Tara Judah

We all think we know a lot more once we've sunk a few beers, so perhaps it's time to put your well-lubricated knowledge to the test at one of these top-notch Bristol pub quizzes. Pens at the ready…  Crack Magazine Music Quiz, The Christmas StepsIf you already have the Crack Magazine jukebox at your disposal, and you run a kick-ass pub, then putting on a weekly music quiz is a bit of a no-brainer. Welcome to The Christmas Steps, where a weekly Wednesday night pub quiz sees some stellar tunes cranked out for hoards of hopefuls itching to get hold of the cash prize. Keep an eye on their Facebook updates to see where the weekly roll-over is at and get together a team of music lovers for a mid-week tipple. The Barley MowEvery Monday night, professor Brian Box runs a 'brain-busting' quiz. There's a £50 prize plus some other goodies up for grabs – and they have a creative round where you, uh, create things. A recent incarnation offered up 'model a monster' with play-dough. Outside of that it's all general knowledge. So if you're something of a big kid and think your creativity peaks after a couple of pints, then St Philips is where it's at.  20th Century Flicks Film Quiz, The Christmas StepsIn addition to their already slamming music quiz, The Christmas Steps have teamed up with the local neighbourhood video shop, 20th Century Flicks, to bring a first Monday of the month (or thereabouts) film quiz to Bristol cinephiles. It starts with a picture round and continues with a range of st

Bristol Radical Film Festival (BRFF) is upon us and it's taking over the big screen at The Arnolfini from October 9-11.  Established in 2011, BRFF aims to provide 'a public platform for explicitly political cinema from a range of left-wing perspectives.' This year's line-up explores radical film through both form and content, including a partnership with Bristol Experimental and Expanded Cinema (BEEF) that focuses on structural materialism and a counter-cultural approach to formal filmmaking. The focus is also heavily on archive works as BRRF is also commemorating the 40th anniversary of ‘The First Festival of British Independent Cinema’, which took place at the Arnolfini gallery in 1975.  For the uninitiated, there are accessible entry points, such as the screening of Derek Jarman's early short films on October 10. Recently restored and digitally remastered, the session will showcase a series of Super 8mm films from his early career. Stirringly scored and masterfully mesmeric, Jarman's shorts offer other worldly aesthetic, spatial and temporal sensibilities. A stunning must-see program, with introduction from Louisa Fairclough of BEEF.   Derek Jarman, Burning the Pyramids   On Sunday October 11, the journey continues with an opportunity to investigate and reframe Structural/Materialsm: Then and Now. The festival will be screening some of Guy Sherwin and Lis Rhodes' works from the '60s and '70s alongside contemporary works from BEEF's own founding members Stephen Cornford,

When the Bristol Scalarama calendar launched last month, it featured a total of 31 screening events across Bristol (and one in Clevedon). A whopping 12 of those films will run at just one venue: Bristol's totally volunteer-run community arts project and cinema, The Cube. Now that Scalarama has kicked off around the UK, two last-minute gems – Dziga Vertov’s 'Man With a Movie Camera' (1929) and a special Baby Cinema screening of 'The Punk Singer' (2013) – have been added to the already monster month of film about to begin at The Cube. But even for a venue where multiple people manage events, 14 non-standard film screenings is a large ask, so there's a need for a wider volunteer base to stage and manage events under various guises. With that in mind, it’s useful to think of the Scalarama screenings at The Cube as a collection of disparate voices, speaking up for a wide range of passionately programmed film culture. Here’s a run down of who's putting on what at The Cube in September...   Bristol Radical Film Festival, Monday September 7, 8pm <img id="bb6db30f-dd58-1316-099d-e591309b1191" class="photo lazy inline" src="http://media.timeout.com/images/102846771/image.jpg" alt="" data-caption="In Transition 2.0" data-credit="" data-width-class="100" data-mce-src="http://media.timeout.com/images/102846771/image.jpg" image_id="102846771"> In Transition 2.0 Bringing radical programming to multiple venues in Bristol (there's also a season u

Movie lovers rejoice because Scalarama – a month long celebration of cinema – is taking over the UK, and Bristol, this September. If you haven't heard of Scalarama before, here's a little backstory: once upon a time in ye olde London town there was a cinema. Nestled in the bosom of a lively King’s Cross, prior to its gentrification, The Scala (previously known as The King’s Cross Cinema) was renowned for its unique programming of double features and cult and classic films. Sadly, like many iconic cinemas across the UK, the Scala has since closed its curtains. It first shut in 1993 but reopened in 1999 as a club after a refit. Later, Philip Wood – who co-founded the Roxy Bar & Screen in London – started up a repertory cinema revival that first took the city, and then the whole of the UK, by storm. Scala Forever, launched in 2011, was a season of film screenings and events including a commemorative program celebrating the Scala’s history. It saw 27 venues across London take part.   <img id="edb6ffc2-32c1-db4b-ca30-3cf42078d455" data-caption="" data-credit="Flickr: Nick" data-width-class="100" type="image/png" total="994819" loaded="994819" image_id="102825971" src="http://media.timeout.com/images/102825971/image.jpg" class="photo lazy inline"> Flickr: Nick The success of Scala Forever then gave rise to Scala Beyond, a nationwide celebration of cinema involving 132 exhibitors and with 272 screenings across the UK. From this, Scalarama was born: an entire month ded

Having run the Bristol Bad Film Club (BBFC) for the past two years, screening terrible movies to hundreds of eager 'so bad it's good' film fans, Bristol cult cinema purveyor and event programmer Ti Singh has embarked upon yet another big screen adventure. Only this time, with the Bristol Sunset Cinema, the films are so good they're the stuff of fairytales. With several pop-up outdoor cinema events on the schedule this summer (like the Floating Cinema and Two Wheeled Drive In), we find out why the setting sun makes such a great backdrop for cinema entertainment.   It was after BBFC sold over five hundred tickets to its one year anniversary screening of 'Masters of the Universe' that Singh decided to embark upon the his new adventure. After all, if that many people would turn up to see what he calls "a not entirely great Dolph Lundgren film" then what would happen if he actually screened popular films? For Bristol Sunset Cinema's first outdoor screening, Singh has set the bar ambitiously high: he plans to screen romantic comedy adventure classic 'The Princess Bride' at Blaise Castle.     Blaise Castle Angi Nelson     Having negotiated screenings in a variety of venues – from theatres to planetariums – Singh has plenty of experience hiring and setting up in non-standard cinema spaces. Fortunately, the council have been nothing short of supportive when it comes to his plans. In fact, Singh accepts that their patience has extended far beyond the realms of regular admin, even in

Bristol's Aardman Animations have provided laughter and entertainment to screens large and small with its unmistakable cast of hilarious and endearing characters for decades. Whether this is with stop-motion pirates, a cheese loving gent and his companion pooch, chickens, mice or even sheep, the witty clay creations have, frame by frame, made their way into hearts across the globe. Now, as dozens of giant sheep are soon to pop up around the city, we thought we’d take a closer look at Aardman HQ, and learn a few new things we perhaps didn’t before. Aided by Aardman archivist, Tom Vincent, here’s what we found out: 1. How Aardman got its name Aardman Animation You're more than likely already familiar with Wallace and Gromit – but who is Aardman? When co-founders Peter Lord and David Sproxton first started their animation partnership back in 1972, one of their first creations was Aardman, a Superman-style character used in an animated sequence for BBC series Vision On.  In his debut days, Aardman walked across a hole but didn’t fall in. Instead, he picked it up and moved it. Not so much super hero as start of super self-reflexive animation, Aardman and his twenty seconds of fame had earned the guys a paycheck. But, in order to receive it, they needed a company name. Perhaps he was a superhero of sorts after all. 2. The Aardman building used to be a banana warehouse The new Aardman building, right next door to Banana WarehouseFlickr: John Lord                                

Somewhere between making the effort to go to the multiplex and staying home to gaze at a laptop, there's a community-led alternative on the rise in Bristol. It's all about going to see films with your friends in spaces that feel relaxed and encourage conversation. Undoubtedly influenced by Bristol's volunteer-led microplex, The Cube, these are spaces curated by the community for the community, and there are still a few seats for the taking. Bristol Bad Film ClubMatching film and venue with aplomb, The Other BBFC make their way around the city in style. Starting out at the Lansdown, they migrated to bigger venues as their audience grew. They regularly sell out their events in 100-seater plus venues that are chosen based on their atmosphere. The Old Police Station (The Island) was a great fit for Samurai Cop and the Planetarium certainly gelled well with StarCrash. According to Ti, who runs the club, even if they can't find a venue to fit the film perfectly, 'as long as it has a bar, we can make it work.' In terms of the movie selection, it's guaranteed to be 'so bad it's good'. And if you're wondering where Ti finds these films, well, even the rights holders are taken aback: 'Often, they're surprised someone wants to publicly show their movies!' On April 29, David Hasselhoff is Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. All profits go to charity.   Bristol SilentsThere's a lot more to silent cinema than Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd, don't you know? And Bristol has its own cohort of