Screening of Alex Cox's 'Dead Souls' followed by a Q&A with the director, hosted by Alan McQueen.
Alex Cox is bringing his latest film, Dead Souls, to the MAC on Thursday 5 November. The night starts with a screening of the film, followed by a Q&A with Cox himself, hosted by Alan McQueen. It's part of a five-city UK tour, and the Birmingham date is one of the few chances to see it in a cinema before it goes to home video.
Dead Souls is a loose adaptation of Nikolai Gogol's 1842 novel, though Cox has moved the setting to 1890 Arizona. The story follows a drifter named Strindler — played by Cox himself — who arrives in town and offers money to anyone who can give him the names of dead Mexican labourers. He ends up tangled with the town drunk, hot-headed cowhands and local outlaws. It's a Western take on a Russian classic, and it's the latest feature from Powerhouse Films.
If you're not familiar with the name, Alex Cox is a cult British independent filmmaker with a long, idiosyncratic career. He's the man behind Repo Man, Sid and Nancy, Walker and Straight to Hell, and he also presented Moviedrome on the BBC. Dead Souls was co-written with spaghetti Western legend Gianni Garko, and it features a fantastical animated sequence by visual effects maestro Phil Tippett, so there's a fair bit of cinema history woven into it. The Q&A afterwards is where you'll get to hear Cox talk through the making of it in person.
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The screening is at 7pm on Thursday 5 November at the MAC in Birmingham. If you're after a physical copy, Indicator — Powerhouse Films' home-entertainment label — is expected to release a special edition in early 2027.
