Five Mile Films are making a new series of the popular Channel 4 programme, The Dog House, and are still searching for people who can offer a loving home to a rescue dog, and wondered if Phoenix readers might be able to help.

The series is made with Wood Green, The Animals Charity in Cambridgeshire who specialise in matching their rescue dogs with would-be owners. The Dog House follows this process, getting to know the characters and histories of the rescue dogs, an array of people from different walks of life and watching the beginnings of brand-new relationships between them.

The 2021 BCBF is taking place from 4 to 15 October. Between 50 and 100 events are expected to form part of the programme, covering a wide range of topics and themes from inclusivity and innovation to business growth and regeneration.

Events can be digital, physical or hybrid and the Festival is anticipated to put the strengths of the region in the spotlight on a national level. To be part of the Festival, Businesses need to apply to run an event and already, the programme is starting to fill up with some exciting events.

Pioneering Caribbean Zouk musician, Jacob Desvarieux, has died after suffering with COVID-19 in Guadeloupe.

The co-founder of popular Zouk band Kassav’, he was in poor health after undergoing a kidney transplant and was taken to hospital in after catching the virus - before passing away at the University Hospital of Abymes in Pointe-a-Pitre.

New research from Vodafone reveals parents will spend up to £1,300 on activities and day trips to keep their children entertained during the summer holidays.  It also suggests that more than half (54%) of parents are worried about keeping their children occupied and 31% are concerned about how much time their children will spend online. 

To help parents keep their children occupied over the summer and educate them on the importance of online safety, Vodafone has partnered with Andersen Press to offer 10,000 free digital copies of Chicken Clicking, Troll Stinks and Old Macdonald Had a Phone, written by author Jeanne Willis and illustrated by Tony Ross. The books explore themes of internet bullying, managing screen time and being mindful of internet predators in fun and engaging stories. 

Over 65,000 people across 92 countries watched the premiere of ‘Dream’ during the ten live performances in March. Created by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in collaboration with Manchester International Festival (MIF), Marshmallow Laser Feast (MLF) and Philharmonia Orchestra the performance used motion capture as the culmination of a major piece of cutting-edge research and development (R&D) exploring how audiences could experience live performance in the future.

A recorded version of ‘Dream’ is now available to view on the dream.online platform, which was created for the Audience of the Future project. Audiences explore the world of the virtual midsummer forest and the production harnesses live performance, virtual production and gaming technology.

Film enthusiasts have the chance to enjoy a season of cinema at Millennium Point this summer, as it launches a brand-new partnership with Mockingbird Cinema.

Millennium Point’s Auditorium (formerly the first IMAX cinema in Birmingham), is screening a collection of much-loved classics alongside some of the summer’s latest releases as part of a brand-new ‘Big Screen Film Season’ in partnership with Mockingbird Cinema.