Paradise Lost: History in the Unmaking Screening

Among the ruins of yesterday’s future, what can we learn about the forces that shape our cities?

When filmmaker Andy Howlett set out with his camera to document the final days of Birmingham’s condemned Brutalist Central Library, he had no idea the rabbit hole he was stumbling into. Decried by the local council as an eyesore but hailed by Historic England as an exemplar of postwar design, John Madin’s concrete colossus became the center of a fierce battle over heritage, corporate redevelopment, and civic identity.

In this captivating psychogeographic detective story, Howlett weaves together rich archival footage with immersive on-the-ground exploration. Part film essay, part urban investigation, Paradise Lost asks a poignant question: what went wrong with the utopian futures we were promised, and how do we begin to reclaim them?