15 Mar 2017 Director: Pedro Almodóvar Spain 2016 99 min Pedro Almodóvar is back on familiar ground with this sombre and ravishing study of grief, guilt and burden. Told over 30 years with two actresses (Emma Suárez and the younger Adriana Ugarte) playing one woman, this is the story of Julieta who is facing family… Continue reading Julieta
Category: Film season 2016-2017
I, Daniel Blake
29 Mar 2017 Director: Ken Loach UK 2016 100 min Daniel Blake is an older resident of Newcastle and, after suffering a heart attack, he can no longer do his job. However, a mobility test by the Department of Work and Pensions declares him fit for work and, while he waits for his appeal, Daniel… Continue reading I, Daniel Blake
Dheepan
21 Sept 2016 Director: Jacques Audiard France 2015 110 min Sivadhasan is a former Tamil Tiger soldier who is forced to move to a refugee camp following the conclusion of the Sri Lankan conflict. Viewing France as a potential home for his new life, he requires a convincing cover story in order to gain political… Continue reading Dheepan
Mon Roi
16 Nov 2016 Director: Maïwenn Le Besco France 2015 124 min The subject of this intoxicating love story is a tempestuous ten-year romance between two forty-something Parisians, criminal lawyer Tony (Emanuelle Bercot) and charismatic Georgio (Vincent Cassell). In a rehabilitation centre following an accident, Tony looks back on their times together. Why did they fall… Continue reading Mon Roi
Our Little Sister
5 Oct 2016 Director: Hirokazu Kore-Eda Japan 2015 128 min Full of quiet joy and simple pleasures, this sublime and elegant production focuses on the lives of four young women, related through their late father, in provincial Japan. As the women attempt to help each other along, the film touches on themes of stolen childhood… Continue reading Our Little Sister
Rams
2 Nov 2016 Director: Grímur Hákonarson Iceland 2015 93 min In a remote Icelandic valley, two sheep farms exist side by side. They are owned by two estranged brothers who haven’t spoken to each other for forty years. Nothing is a matter of greater pride to the brothers than their flocks and, when disease threatens… Continue reading Rams
The Pearl Button
30 Nov 2016 Director: Patricio Guzmán Chile, France, Spain 2015 82 min Water is the key to life and the central subject of this intensely lyrical documentary essay from Guzmán. Chile’s history is defined by its long indented coastline and Katell Djian’s gliding camera makes the most of massive mountains, volcanoes and glaciers. The fate… Continue reading The Pearl Button
Room
19 Oct 2016 Director: Lenny Abrahamson Canada, Ireland 2015 124 min Seven years ago, Joy was abducted and held prisoner in a sparsely furnished and cramped garden shed. During her imprisonment, Joy shows great tenacity, bravery and ingenuity as she raises a son who is now five years old. Their only access to the outside… Continue reading Room
When Marnie Was There
14 Dec 2016 Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi Japan 2014 103 min Anna, a sickly girl, is sent to live with relatives on the coast in order to get some fresh air. Walking near a marsh one day Anna befriends Marnie, who claims to live in an old mansion. At times, the house appears clean, lived in… Continue reading When Marnie Was There
The Lesson
18 Jan 2017 Directors: Kristina Grozeva, Petar Valchanov Bulgaria 2014 111 min Nadezhda, a conscientious English teacher and translator in a provincial Bulgarian town, endeavours to instil morality into her pupils after a series of thefts in her classroom. As the story unfolds, severe complications in Nadezhda’s neatly organised personal life become evident and she… Continue reading The Lesson