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From the surreal tale of a Japanese film making cat, to a French Oscar winning children’s classic, this year’s Flatpack Festival includes a two day programme of family friendly films and activities.

On March 14th and 15th, The Travelling Picture Show will be passing through Birmingham’s Electric Cinema, before it embarks on a tour of the West Midlands this summer.

Paper Cinema's Night Rider

Marionettes and live music

Organisers 7 Inch Cinema say this will not be your average family outing to the pictures: “The festival concentrates on the lesser known and the unusual, and aims to provide some creative, lively and interactive relief from predictable children’s entertainment.”

The line-up includes a screening by Paper Cinema, which makes movies using hand drawn marionettes. Their film Night Flyer will be accompanied by experimental musician Kora, who uses a variety of instruments, layers and loops to create improvised film soundtracks.

The hunt for Big Foot

From Japan comes animated short Komaneko, about an intrepid cat who, armed with a video camera, sets off into the forest to capture Big Foot on film.

Le Ballon Rouge

There's a blast from the past with classic Le Ballon Rouge, which won an Oscar and a Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival when it was first released in 1956. The screenings will all be taking place in The Electric Cinema, which is the oldest of its kind in the UK.

The Travelling Picture Show is a new addition to Birmingham’s home grown Flatpack Festival, which is now in its third year, and takes place from March 11-15th 2009, in venues across the city.

Tickets cost £5 for adults, and £3 for under 16s.

Click on the links below for more details.