As Coventry prepares to embark on its year as UK City of Culture this weekend, Flatpack Projects and Film Hub Midlands are delighted to announce a new programme that will transform the whole city into a cinema over the next twelve months. CineCov will see over 150 screenings and film events taking place in parks, community centres, towpaths, churches and even the odd cinema as we celebrate film's power to transport us and to bring us together.

Highlights will include... 

  • Special event revisiting The Italian Job, shot in Coventry in 1968;
  • Reopening programme at Warwick Arts Centre's brand new three-screen cinema;
  • Screen tributes for a wealth of homegrown talent including composers Delia Derbyshire and Clint Mansell, as well as exclusive opportunities to to watch unseen archive footage;
  • Family films and activities at the Canal Basin during August Bank Holiday weekend

A huge range of local partners have been involved in development of the programme, from UK Asian Film Festival and Coventry Biennial to the Media Archive for Central England and Coventry Cathedral. Just as importantly, CineCov is designed to give Coventrians the tools and skills to put on their own screenings. During lockdown people from across the city took part in a series of online workshops on different aspects of film exhibition, and funding and equipment support will be available if you've got a burning idea for a film event.

The CineCov brand has been developed through a collaboration with creative communications agency Wieden+Kennedy London, who produced a range of animated and static assets designed to convey discovery and movement - as well as giving a nod to the city’s iconic brutalist architecture. Spearheaded by lead designer Justin Hallstrom, the new identity will help to create a central thread for a rich, eclectic lineup as locals and visitors alike navigate Coventry and explore a wealth of cinematic gems old and new.

As cinemas begin to reopen and Coventry steps into the limelight, this is a really exciting moment for a programme like this. We hope CineCov will be an opportunity for people to immerse themselves in this brilliant city and to discover something new.

Ian Francis, director of Flatpack Projects

CineCov is supported by the National Lottery through the British Film Institute, and is produced by Flatpack Projects and Film Hub Midlands. Coventry UK City of Culture launches on 15 May, and more information on CineCov’s summer programme will be released in June.