Birmingham Flatpack film festival is a big success
Mar 22 2009 by Anna Blackaby, Birmingham Post
The organisers of Flatpack are winding down after a successful festival which drew thousands of visitors to an eclectic array of film-related events throughout the town centre and Digbeth.
Nearly 5,000 people came to Flatpack this year, including many more from outside the region as the festival continued to build its national profile.
Flatpack festival director Pip McKnight said: “We have had lots of fantastic feedback and lots enthusiasm after going around talking to people.”
Only in its third year, the festival this year pulled in an extra 1,800 visitors, taking total admissions up from last year’s 3,000 to 4,800. Ms McKnight said an increasing amount of festival-goers came from outside the region.
“This year saw a big step up in our ambitions, programme and our national PR.
“We had people from Manchester, London, Bristol and even Scotland coming, and a lot from the Midlands outside Birmingham, from regions like Shropshire, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire.”
Ms McKnight, who organised the festival alongside programme director Ian Francis, said one of this year’s highlights was the Curzonora event on the opening night which saw local 15-piece band The Destroyers play specially-composed backing music to the screening of early 20th century film footage as a tribute to Birmingham film promotor Waller Jeffs.
“There was this great alchemy that all came together at the last minute as we had only sold 46 tickets three days before.
“It was always a bit of a risk because we had never used Town Hall before but we had people coming up to us saying it was the best night of their lives.”
Ms McKnight pointed to the success of Flatpack’s Floodgate Kino, an old industrial building on Floodgate Street, in Digbeth, converted into a temporary 250-seat cinema and bar which served as a hub for the festival.
“It was great to have somewhere where people could come together or just hang out in between screenings.
“You could feel the atmosphere,” she said.
