Five highlights you can stream from this year’s Manchester International Festival

Cillian Murphy is a box-office hit, but the Irish actor isn’t too big time to take on an indie movie either. The Aoife McArdle-directed film sees the 'Peaky Blinders' lead team up again with writer Max Porter for a MIF premiere. Plus, with music from the likes of The National’s Aaron and Bryce Dessner, and Jon Hopkins, it’s sure to be a treat for your ears too.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – the acclaimed author of 'Half a Yellow Sun' and 'Americanah' – last saw her father in person on March 5th 2020. Three months later, Covid-19 had changed the world forever and her father had become a victim of the pandemic. 'Notes on Grief' was an essay written in tribute to her father and published in the New Yorker, out of which grew a book. Now, director Rae McKen has transferred Adichie’s words to the stage, providing a powerful and timely reflection on the devastation experienced across communities during the last 18 months. 

The best things in life are free, and this night on 17 July doesn’t buck that trend. An annual festival of cultural exchange in Lagos, Nigeria, Homecoming is collaborating with MIF for a one-off showcase of the best music to come out of Africa, the diaspora and beyond. From live performances from afrobeat up-and-comers Rema and Midas the Jagaban, to a set from Manchester-based DJ Anz, the beat-heavy music will definitely get you up and dancing around your front room.

As well as films, music and theatrical performances, MIF will also be home to a number of visual art pieces throughout the festival. The biggest installation will see Marta Minujín’s Big Ben Lying Down with Political Books take over the city’s Piccadilly Gardens, while there will be a Forensic Architecture exhibition at the Whitworth and Cephas Williams’ documenting of Black Britain at Manchester Arndale – all of which can be experienced online throughout the festival. Another highly anticipated experience – available for free online only, from July 1-18 – is 'Postcards from Now': a series of five videos made from artists during lockdown, telling their stories through mediums of visual art, theatre, animation, dance and more.

MIF's major new arts space and future year-round home is The Factory: named in homage to Manchester's industrial past and as a nod to its role in creating and making new work. Although The Factory isn’t quite finished just yet, it hasn’t stopped the festival inviting artists to create pieces, laying the foundations of what will be possible at the new venue. Highlights include a queer gardening simulator designed by videogame developer Robert Yang, an online artwork by Turner Prize-winning artist Tai Shani and a reimaging of The Factory within the multiplayer game Fortnite Creative by LaTurbo Avedon.