Get cosy: From Picture House to •nook• - talk (& film screening) | 17th Sept 6pm

Join local historian and writer Ben Waddington (Still Walking) for an illustrated talk exploring the forgotten history of the Kings Heath Picture House, later known as the Cosy Cinema - Kings Heath’s very first cinema, which opened in 1911 in the building now home to •nook•.

6pm - Talk & Q&A with Ben Waddington

Using archive photographs, newspaper reports, historical records and What’s Ons of the day, Ben will share the detective work involved in piecing together the story of a cinema that operated for just five years before almost disappearing from local memory.

His archival delve uncovered much more than dates and film listings – expect dodgy dealings, teenage cinema managers, leopard attacks and the curious ‘Wild West’ atmosphere of the earliest days of Birmingham cinema.

There will be time for Q&A after the talk.

7pm - The Black Chancellor film screening

After the talk, stay with us for a rare chance to experience a bit of "time travelling".

During his research Ben found hardly any records of the films shown at the Cosy Cinema. Of the two titles he managed to uncover, The Black Chancellor is the only film we have been able to find a surviving copy of. We know it was screened here in December 1914, and thanks to the Danish Film Institute, we were able to obtain a copy and bring it back to the building where it was shown over a century ago.

Take your seat where Kings Heath cinema-goers once did and enjoy some early cinema magic in the very building where The Black Chancellor was screened in 1914.

Two ticket options are available: Talk only OR Talk + Film Screening.

Date: Thursday 17th Sept 6pm
📍•nok• gallery, 25c Institite Rd, Kings Heath, B14 7EG

Part of the Birmingham Heritage Week 2026