By all accounts, last year’s series of open-air screenings at Spinningfields was a big success, helped along by the handy provision of popcorn, picnic hampers and deckchairs. So it’s great to see the series returning tomorrow, Thursday 20 May, with Control:

The Screenfields film season launches with the biography of local lad and Joy Division frontman, Ian Curtis. For Joy Division and New Order fans everywhere, the film charts Joy Division’s rise to success, their relationship with Factory Records and the personal turmoils of Ian himself. Screened to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Curtis’ death, this is a must-see for anyone passionate about the Manchester music scene. Stars Sam Riley and Samantha Morton.

And, er, afterwards you can get two-for-one entry into some place called FAC251?

Tenuous asides aside, Screenfields is the kind of free public event that Manchester needs more of – especially with the likes of Leon, Spirited Away, The Quiet Man and The Italian Job scheduled in for future screenings. But what better way to kick off this year’s season than with a depressing Manchester-centred film? It begins at 8.30pm.

There’s nothing better than going for a five-hour wander – particularly when Manchester offers blue skies, not grey clouds, overhead. That’s exactly what I did yesterday, and I returned with the following knowledge:

The infrequently used platform 12 at Piccadilly Station is currently showing off Manchester’s music venues, past and present, with a photography exhibition. All those you expect to be there are, plus a couple of surprises, such as the Jolly Angler pub, just behind the station, and the Hardrock Concert Theatre in Stretford. Turns out the latter, a 3000-capacity venue, hosted shows by David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Bob Marley, James Brown and Elton John!

The 16th outing of Viva!, the Spanish and Latin American film festival, kicked off yesterday at Cornerhouse. From reading through the brochure, Solo Quiero Caminar (Just Walking) looks to be one potential highlight – especially ‘if your dream film is a mash up of Pulp Fiction and The A-Team’, as someone described it earlier. That’s on tomorrow, Monday 8 March at 8.10pm.  There’s also a short film festival-within-a-festival on Wednesday from 7.30pm, and a live musical accompaniment to Segundo de Chomon’ silent shorts on Monday 22 March from 6.30pm.

Upstairs in Cornerhouse’s Gallery 1, Carlos Amorales, one of Mexico’s leading contemporary artists, has just opened an exhibition that runs for the duration of Viva! (6-27 March). I took a peak yesterday… it’s very video- and ambient music-heavy, in a good way.

If you follow Whitworth Street West down from Cornerhouse and take a left just before Deansgate, you’ll find yourself at Castlefield Gallery. Right now, this often-neglected space is playing host to a two-person exhibition by Leo Fitzmaurice and Kim Rugg – full of pain-stakingly detailed montages of ‘communication art’. Read CreativeTourist.com’s write-up of this exhibition, which continues until 3 April. It’s well worth the eight-minute walk.

Here’s an event that’s been cleverly marketed over the past few weeks, with vague stickers in shop windows and such throughout Manchester city centre:

I’m Here, a 30-minute short film; is at the heart of the new Absolut campaign, ‘In An Absolut World, Ordinary Is No Place To Be’. I’m Here, a robot love story ‘In An Absolut World’, is set in LA and celebrates a life enriched by creativity.

The highly anticipated film collaboration with Spike Jonze will be launched nationwide this month, with a series of exclusive screenings in London, Manchester and Edinburgh. Across the UK, billboards and graffiti sites have subtly built intrigue around the collaboration, offering consumers the chance to attend exclusive preview screenings of the film ‘in no ordinary places’.

In Manchester, ‘no ordinary places’ equates to a car park – the shiny, round, silver one in Shudehill to be exact. At 7pm and 8.45pm tonight, Jonze’s film will play out to an invite-only audience. Visit the I’m Here site for more information.

Salford’s annual film festival, once on rocky ground, is back with us bright and early in this, its sixth year. Here’s their call for submissions:

Salford Film Festival is seeking short films and features for the Sixth Salford Film Festival, scheduled for the third week of November 2009, final dates to be confirmed. The Festival prides itself on having a local accent but a truly international perspective: We are particularly keen to receive work with a strong Salford connection (and failing that a Greater Manchester or North West focus), but we welcome submissions from all over the world.

Submission forms and contact details are available from the festival’s website. There’s no submission fee and the deadline’s still a while away – the end of August to be exact. Good luck.