Macclesfield’s Independent Cinema, Cinemac is hosting an afternoon of films about Joy Division on 31st July as part of the Silk Museum’s Unknown Pleasures festival. The festival marks the 30 year anniversary of the death of the band’s iconic singer Ian Curtis in 1980.
The special Cinemac showing will play host to a programme of the very best Joy Division and Factory films as well as hosting a panel of some of the UK’s foremost broadcasters, film critics and screen-writers. The panel will be led by celebrated film critic Mark Kermode and will include broadcaster and journalist Miranda Sawyer, Bafta nominated Control screenwriter Matt Greenhalgh, music writer and Unknown Pleasures curator Jon Savage, ex Joy Division drummer Stephen Morris and photographer Kevin Cummins.
Mark Kermode says: ‘Manchester and the northwest have a special place in my heart. It was here that I wrote my first film reviews for city life magazine – the publication which started it all for me. I came to Manchester to study at the university, but it was the music scene and the culture which surrounded it which really interested me. The films we’ll be looking at attempt to capture that very special time in the eighties when the whole world seemed to revolve around Factory Records. I think it’s going to be a great event, and I’m really looking forward to hearing what our panellists have to say.”
The event will feature:
- 2pm: Michael Winterbottom’s wildly popular 2002 story of Factory Records, Tony Wilson and Joy Division/New Order 24 Hour Party People starring Steve Coogan, John Thomson and Nigel Pivaro.
- 5pm: Introduction to Joy Division – the documentary. Jon Savage and Steve Morris
- 5:30pm: Jon Savage and Grant Gee’s insightful 2008 documentary Joy Division which takes a closer look at the band’s history.
- 7.20pm: Introduction to Control and preview the names who’ll be talking about it later in the evening.
- 7:30pm: The 2007 Bafta nominated biopic Control, directed by photographer Anton Corbijn (who documented the band in the 70s) and adapted by Matt Greenhalgh. Control starred Sam Riley, Samantha Morton and Alexandra Maria Lara and was adapted from Ian’s widow, Deborah Curtis’ book, ‘Touching from a Distance’.
- 9:30pm: Panel of expert commentators including Mark Kermode, Miranda Sawyer, Kevin Cummins and Matt Greenhalgh to discuss Control.
- 10:30pm: Close
The Cinemac will also be showing previously unseen live footage of Joy Divison and Ian Curtis from 11:30am to 1:30pm the following day – Sunday, August 1st. Capturing the bands legendary performance at the 1979 Plan K concert in Brussels, this screening will give true Joy Division devotees the chance to experience one of the band’s defining moments for the first time.
Richard de Peyer, Director of the Silk Museum said: “It’s been fantastic to see the number of popular and critically lauded Joy Division films that have been released in the last ten years and the Unknown Pleasures festival seemed like the perfect opportunity to bring them together. Each of the films is very different, and explores the legacy of the music in a distinct way.
“Control was one of 2007′s most critically acclaimed films and we are delighted to see its screenwriter Matt Greenhalgh join a panel of some of the film industry most distinctive and celebrated figures, including Mark Kermode and Miranda Sawyer, to discuss what makes it so powerful.
“The event will provide a unique chance to see what made Ian Curtis and the films he inspired so special and will work with the Unknown Pleasures exhibition to demonstrate the continuing relevance of the band as we move into the 21st century.”
Unknown Pleasures is the first exhibition featuring the music and lyrics of Joy Division and personal exhibits inspired by their music and is curated by the music writer Jon Savage.
The Exhibition includes unique and unseen exhibits and is on show in Macclesfield’s Silk Museum and will run from Jul 29 – Aug 7
Tickets for the Cinemac event are available for £15, please call 01625 613210 – there will be a late bar in the Mulberry Tree downstairs.
Tickets for the showing of the previously unseen ‘Plan K’ concert film footage are available for £2.
Visit the website at www.joydivisionexhibition.com, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/joydivision2010 and join in the conversation with the Twitter hashtag #JD2010.
For media registration and information, contact Andrew Spinoza, Max Howard and Helen Partridge at SKV Communications 0161 838 7770 firstname.lastname@skvcommunications.co.uk
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