Creativity of city to be celebrated through film showcase

The Wolves Film Showcase will feature a variety of productions, all inspired by the city of Wolverhampton by a range of artists and creatives either from or inspired by the city.

The event on Sunday, February 5 is being held in collaboration with Wolverhampton Literature Festival at the Arena Theatre and will provide an opportunity to see some of the big hits from the 2022 Wolverhampton Film Festival, as well as meet some of the film makers.

It will also be a chance to organisers Arun Kapur and Gurjant Singh from Newline Films to preview the 2023 Wolverhampton Film Festival, which takes place between May 26 and 28.

Mr Kapur said the showcase was a chance to bring together creative people from the city and amplify the message that you can be proud of where you are from.

He said: "The showcase on Sunday will be an opportunity to see some locally produced films, including short films, animations and music videos and is an opportunity to bring together creatives who had got their content out there and showcase the city.

"They may have have moved to Manchester, Birmingham and London, but they are from here and they're proud to be from here and we wanted to amplify that message to be proud of where you are from.

"My partner Gurjant and I had conversations about how we need to compile and put together a list of different content to showcase what Wolverhampton is, what it's all about and how it represents the individuals of who they are and bring a message of collective unity."

Mr Kapur said the showcase would show off comedies, dramas, thrillers and films which would make people laugh and make people cry and take them on a rollercoaster of emotions.

He said it was great to be able to take part in the Literature Festival as a Wolverhampton resident and said the event was a unique one for the festival.

He said: "I saw that the festival was looking for proposals for events with different content and while a lot of it was literacy-based, there wasn't anything in terms of a film showcase, so I decided to go for it and we are not far away from putting on the first showcase at the festival.

"The event on Sunday is going to be just a small example of what we're capable of doing and what we want to bring to the city.

"We are both Wolverhampton lads done good and we're all about the city and wanting to amplify it, so it's great to be part of the Wolves lit fest and we're so grateful for them giving us the opportunity to put forward our vision."

There will be 12 videos being shown on Sunday at the showcase, with four music videos by Kupid the King ft Nappa & Diary of a Poet with Humankind, 2NV / G.Chaukria with Faded, Vital Powers with 48 hours and ReadtheTitle with 2 Gassed.

There will also be an animated film by Matt Hubble called "Mid-light Crisis", which tells the story of how, after a lightbulb gets tired of their daily routine, they lose their spark and now they have to figure out how to get it back.

The main bulk of the showcase will be covered by a selection of short films, starting with "Just Watch Me Play" by Simone Stewart and Priscilla Cameron, which is an adaptation of the first three chapters of a children's sports book.

Set in Wolverhampton, It tells a short story of how a little girl who is confident, fearless and football crazy.

Organisers Arun Kapur and Gurjant Singh have their own films up on show, with "GymJum" by Arun speaking of the importance of going to the gym and "Eleven : 14" by Gurjant presenting a psychological thriller about a man needing to complete four simple tasks to save his family by 11:14am.

Films around relationships and betrayal also feature with "Fancy a Redo" by Omar Parvaz telling the story of two souls giving each other a second chance and "Shatterproof" by Jagmeet Khalsa looking at a woman alone in a hotel car park reassessing her life.

Finally, two close brothers look at death in "Remember?" by Hemani Kaur Chadha and "Forgotten Soldier" by Neil Paul looks at the preservation and protection of war memorials.

Arun Kapur said he hoped the event could inspire people to become creative and encouraged people to come down.

He said: "I'd say that whether you're creative or not, the event is about having the opportunity to be in a space where you're seeing what your city represents and what communities are about from all walks of life.

"You'll be able to understand the purpose of why creators do what they do and it might inspire you to start doing your own thing."

The Wolves Film Showcase starts at 6pm on Sunday at the Arena Theatre on Wulfruna Street, with tickets costing whatever people can pay and available at wlv.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/873642465.