The legendary author/film collector presents a fascinating and bizarre programme of vintage 16mm shorts made by US religious/spiritual organisations, all of which utilise SF ideas and imagery to convey their ideologies.

Films made by religious organizations have some of the most supernatural and other-worldly qualities about them, but are rarely thought of as proper science-fiction. They present a basic paradox; using science-fiction imagery and concepts while actively preferring spiritual solutions to technological ones, while favouring the old world to the new. But maybe their relationship to science-fiction should be reconsidered. Even though they deviate from standard genre conventions, and despite the fact that they are created to inspire rather than entertain, the use of science-fiction elements in some of these films is extraordinary. From Paulists to Unarians to Mormons and beyond, these films can, in spite of their low budgets, take us into outer (and inner) space.

The three titles take in a Mormon tale of ‘pre-mortal existence’ via a quickie 70s Las Vegas wedding, an ultra-low budget Paulist take on ‘1984’, and peaks with the indescribable outsider psychedelic fantasias of the Unarius Academy of Science’s ‘The Arrival’.

"A riveting homemade space opera (complete with ingenious hyper-coloured analogue SFX that evoke James Whitney on planet Xanadu), the film follows an aborigine, who, after being contacted by an immense Rubik’s Cube full of advanced telepathic beings, overcomes his psychic amnesia, working through his past life as a genocidal spaceship commander. This impassioned and meticulously designed origin story has a spiritual agenda to match Jodorowsky’s, with a startling visual aesthetic halfway between Lynch and an ABBA music video" The Cinefamily

Don’t miss this rare chance to see this one-of-a-kind classic of DIY American alternative culture on the big screen!

Watch a short extract from “The Arrival” here: http://vimeo.com/96745707

Buy Advance Tickets

Advance tickets are available to purchase on-line until 4 hours before the start of the film. If advance tickets are "sold out" please note that we always keep back a few tickets to sell on the door. Early arrival is advised, the doors open 30 mins before the film starts.

_{This event is supported by the BFI and National Lottery in partnership with O2. Info on other events in the South West and West Midlands region can be found here}