As the new season of theatre, visual art and film is set to launch at Home, we take a look at some of the highlights coming up over the next six months

Highlights include the latest edition of ¡Viva!, Spanish and Latin American Festival, with a cross-art programme bigger, bolder and more vibrant than ever and a packed line-up of special guests, UK premieres and world-class Spanish and Latin American cinema from both new and established directors; a continuing presentation of film with live musical soundtracks including Underground, presented by Harmonie Band with a live score by Paul Robinson, and a performance by post-punk band The Membranes, who, together with the Sireen Choir from Estonia, will provide a live soundtrack for a film about the universe; Always (crashing), a celebration of renowned novelist, short story writer and essayist J.G. Ballard with screenings including Alphaville, Empire of the Sun and Ben Wheatley’s highly anticipated High-Rise, also featuring a new film co-created by artist Simon Barker and HOME’s Artistic Director: Film, Jason Wood; a Brazilian Weekender presenting a selection of the best features from filmmakers working in Brazil today; Soundtrack, a curatorial collaboration with musician, composer and filmmaker Barry Adamson exploring the pivotal role soundtrack has played in film history, showcasing a diverse selection of both celebrated and lesser-known titles; and Jazz Goes to the Movies, a season focusing on jazz and cinema as the two most significant and wide-reaching ‘new’ art forms of the twentieth century, presented in collaboration with the Manchester Jazz Festival.

Alphaville

Alphaville

 

HOME’s film programme, which has attracted tens of thousands of visitors since its opening in May 2015, has been developed by HOME’s Artistic Director: Film Jason Wood, also Professor at Manchester Metropolitan University, in collaboration with Senior Visiting Curator Dr Andy Willis of Salford University, HOME Film Programme Manager Rachel Hayward and the HOME film programming team, in partnership with influential industry figures, film directors and regional talent.

Jason Wood commented “At HOME we aim to create a continuing dialogue between filmmakers and audiences, enabling us to think about the ways in which cinema has shaped and continues to shape our perceptions of the ever changing world in which we live. I am especially excited by our recently announced curatorial collaboration with musician, composer and filmmaker Barry Adamson on our summer Soundtrack season.”

Other highlights include:

A brand-new ANU and HOME production, On Corporation Street, combining theatre, visual art and film in the second of a triptych of shows by ANU (with the other plays being performed in Dublin), marking the centenary of Ireland’s Easter Rising and the 20th anniversary of the bombing of Manchester by the Provisional IRA – following the award-winning and critically acclaimed Angel Meadow in 2014. Directed by Louise Lowe.

A new HOME, Young Vic and Theatre de Ville production of The Emperor based on legendary journalist Ryszard Kapuściński’s book, with the creative team behind critically acclaimed Kafka’s Monkey including Kathryn Hunter, and directed by HOME Artistic Director: Theatre, Walter Meierjohann

Group exhibition Imitation of Life: Melodrama and Race in the 21st century, inspired by Douglas Sirk’s influential 1959 film of the same name, looking at racial politics in an evolving world with a new commission from Sophia Al-Maria and work from Larry Achiampong, Michael Armitage, Kevin Beasley, Loulou Cherinet, Loretta Fahrenholz, Jayson Mussen, Jacolby Satterwhite and Martine Syms

Smoke and Mirrors by American company The Ricochet Project, a beautiful and uncompromising nearly naked approach to poetic acrobatics, revealing the inner workings of humans and how we tie ourselves up in knots in the pursuit of happiness

Jazz Goes to the Movies, a season focusing on jazz and cinema as the two most significant and wide-reaching ‘new’ art forms of the twentieth century, in collaboration with the Manchester Jazz Festival

Home – image courtesy Paul Karalius