Northwest Film Event Highlights – August 2014

There’s something for everyone this month, from a Hollywood heavyweight to an arty party

Preview by Simon Bland | 30 Jul 2014

Got what it takes to go one-on-one with Rocky Balboa? Can you fight the good fight, draw first blood and prove you’re not expendable? You’ll get the chance to put your money where your mouth is when Hollywood hard-hitter Sylvester Stallone arrives at the Phones4U Arena for a rare evening of candid chat (1 Aug). Just ahead of hardman threequel The Expendables 3, Stallone arrives in Manchester to discuss his storied career and life on screen. Fans will also get the opportunity to quiz him during a post-interview Q&A session, win exclusive prizes and potentially meet the man himself. Better get training...

Time travel to the end of the month and you’ll find a charity screening of Back to the Future Part III at Manchester’s Night & Day Cafe (23 Aug). Supporting The Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, this event combines live music with the Doc and Marty’s final gunslingin’ adventure. Winter Project, Stations, The Alpha Machine and Nine Black Alps’ frontman Sam Forrest will be making music before the film is screened and there will be a DeLorean on hand for all your photo-op needs. Great Scott! This is heavy.

Over in Liverpool, John Hardwick’s musical comedy Svengali appears at FACT (20 Aug), complete with a post-screening Q&A with label owner, manager and musician Alan McGee. Svengali follows Dixie, a small time Welsh boy with a simple goal – to manage the best band in the world. After a chance YouTube encounter, he leaves his postal career behind for the industry highlife. McGee appears as himself, alongside the likes of Libertine Carl Barât, Oasis guitarist Bonehead and Radio One’s Huw Stephens. A musical epic.

And finally, Cornerhouse Manchester hosts an arty party to mark the release of their latest Artist Film project, Art Party (21 Aug). Part road movie, part fantasy, part art doc, this thought-provoking film follows artist Patrick Brill as he makes his way to the 2013 Art Party Conference to champion the importance of art and its place in our educational system. There will also be two new commissions available for some hands-on fun at the post-screening gallery event. Dirty Protest allows you to make a mess with a message, while Squirtapalooza lets you create your own cake concoctions with the help of Home Sweet Home’s head pastry chef Charlotte O’Toole. Art, film, food – you can have your cake and eat it. Literally.