Baltic Cinema: Kadoyng + The Glitterball

Kadoyng Ian Shand UK 1972 60’ (Cert. U) English | 35mm transferred to digital video.
The Glitterball Dir. Harley Cokeliss UK 1977 56’ (Cert. U) English | 35mm transferred to digital video.

It looks like the quaint village of Byway will be bulldozed to make way for a motorway – until alien outcast Kadoyng arrives from outer space to help.

This gloriously odd, gently subversive comedy from the Children’s Film Foundation sees cosmic hobo Kadoyng – blessed with mysterious powers and a stalk-like appendage on his head - arrive unexpectedly on earth, to befriend local residents, and take on nasty politicians and road developers. Wittily written by Leo Maguire, who stars as Kadoyng, this is 1970s CFF at its weirdest, wackiest best.

Doors open 10:45, Film starts 11:00. Baltic Kitchen is open for drinks, which you are welcome to take up to the cinema. There will be a 5 minute interval between screenings.

Somewhere in 1970s England, a UFO crashes in a potting shed. Inside is a strange round visitor from space: the Glitterball. How will it get home?

This ingeniously small-scale sci-fi adventure of a tiny, shiny alien ball-being with strange powers and a taste for electricity, crisps and custard, was released the same year as Star Wars, and foreshadows E.T., but was made for just a fraction of the cost of either. It was produced for The Children’s Film Foundation, makers of intelligent, fun films for British kids, from the 1950s to the 1980s.

The Glitterball boasts outstanding visuals, with striking special effects by Brian Johnson (who worked on 2001: A Space Odyssey and Alien) and Barry Leith (animator of Paddington and The Wombles). Not long afterwards, director Harley Cokeliss was enlisted to shoot the SFX sequences for the second Star Wars film, The Empire Strikes Back.

Please note we cannot offer refunds on this event.

Baltic Cinema is a new year-round cinema programme at Baltic, lighting up our Level 1 Cinema with the best new and archive films. Bringing otherwise rarely-screened work to the North East, Baltic Cinema also expands our exhibitions, offering a chance to explore further some of the themes they raise.

Baltic Cinema has five strands:

Currents presents new work from across the world

Sources expands on our exhibitions

Selected shows films selected by our artists and partners

Quayside Kino is a monthly screening for families and children

News From Home offers films on and from the North East, for the people who live here

All regular screenings take place in our Level 1 Cinema. In addition, you can catch free drop-in films in Front Room every week. See full programme of screenings here.

Baltic Cinema is supported by Film Hub North with National Lottery funding on behalf of the BFI Film Audience Network.

We want our events to be inclusive and accessible. If you have any accessibility requests or questions, please email [email protected]. Ahead of your visit, you can find out about Baltic's facilities and accessibility here.

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Host or Publisher Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art