Saturday night films: Doors open at 6.30 pm. At 7.30 pm we share a meal (everyone brings a dish of food to share) and there is a bar providing wine and soft drinks. We aim to start the film at 8.30 pm. Those who want to see the film only without the meal should arrive by 8.15pm. Entrance fee is £5 for members and £6 for non-members.
Friday night films are selected from the very best of world cinema, often foreign language films which don’t always appear at the multiplexes. There is no meal, just wine, soft drinks and snacks.
Autumn and Winter Programme 2024/2025
Saturday 5th October 2024: Wicked Little Letters (2023)
1 hr 40 mins UK Comedy/Crime/Drama Cert 15
Cast includes Jessie Buckley, Olivia Colman, Timothy Spall
Directed by Thea Sharrock
A poison-pen mystery based on a true story, set in a small town in Sussex in the 1920’s, Wicked Little Letters is a diverting entertainment with a very funny (sometimes hilariously sweary) script and an ensemble cast of British comedy’s finest.
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Friday 18th October 2024: Monster (2023)
2 hrs 7 mins Japan Drama Cert 12A
Cast includes: Sakuro Ando, Eita Nagayami, Soya Kurokawa
Directed by Hirokazu Kore0eda
A beautiful and moving film, which tells its story from multiple viewpoints: the truth about an apparent incident of bullying of a pupil by a teacher emerges slowly, but an element of mystery lingers.
In Japanese with English subtitles.
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Saturday 2nd November 2024: All of Us Strangers (2023)
1hr 45 mins UK Drama Cert 15
Cast includes: Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Claire Foy, Jamie Bell
Directed by Andrew Haigh
Adam, a middle-aged man living in an almost empty tower block in inner London, begins to explore the possibility of a relationship with neighbour Harry and discovers a supernatural route to redefining his relationship with his long-dead parents. A deeply emotional masterpiece with an astonishing performance from Andrew Scott.
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Friday 15th November 2024: Kidnapped (2023)
2hrs 5 mins Italy Historical Drama Cert 15
Cast includes: Paolo Pierobon, Fausto Russo Alesi, Barbara Ronchi
Directed by Marco Bellocchio
The true story of a Jewish boy, Edgardo Mortara, kidnapped by papal authorities in 19th century Bologna. The film exposes the bigotry and abuse of power in the Catholic Church of that time; the case profoundly influenced the history of Italy as it moved towards unification.
In Italian with English subtitles.
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Saturday 7th December 2024: The Holdovers (2023)
2hrs 13 mins USA Drama Cert 15
Cast includes: Paul Giamatti, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Dominic Sessa
Directed by Alexander Payne
Set in a New England boarding school, a cantankerous teacher, a troubled student and the school’s head cook, all nursing disappointments of different kinds, are forced to spend the Christmas holiday together. A bittersweet but ultimately heartwarming film about finding family where you least expect it.
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Friday 20th December 2024 : La Chimera (2022)
2 hrs 10 mins Italy Drama Cert 15
Cast includes: Josh O’Connor, Isabella Rossellini
Directed by Alice Rohrwacher
A fantasy-comedy following an Englishman, haunted by the memory of lost love, who assists a band of grave-robbers – using his dowsing skill – to uncover buried treasure. La Chimera resists classification; it is partly a love story, but it is also a gritty story of greed and secrets.
In Italian with English subtitles
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Saturday 4th January 2025: American Fiction (2023)
1 hr 57 mins USA Comedy Drama Cert 15
Cast Includes: Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross
Directed by Cord Jefferson
A hilariously prickly satire about an African American novelist who finds it hard to achieve success as a writer without giving in to a market that prefers Black storytelling to be in tired and offensive cliches. An intelligent but entertaining film dealing subtly with race and racism.
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Friday 17th January 2025 : The Zone of Interest (2023)
1 hr 45 mins Germany Historical Drama Cert 12A
Cast includes: Christian Friedel, Sandra Huller
Directed by Jonathan Glazer
The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Hoss, and his wife, Hedwig, live in comfort with their children in a house and garden next to the camp. What is happening on the other side of the garden wall is never shown, but the atmospheric soundtrack conjures a visceral sense of dread. For the director, this is a film about now: ‘The reason I made this film is to try to restate our close proximity to this terrible event that we think of as in the past… The road that so many people took is… always just a few steps away.’
In German with English subtitles.
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