Before the world (and the cosmos) came to know him as the Afrofuturist pioneer of "space jazz", Sun Ra was born Herman Poole Blount in Birmingham (the other one), deep in the heart of segregated Alabama.

Drawing on the memories of Sun Ra’s family and neighbours alongside rare footage and archival interviews, The Magic City reflects on the life of Sun Ra through the city that shaped his formative years. It is a story of resistance through imagination, exploring how the constraints of a divided city fueled a lifelong quest for space-age liberation, and as you can imagine, the soundtrack is out of this world!

While we can’t promise any Alabama sunshine, we’re fairly certain this is the only Birmingham where you can watch a film about Sun Ra and still make it home on the Cross-City line.

We’re excited to present the UK premiere of the film, followed by a Q&A with one of the directors, Guillaume Maupin.

Join us at Pan Pan after the film for a live jazz performance by Dark Days.