This spring, the Flatpack Film Festival will return to Birmingham for its 11th year. For years, the festival has been attracting people from far and wide for its “magnificently eclectic” films, performances and installations. Overtaking venues all across Birmingham. The festival embraces animation, documentary, ground-breaking shorts, and really, any kind of film you could think of.

The Greek dramedy/thriller, Suntan, follows a middle-aged Kostis who becomes infatuated with a young Anna when she lets him tag along with her group of partying friends. But before long, Kostis’s rediscovery of his lost youth turns to obsession as he will do anything to keep Anna.

Greek director, Argyris Papadimitropoulos‘s previous works include Wasted Youth (2011) and Sto Spiti (2014).  Papadimitropoulos also became the youngest Greek filmmaker to direct a box-office feature hit, for his 2008 film Bank Bang. His most recent film Suntan premiered at the Rotterdam Film Festival and SXSW’s Narrative Spotlight. It won best film at the Edinburgh Film Festival. Suntan will screen on Saturday, April 8th at 10:15PM at the Electric Cinema- Screen 2.

The great musical revolution of today takes place in Africa, and Fonko follows this revolution from Dakar, through Accra and Lagos, to Johannesburg in the south. This documentary guides the audience through the underground music and dance cultures of Africa, as traditional culture are being mixed with urban club music and style.

Lamin Daniel Jadama and Lars Lovén join the director behind Black Power Mixtape, Göran Olsson, to create Fonko. This film follows outspoken and creative African artists, who are redefining the image of Africa through their music. Fonko will screen on Saturday, April 8th at 6:00PM at the Birmingham Midland Institute – John Lee Theatre.

This new Studio Ghibli film, The Red Turtle, follows a castaway on a deserted tropical island throughout his life. When he tries to escape from the island, he encounters a turtle, with whom he forms a relationship. The dialogue-less film premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes in 2016, and was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the 89th Academy Awards.

Director, Muchael Dudok de Wit’s 2000 film, Father and Daughter won the Academy Award for the Best Animated Short Film, and The Red Turtle was nominated for Best Animated Feature this past month. The Red Turtle screens on Friday, April 7th at 8:30PM at Electric Cinema Screen 1.

Johannes Nyholm’s new film, The Giant, follows Rickard, an autistic and severely deformed man who believes that winning the Scandinavian Championship of pétanque will help him find his birthmother. The whole world is against him, but Rickard is determined, and with the help of a 200 foot giant, he will not be stopped.

The Giant is writer and director, Nyholm’s, first feature film.  His previous shorts include “Las Palmas,” (2011) and “The Tale of Little Puppetboy,” (2008) which have both been screened at festivals around the world. His music video for Little Dragon’s “Twice” doubled as a segment from Nyholm’s short, “Dream from the Woods.” Nyholm is currently based in Gothenburg, Sweden. The Giant screens on Saturday, April 8th at 5PM at Everyman Mailbox.

Flatpack 2017 is also offering a variety of unique events for festival-goers. From April 6-7, VR fans will be able to take part in The Shared Individual, which mixes film, theatre, performance and technology into one virtual reality experience. On April 5th at 8PM, Flatpack is screening a fully restored 4K edition of David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive at Everyman Mailbox. Flatpackers will also be given the chance to go behind the scenes of Territory Studio‘s motion graphics and VFX at Flatpack Hub on April 5th at 7PM. Here, Territory’s David Sheldon-Hicks and Ryan Rafferty-Phelan will discuss with audience members the magic behind Territory’s films, including Ex-Machina, Guardians of the Galaxy and Prometheus.

Flatpack no.11 runs from 4-9 April 2017. Tickets are available now.