Online: May 2022
Welcome to this year’s FREE festival supported by the Department of Sociology at Manchester Metropolitan University and curated by staff from the university’s Policy Evaluation and Research Unit
Keeping true to our mission – showcasing films which provoke debate and provide an alternative take on crime, justice and punishment in the 21st century – here is this year’s confirmed programme of virtual events.
If you’d like up to receive further information about these or further events please contact: kevin.wong@mmu.ac.uk
Event 1: Koestler Award Winners, Tuesday 10th May 17.00-18.30
In partnership with the arts in criminal justice charity Koestler Arts we are celebrating artistry, dedication and the power of imagination by showing two Koestler Arts award-winning films:
Earl (2021 Award winner) by Anon, Langdon Hospital
Don’t quit (2021 Award winner) by Ashley, HMP Wayland
Book your ticket to watch a live streaming of the films followed by a Q and A on the making of the films with a panel drawn from: HMP Wayland; the Langdon Hospital; and Koestler Arts.
Click here to book your free place: Koestler Arts Award Winners
Event 2: Gun number 6, Tuesday 17th May 17.00-18.30
We will be showing excerpts from this Bafta award winning documentary and drama which charts the story of Britain’s deadliest illegal gun. Changing hands over a decade, used in 11 shootings and three murders, this is film confronts the realities of modern gun crime.
We’ll be joined for the Q & A by a panel including: Zac Beattie the film’s producer; Darryl Laycock (film contributor, person with lived experience, campaigner and educator against violence); Alison Cope (film contributor, also campaigner and educator against youth violence); and Craig Pinkney, criminologist, founder and CEO of Solve: the centre for youth conflict and violence.
Click here to book your free place: Gun number 6
Event 3: Incels – the truth behind the hate, Tuesday 24th May 17.00-18.30
We’ll be showing excerpts from this new documentary by first time film maker Anton Roberts examining the world of Incels (involuntary celibates) who have become prominent in North America and have come to public attention in the UK since the shootings in Plymouth by Jake Davison in August 2021. Joining Anton to discuss the film and the emergence of Incels will be Micheal Halpin from Dalehousie University in Canada, Deborah Jump from Manchester Metropolitan University and Next Gen Men’s Youth Program Manager, Jonathon Reed.
Click here to book for this free event: Incels: the truth behind the hate
Event 4: A second chance – stories of hope and redemption, Tuesday 7th June 17.00-18.30
We’ll be showing excerpts from this documentary by acclaimed film maker Rex Bloomstein which tells the heart-breaking and uplifting stories of prisoners trying to transform their lives through employment. Rex will be joining us to discuss his film with the audience and an invited panel including: Darren Burns National Recruitment Ambassador, Timpson Group; Sarah Barker a senior customer support advisor for the Timpson Group, who is an ambassador for the Timpson Foundation and uses her ‘lived experience’ of being in custody to help others to find employment; and Siobhan Pollitt the chief executive of Manchester charity Back on track that provides employment and training for people with convictions.
Click here to book for this free event: A Second Chance