PARADISE LOST: History in the Unmaking • cosy cinema | Sat 29th August 7pm

As the Museum of BAM! fills •nook• with Birmingham stories, memories, myths and alternative histories, we’re continuing our celebration of the city with a special screening of Paradise Lost: History in the Unmaking, followed by a Q&A with Birmingham filmmaker and director Andy Howlett.

Part documentary, part personal journey and part psychogeographic detective story, Paradise Lost explores the final days of John Madin’s Brutalist Birmingham Central Library – a building loved by some, hated by others, and now completely erased from the city’s skyline. Howlett began filming the condemned building before its demolition, weaving together archive footage and his own explorations to ask what happened not only to the library, but to Birmingham’s post-war vision of the future.

For anyone who remembers the old library, Paradise Circus and the Birmingham city centre that once surrounded them, the film offers plenty of moments of recognition and nostalgia – glimpses of a Birmingham that has disappeared, but still exists vividly in people’s memories. And even if you never knew that version of the city, it’s a fascinating look at how Birmingham continually demolishes, rebuilds and reinvents itself.

It feels like a perfect companion to Museum of BAM! – another opportunity to look at Birmingham through its past, its peculiarities and the stories we tell about the places that have shaped us. Where the Museum of BAM! happily plays with the boundaries between Birmingham history and mythology, Paradise Lost digs into the very real story of a city whose physical history can sometimes disappear surprisingly quickly.

There’s humour, melancholy, concrete, memories and a healthy dose of Birmingham weirdness along the way.

Following the screening, director Andy Howlett will join us for a Q&A, giving us a chance to hear more about making the film, documenting a building as it disappeared, digging through Birmingham’s recent past, and what happens to our memories of a city when the places attached to them are gone.

When: Saturday 29th August, 7pm

TICKETS:

Standard: £7.50

Feeling generous? Choose a Generous Supporter ticket and pay a little more to support your local art scene.

A limited number of Pay What You Can tickets are available too. Select this option and use the ‘Tip’ at checkout to pay what you can. We don’t want ticket prices to be a barrier to anyone joining us.