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.

The Manchester Film Co-operative is a non-commercial group that runs a monthly film night at the Kings Arms, one of Manchester’s (well, Salford’s) best pubs. It launched in May 2008 and has since offered a selection of films aiming to ‘challenge current economics, politics and society’:

Screenings are followed by informal discussions led, where possible, by activists and experts. They provide a lively and friendly space in which progressive alternatives and ideas can be explored. The screenings bring together a diverse range of people and groups committed to exploring political alternatives as well as specialist cinema fans. It aims to inform, educate and inspire as many people as possible through film and discussion.

This month’s event – tomorrow, Tuesday 20 January (7.45pm, £3) – features Garbage Warrior, a film that’s apparently about a guy who creates a radical solution for sustainable housing, waste and power. The discussion afterwards will be hosted by Urbed, another Manchester-based co-operative specialising in urban design, renegeration, sustainability and community involvement.

I’ve never heard of Garbage Warrior, nor really any of the other films they’ve shown – but it looks like an interesting group and well worth checking out. It being a co-operative, you can buy a share (for £5) and get involved by proposing films, speakers, themes and the like.

MFC is similar to the Chorlton Film Insitute that I mentioned previously. That institute continues with Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead on Thursday 19 February at St Clement’s Church.

It’s a busy week here at Mancubist towers so here’s a quick mid-week, mid-November round-up…

The biggest event this week is surely the re-opening yesterday of the Manchester Christmas Markets. The largest one, in Albert Square, is open daily, 10am until 9pm, right through to 22 December. For more information, including opening times for the other four – in St Ann’s Square and on Exchange Street, New Cathedral Street and Brazennose Street (here’s a map) – check out the council website.

Inside the town hall, meanwhile, the two-day NOISE Festival – Creative Futures event is currently taking place to promote careers in creative industries. Today’s schedule (10am-6pm) features portfolio reviews, one-to-ones, careers advice and a busking corner, plus an unsigned showcase and panel, and a seminar on art direction by Amelia’s Magazine. Warp Films and Badly Drawn Boy, who played last night, are among this year’s big-name curators.

Elsewhere, there are plenty of great gigs again this week: tonight, the Faint play at Academy 3, supported by an interesting Polar Bear-related band, the Invisible (’the Invisible Band’ would be a better name…). Or Parenthetical Girls are playing across the road at the small but perfectly formed Kro Bar. And on Friday, Four Tet’s Keiran Hebden returns with drummer Steve Reid.

Salford Film Festival is also in full flow at the moment – great to see it back after last year’s near-cancellation. It runs until 23 November at venues including Salford Arts Theatre, the Lowry, Islington MIll and the Theatre Organ Heritage Centre. Check out the day-by-day guide here.

Oh, and the Spinningfields Ice Rink opens tomorrow, Thursday 20 November, and for the first week it’s just £5 for all skaters.

With a chilly November almost upon us, here are a few things worth considering this weekend:

Art from the other city: Five Salford venues – including Islington Mill, Hot Bed Press and the Kings Arms – show work (paintings, installations, sculpture, prints, video, performances, glass, fashion, theatre, video etc) from dozens of the city’s artist. Friday 2-8pm, Saturday and Sunday 11am-4pm. Free (no central source but check out the Islington Mill site)

Dogs, Thieves and Dead Girls: Opening night of a new exhibition of work by Guy McKinley, RichT and China Mike at ‘Manchester’s only designated street art gallery’, Upper Space in Marlsboro House on Newton Street. It’s an invite-only affair but contact them if you’re interested. Exhibition runs until 28 November. Free (Upper Space)

Jon Savage at Piccadilly Records: The author will be DJing in the Oldham Street shop to promote his forthcoming compilation, Dreams Come True, on Domino Records. Saturday 2pm. Free (Piccadilly Records)

Stockhausen festival: The RNCM hosts a day devoted to the late avant-garde composer. If you’re not up for a full eight hours of German minimalism, Vaganza, a recital by Manchester University’s New Music Group, (5pm, £5) provides the best taster with three pieces and a new composition by Stephen Pycroft. Sunday 2-10pm. Free to £10 (RNCM)

[Photo taken in Whitworth Park by i.rashid007]

Returning to one of the better things in life: music. The Guardian Guide – and none of the local press (apart from community news site SalfordOnline) as yet – picked up on a new exhibition that opens on Friday in Salford:

Quiffs, Riffs and Tiffs: The story of popular music in Salford from 1950 to today

This exhibition explores and celebrates the history of popular music in Salford over the past fifty years right up to the present day. A huge number of musicians hail from Salford or have connections with the city. This has not always been recognised and many famous bands, musicians and ’sounds’ have often been attributed to Manchester.

Now Salford musicians, bands, managers, producers, fans and music people recount their personal stories for this exhibition, and show the unique musical character of this city and its influence on the local, national and international music scene.

The exhibition, at the Salford Museum and Art and Gallery, Peel Park Crescent, Little Hulton, includes new research, plus unpublished audio and film footage to ‘follow the story to the Beat scene of the 60s, and the contrast between disco and punk bands in the 70s’. A Music Timeline comes right up to the present day with the likes of the Ting Tings and Sugababes (who played at St Philip’s Church last year).

Some other names to feature include John Cooper Clarke, Nico, the Fall, the Sex Pistols, the Hollies, Happy Mondays and Joy Division. They’ve even got one of Hooky’s basses on display to get the Factory fans salivating.

The exhibition also contains a 3D version of the Salford Music Map, a new fold-out map that the MEN wrote about last month. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on a free copy and taking a long bike ride to check out the main points of interest.

Quiffs, Riffs and Tiffs will launch with a guided tour by author, TV producer and Salford University lecturer David Nolan on Friday afternoon (3.30-4.30pm for the map; 5-6pm for interviews with the research team; 6-9pm for refreshments and live music, including from the Suzuki Method).