Film buff’s guide to Liverpool: A city of celluloid

Words by Mark Langshaw

From the magic of Harry Potter to the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Hollywood has shaped some of its best-loved and most iconic productions in Liverpool over the years.

A record number of film and TV projects were shot around the city in 2015, with its famous streets and buildings doubling for settings including 1920s New York and Soviet Russia, but it isn’t just the movie industry which benefits from Merseyside’s status as a hub for all things celluloid.

The city is a haven for movie fans as the home of pioneering independent cinemas and exciting movie-themed attractions, and you’ll find the best of them right here in Your Move’s film buff’s guide to Liverpool.

Keeping it reel

Merseyside has boasted a rich history in filmmaking since the influential Lumiere Brothers shot on location here in 1896, and Museum of Liverpool’s Reel Stories exhibition is a celebration of this proud heritage.

The show brings together more than 40 original posters and memorabilia from the most famous productions with roots in the city, from the Samuel L Jackson-fronted ‘51st State’ to the work of Kensington-born auteur Terence Davies.

Reel Stories also highlights the grand old picture houses of Liverpool’s past with photographs from the museum’s Stewart Bale collection, which features some of the North West’s most luxurious historic cinemas including The Paramount and The Forum.

Free to visit, the exhibition has been running since March this year and is set to go on until September 2017.

Trivia pursuit

If you know your ‘Forest Gump’ from your Forest Moon of Endor and regularly boast about how your movie knowledge trumps Ebert’s and Kermode’s combined, why not put your money where your mouth is by taking part in Merv’s Film Quiz?

Taking place on every first Wednesday of the month at Fact in the upstairs Picturehouse bar, this is the ultimate test of your movie trivia knowledge and its difficulty is legendary.

Host Merv’s film-themed conundrums are known for stumping even the most seasoned film geeks and leaving team members angrier than the Incredible Hulk as the elusive answers linger on the tip of their tongue.

The quiz kicks off at 7pm and entry costs £1 per person. Why not take in a film while you wait for the action to commence? Or check out the pillar in Fact’s foyer which bears the signatures of Quentin Tarantino and Ken Loach, among other Hollywood greats.

Independents day

Liverpool locals and visitors to the city are spoilt for choice when it comes to independent cinema, with some of the North West’s most unique multiplex alternatives based in this neck of the woods.

One attraction in Merseyside’s thriving indie film scene proves that good things do indeed come in small packages.

Based within the former Magistrates Court on Victoria Street, Liverpool Small Cinema is a community screening space which whisks movie fans back to the golden era, showcases the work of local filmmakers and plays host to all kinds of special events.

Highlights from the not-for-profit venue’s back catalogue include a 24-hour showing of the rib-tickling déjà vu classic ‘Groundhog Day’, the Athens Now film festival and a special screening of ‘Jaws’, which did not require a bigger cinema, luckily.

Festival season

Live music events dominate summertime, but as the leaves begin to brown and fall from the trees, film festivals take centre stage in Liverpool.

Set to return to venues including Princes Park and Liverpool Life Sciences UTC, the Food for Real Film Festival is the only free movie festival in Britain with a gastronomic focus.

The autumn edition of the event takes place on 23 and 24 September with highlights including a screening of the Bill Pullman-fronted documentary ‘Fruit Hunters’ and a Harvest Garden Lunch.

Although the festival’s events are free to attend, booking a ticket online in advance is essential as demand is expected to be high. Festivalgoers are also encouraged to make a donation when reserving their place.

Meanwhile, Scalarama is a national celebration of cinema and communal film watching. The event’s Liverpool leg runs throughout September and includes special screenings at Fact, Small Cinema, Edge Hill railway station’s Metal and Baltic Social.

Programme highlights include showings of Tom Hanks comedy ‘Big’, cult apocalyptic classic ‘Miracle Mile’ and a panel discussion with acclaimed writer Sophie Mayer.

Filmed in Liverpool: Four upcoming productions

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Liverpool will play a starring role in ‘Harry Potter’ spinoff ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’, doubling as 1920s New York City as Eddie Redmayne’s Newt Scamander hunts a menagerie of magical creatures through its streets.

Expect to see the Cunard Building and St George’s Hall take centre stage on the big screen when the wizarding prequel is released in cinemas this November.

Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool

Film crews were spotted around Aigburth, Toxteth, the Georgian Quarter and Liverpool city centre when Hollywood blockbuster ‘Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool’ was shot here over the summer.

These locations were given a 1970s makeover for the romance, which stars A-listers Annette Bening, Jamie Bell and Julie Walters, and is set to arrive in 2017.

Triple Word Score

Hollywood veteran Bill Nighy and Liverpool go way back, with the ‘Love Actually’ star serving as part of the Everyman Theatre Company in the 1970s. He’s set to return to the region later this year to shoot Scrabble-themed comedy ‘Triple Word Score’.

Produced by local studio Hurricane Films and written by Frank Cottrell Boyce, the film will be shot on the fringe of Merseyside and Lancashire, in locations including Burscough and Ormskirk and will be directed by Carl Hunter, former bass player with The Farm.

Broken

‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Game of Thrones’ star Sean Bean is heading to Liverpool this month to shoot Jimmy McGovern’s latest drama ‘Broken’ for BBC One.

The production will see the Sheffield-born actor take on the role of Father Michael Kerrigan, an urban Catholic priest who’s struggling with his faith in modern-day Britain.