Over the last 5 years we have been implicitly growing our reputation for bringing together a programme of world class writers, thinkers, filmmakers, performers and more. From deliberate and nuanced #HubTalks with writers such as New York Time #1 best selling writer Angie Thomas, Afua Hirsch, Patrick Ness and Patrisse Khan-Cullers, to collaborative events with one of the nation’s favourite bakers Nadiya Hussain and The Good Immigrant with Nikesh Shukla and Birmingham Literature Festival, our approach to programming has consistently been about intentionally showing a different story.

Our #YellowWednesdays film nights have also visually platformed narratives that are often missing from other spaces. The screening of Amir Amirani’s We Are Many included a panel with political activist Salma Yaqoob, Natalie Jeffers of Black Lives Matters UK and social activist Saffiyah Khan. My Pure Land was a beautiful film which depicted women in Pakistan in a different light to the way they are in mainstream media. We always strive to create a safe place for lots of different political, cultural and social ideas to be explored and discussed collectively, with #YellowWednesdays being just one example of this in action.

Day 3 of PAUSE brings together ideas from #HubTalks and Yellow Wednesdays to explore how we intend to keep moving our programming forward into new contexts, as well as sharing ideas on how to host boundary-pushing book talks and film screenings of your own.

10am – 11am: Screening: Stop Killing Our Children

“The city is where people come to work, raise families, walk in the evening. It is not a traffic corridor” – John Norquist

Join Andy and Immy for a screening of The Environmental Transport Association’s film Stop Killing Our Children, telling the story of how motorised traffic is killing our children… and how the alternative benefits us all, whatever our age.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

12pm – 2pm: #HubTalks Lunch & Learn with Kubi Springer and I Am My Brand

Kubi Springer may not be a household name..yet but her experience into the world of branding and marketing began when she started as an intern for Diddy. For Impact Hub Birmingham’s final Lunch and Learn in Digbeth, we will be hosting a special Pause festival HubTalks crossover with Kubi. Join us for lunch as we find out more about I Am My Brand.

I Am My Brand is a toolkit for personal brand success. Featuring dynamic female brand builders from around the world, the book is a woven tapestry of personal brand advice with storytelling and support that offers a practical guide for female entrepreneurs, freelancers and executives. I Am My Brand explores the techniques used by different women across cultures to build their personal brand, as well as the challenges they faced and their paths to overcoming them. Focused on the skills needed to succeed, their stories – coupled with the author’s expertise – supports readers on their own journey to brand success and self-empowerment in work and life.

The lunch will operate on a pot luck lunch basis, so please bring what you can to contribute to the spread! Register your attendance for free and let us know what you are bringing along.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

2.30pm – 4.00pm: Films With Impact

A specially-selected playlist of short films that have inspired or been made within the Impact Hub Birmingham community, including:

– Before The Storm

– Young, Gifted & Grinding

– TIC Documentary

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

4.30pm – 6.00pm: Build Your Own Film Night

In 2016 Flatpack launched the first ever Build Your Own Film Night workshop at Impact Hub Birmingham sharing their top tips on how to put on your own film events, so we thought it was fitting to bring it back especially for our closing festival, PAUSE.

It’s now easier than ever to put on your own screening and films are a brilliant way to start a conversation or break down barriers. This handy 90 minute workshop will take you on a whistle stop tour of everything you’ll need – from how to compile your own online playlist (whether that’s obscure art house, the latest Blockbusters or cats on YouTube) to running your own event.

The workshop will cover the basics of:

Research and curation – advice on tracking down great content, developing themes, accessing archives, and combining film with other elements

Licensing and copyright – the nitty-gritty on getting permission to show work

Venues and technical – picking the right place for your event and ensuring it’s somewhere your audience will go. Selecting the right screen, projector, PA, and compiling all your content for a seamless show

PR & promotion – how to get people through the door and build your brand

Event production – getting yourself organised, planning a schedule, managing your budget, recruiting volunteers and how to manage ticketing

So if you want to build your own film night then come and join us!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

7pm – 9pm: Yellow Wednesdays with For Sama

For our last Yellow Wednesdays at Impact Hub Birmingham we will be screening For Sama. Birmingham is now home to many Syrian families that have fled the horrors of war in Syria. For Sama might be uncomfortable viewing but nonetheless essential viewing to remember what families have endured to make Birmingham their new home.

A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the For Sama tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her. Please note, this film contains images of war and violence from the start and viewers may find this distressing.

Waad's camera captures incredible stories of loss, laughter and survival as Waad wrestles with an impossible choice– whether or not to flee the city to protect her daughter’s life, when leaving means abandoning the struggle for freedom for which she has already sacrificed so much. The film is the first feature documentary by Emmy award-winning filmmakers, Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts.

This screening will be followed by a panel discussion on the themes of the film and in particular women in conflict. We will be shared by a member of the For Sama team (TBC), Alison Baskerville, a former soldier and documentary photojournalist and others (names TBC). Please note, this film contains images of war and violence from the start and viewers might find this distressing.