Top 3: Kino Film Festival ft. Martin Freeman, Bokeh Yeah! & more

Kino Film festival returns this month, featuring 150 short films screened between Tuesday 27 May to Monday 2 June. The host venues spread across the city – so whether you’re looking for the perfect excuse to check out the newly refurbished Central Library’s interior, or if you fancy stumbling into Gullivers for a cinematic break during a Northern Quarter pub crawl, there should be something for you. The best bloody thing about it all is that the majority of the screenings are free. Here are three of our picks from the programme…

British New Wave (Prog. 1)
This screening of three home-grown shorts features the Oscar-nominated The Voorman Problem, starring the familiar faces of Martin Freeman (pictured) and Tom Hollander. A very unique and original tale (based on the novel number9dream by David Mitchell), it sees a prison psychiatrist called upon to deal with a prisoner who believes he is a god. The film is followed by The Caravan Trilogy starring David Warner and Ian Pulveston, plus Cowboy Ben featuring Shaun Dooley and Ramon Tikaram.
Tue 27 May, Manchester Central Library, 4pm, FREE, kinofilm.org.uk

Bokeh Yeah! and Comma Film present Timeline Poem Film Programme
This unique fusion of media results in the work of five poets being transformed into stylish short films. The film-makers of Bokeh Yeah! use mainly DSLR cameras to bring their visions to life and this promises to be an exciting collaboration to bring poetry to the forefront of the festival.
Thu 29 May, Islington Mill, 8.30pm, FREE (optional £3 donation), @bokeh_yeah

Kino Animation
If you yearn for the days when animation featured a hand-crafted 2D quality, the award-winning Sausage, which is part of this screening, may be just what you’re looking for. Leaning towards a more traditionally illustrated style, the film adds plenty of substance to its fantastic style with a light-hearted tale about how large fast food vendors can take the sizzle out of the underdog’s bratwurst. The equally beautiful, computer generated Little Freak is sure to pull at heartstrings, while Luminaris and its innovative use of human stop motion (pixilation) brings an ambitious vision to the table to complete proceedings.
Sat 31 May, Manchester Central Library, 12.30pm, FREE, kinofilm.org.uk