BFI Flare Film Festival at SPARK, Manchester

Tom Grieve, Cinema Editor
Mum - Image courtesy of SPARK
Mum - Image courtesy of SPARK

BFI Flare Film Festival at SPARK at Number 70 Oxford Street, Manchester 4 July 2017 Tickets from £6.00 — Book now

Brand new transgender arts festival, SPARK, arrives in Manchester this July with a multi-disciplinary celebration of the work of trans and non-binary artists. Festival curators Trans Creative have teamed up with British Film Institute programmer, Zorian Clayton, to co-present a programme of local and national short films on tour from this year’s BFI Flare LGBT film festival.

Screening for the first time in the north, the programme focuses on positive, empowering stories based around family, transitioning and gender expression. The line up includes: Anne-Marie O’Connor‘s autobiographical Mum, Pallavi Somusetty’s film about a non-binary person in India, Escaping Agra and Sarah Jenny Johnson’s documentary of transitioning, Eli. Trans Creative’s Artistic Director and co-creator of Mum, Kate O’Donnell, will host the evening and a Q&A with Eli afterwards.

BFI Flare Film Festival at SPARK at Number 70 Oxford Street, Manchester 4 July 2017 Tickets from £6.00 Book now

Where to go near BFI Flare Film Festival at SPARK, Manchester

Foodie Food
Manchester
Restaurant
Foodie Food

Foodie Food is a new food delivery service, bringing hand-stretched Neapolitan-style pizzas and high-end burgers to Manchester.

Wing Dash
Manchester
Wing Dash

Exceptional chicken wings from one of Manchester’s premium food delivery outlets.

ABC Taproom
Manchester
Bar or Pub
ABC Taproom

ABC Taproom is part of the Alphabet Brewing Co. Open Friday and Saturday nights, go here to enjoy some of Manchester’s very best beer.

Manchester
Cloud Aerial

Get upside down with Cloud Aerial. Their beginner classes are the perfect introduction to the addictively fun world of aerial arts.

Manchester
Library
Gaskell Society

These regular talks in both Manchester and Knutsford unpack the meaning and significance of Elizabeth Gaskell’s writing.

Manchester
Music venue
Progress Centre

Having served two summers of temporary parties, Progress Centre has been reinvented into a new permanent outdoor club in central Manchester, which is hosting a string of massive parties this…

Manchester
Museum
Elizabeth Gaskell’s House

Elizabeth Gaskell’s House has been lovingly restored; you can now sit at her desk, see where Charlotte Brontë hid behind the curtains, and have tea in the downstairs café. The Pankhurst Centre is also nearby.

Manchester
Restaurant
GRUB Manchester

Manchester’s original vegan street food festival returns at the end of this month to celebrate Veganuary.

Manchester
Spirit Studios

Spirit Studios now houses 10 unique studios, an on-site live venue, DJ booths, editing suites and more. Recently, kitting out many of its studios with new state-of-the-art Audient desks and it soon will welcome its very own radio station.

What's on: Cinema

Culture Guides

Poet Imtiaz Dharker. Photo by Ayesha Dharker
Literature Events in the North

It's like the Woolies pick'n'mix counter this month in live literature land – so much choice, we're not sure where to start digging in.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

DaDaFest’s 40th anniversary line-up, contemporary reimaginings and outlandish fringe, check out our top theatre picks for spring onwards.

We shelter here sometimes promo image. Featuring My Dog Sighs inside and abandoned building.
Cinema in the North

David Lynch, International Women's Day and Manchester Film Festival are amongst our cinematic highlights this March.

Mohair Man, 1991, by Dave Swindells
Exhibitions in the North

Cinematic sets, 90s nightclub photography and even new gallery - we have a great mix of exhibitions for you this month.

GROVE
Music in the North

We’re championing all things underground this month, with a selection of gigs and festivals that embrace the strange.

Classical Music in the North

Read our latest highlights from the live classical music offer in Manchester and the North, taking in a number of the region's most cherished orchestral forces and venues.