Get Cosy: from Picture House to •nook•

Ben Waddington

Thu 17 Sept | 6pm

Presentation + Q&A + exhibition + optional screening

60 min presentation / 40 min film

£8.50 / £12.50

Meet at •nook• gallery, 25c Institute Road, Kings Heath B14 7EG

Join local historian and writer Ben Waddington for an illustrated talk exploring the forgotten history of the Kings Heath Picture House, later known as the Cosy Cinema. This was Kings Heath's first cinema, opening in the building now home to •nook• in 1911.

Using archive photographs, newspaper reports and historical records, Ben will uncover the story of the Cosy Cinema alongside Kings Heath's wider cinemas history. Discover the people behind these early picture houses, the audiences they welcomed, the culture of cinema-going in the early twentieth century, and the detective work involved in piecing together the story of a venue that operated for just five years before disappearing.

Using archive photographs, newspaper reports, historical records and What’s Ons of the day, Ben will share the detective work involved in piecing together the story of a cinema that operated for just five years before almost disappearing from local memory expect dodgy dealings, teenage cinema managers, leopard attacks and the curious ‘Wild West’ atmosphere of the earliest days of Birmingham cinema. There will be time for Q&A after the talk.

7pm - The Black Chancellor film screening. Of the two titles he managed to uncover, The Black Chancellor is the only film we have been able to find a surviving copy of. We know it was screened here in December 1914, and thanks to the Danish Film Institute, we were able to obtain a copy and bring it back to the building where it was shown over a century ago. Take your seat where Kings Heath cinema-goers once did and enjoy some early cinema magic in the very building where The Black Chancellor was screened in 1914.

Concession prices are for ages 60+ or under 16, students, those with a disability or anyone experiencing hardship (no proof of this will be requested)

Refreshments will be provided

Accessible venue via ramp

Toilets are available on site

Booking is essential