For this month’s Pick Six we turn to Steven Sheil, Co-Director at the Mayhem Horror Film Festival which takes place at Broadway Cinema between Thursday 16 - Sunday 19 October.
Film: The Innocents
This changes all the time, but today I’m going to go with The Innocents (1961) directed by Jack Clayton. It’s a brilliantly calibrated film that really plays with the idea of what ghosts are and how they affect us. Both Deborah Kerr and Martin Stephens - who plays Miles, the young boy in the film - give amazing performances and the black and white cinematography by Freddie Francis is stunning. I probably watch it at least once a year.
Album: Horses by Patti Smith
Again, a lot of contenders but I’m choosing Patti Smith’s Horses, because it’s the 50th anniversary of its release this year and it’s maybe the album I’ve listened to the most. The opening track, Gloria (In Excelsis Deo) - in part a cover of the Them song - is where everything collides - garage rock, punk rock, art, poetry, storytelling, performance. The whole thing is just an exhilarating listen from start to finish.
Book: The Flypaper by Elizabeth Taylor
I read a lot so it’s hard to choose a favourite, but this year I’ve been really getting into the works of Elizabeth Taylor (not the actress), a mid-century British novelist and short story writer. Her novels are great - subtle and affecting character pieces, and her short stories are brilliant too. One of them, The Flypaper, was adapted into the darkest ever Tales Of The Unexpected episode in the 80s. She’s well worth seeking out.
Meal: Small Food Bakery
Small Food Bakery, based at the Primary gallery, is a favourite. They’re a great independent Nottingham business that also does a lot of good work around food justice. We get a lot of fresh bread from there, but also often stop in for something sweet and/or savoury and a coffee. There’s always a really good variety on offer and it’s a nice place to spend time.
Holiday destination: Japan
I’ve been to Japan a couple of times and it’s probably the place I’d most like to go back to. Last time we visited we took the bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto, which was amazing and I’d love to go back again and explore more. I feel like there’s so much history and culture there that we’ve only just scratched the surface of.
Notts Spot: Sherwood charity shops
I should probably say Broadway because it’s where Mayhem is based - and of course it’s great, and everyone should visit - but the honest answer is probably the charity shops of Sherwood. I buy a lot of second-hand books and records and it’s become a real hobby to scour Sherwood every couple of weeks for what I can find - there are maybe nine or ten shops on the circuit and I can easily spend a slow hour or two going round them.
Celebrating all things horror, Mayhem Film Festival takes place between Thursday 16 - Sunday 19 October at Broadway Cinema.
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
