Synopsis
The hilarious and bizarre story of Frank Sidebottom,
the cult British comedian in the papier mâché head,
and the secretive life of Chris Sievey,
the artist trapped inside.
You know it is, it really is. Thank you.
“A little gem of cine-sleuthing,
a Citizen Kane from the outer suburbs”
- Financial Times -
“An eager probing portrait of the man in the head”
- Variety -
“A brilliantly made movie, really moving and really touching.”
- Mark Kermode, BBC -
Where to stream or purchase digitally
UK & ireland (including timperley)
USA & Canada
Australia & New Zealand
Fetch
Google Play
Academy on Demand
Foxtel
Youtube
Vimeo on Demand
Apple TV
taiwan
Own the DVD or Blu Ray
You can purchase Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story on DVD and Blu Ray in the UK here.
The DVD is packed with additional not-bobbins bonus scenes and fantastic archive.
The Blu Ray edition contains an extra 30 minutes of madness not included on the DVD.
Festival screenings & awards
SXSW – World Premiere, 2018
BFI London Film Festival – European Premiere, 2018
Nominated Best Documentary, British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) 2019
Shortlisted Outstanding British Debut, British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) 2020
Being Frank has screened at festivals including
Seattle International Film Festival
Melbourne International Film Festival
Cork International Film Festival
How it was made
Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story was a seven year labour of love for Director, Editor & Producer Steve Sullivan.
The film was made with exclusive access to Chris Sievey’s personal archive of notebooks, diaries, mouldy VHS tapes and home movies, along with hundreds of hours of crowdsourced footage from Frank fans around the world.
For the best insight into how Being Frank was made, please check out the fantastic Sight & Sound magazine article below exploring the making-of the film from Kickstarter through to cinema release. It also includes exclusive clips:
The film began life as a Kickstarter project, receiving the overwhelming backing of thousands of Frank Sidebottom fans eager to preserve their hero’s legacy. The original Kickstarter project and video can be viewed below. All backer rewards sold out long ago, sorry boss.
Filmmaker Steve Sullivan (the one on the right)
Photo by Elspeth Mary Moore
Bonus videos
I’m Thinking of a Biscuit - Being Frank bonus scene
Frank Sidebottom's pickled toys - Being Frank bonus scene
Steve Sullivan’s Magical Timperley Tour documentary
Chris Sievey's Mushroom Hair Project - Being Frank bonus scene
Frank Sidebottom’s Never Ending Minder - Being Frank bonus scene
Mike Joyce & Frank Sidebottom’s chip shop trip - Being Frank bonus scene
Distribution and screening enquiries
UK/Ireland: Altitude Film Entertainment
Email: bryonyforde@altitudefilment.com
Email: remihinds@altitudefilment.com
USA/Canada/Mexico: Factory 25
Contact: http://www.factorytwentyfive.com/contact-factory-25/
Australia/NZ: Label Distribution
Contact: https://www.labeldistribution.com/contac
Rest of the world
Email: steve@stevesullivan.co.uk
more info about Chris Sievey & Frank Sidebottom
For more info about Chris Sievey & Frank Sidebottom
please join the community of fans at their official
Twitter and Facebook pages
chris sievey & frank sidebottom merchandise
Chris and Frank merchandise can be bought from the Sievey family via their fantastic website
Bobbins exhibition
To mark the documentary’s UK cinema release, the first retrospective exhibition of Chris Sievey and Frank Sidebottom was held at Manchester Central Library during March & April 2019. Bobbins: the fantastic archive of Frank Sidebottom & Chris Sievey featured the best of Chris’s personal archive, and dozens of hours of rare video and audio. It was organised in collaboration with Archives+ and curated by Being Frank filmmaker Steve Sullivan and Art Director Dave Arnold.
Listen to Iain Lee’s podcast from the exhibition
