A-must-witness-together-in-the-cinema feature film that zeroes in on the beginning of Sun Ra's story, in Birmingham, Alabama, USA and explores the soil and stars at that juncture of earth's history. The film gets deep into all those juicy in-between zones -  into the folds and creases of place, as well as the people, the collectivity and the connectivity that gave rise to one of this universes's greatest ever musician. A bandleader, pioneer and icon adored by Thundercat, Mats Gustaffson, Moodymann, Gilles Peterson, and Yo Lo Tengo amongst millions of others.

This is a special screening and a West Country Premier.

After the film there is a Q&A with Guillaume Maupin one of the film's directors.

In the Cube bar, DJ Fat Paul selects from a personal collection of 200+ Sun Ra releases/bootlegs & trades. Tune in.

Please note music starts at 7pm / Film on at 8pm.

'The Magic City: Birmingham According To Sun Ra' is a playful and flamboyant musical film shot in 16mm. It's a vivid and imaginative portrait that avoids talking heads and interviews, offering an approach that combines elements of a coming-of-age novel, magical in camera- effects and anthropological study. The film searches for clues to his future work and finds a city inhabited by music and rotten with segregation (it is also the birthplace of Angela Davis and Condoleezza Rice). This is a film made with love and respect, it's spell-making style leans more towards the style of Guy Maddin and Michel Gondry than that of Netflix/BBC 4 tropes. 

Between the years 1914 and 1993 Sun Ra (with the Arkestra and others) created vast swathes of music, art, poems and films: Windy City Doo Wop, DIY forays into outer-jazz regions, Afro-futuristic visions, mystical Egyptian modal workouts, spacey disco freak out. A desire to produce, distribute, rehearse and play was done with a conviction and ethic that has created a supernatural aura around his work ever since. 

Sun Ra's is a portal and a powerful one. His life and work have become hugely loved, replicated and reissued but his foundations are often bypassed – not here. This is the film to see, not only to wonder at his esoteric roots but to see how his legacy is played out, today, in the City. It's a piece of cinema that shows and values community and in that sense we trust we are in good hands. The film does not present Sun Ra as a visionary outsider, but rather as an ingenious musician participating in a rich and creative scene, part of an ancient musical tradition.

“I ❤ Birmingham. I ❤ music. I ❤ afrofuturism. I ❤ this film.

The way the directors showed us the Birmingham that they've discovered through Sun Ra was wonderful” Jessica Chriesman , Letterboxd.