City on Screen

Directed by Matthew R. Ford

2023

Pretty Hate Productions

Director Matthew R. Ford does a deep dive into the UK’s second biggest city and asks why it has historically struggled with its representation in film in his new documentary City on Screen.

Ford opens with his own childhood passions of Hollywood cinema, but even in his younger days noticed that the UK rarely focused on Birmingham as a filming location or for its casting.

1973’s Take Me High with Cliff Richard is noted as one of the features many recall as their first memory of seeing local areas like Gas Street Basin, New Street and Corporation Street prominently featured. However, it’s described as a bizarre mix of Crossroads and Twin Peaks and hardly set the world alight critically or at the box office.

The director cleverly edits his talking heads and archival clips to make his points clearly, and actor Andre Pierre notes it wasn’t just skin colour under-represented. He highlights another prominent issue around the lack of Birmingham (Brummie) accents in popular culture too.

The interviewees struggle to think of local productions from the past with only a handful of 80s/90s children’s TV shows like Brum and Woof and celebrities like Lenny Henry and Ozzy Osbourne being part of the few breaking through into most people’s minds. Despite successful TV show Doctors being filmed in the region, the documentary goes on to explore how even though there was little going on in the city overall, that too has sadly declined.

The closure of BBC’s Pebble Mill studio and the loss of Channel 4’s Creative Hub development brings focus to a word that comes up time and time again – “infrastructure”. With his documentary Ford, and his many interviewees, propose this has been a very real problem to attract, keep and develop talent and productions.

The films that most people know are rare – Spielberg’s Ready Player One gave hope of a Hollywood influx but it took six years for a large franchise (Mission Impossible) to return. And Birmingham is sadly, but perhaps not mistakenly, described as just a “backlot” for the US industry at the moment. And in addition, whilst Peaky Blinders gave the region a boost – in reality it was mostly shot outside the Midlands.

Doing what we do here at Midlands Movies, I recognise many of the contributors with Ford getting an impressive set of guests from filmmakers, cast and crew as well as local cinema hubs like Midlands Arts Centre and Mockingbird to contribute.

And yet one positive is that all these passionate workers in the film industry mention the creative talent that already exists (and we emphatically can’t disagree there). Filmmaker Daniel Alexander who has seen success in a number of arenas, does highlight however another issue about attracting the talent back. He notes a large exodus of many skilled people who jump on trains to London and other places to develop careers further hurting Birmingham’s prominence.

Ford mixes the archival clips with the conversations well, which end up being compelling. And the icing on the cake is how it also serves as a highlight reel for some of the interviewees work and careers – and we certainly want you to go and check them out! Through its construction, it gives insight into the heritage of Birmingham on screen throughout and it’s a documentary to make local film fans add new creators to their watch-list.

It also uses its main topics as a launchpad to explore recurring themes, from the lack of film funding and community hubs to the historical barriers faced by those in the industry. And although sometimes the structure means jumping in time or covering a different issue - each leap leads to a greater understanding of the region’s struggles as a whole.

But despite the frustrations, there’s still lots of passion and optimism which has kept Birmingham in people’s minds whether people like it or not, with neglect turning to opportunities - albeit slowly. Whether it’s music videos, educational training or simply picking up a mobile phone, Brummies are doing it for themselves and filmmakers are taking the Bull(ring) by the horns to find their own routes into film.

Throughout, Ford importantly shows us that creative dreams are still alive within the realms of Birmingham. And without knowing, the local film community itself may be its greatest asset with the documentary offering not just contemplation and discussion but hope for the future too.

Containing an hour of fascinating film facts and a level-headed, but passionate, journey through the past, Ford leaves with a positive message of potential and huge amounts of support for local innovators. And with plenty to recommend, City on Screen ends as an unmissable journey through the film landscape of the UK’s most underrated cinema city.

★★★★★

5/5

Michael Sales