A new documentary on the making of Brass Eye from its original director Michael Cummings will receive its world premiere at the Pilot Light TV Festival in Manchester this Spring.

Oxide Ghosts: The Brass Eye Tapes offers a curated selection of never before seen material from the making of the seminal spoof news show created by Chris Morris, which also featured Kevin Eldon, Doon Mackichan, Mark Heap and Amelia Bullmore across seven blisteringly brilliant episodes. The series later returned as a one-off special (directed by Tristam Shapeero) featuring Simon Pegg and Julia Davis which sparked debates in the House of Commons about the show’s content.

Made from hundreds of hours of unseen material from his personal archive, Cummings’ film shares insights into the process of making the series over a two year period, witnessing the highs and lows of the production and its impact. Part documentary, part artwork, the film is designed solely for live screenings, and has the blessing of Chris Morris.

Michael – who has since directed Rock Profile, World of Pub, Snuff Box, Toast of London and Going Forward – will be attending the screening for a Q&A after his film on Sunday 7th May, where he promises he will be ‘spilling beans, shattering myths and letting a few cats out of the bag’ surrounding the mystery and controversy of Brass Eye.  

The screening will close out the second Pilot Light TV Festival, which takes place between 4th and 7th May at three Manchester venues: HOME, Gorilla and Manchester Central Library. The full programme for the festival will be announced on Friday 31st March, and promises to be another eclectic four days dedicated to the best in past, present and future of TV featuring premires, retrospectives, panels and workshops.

Festival director Greg Walker stated: “In the age of Donald Trump and the onslaught of Fake News, people are regularly pinching themselves to check Chris Morris isn’t actually writing our headlines these days. In a world where satirists are openly admitting that it’s a struggle to beat real life in the current social climate, we now need Brass Eye back more than ever. We are very excited to have Michael back at the festival to celebrate Brass Eye’s 20^th with us, even moreso with his film Oxide Ghosts which promises to be a huge treat for Brass Eye fans in attendance.”

Tickets for the Brass Eye 20^th Anniversary Special on 7th May will be on sale at 9am from Friday 24th March via thisisgorilla.com. For further details on Pilot Light, visit their website over yonder.