield and Liverpool do much better.”

Birmingham International Film Society launches on Thursday at 8pm at the Library Theatre. More details from bhamifs@hotmail.co.uk