Birmingham Anime Film Festival 2023 – Recap

Over 1 week – 26 Screenings across 2 venues.

Thanks to all who came to our inaugural Birmingham Anime Film Festival, we had a blast!

It’s hard to believe it’s been a month since we kicked off our anime action-packed week. The 1st edition of the Birmingham Anime Film Festival came to a close on 5th October 2023. A total of 26 Anime films were celebrated over the course of the week, screening at the Mockingbird Cinema and The MAC Birmingham, turning the city into the UK centre of the anime cinematic world.

The event also included street art with two artists from Hi Vis Festival, plus two screenings selected by the Worlds Apart Birmingham Anime & Manga Discord Group to close out the festival

David Baldwin, Producer – Cinema & Screen, Midlands Art Centre says: “It was a pleasure to be part of the first Birmingham Anime Film Festival. We had three busy screenings (including one complete sellout) and we’re looking forward to next year already.”

Ryan Parish, Founder, Geeky Brummie says: “We really enjoyed bringing an eclectic mix of anime to our audiences for the first BAFF. It was a fantastic week and we were wowed to see the love and passion for anime in Birmingham.

Lee Nabbs, Direcot, The Mockingbird Cinema says: “We were delighted to be a part of the very first Birmingham Anime Film Festival. With many sold out screenings including welcoming 600 people to My Neighbour Totoro at Botanical Gardens it was a huge success. We are really excited for next year and to see it grow even further.”

We’re happy to announce well be back for 2024 across three weekends in late September / early October [Dates TBC]


The festival was organised by The Mockingbird Cinema and Café in partnership with Geeky BrummieMidlands Arts Centre (MAC) and Flatpack Film Festival, sponsored by Anime Limted.

Mockingbird Cinema. Bar & Café

About The Mockingbird Cinema. Bar & Café:

Situated within Birmingham’s iconic Custard Factory, The Mockingbird Cinema. Bar & Café offers a unique cinematic experience. Relax within the creative hub of the city, enjoy some food, then grab a drink, before watching a film in our fully independent cinema.

Geeky Brummie


About Geeky Brummie:

Geeky Brummie is a Birmingham-based multi-media collective which produces a variety of monthly content, from podcasts and vodcasts to blogs, articles, reviews and events which blend a celebration and analysis of geek culture with all things Birmingham.

Midlands Art Centre Birmingham

About The Midlands Arts Centre:

First opened in 1962, Midlands Arts Centre (MAC) is a pioneering arts centre and charity, with the mission to make art an important part of people’s lives. The MAC has a programme of theatre, independent cinema, visual arts exhibitions, creative courses, and special events. MAC is a national leader in developing work with children, young people, and families.

Anime Limited

About Anime Limited

Based out of Glasgow, Scotland and launched at the end of 2012 – Anime Limited brings a fresh approach to distributing the best in anime direct from Japan. Our emphasis is both breathing new life into much loved classics and introducing the cutting edge of what Japanese animation has to offer.  

Our focus is on bringing more theatrical anime to the big screen, releasing beautifully packaged collector’s editions and trying new ways to reach fans digitally, Anime Limited is committed to offering a wide range of experiences for UK and French audiences.

We work across film, television series and shorts – targeting some of the most interesting works out there. We hope you’ll join us for the journey as we bring out some of the best that Japanese animation has to offer!

I wish that I could turn back time…

Ryan Parish here, one of the cofounders of Birmingham Anime Film Festival.

Firstly, thank you to those who joined us for the (attempted) screening of End of Evangelion at The MAC on Friday 18th August.