As the famous Mancunian Tony Wilson once remarked “This is Manchester, we do things differently here”. Of course, as the co-founder of the legendary Factory Records label, his words are often attributed to the city’s thriving musical scene, but as you’ll soon discover this spirit can be found in all of Manchester’s cultural output.
Cinema is no different. Manchester’s connections to the film industry run deep into the heart of the city and have given it the well-earned reputation of being the best place to experience the magic of cinema outside of London.
Manchester has left an unmistakable mark on the history of film and can proudly call itself the home of some of cinema’s most well-known directors, writers, and actors. In fact, The Mancunion itself has the rather unique honour of counting the UK’s most eminent film critic, Mark Kermode, as one of its previous contributors.
This history has gifted the city an enormous collection of cinemas showing everything from the biggest blockbusters to limited independent releases. Manchester’s cinematic calendar is also filled with all kinds of one-off events and festivals to look forward to throughout the year. Some early highlights include next month’s horror-dedicated Grimmfest and November’s consistently fantastic Manchester Animation Festival.
There are even plenty of Manchester-set films for your nights in, spanning every genre from Mat Whitecross’ 2012 Stone Roses-based feel-good comedy Spike Island to Jorge Grau’s 1974 Spanish-Italian zombie B-movie The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue.
Of course, with all these films and events during the year, we’re always on the lookout for new writers to help us cover everything film-related in Manchester and beyond. Get involved via Facebook by joining the ‘Mancunion Film 2019/20’ group or come to our weekly section meetings at 18:00 every Monday in The Hive (located on the first floor of the Students’ Union).
The Guide:
