We are using cookies to remember if you are logged in to this website and if you have dismissed this message. Cookies are files stored in your browser and by continuing to use our website without changing the settings on your computer you are agreeing to our use of cookies.
Director: Aki Kaurismäki. Starring: Sakari Kuosmanen, Sherwan Haji. Finland/Germany 2017. TBC mins. Finnish/Swedish/Arabic with English subtitles.
Acclaimed writer-director Aki Kaurismäki’s poignant follow-up to Le Havre sensitively weaves together the struggles of two men who flee their homes, albeit in very different circumstances. The first is Khaled (Haji), a Syrian refugee separated from his family, who arrives in Helsinki hidden as a stowaway on a coal freighter. After his transfer to a bleak, impersonal holding centre, the details of his tragic story come to light. Meanwhile, a parallel, equally desperate tale unfolds courtesy of spiky salesman Waldemar Wikström (Kuosmanen), who leaves his drunken wife and quite literally gambles everything on financing a failing restaurant. Typically of Kaurismäki, there’s much dark humour as Wikström and Khaled’s paths cross, yet antagonism eventually yields to sympathy, spawning a surrogate family unit that touchingly fills in for absent kin.
Director: Michaël Dudok De Wit. France/Belgium/Japan 2015. 81 mins.
Renowned Japanese animation giant Studio Ghibli’s first-ever international co-production is a perfect collaboration with Oscar-winning Dutch animator Michaël Dudok De Wit. The Red Turtle, almost a decade in the making, is a dialogue-free fable about a castaway on a desert island, and a touching ode to the cycle of life and the resilience of family. Presented with an elegant simplicity, the sublime visuals pack a real emotional punch. Described by critics as a ‘quiet little masterpiece’ and a ‘wordless wonder’, The Red Turtle won the Special Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section at this year’s Cannes. Michaël Dudok De Wit previously made the Oscar-winning animated short Father And Daughter in 2000.
Director: Guy Ritchie
Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Annabelle Wallis, Daniel Stisen, Jude Law. UK 2017. 126 mins.
In the first of six films slated to cover the legendary medieval ruler, director Guy Ritchie brings his dynamic style to the Excalibur myth, chronicling Arthur’s rise from the streets to the throne.
When the infant Arthur’s father, King Uther, is murdered, the wicked Vortigern (Law) seizes the crown. With no idea of who he truly is, Arthur (Hunnam) grows up the hard way on the Londinium streets until he draws the magic sword from its stone and discovers its power. Forced to acknowledge his true heritage, he must overcome his demons to defeat Vortigern and take his rightful place on the throne. As in Ritchie’s other work, the pace is relentless, and in a film destined to kick-start a mighty franchise, the action sequences and special effects just keep coming.
Director Rahul Jain presents an intimate, observantly portrayal of the rhythm of life and work in a gigantic textile factory in Gujarat, India. Moving through the corridors and bowels of the enormous and disorientating structure, the camera takes the viewer on a journey to a place of dehumanising physical labor and intense hardship, provoking cause for thought about persistent pre-industrial working conditions and the huge divide between first world and developing countries. Since the 1960s the area of Sachin in western India has undergone unprecedented, unregulated industrialisation, exemplified in its numerous textile factories. MACHINES portraits only one of these factories, while at the same time representing the thousands of labourers working, living and suffering in an environment they can't escape without unity. With strong visual language, memorable images and carefully selected interviews of the workers themselves, Jain tells a story of inequality and oppression, humans and machines.
Director: Ridley Scott. Starring: Michael Fassbender, Billy Crudup, Katherine Waterston. USA 2017. 122 mins.
When the crew of the colony ship Covenant touch down on what appears to be an uncharted utopian planet on the far side of the galaxy, they make a harrowing and deadly discovery. With regular cinematographer Dariusz Wolski on board, Scott delivers the goriest chapter in the Alien franchise to date, recapturing the unsettling, claustrophobic horror of his 1979 masterpiece.
Director: Sean Foley.
Starring: Julian Barratt, Andrea Riseborough, Essie Davis, Russell Tovey, Simon Farnaby, Harriet Walter, Simon Callow, Steve Coogan. UK 2016. 89 mins.
Written by The Mighty Boosh’s Julian Barratt and Simon Farnaby, this lovingly detailed and very funny off-the-wall comedy features a heavyweight line-up of talent directed by award-winning theatre director Sean Foley (The Play What I Wrote), making his feature debut.
Julian Barratt plays Richard Thorncroft, a washed-up actor who had an ’80s TV hit as Mindhorn, an Isle Of Man detective with a robotic eye that allowed him to literally ‘see the truth’. Decades later he is offered a shot at redemption when a crazed killer is on the loose and is prepared to negotiate only with Mindhorn.
Director: James Gunn.
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper. USA 2017. 136 mins.
The coolest ragtag bunch of a-holes in space are back with the fate of the cosmos resting on their shoulders once more. Because anyone can save the galaxy once. As they journey across the far reaches of the universe, the Guardians attempt to solve the mystery of Peter Quill’s (Pratt) parentage. On their travels, they cross paths with old foes, new faces and an enigmatic villain in Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki), but their biggest battle might just be to keep their newfound family together. Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista and Bradley Cooper reprise their roles as Gamora, Drax and Rocket respectively, while Vin Diesel returns to voice a very naïve and goofy baby Groot. Expect another humdinger of a soundtrack.
Director: Xiaogang Feng. Starring: Bingbing Fan, Chengpeng Dong, Wei Fan. China 2016. 139 mins. Mandarin with English subtitles.
Superstar actress Bingbing Fan and director Xiaogang Feng reunite 14 years after their hit comedy Cell Phone for a caustically comic fable that lampoons China’s unforgiving bureaucracy. Li (Fan) is a modest provincial café proprietor who stages a fake divorce with her husband Qin in order to claim an apartment only available to singletons. But instead of re-marrying her afterwards as planned, Qin weds someone else and gets the apartment, leaving Li homeless and bitter. She files a lawsuit, but her repeated protests are stonewalled by an increasingly unsympathetic legal system. When Qin goes one step further and defames her, Li heads to Beijing in pursuit of justice, determined to take her case to the very top: the National People’s Congress.
Contains infrequent moderate sex references, references to suicide.
Director: Aki Kaurismäki. Starring: Sakari Kuosmanen, Sherwan Haji. Finland/Germany 2017. TBC mins. Finnish/Swedish/Arabic with English subtitles.
Acclaimed writer-director Aki Kaurismäki’s poignant follow-up to Le Havre sensitively weaves together the struggles of two men who flee their homes, albeit in very different circumstances. The first is Khaled (Haji), a Syrian refugee separated from his family, who arrives in Helsinki hidden as a stowaway on a coal freighter. After his transfer to a bleak, impersonal holding centre, the details of his tragic story come to light. Meanwhile, a parallel, equally desperate tale unfolds courtesy of spiky salesman Waldemar Wikström (Kuosmanen), who leaves his drunken wife and quite literally gambles everything on financing a failing restaurant. Typically of Kaurismäki, there’s much dark humour as Wikström and Khaled’s paths cross, yet antagonism eventually yields to sympathy, spawning a surrogate family unit that touchingly fills in for absent kin.
Director: Michaël Dudok De Wit. France/Belgium/Japan 2015. 81 mins.
Renowned Japanese animation giant Studio Ghibli’s first-ever international co-production is a perfect collaboration with Oscar-winning Dutch animator Michaël Dudok De Wit. The Red Turtle, almost a decade in the making, is a dialogue-free fable about a castaway on a desert island, and a touching ode to the cycle of life and the resilience of family. Presented with an elegant simplicity, the sublime visuals pack a real emotional punch. Described by critics as a ‘quiet little masterpiece’ and a ‘wordless wonder’, The Red Turtle won the Special Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section at this year’s Cannes. Michaël Dudok De Wit previously made the Oscar-winning animated short Father And Daughter in 2000.
Director: Guy Ritchie
Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Annabelle Wallis, Daniel Stisen, Jude Law. UK 2017. 126 mins.
In the first of six films slated to cover the legendary medieval ruler, director Guy Ritchie brings his dynamic style to the Excalibur myth, chronicling Arthur’s rise from the streets to the throne.
When the infant Arthur’s father, King Uther, is murdered, the wicked Vortigern (Law) seizes the crown. With no idea of who he truly is, Arthur (Hunnam) grows up the hard way on the Londinium streets until he draws the magic sword from its stone and discovers its power. Forced to acknowledge his true heritage, he must overcome his demons to defeat Vortigern and take his rightful place on the throne. As in Ritchie’s other work, the pace is relentless, and in a film destined to kick-start a mighty franchise, the action sequences and special effects just keep coming.
Director Rahul Jain presents an intimate, observantly portrayal of the rhythm of life and work in a gigantic textile factory in Gujarat, India. Moving through the corridors and bowels of the enormous and disorientating structure, the camera takes the viewer on a journey to a place of dehumanising physical labor and intense hardship, provoking cause for thought about persistent pre-industrial working conditions and the huge divide between first world and developing countries. Since the 1960s the area of Sachin in western India has undergone unprecedented, unregulated industrialisation, exemplified in its numerous textile factories. MACHINES portraits only one of these factories, while at the same time representing the thousands of labourers working, living and suffering in an environment they can't escape without unity. With strong visual language, memorable images and carefully selected interviews of the workers themselves, Jain tells a story of inequality and oppression, humans and machines.
Director: Ridley Scott. Starring: Michael Fassbender, Billy Crudup, Katherine Waterston. USA 2017. 122 mins.
When the crew of the colony ship Covenant touch down on what appears to be an uncharted utopian planet on the far side of the galaxy, they make a harrowing and deadly discovery. With regular cinematographer Dariusz Wolski on board, Scott delivers the goriest chapter in the Alien franchise to date, recapturing the unsettling, claustrophobic horror of his 1979 masterpiece.
Director: Kōji Fukada. Starring: Tadanobu Asano, Mariko Tsutsui, Kanji Furutachi. Japan/France 2016. 120 mins. Japanese with English subtitles.
For married couple Toshio and Akie and their daughter, the days go by as if according to a well-known script: workshop owner Toshio is rarely at home, and hardly a word is spoken on the rare occasions when the whole family is together. One day, their banal co-existence is disturbed by the arrival of the mysterious Yasaka, an old friend from Toshio’s past with a disquieting presence. After Yasaka is welcomed into their home, cracks start to form in the family – with catastrophic consequences. Kōji Fukada’s latest film is a quietly powerful and chilling exploration of evil, guilt and retribution.
14.00Discover Tuesdays: Discover stunning cinema. Whether it's a cult classic, an art-house gem or a riveting documentary, there will always be a chance to see something different and brilliant in our weekly slot.
Director: Sean Foley.
Starring: Julian Barratt, Andrea Riseborough, Essie Davis, Russell Tovey, Simon Farnaby, Harriet Walter, Simon Callow, Steve Coogan. UK 2016. 89 mins.
Written by The Mighty Boosh’s Julian Barratt and Simon Farnaby, this lovingly detailed and very funny off-the-wall comedy features a heavyweight line-up of talent directed by award-winning theatre director Sean Foley (The Play What I Wrote), making his feature debut.
Julian Barratt plays Richard Thorncroft, a washed-up actor who had an ’80s TV hit as Mindhorn, an Isle Of Man detective with a robotic eye that allowed him to literally ‘see the truth’. Decades later he is offered a shot at redemption when a crazed killer is on the loose and is prepared to negotiate only with Mindhorn.
Director: James Gunn.
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper. USA 2017. 136 mins.
The coolest ragtag bunch of a-holes in space are back with the fate of the cosmos resting on their shoulders once more. Because anyone can save the galaxy once. As they journey across the far reaches of the universe, the Guardians attempt to solve the mystery of Peter Quill’s (Pratt) parentage. On their travels, they cross paths with old foes, new faces and an enigmatic villain in Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki), but their biggest battle might just be to keep their newfound family together. Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista and Bradley Cooper reprise their roles as Gamora, Drax and Rocket respectively, while Vin Diesel returns to voice a very naïve and goofy baby Groot. Expect another humdinger of a soundtrack.
Twenty-five years after Jenny Livingston’s seminal documentary Paris Is Burning, which shone a light on ’80s Harlem’s ballroom scene, this explosive and uplifting new documentary reveals one of the subculture’s contemporary descendants: the Kiki scene. Part activist movement, part artistic milieu, the Kiki community is a site of radical self-expression for young queer people of colour in New York City, whose ballroom competitions and surrogate queer families provide both creative platforms and a source of succour for individuals facing multiple forms of marginalisation. Shot over four years, the film follows seven members of the community through the difficulties of illness, homelessness and everyday discrimination, as well as the joys of spectacle, camaraderie and personal affirmation.
Swiss director Claude Barras’s debut feature is a beautifully rendered, stop-motion animation, adapted by the gifted screenwriter Céline Sciamma (Girlhood, Tomboy) from Giles Paris’s eponymous novel. The improbably nicknamed Courgette (Schlatter) is a shy, bug-eyed kid, consigned to an orphanage after his alcoholic mother’s sudden death. However, Courgette’s unhappiness is tempered by the kindly policeman who escorts him to his new home and adventures with the other misfit children – a football-loving tomboy, shy Alice and an introverted dinosaur fan – are cleverly wrought to show how lessons learnt can shape a child’s character and prepare them for adult life. The story of the growing pains of youngsters is lovingly told, the animation and colouring terrific - all brilliantly befitting the narrative of a film that’s much more than simply kids’ entertainment.
Director: Xiaogang Feng. Starring: Bingbing Fan, Chengpeng Dong, Wei Fan. China 2016. 139 mins. Mandarin with English subtitles.
Superstar actress Bingbing Fan and director Xiaogang Feng reunite 14 years after their hit comedy Cell Phone for a caustically comic fable that lampoons China’s unforgiving bureaucracy. Li (Fan) is a modest provincial café proprietor who stages a fake divorce with her husband Qin in order to claim an apartment only available to singletons. But instead of re-marrying her afterwards as planned, Qin weds someone else and gets the apartment, leaving Li homeless and bitter. She files a lawsuit, but her repeated protests are stonewalled by an increasingly unsympathetic legal system. When Qin goes one step further and defames her, Li heads to Beijing in pursuit of justice, determined to take her case to the very top: the National People’s Congress.
Contains infrequent moderate sex references, references to suicide.
Director: Aki Kaurismäki. Starring: Sakari Kuosmanen, Sherwan Haji. Finland/Germany 2017. TBC mins. Finnish/Swedish/Arabic with English subtitles.
Acclaimed writer-director Aki Kaurismäki’s poignant follow-up to Le Havre sensitively weaves together the struggles of two men who flee their homes, albeit in very different circumstances. The first is Khaled (Haji), a Syrian refugee separated from his family, who arrives in Helsinki hidden as a stowaway on a coal freighter. After his transfer to a bleak, impersonal holding centre, the details of his tragic story come to light. Meanwhile, a parallel, equally desperate tale unfolds courtesy of spiky salesman Waldemar Wikström (Kuosmanen), who leaves his drunken wife and quite literally gambles everything on financing a failing restaurant. Typically of Kaurismäki, there’s much dark humour as Wikström and Khaled’s paths cross, yet antagonism eventually yields to sympathy, spawning a surrogate family unit that touchingly fills in for absent kin.
Director: Michaël Dudok De Wit. France/Belgium/Japan 2015. 81 mins.
Renowned Japanese animation giant Studio Ghibli’s first-ever international co-production is a perfect collaboration with Oscar-winning Dutch animator Michaël Dudok De Wit. The Red Turtle, almost a decade in the making, is a dialogue-free fable about a castaway on a desert island, and a touching ode to the cycle of life and the resilience of family. Presented with an elegant simplicity, the sublime visuals pack a real emotional punch. Described by critics as a ‘quiet little masterpiece’ and a ‘wordless wonder’, The Red Turtle won the Special Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section at this year’s Cannes. Michaël Dudok De Wit previously made the Oscar-winning animated short Father And Daughter in 2000.
Director: Guy Ritchie
Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Annabelle Wallis, Daniel Stisen, Jude Law. UK 2017. 126 mins.
In the first of six films slated to cover the legendary medieval ruler, director Guy Ritchie brings his dynamic style to the Excalibur myth, chronicling Arthur’s rise from the streets to the throne.
When the infant Arthur’s father, King Uther, is murdered, the wicked Vortigern (Law) seizes the crown. With no idea of who he truly is, Arthur (Hunnam) grows up the hard way on the Londinium streets until he draws the magic sword from its stone and discovers its power. Forced to acknowledge his true heritage, he must overcome his demons to defeat Vortigern and take his rightful place on the throne. As in Ritchie’s other work, the pace is relentless, and in a film destined to kick-start a mighty franchise, the action sequences and special effects just keep coming.
Director Rahul Jain presents an intimate, observantly portrayal of the rhythm of life and work in a gigantic textile factory in Gujarat, India. Moving through the corridors and bowels of the enormous and disorientating structure, the camera takes the viewer on a journey to a place of dehumanising physical labor and intense hardship, provoking cause for thought about persistent pre-industrial working conditions and the huge divide between first world and developing countries. Since the 1960s the area of Sachin in western India has undergone unprecedented, unregulated industrialisation, exemplified in its numerous textile factories. MACHINES portraits only one of these factories, while at the same time representing the thousands of labourers working, living and suffering in an environment they can't escape without unity. With strong visual language, memorable images and carefully selected interviews of the workers themselves, Jain tells a story of inequality and oppression, humans and machines.
Director: Ridley Scott. Starring: Michael Fassbender, Billy Crudup, Katherine Waterston. USA 2017. 122 mins.
When the crew of the colony ship Covenant touch down on what appears to be an uncharted utopian planet on the far side of the galaxy, they make a harrowing and deadly discovery. With regular cinematographer Dariusz Wolski on board, Scott delivers the goriest chapter in the Alien franchise to date, recapturing the unsettling, claustrophobic horror of his 1979 masterpiece.
Director: Sean Foley.
Starring: Julian Barratt, Andrea Riseborough, Essie Davis, Russell Tovey, Simon Farnaby, Harriet Walter, Simon Callow, Steve Coogan. UK 2016. 89 mins.
Written by The Mighty Boosh’s Julian Barratt and Simon Farnaby, this lovingly detailed and very funny off-the-wall comedy features a heavyweight line-up of talent directed by award-winning theatre director Sean Foley (The Play What I Wrote), making his feature debut.
Julian Barratt plays Richard Thorncroft, a washed-up actor who had an ’80s TV hit as Mindhorn, an Isle Of Man detective with a robotic eye that allowed him to literally ‘see the truth’. Decades later he is offered a shot at redemption when a crazed killer is on the loose and is prepared to negotiate only with Mindhorn.
Director: James Gunn.
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper. USA 2017. 136 mins.
The coolest ragtag bunch of a-holes in space are back with the fate of the cosmos resting on their shoulders once more. Because anyone can save the galaxy once. As they journey across the far reaches of the universe, the Guardians attempt to solve the mystery of Peter Quill’s (Pratt) parentage. On their travels, they cross paths with old foes, new faces and an enigmatic villain in Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki), but their biggest battle might just be to keep their newfound family together. Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista and Bradley Cooper reprise their roles as Gamora, Drax and Rocket respectively, while Vin Diesel returns to voice a very naïve and goofy baby Groot. Expect another humdinger of a soundtrack.
Director: Lone Scherfig.
Starring: Gemma Arterton, Sam Clafin, Bill Nighy. UK 2017. 117 mins.
In 1940, a married woman (Gemma Arterton) and a screenwriter (Sam Claflin) develop a growing attraction while working together on a propaganda film about the evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk, France. A beautifully crafted costume drama with terrific performances, Lone Scherfig's new film is a quietly subversive, funny and finally moving account of a little known story from one of the darkest, most uncertain periods of British history.
Director Garth Davis brings dramatic heft and shimmering visuals to this saga of five-year-old Saroo (the beguiling Sunny Pawar), who is accidentally stranded in Kolkata, 950 miles from his home in Madhya Pradesh. Afraid and disoriented, he faces overwhelming challenges, but is eventually adopted by an Australian couple (Nicole Kidman and David Wenham) who lovingly parent him in their native Tasmania. While on a hotel management course 25 years later, the grown-up Saroo (Patel) meets and falls in love with Lucy (Mara), who then helps him to search for the mother he still yearns for back in India. Based on a true story, this is an arresting, emotionally charged and Oscar-worthy tale.
Twenty-five years after Jenny Livingston’s seminal documentary Paris Is Burning, which shone a light on ’80s Harlem’s ballroom scene, this explosive and uplifting new documentary reveals one of the subculture’s contemporary descendants: the Kiki scene. Part activist movement, part artistic milieu, the Kiki community is a site of radical self-expression for young queer people of colour in New York City, whose ballroom competitions and surrogate queer families provide both creative platforms and a source of succour for individuals facing multiple forms of marginalisation. Shot over four years, the film follows seven members of the community through the difficulties of illness, homelessness and everyday discrimination, as well as the joys of spectacle, camaraderie and personal affirmation.
Swiss director Claude Barras’s debut feature is a beautifully rendered, stop-motion animation, adapted by the gifted screenwriter Céline Sciamma (Girlhood, Tomboy) from Giles Paris’s eponymous novel. The improbably nicknamed Courgette (Schlatter) is a shy, bug-eyed kid, consigned to an orphanage after his alcoholic mother’s sudden death. However, Courgette’s unhappiness is tempered by the kindly policeman who escorts him to his new home and adventures with the other misfit children – a football-loving tomboy, shy Alice and an introverted dinosaur fan – are cleverly wrought to show how lessons learnt can shape a child’s character and prepare them for adult life. The story of the growing pains of youngsters is lovingly told, the animation and colouring terrific - all brilliantly befitting the narrative of a film that’s much more than simply kids’ entertainment.
Director: Xiaogang Feng. Starring: Bingbing Fan, Chengpeng Dong, Wei Fan. China 2016. 139 mins. Mandarin with English subtitles.
Superstar actress Bingbing Fan and director Xiaogang Feng reunite 14 years after their hit comedy Cell Phone for a caustically comic fable that lampoons China’s unforgiving bureaucracy. Li (Fan) is a modest provincial café proprietor who stages a fake divorce with her husband Qin in order to claim an apartment only available to singletons. But instead of re-marrying her afterwards as planned, Qin weds someone else and gets the apartment, leaving Li homeless and bitter. She files a lawsuit, but her repeated protests are stonewalled by an increasingly unsympathetic legal system. When Qin goes one step further and defames her, Li heads to Beijing in pursuit of justice, determined to take her case to the very top: the National People’s Congress.
Contains infrequent moderate sex references, references to suicide.
16.30Silver Screen: Aged over 60? Join the Silver Screen Club for discounted tickets and a free tea or coffee at these shows. Usual ticket prices apply to non-Members.
Director: Aki Kaurismäki. Starring: Sakari Kuosmanen, Sherwan Haji. Finland/Germany 2017. TBC mins. Finnish/Swedish/Arabic with English subtitles.
Acclaimed writer-director Aki Kaurismäki’s poignant follow-up to Le Havre sensitively weaves together the struggles of two men who flee their homes, albeit in very different circumstances. The first is Khaled (Haji), a Syrian refugee separated from his family, who arrives in Helsinki hidden as a stowaway on a coal freighter. After his transfer to a bleak, impersonal holding centre, the details of his tragic story come to light. Meanwhile, a parallel, equally desperate tale unfolds courtesy of spiky salesman Waldemar Wikström (Kuosmanen), who leaves his drunken wife and quite literally gambles everything on financing a failing restaurant. Typically of Kaurismäki, there’s much dark humour as Wikström and Khaled’s paths cross, yet antagonism eventually yields to sympathy, spawning a surrogate family unit that touchingly fills in for absent kin.
14.45Silver Screen: Aged over 60? Join the Silver Screen Club for discounted tickets and a free tea or coffee at these shows. Usual ticket prices apply to non-Members.
Director: Michaël Dudok De Wit. France/Belgium/Japan 2015. 81 mins.
Renowned Japanese animation giant Studio Ghibli’s first-ever international co-production is a perfect collaboration with Oscar-winning Dutch animator Michaël Dudok De Wit. The Red Turtle, almost a decade in the making, is a dialogue-free fable about a castaway on a desert island, and a touching ode to the cycle of life and the resilience of family. Presented with an elegant simplicity, the sublime visuals pack a real emotional punch. Described by critics as a ‘quiet little masterpiece’ and a ‘wordless wonder’, The Red Turtle won the Special Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section at this year’s Cannes. Michaël Dudok De Wit previously made the Oscar-winning animated short Father And Daughter in 2000.
15.10Silver Screen: Aged over 60? Join the Silver Screen Club for discounted tickets and a free tea or coffee at these shows. Usual ticket prices apply to non-Members.
Director: Guy Ritchie
Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Annabelle Wallis, Daniel Stisen, Jude Law. UK 2017. 126 mins.
In the first of six films slated to cover the legendary medieval ruler, director Guy Ritchie brings his dynamic style to the Excalibur myth, chronicling Arthur’s rise from the streets to the throne.
When the infant Arthur’s father, King Uther, is murdered, the wicked Vortigern (Law) seizes the crown. With no idea of who he truly is, Arthur (Hunnam) grows up the hard way on the Londinium streets until he draws the magic sword from its stone and discovers its power. Forced to acknowledge his true heritage, he must overcome his demons to defeat Vortigern and take his rightful place on the throne. As in Ritchie’s other work, the pace is relentless, and in a film destined to kick-start a mighty franchise, the action sequences and special effects just keep coming.
12.50Silver Screen: Aged over 60? Join the Silver Screen Club for discounted tickets and a free tea or coffee at these shows. Usual ticket prices apply to non-Members.
Select:
15.45Silver Screen: Aged over 60? Join the Silver Screen Club for discounted tickets and a free tea or coffee at these shows. Usual ticket prices apply to non-Members.
Director Rahul Jain presents an intimate, observantly portrayal of the rhythm of life and work in a gigantic textile factory in Gujarat, India. Moving through the corridors and bowels of the enormous and disorientating structure, the camera takes the viewer on a journey to a place of dehumanising physical labor and intense hardship, provoking cause for thought about persistent pre-industrial working conditions and the huge divide between first world and developing countries. Since the 1960s the area of Sachin in western India has undergone unprecedented, unregulated industrialisation, exemplified in its numerous textile factories. MACHINES portraits only one of these factories, while at the same time representing the thousands of labourers working, living and suffering in an environment they can't escape without unity. With strong visual language, memorable images and carefully selected interviews of the workers themselves, Jain tells a story of inequality and oppression, humans and machines.
Director: Ridley Scott. Starring: Michael Fassbender, Billy Crudup, Katherine Waterston. USA 2017. 122 mins.
When the crew of the colony ship Covenant touch down on what appears to be an uncharted utopian planet on the far side of the galaxy, they make a harrowing and deadly discovery. With regular cinematographer Dariusz Wolski on board, Scott delivers the goriest chapter in the Alien franchise to date, recapturing the unsettling, claustrophobic horror of his 1979 masterpiece.
14.10Silver Screen: Aged over 60? Join the Silver Screen Club for discounted tickets and a free tea or coffee at these shows. Usual ticket prices apply to non-Members.
Select:
15.30Silver Screen: Aged over 60? Join the Silver Screen Club for discounted tickets and a free tea or coffee at these shows. Usual ticket prices apply to non-Members.
Back in January, screen icon Woody Harrelson (Natural Born Killers, White Men Can't Jump) directed and starred in an unprecedented live feature-film event: a movie made on the fly, shot in real time in Central London in a single take and broadcast live to cinemas across the world.
A comic re-staging of one crazy night in Soho in 2002, Lost In London follows Harrelson, playing himself, as he struggles to get home to his family after a scandal threatens to ruin his marriage. Run-ins with royalty, friends and the law all seem to conspire to keep him from succeeding. Funny, charming and finally quite moving, Woody's film ultimately proves much more than a dazzling technical exercise.
Director: Sean Foley.
Starring: Julian Barratt, Andrea Riseborough, Essie Davis, Russell Tovey, Simon Farnaby, Harriet Walter, Simon Callow, Steve Coogan. UK 2016. 89 mins.
Written by The Mighty Boosh’s Julian Barratt and Simon Farnaby, this lovingly detailed and very funny off-the-wall comedy features a heavyweight line-up of talent directed by award-winning theatre director Sean Foley (The Play What I Wrote), making his feature debut.
Julian Barratt plays Richard Thorncroft, a washed-up actor who had an ’80s TV hit as Mindhorn, an Isle Of Man detective with a robotic eye that allowed him to literally ‘see the truth’. Decades later he is offered a shot at redemption when a crazed killer is on the loose and is prepared to negotiate only with Mindhorn.
14.15Silver Screen: Aged over 60? Join the Silver Screen Club for discounted tickets and a free tea or coffee at these shows. Usual ticket prices apply to non-Members.
Director: Miguel Arteta
Starring: Salma Hayek, John Lithgo, Chloë Sevigny, Amy Landecker, Jay Duplass. USA 2017. 83 mins.
Beatriz (Salma Hayek) is a miracle worker—highly sensitive with her touch, and passionately dedicated to curing pain through holistic therapy. After treating a client, her car breaks down, so she is invited to stay for a dinner celebrating a lucrative business deal.
An interloper inside this private enclave of the have-mores, Beatriz is politely acknowledged by the guests, with the exception of Doug, a mega brazen and successful business developer.
Believing she knows him from somewhere, Beatriz becomes increasingly unsettled.
Beatriz at Dinner is riveting, yet with an apprehensive tone. Half chamber drama, half dark dramedy of errors, director Miguel Arteta (The Good Girl) discerns his characters by showing their most telling reactions, such as the subliminal determination of Hayek’s face, while spinning an indelible wickedness onto this tale of a fateful encounter. Uninhibited, Beatriz questions whether Doug’s accomplishments have come at the expense of other people’s suffering—to the chagrin of the sycophantic hosts—pitting the guests into opposing forces.
“Dark, hopelessly humane Beatriz at Dinner is the perfect film for the Trump era … Salma Hayek is remarkable in this deceptively deep dramedy of manners.” - Vanity Fair
Director: James Gunn.
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper. USA 2017. 136 mins.
The coolest ragtag bunch of a-holes in space are back with the fate of the cosmos resting on their shoulders once more. Because anyone can save the galaxy once. As they journey across the far reaches of the universe, the Guardians attempt to solve the mystery of Peter Quill’s (Pratt) parentage. On their travels, they cross paths with old foes, new faces and an enigmatic villain in Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki), but their biggest battle might just be to keep their newfound family together. Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista and Bradley Cooper reprise their roles as Gamora, Drax and Rocket respectively, while Vin Diesel returns to voice a very naïve and goofy baby Groot. Expect another humdinger of a soundtrack.
Twenty-five years after Jenny Livingston’s seminal documentary Paris Is Burning, which shone a light on ’80s Harlem’s ballroom scene, this explosive and uplifting new documentary reveals one of the subculture’s contemporary descendants: the Kiki scene. Part activist movement, part artistic milieu, the Kiki community is a site of radical self-expression for young queer people of colour in New York City, whose ballroom competitions and surrogate queer families provide both creative platforms and a source of succour for individuals facing multiple forms of marginalisation. Shot over four years, the film follows seven members of the community through the difficulties of illness, homelessness and everyday discrimination, as well as the joys of spectacle, camaraderie and personal affirmation.
British filmmaker James Marsh’s celebrated documentary which went on to win an Academy Award® and BAFTA for Best Documentary following its premiere at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.
On August 7th 1974, a young Frenchman called Philippe Petit stepped out on a wire suspended between the twin towers of New York’s World Trade Center, at the time the world’s tallest buildings. After an hour of dancing on the wire with no safety net or harness, he was finally arrested for this beautiful but illegal act of daring.
15.0035mm: Playing from a 35mm print
Redford Recommends: A showcase for 3 of most influential films that have been supported by Sundance Institute Labs or played the Sundance Film Festival over the years. Showing from 35mm prints.
Sundance Film Festival: London.
Stephen Soderbergh burst onto the independent filmmaking scene with this savagely funny low budget drama about a group of young, adulterous 30-somethings. Powered by astonishingly raw, realistic dialogue and terrific performances from the likes of James Spader and Andie MacDowell, Soderbergh's film debuted at the 1989 Festival and won the Audience Award, going on to win the Palme D'Or at Cannes in the same year. Something of a protean text for the serious-minded, modern American indie, the film's razor-sharp dialogue, preoccupation with sex and the psyche, as well as its breakout performances, still pack a punch almost 30 years on.
21.0035mm: Playing from a 35mm print
Redford Recommends: A showcase for 3 of most influential films that have been supported by Sundance Institute Labs or played the Sundance Film Festival over the years. Showing from 35mm prints.
Sundance Film Festival: London.
Director: Marianna Palka.
Starring: Jason Ritter, Jaime King, Marianna Palka, Brighton Sharbino, Rio Mangini, Kingston Foster. USA 2017. 93 mins.
Jill, a lonely, distraught housewife with four unruly children, paces on her dining room table with a belt around her neck, contemplating a desperate end to her wretchedness. Her husband, Bill, focused on his identity as breadwinner and an affair with a co-worker, is oblivious both to Jill’s growing terror that she will do something destructive and to the panic at his unraveling company. Meanwhile, dogs bark and howl through the night, as one persistent mutt continually stalks the family’s yard. When Jill’s psyche finally breaks, she takes on a vicious new canine persona.
Marianna Palka (Good Dick) writes, directs, and stars in this provocative film, balancing a whip-smart, deeply unsettling take on the horrors of a crumbling family with a palpable sensitivity for her character’s plight and perfectly timed comedic flourishes. Jason Ritter delivers a beautifully tragicomic performance as Bill, who’s transformed by bizarre crisis from an indifferent hound of a man untethered from his family to their unexpected emotional anchor.
“Palka transforms an absurd premise into a chilling look at the destruction of the nuclear family with a vivid, snarling vision driven by the propulsive energy of its biting critique.” - Indiewire
Director: Cary Murnion, Jonathan Millot.
Starring: Dave Bautista, Brittany Snow, Angelic Zambrana, Jeremie Harris, Myra Lucretia Taylor, Arturo Castro. USA 2017. 93 mins.
On the way to Grandma’s house with a new boyfriend in tow, Lucy (Brittany Snow) steps off the subway into an utter bloodbath on the streets of Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood. Texas is attempting to secede from the Union, and militia forces have descended upon New York City to claim it as an East Coast base of operations and negotiation tool. Faced with a flurry of whizzing bullets and total destruction around every corner, Lucy takes shelter in the basement of Stupe (Dave Bautista), a burly war veteran who reluctantly helps her traverse the treacherous five-block stretch of Bushwick to reach her destination—assuming it’s still there.
Directors Cary Murnion and Jonathan Milott return to the screen with this intense and frenetic follow-up to their comedy/horror debut Cooties (2014 Sundance Film Festival). Bolstered by an immersive score from indie hip-hop mainstay Aesop Rock, Bushwick is an exhilarating thrill ride that is not to be missed.
“What distinguishes Bushwick from your standard-issue, boneheaded video game is its cheeky cerebral wit.” - The Hollywood Reporter
Special Preview Screening. Winner of the Audience Award: U.S. Documentary at Sundance Film Festival 2017.
Director: Jeff Orlowski.
Starring: Richard Vevers, Zackery Rago, Ruth Gates, Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, Mark Eakin, John "Charlie" Veron. USA 2017. 91 mins.
Coral reefs are the nursery for all ocean life, a remarkable ecosystem that sustains us. Yet with carbon emissions warming the seas, a phenomenon called “coral bleaching”—a sign of mass coral death—has been accelerating around the world, and the public has no idea of the scale or implication of the catastrophe silently raging underwater.
Enter Jeff Orlowski (of Chasing Ice fame), whose latest project, Chasing Coral, taps into the collective will and wisdom of an ad man, a self-proclaimed coral nerd, top-notch camera designers, and renowned marine biologists as they invent the first time-lapse camera to record bleaching events as they happen. The effort is anything but simple, and the team doggedly battles technical malfunctions and the force of nature in pursuit of their golden fleece, documenting the indisputable and tragic transformation below the waves. With its breathtaking photography, nail-biting suspense, and startling emotion, Chasing Coral is a dramatic revelation that won’t have audiences sitting idle for long.
"An endlessly fascinating quest.” - The Hollywood Reporter.
International Premiere. Winner of Audience Award: US Dramatic at Sundance Film Festival 2017.
Director: Matt Ruskin.
Starring: Lakeith Stanfield, Nnamdi Asomugha, Natalie Paul, Bill Camp, Nestor Carbonell, Amari Cheatom. USA 2017. 99 mins.
On April 10, 1980, a shot rang out on the streets of Crown Heights, igniting a decades-long quest for justice in this harrowing true story. Colin Warner, played with heartbreaking sincerity by Lakeith Stanfield, is arrested and tried for a crime he did not commit, a victim of a deeply broken system that refuses to listen. Quick to throw him away, the court wrongfully convicts him. But as Colin loses hope to reclaim an innocence that has been cast aside, his best friend, Carl King, devotes his life to restoring Colin's freedom, doggedly pursuing every lead for years.
Writer/director Matt Ruskin, who worked closely to earn the trust of the real Colin Warner, imbues this film with a gifted touch and emotional authenticity to shed light on a painful personal story—and on a horrifying systemic issue. Anchored by Stanfield, an indie film secret weapon, Crown Heights unfolds as a powerful ode to those we leave behind.
Special Preview Screening. Winner of the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at Sundance Film Festival 2017.
Directors: Dan Sickles, Antonio Santini.
Starring: Dina Buno, Scott Levin. USA 2017. 101 mins.
Dina, an outspoken, eccentric 49-year-old in suburban Philadelphia, invites her fiancé Scott, a Walmart door greeter, to move in with her. Having grown up neurologically diverse in a world blind to the value of their experience, the two are head-over-heels for one another, but shacking up poses a new challenge. Scott freezes when it comes to physical intimacy, but Dina, a Kardashians fanatic, wants to share with Scott all she’s learned about sensual desire from books, TV shows, and her previous marriage. Her creative forays to draw Scott close keep hitting roadblocks—exposing anxieties, insecurities, and communication snafus while they strive to reconcile their conflicting approaches to intimacy.
Filmmakers Dan Sickles and Antonio Santini construct seamless vérité scenes that lovingly frame Dina and Scott’s vulnerable, matter-of-fact romance. Whether at the nail salon, the beaches of Ocean City, Dina’s racy bachelorette party, or their Poconos honeymoon, Dina captures the cadences and candid conversations of a relationship that reexamines the notion of love on-screen.
"A sensitive snapshot of two ordinary people on the autism spectrum who are determined to carve out a meaningful future together.” - The Hollywood Reporter.
UK Premiere. Winner of the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize at Sundance Film Festival 2017.
Director: Michael Almereyda.
Starring: Jon Hamm, Geena Davis, Lois Smith, Tim Robbins. USA 2017. 99 mins.
Eighty-six-year-old Marjorie spends her final, ailing days with a computerized version of her deceased husband. With the intent to recount their life together, Marjorie’s “Prime” relies on the information from her and her kin to develop a more complex understanding of his history. As their interactions deepen, the family begins to develop ever diverging recounts of their lives, drawn into the chance to reconstruct the often painful past.
Built around exceptional performances from a veteran cast and shot with the intimate rhythm of mortality, Marjorie Prime shines a light on an often-obscured corner in the world of artificial intelligence and its interactions with death. Bringing us robustly into the future, Michael Almereyda’s poetic film forces us to face the question—If we had the opportunity, how would we choose to rebuild the past, and what would we decide to forget?
"Marjorie Prime is both a sophisticated chamber drama and a captivating contemplation of time, memory and mortality." - Screen International
The 2017 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour is a 95-minute theatrical program of seven short films selected from this year’s Festival, which over the course of its more than 30-year history has been widely considered the premier showcase for short films and the launch pad for many now-prominent independent filmmakers. Including fiction, documentary and animation from around the world, the 2017 program gives a taste to what the Festival offers. From laugh-out-loud fun to contemplative thoughts about the world we live in, audiences will encounter a variety of emotions and exciting filmmaking.
5 Films About Technology (Director/Screenwriter: Peter Huang) – Take a satirical look at the dumber side of technology.
And the Whole Sky Fit in the Dead Cow’s Eye (Director/Screenwriter: Francisca Alegria) – Emeteria is visited by the ghost of her patrón, Teodoro. She believes he has come to take her to the afterlife—but he has more devastating news. Winner of the Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction.
Come Swim (Director/Screenwriter: Kristen Stewart) – This is a diptych of one man's day, half impressionist and half realist portraits.
Lucia, Before And After (Director/Screenwriter: Anu Valia) – After traveling 200 miles, a young woman waits out Texas's state-mandated 24-hour waiting period before her abortion can proceed. Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction.
Night Shift (Director/Screenwriter: Marshall Tyler) – Get a glimpse into a day in the life of a bathroom attendant in a Los Angeles nightclub.
Pussy (Director/Screenwriter: Renata Gasiorowska) – Alone at home one evening, a young girl decides to have a solo pleasure session—but not everything goes according to plan.
Ten Meter Tower (Co-Directors: Maximilien Van Aertryck, Axel Danielson) – People who have never been up a 10-meter diving tower must choose whether to jump or climb down in this entertaining study of people in a vulnerable position.
For the first time this year the Sundance Film Festival: London will feature a surprise film. We can't say too much, but it was a favourite among audiences in Utah, and with just one screening this will be among the hottest of the hot tickets. The title will be revealed only when the opening credits roll. Don't miss out.
Director: Jim Strouse.
Starring: Jessica Williams, Chris O’Dowd, Lakeith Stanfield, Noël Wells. USA 2017. 85 mins.
Jessica James (Jessica Williams), an aspiring playwright in New York City, is trying hard to get over a recent breakup. She sees light at the end of the tunnel when she meets Boone (Chris O’Dowd), who's recovering from a break-up of his own. Together, they figure out a way to make it through the tough times, while also realizing they like each other—a lot.
Writer/director Jim Strouse’s previous film People, Places, Things (2015) featured Jessica Williams in a supporting role, and it proved to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Williams broke onto the scene as a correspondent on The Daily Show and followed that up with her hilarious podcast, 2 Dope Queens. With The Incredible Jessica James, she proves what has always been self-evident—that she is destined to be a star. With charisma, charm, and humour to burn, Williams crushes it as a leading lady in this vivacious romantic comedy with teeth.
"Some people are born to be movie stars, and The Incredible Jessica James successfully makes that case for leading lady Jessica Williams.” - Variety
Director: Craig Johnson.
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Laura Dern, Judy Greer, Cheryl Hines. USA 2017. 94 mins.
Woody Harrelson stars as Wilson, a lonely, neurotic, and hilariously honest middle-aged, misanthropic dog lover who reunites with his estranged wife (Laura Dern) and gets a shot at happiness when he learns he has a teenage daughter he’s never met. In his uniquely outrageous and slightly twisted way, Wilson sets out to connect with her in what could be his last chance at having a family.
In director Craig Johnson’s 2014 award-winning film The Skeleton Twins, he displayed a knack for finding humor and warmth in the darkest of places, which is why he was the perfect choice to bring to life this Daniel Clowes graphic novel of the same name. The writer of the Ghost World and Art School Confidential graphic novels, Clowes is a master of making the unlikable lovable. His Wilson is a bit of jerk, but a jerk who refreshes our empathy for people—in all of their imperfections.
"Harrelson brings his wide-awake edge to this performance” - Variety
Utterly distinctive, visually inventive and ultimately moving, Miranda July's debut feature was supported by Sundance Institute's Directors and Screenwriters Labs and premiered at the 2005 Festival, taking the Special Jury Prize for originality of vision. A bittersweet love story revolving around a group of lost and heartbroken people, the film still dazzles with its offbeat tone, funny dialogue and impressive array of breakout performances from the likes of John Hawkes and July herself, who also wrote the film.
13.1535mm: Playing from a 35mm print
Redford Recommends: A showcase for 3 of most influential films that have been supported by Sundance Institute Labs or played the Sundance Film Festival over the years. Showing from 35mm prints.
Sundance Film Festival: London.
Director: Marianna Palka.
Starring: Jason Ritter, Jaime King, Marianna Palka, Brighton Sharbino, Rio Mangini, Kingston Foster. USA 2017. 93 mins.
Jill, a lonely, distraught housewife with four unruly children, paces on her dining room table with a belt around her neck, contemplating a desperate end to her wretchedness. Her husband, Bill, focused on his identity as breadwinner and an affair with a co-worker, is oblivious both to Jill’s growing terror that she will do something destructive and to the panic at his unraveling company. Meanwhile, dogs bark and howl through the night, as one persistent mutt continually stalks the family’s yard. When Jill’s psyche finally breaks, she takes on a vicious new canine persona.
Marianna Palka (Good Dick) writes, directs, and stars in this provocative film, balancing a whip-smart, deeply unsettling take on the horrors of a crumbling family with a palpable sensitivity for her character’s plight and perfectly timed comedic flourishes. Jason Ritter delivers a beautifully tragicomic performance as Bill, who’s transformed by bizarre crisis from an indifferent hound of a man untethered from his family to their unexpected emotional anchor.
“Palka transforms an absurd premise into a chilling look at the destruction of the nuclear family with a vivid, snarling vision driven by the propulsive energy of its biting critique.” - Indiewire
Director: Cary Murnion, Jonathan Millot.
Starring: Dave Bautista, Brittany Snow, Angelic Zambrana, Jeremie Harris, Myra Lucretia Taylor, Arturo Castro. USA 2017. 93 mins.
On the way to Grandma’s house with a new boyfriend in tow, Lucy (Brittany Snow) steps off the subway into an utter bloodbath on the streets of Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood. Texas is attempting to secede from the Union, and militia forces have descended upon New York City to claim it as an East Coast base of operations and negotiation tool. Faced with a flurry of whizzing bullets and total destruction around every corner, Lucy takes shelter in the basement of Stupe (Dave Bautista), a burly war veteran who reluctantly helps her traverse the treacherous five-block stretch of Bushwick to reach her destination—assuming it’s still there.
Directors Cary Murnion and Jonathan Milott return to the screen with this intense and frenetic follow-up to their comedy/horror debut Cooties (2014 Sundance Film Festival). Bolstered by an immersive score from indie hip-hop mainstay Aesop Rock, Bushwick is an exhilarating thrill ride that is not to be missed.
“What distinguishes Bushwick from your standard-issue, boneheaded video game is its cheeky cerebral wit.” - The Hollywood Reporter
Special Preview Screening. Winner of the Audience Award: U.S. Documentary at Sundance Film Festival 2017.
Director: Jeff Orlowski.
Starring: Richard Vevers, Zackery Rago, Ruth Gates, Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, Mark Eakin, John "Charlie" Veron. USA 2017. 91 mins.
Coral reefs are the nursery for all ocean life, a remarkable ecosystem that sustains us. Yet with carbon emissions warming the seas, a phenomenon called “coral bleaching”—a sign of mass coral death—has been accelerating around the world, and the public has no idea of the scale or implication of the catastrophe silently raging underwater.
Enter Jeff Orlowski (of Chasing Ice fame), whose latest project, Chasing Coral, taps into the collective will and wisdom of an ad man, a self-proclaimed coral nerd, top-notch camera designers, and renowned marine biologists as they invent the first time-lapse camera to record bleaching events as they happen. The effort is anything but simple, and the team doggedly battles technical malfunctions and the force of nature in pursuit of their golden fleece, documenting the indisputable and tragic transformation below the waves. With its breathtaking photography, nail-biting suspense, and startling emotion, Chasing Coral is a dramatic revelation that won’t have audiences sitting idle for long.
"An endlessly fascinating quest.” - The Hollywood Reporter.
International Premiere. Winner of Audience Award: US Dramatic at Sundance Film Festival 2017.
Director: Matt Ruskin.
Starring: Lakeith Stanfield, Nnamdi Asomugha, Natalie Paul, Bill Camp, Nestor Carbonell, Amari Cheatom. USA 2017. 99 mins.
On April 10, 1980, a shot rang out on the streets of Crown Heights, igniting a decades-long quest for justice in this harrowing true story. Colin Warner, played with heartbreaking sincerity by Lakeith Stanfield, is arrested and tried for a crime he did not commit, a victim of a deeply broken system that refuses to listen. Quick to throw him away, the court wrongfully convicts him. But as Colin loses hope to reclaim an innocence that has been cast aside, his best friend, Carl King, devotes his life to restoring Colin's freedom, doggedly pursuing every lead for years.
Writer/director Matt Ruskin, who worked closely to earn the trust of the real Colin Warner, imbues this film with a gifted touch and emotional authenticity to shed light on a painful personal story—and on a horrifying systemic issue. Anchored by Stanfield, an indie film secret weapon, Crown Heights unfolds as a powerful ode to those we leave behind.
I Get Overwhelmed: From Saints to Ghosts, David Lowery in Conversation + Ain't Them Bodies Saints (15)
Presented in association with Empire Magazine
Since his striking, Malick-infused 2013 Sundance Film Festival debut Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, Wisconsin-born filmmaker David Lowery has become something of a wunderkind of the U.S. filmmaking scene. His big-budget Disney production Pete’s Dragon (2016) along with this year's Sundance selection A Ghost Story have both been greeted with rapturous reviews, praising the director's ability to tackle complex human emotions and diverse genres with a real sense of grace and romanticism. His editing work on films like Shane Carruth's Upstream Colour (2013) and writing on acclaimed indie The Yellow Birds (2017) also demonstrate a talent that is at once multi-faceted and poised with a singular, unique vision. We screen both Ain’t Them Bodies Saints and A Ghost Story this year and welcome David for a career interview which will explore his meteoric rise to filmmaking stardom.
This “In Conversation” event will be accompanied by a special screening of:
Ain’t Them Bodies Saints (15)
David Lowery burst onto the scene in 2013 with this rapturous, Malick-infused period piece about two lovers separated by a run-in with the law.
Special Preview Screening. Winner of the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at Sundance Film Festival 2017.
Directors: Dan Sickles, Antonio Santini.
Starring: Dina Buno, Scott Levin. USA 2017. 101 mins.
Dina, an outspoken, eccentric 49-year-old in suburban Philadelphia, invites her fiancé Scott, a Walmart door greeter, to move in with her. Having grown up neurologically diverse in a world blind to the value of their experience, the two are head-over-heels for one another, but shacking up poses a new challenge. Scott freezes when it comes to physical intimacy, but Dina, a Kardashians fanatic, wants to share with Scott all she’s learned about sensual desire from books, TV shows, and her previous marriage. Her creative forays to draw Scott close keep hitting roadblocks—exposing anxieties, insecurities, and communication snafus while they strive to reconcile their conflicting approaches to intimacy.
Filmmakers Dan Sickles and Antonio Santini construct seamless vérité scenes that lovingly frame Dina and Scott’s vulnerable, matter-of-fact romance. Whether at the nail salon, the beaches of Ocean City, Dina’s racy bachelorette party, or their Poconos honeymoon, Dina captures the cadences and candid conversations of a relationship that reexamines the notion of love on-screen.
"A sensitive snapshot of two ordinary people on the autism spectrum who are determined to carve out a meaningful future together.” - The Hollywood Reporter.
UK Premiere. Winner of U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award: The Orwell Award at Sundance Film Festival 2017.
Director: Bryan Fogel.
The ruthless worlds of international sports and politics rarely collide as spectacularly on screen as they do in Bryan Fogel’s thriller that’s sure to set off convulsions of controversy.
While investigating the furtive world of illegal doping in sports, Fogel connects with renegade scientist Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov—a pillar of Russia’s “anti-doping” program. Over dozens of Skype calls, urine samples, and badly administered hormone injections, Fogel and Rodchenkov grow closer despite shocking allegations that place Rodchenkov at the center of Russia’s state-sponsored Olympic doping program. When the truth is more complex than imagined, and accusations run to Russia’s highest levels, the two realize they hold the power to reveal the biggest international sports scandal in living memory.
Exemplifying the special bond between filmmaker and subject, Icarus is a portrait of the sacrifice some people make to stand up for truth, placing you at the heart of an international game of cat and mouse where a miscalculation can cost you your life.
"This film is proof that, with the right protagonist, a documentary seems to tell its own story.” - Screen International
“A truly absorbing piece of filmmaking with so many shocking twists. Dark, gripping...and ultimately it’s one hell of a story. In the wake of the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, it couldn’t be more timely.”- IndieWire
Independent Film Trumps Reality - Re-evaluating films in the current political climate and where filmmaking will go from here...
This year's Sundance Film Festival straddled one of the most important shifts in modern American and world history, with the Festival kicking off under an Obama presidency and closing under President Trump. Understandably, Trump talk was unavoidable in Park City and whilst the films screening were developed and made before the election, many have gained a new level of currency in the age of Trump.
Panelists: John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival; Miguel Arteta, Director of Beatriz at Dinner; Jeff Orlowski, Director of Chasing Coral; Cary Murnion and Jonathan Milott, Directors of Bushwick Wendy Mitchell, Film Programme Manager, British Council and Contributing Editor, Screen International.
Director: Michael Showalter.
Starring: Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano, Anupam Kher. USA 2017. 119 mins.
Based on the true story of the film’s writers (and real-life couple), Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani, this modern culture clash shows how Pakistan-born Kumail and his American girlfriend, Emily, have to overcome the expectations of his family and their 1,400-year-old traditions. As his parents relentlessly set him up with potential brides for an arranged marriage, Kumail navigates treacherous waters in the worlds of both dating and stand-up comedy.
Produced by Judd Apatow, The Big Sick features a sterling collection of comedy talent in front of and behind the camera, with Michael Showalter directing the hilariously insightful film that shrewdly puts the spotlight on its writer/star Kumail Nanjiani (HBO’s Silicon Valley). A revered comedian, Nanjiani shines in the lead role, bringing his singular voice to center stage. Mining his personal stories for comedy gold, he shares his experiences that are uniquely Pakistani but will resonate for everyone who has ever fallen in love.
“The Big Sick is scoring points on familiar rom-com territory, so when it suddenly morphs into a completely different film — a bracingly sophisticated one — you’ll want to cry with happiness.” - Time Out ★★★★★
Director: Jim Strouse.
Starring: Jessica Williams, Chris O’Dowd, Lakeith Stanfield, Noël Wells. USA 2017. 85 mins.
Jessica James (Jessica Williams), an aspiring playwright in New York City, is trying hard to get over a recent breakup. She sees light at the end of the tunnel when she meets Boone (Chris O’Dowd), who's recovering from a break-up of his own. Together, they figure out a way to make it through the tough times, while also realizing they like each other—a lot.
Writer/director Jim Strouse’s previous film People, Places, Things (2015) featured Jessica Williams in a supporting role, and it proved to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Williams broke onto the scene as a correspondent on The Daily Show and followed that up with her hilarious podcast, 2 Dope Queens. With The Incredible Jessica James, she proves what has always been self-evident—that she is destined to be a star. With charisma, charm, and humour to burn, Williams crushes it as a leading lady in this vivacious romantic comedy with teeth.
"Some people are born to be movie stars, and The Incredible Jessica James successfully makes that case for leading lady Jessica Williams.” - Variety
Directors: Alex Smith, Andrew Smith.
Starring: Matt Bomer, Josh Wiggins,Bill Pullman, Alex Neustaedter, Lily Gladstone. USA 2017. 96 mins.
Fourteen-year-old David reluctantly travels from his comfortable Texas home to rural Montana for his annual visit with his brooding, off-the-grid father, Cal, who has planned the boy’s first big game hunt. As the pair ascends into the wilderness, Cal tries to connect with David by recounting the story of his own first kill, on his last hunting trip with his now long-dead father. After their trip is disrupted by a chance encounter with a grizzly bear, a wounded Cal realizes they must both rely on David’s strength and resilience to survive.
Big Sky–born co-writers and directors Alex and Andrew Smith (The Slaughter Rule) exquisitely capture not only the awe-inspiring beauty of Montana’s landscape, but also the emotional realities of life isolated within it. Matt Bomer, as a steely father aching to be known by his son, delivers a searing performance, matched by teen actor Josh Wiggins’s impressive work as the stubborn boy striving to earn his father’s respect—and save his life.
"A movie of great heart and courage.” - Time Out ★★★★★
Director: Craig Johnson.
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Laura Dern, Judy Greer, Cheryl Hines. USA 2017. 94 mins.
Woody Harrelson stars as Wilson, a lonely, neurotic, and hilariously honest middle-aged, misanthropic dog lover who reunites with his estranged wife (Laura Dern) and gets a shot at happiness when he learns he has a teenage daughter he’s never met. In his uniquely outrageous and slightly twisted way, Wilson sets out to connect with her in what could be his last chance at having a family.
In director Craig Johnson’s 2014 award-winning film The Skeleton Twins, he displayed a knack for finding humor and warmth in the darkest of places, which is why he was the perfect choice to bring to life this Daniel Clowes graphic novel of the same name. The writer of the Ghost World and Art School Confidential graphic novels, Clowes is a master of making the unlikable lovable. His Wilson is a bit of jerk, but a jerk who refreshes our empathy for people—in all of their imperfections.
"Harrelson brings his wide-awake edge to this performance” - Variety
Director: David Lowery.
Starring: Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara, Will Oldham, Sonia Acevedo, Rob Zabrecky, Liz Franke. USA 2017. 97 mins.
Lauded filmmaker David Lowery reunites with his Ain’t Them Bodies Saints collaborators for a haunted tale like no other—one conceived in secret and fueled by the spirit of pure, creative expression.
Lowery’s meticulously sparse narrative contemplates a spectral figure who was once a man (Casey Affleck). Prematurely taken from this Earth, he makes his way toward his former home, where he is fated to remain forevermore. Shrouded in a white sheet, he observes the lament of his grief-stricken lover (Rooney Mara). Bearing unseen witness to her pain, the wisp stands sentry for years to come, interacting only with time as it hurtles further and further forward, the remnants of his humanity quietly evaporating.
Making full use of his singular abilities as a visual storyteller and finely tuned craftsman, Lowery boldly delivers an enriching experiment in micro-cinema that gorgeously defies categorization.
"Haunting love story... evocative.” - The Guardian ★★★★
Art vs. Stepping Stone - An Argument: Sundance Meets London Presented in association with LSFF (London Short Film Festival)
Sundance and LSFF host a short filmmaker discussion about straddling the worlds of the auteur and the commercial. Are shorts simply a stepping stone or do they sustain a filmmaker throughout a career? With a focus on two women filmmakers, each one working in those potentially opposing areas, we hope for a heated debate and a fascinating discussion.
Hosted by Mike Plante (Sundance) and Philip Ilson (London Short Film Festival & BFI London Film Festival). Jessica Levick and Taina Galas are panellists.
Jessica Levick (producer): Jessica has produced a number of short films, including Saturday [Mike Forshaw], which premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, plus the feature documentary Personal Best [Sam Blair] about athletes training for the 2012 Olympics.
Taina Galas (cinematographer & producer): Taina is a Romanian-born cinematographer who has worked closely with a number of directors including Fyzal Boulifa, Emily Wardill, and Andrea Luka Zimmerman (on her features Estate A Reverie and Erase and Forget). She also acted as producer on Fyzal's Cannes winning short Rate Me.
Director: Miguel Arteta
Starring: Salma Hayek, John Lithgo, Chloë Sevigny, Amy Landecker, Jay Duplass. USA 2017. 83 mins.
Beatriz (Salma Hayek) is a miracle worker—highly sensitive with her touch, and passionately dedicated to curing pain through holistic therapy. After treating a client, her car breaks down, so she is invited to stay for a dinner celebrating a lucrative business deal.
An interloper inside this private enclave of the have-mores, Beatriz is politely acknowledged by the guests, with the exception of Doug, a mega brazen and successful business developer.
Believing she knows him from somewhere, Beatriz becomes increasingly unsettled.
Beatriz at Dinner is riveting, yet with an apprehensive tone. Half chamber drama, half dark dramedy of errors, director Miguel Arteta (The Good Girl) discerns his characters by showing their most telling reactions, such as the subliminal determination of Hayek’s face, while spinning an indelible wickedness onto this tale of a fateful encounter. Uninhibited, Beatriz questions whether Doug’s accomplishments have come at the expense of other people’s suffering—to the chagrin of the sycophantic hosts—pitting the guests into opposing forces.
“Dark, hopelessly humane Beatriz at Dinner is the perfect film for the Trump era … Salma Hayek is remarkable in this deceptively deep dramedy of manners.” - Vanity Fair
UK Premiere. Winner of U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award: The Orwell Award at Sundance Film Festival 2017.
Director: Bryan Fogel.
The ruthless worlds of international sports and politics rarely collide as spectacularly on screen as they do in Bryan Fogel’s thriller that’s sure to set off convulsions of controversy.
While investigating the furtive world of illegal doping in sports, Fogel connects with renegade scientist Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov—a pillar of Russia’s “anti-doping” program. Over dozens of Skype calls, urine samples, and badly administered hormone injections, Fogel and Rodchenkov grow closer despite shocking allegations that place Rodchenkov at the center of Russia’s state-sponsored Olympic doping program. When the truth is more complex than imagined, and accusations run to Russia’s highest levels, the two realize they hold the power to reveal the biggest international sports scandal in living memory.
Exemplifying the special bond between filmmaker and subject, Icarus is a portrait of the sacrifice some people make to stand up for truth, placing you at the heart of an international game of cat and mouse where a miscalculation can cost you your life.
"This film is proof that, with the right protagonist, a documentary seems to tell its own story.” - Screen International
“A truly absorbing piece of filmmaking with so many shocking twists. Dark, gripping...and ultimately it’s one hell of a story. In the wake of the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, it couldn’t be more timely.”- IndieWire
UK Premiere. Winner of the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize at Sundance Film Festival 2017.
Director: Michael Almereyda.
Starring: Jon Hamm, Geena Davis, Lois Smith, Tim Robbins. USA 2017. 99 mins.
Eighty-six-year-old Marjorie spends her final, ailing days with a computerized version of her deceased husband. With the intent to recount their life together, Marjorie’s “Prime” relies on the information from her and her kin to develop a more complex understanding of his history. As their interactions deepen, the family begins to develop ever diverging recounts of their lives, drawn into the chance to reconstruct the often painful past.
Built around exceptional performances from a veteran cast and shot with the intimate rhythm of mortality, Marjorie Prime shines a light on an often-obscured corner in the world of artificial intelligence and its interactions with death. Bringing us robustly into the future, Michael Almereyda’s poetic film forces us to face the question—If we had the opportunity, how would we choose to rebuild the past, and what would we decide to forget?
"Marjorie Prime is both a sophisticated chamber drama and a captivating contemplation of time, memory and mortality." - Screen International
Welcome to a showcase of visionary new shorts from the UK. A wild ride through fiction, documentary and animation, discovering some of the exciting new filmmaking talent in the country.
Dawn of the Deaf (Director/Screenwriter: Rob Savage) – When a strange sound wipes out the hearing population, a small group of deaf people must band together to survive.
Dear Mr. Shakespeare (Director: Shola Amoo, Screenwriter: Phoebe Boswell) – An exploration of Shakespeare’s intentions when writing Othello explores the play’s racial themes in historical and contemporary settings, and draws wider parallels between immigration and blackness in the UK today.
Fish Story (Director/Screenwriter: Charlie Lyne) – Behind a fishy tale lies this search for the truth.
In the Hills (Director/Screenwriter: Hamid Ahmadi) – Shahram is a young immigrant who lives in the idyllic countryside of the Cotswolds in England. To integrate into the new society, he chooses a rather radical approach.
Mother (Director/Screenwriter: Leo Leigh) - In the aftermath of his mother's death, Edwin reaches out to his extended family for support.
Robot & Scarecrow (Director: Kibwe Tavares, Screenwriters: Kibwe Tavares and Ursula Rani Sarma) – A fairy tale set against the backdrop of a heady summer music festival, where a robot and a scarecrow meet and fall in love.
Tough (Director: Jennifer Zheng) – New light is shed on childhood cultural misunderstandings when a Chinese mother and her British-born daughter speak as adults for the first time. Some things can only be understood with maturity.
White Riot: London (Director: Rubika Shah, Screenwriters: Ed Gibbs, Rubika Shah) – 1977, immigration divides Britain. What happens when a punk fanzine challenges the status quo?
Sundance Film Festival: London Docs Panel – On Collaboration: Documentary Practices and Process Presented by Dropbox
The Sundance Film Festival sets the bar extremely high for its documentary presentations, providing a showcase for some of the most diverse, cutting-edge and challenging works while reflecting something of a state of the art for this exciting and rapidly evolving medium. Our Sundance Film Festival: London selections Chasing Coral, Dina and Icarus are richly different films but are united in their presentation of hard-hitting issues in a fresh and open fashion. This panel, featuring directors from those films and British artist and filmmaker Jeanie Finlay, will ask the filmmakers to detail their working practices and the role of collaboration in their work whilst exploring themes of diversity, accessibility and progress in documentary.
Panelists to include: Alice Tynan - EMEA Corporate Marketing Manager at Dropbox (Moderator); Jeff Orlowski – Director of Chasing Coral; Antonio Santini, Co-director of Dina; Bryan Fogel – Director of Icarus; Jeanie Finlay - Director of Orion: The Man Who Would Be King, The Great Hip Hop Hoax.
Director: Michael Showalter.
Starring: Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano, Anupam Kher. USA 2017. 119 mins.
Based on the true story of the film’s writers (and real-life couple), Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani, this modern culture clash shows how Pakistan-born Kumail and his American girlfriend, Emily, have to overcome the expectations of his family and their 1,400-year-old traditions. As his parents relentlessly set him up with potential brides for an arranged marriage, Kumail navigates treacherous waters in the worlds of both dating and stand-up comedy.
Produced by Judd Apatow, The Big Sick features a sterling collection of comedy talent in front of and behind the camera, with Michael Showalter directing the hilariously insightful film that shrewdly puts the spotlight on its writer/star Kumail Nanjiani (HBO’s Silicon Valley). A revered comedian, Nanjiani shines in the lead role, bringing his singular voice to center stage. Mining his personal stories for comedy gold, he shares his experiences that are uniquely Pakistani but will resonate for everyone who has ever fallen in love.
“The Big Sick is scoring points on familiar rom-com territory, so when it suddenly morphs into a completely different film — a bracingly sophisticated one — you’ll want to cry with happiness.” - Time Out ★★★★★
Directors: Alex Smith, Andrew Smith.
Starring: Matt Bomer, Josh Wiggins,Bill Pullman, Alex Neustaedter, Lily Gladstone. USA 2017. 96 mins.
Fourteen-year-old David reluctantly travels from his comfortable Texas home to rural Montana for his annual visit with his brooding, off-the-grid father, Cal, who has planned the boy’s first big game hunt. As the pair ascends into the wilderness, Cal tries to connect with David by recounting the story of his own first kill, on his last hunting trip with his now long-dead father. After their trip is disrupted by a chance encounter with a grizzly bear, a wounded Cal realizes they must both rely on David’s strength and resilience to survive.
Big Sky–born co-writers and directors Alex and Andrew Smith (The Slaughter Rule) exquisitely capture not only the awe-inspiring beauty of Montana’s landscape, but also the emotional realities of life isolated within it. Matt Bomer, as a steely father aching to be known by his son, delivers a searing performance, matched by teen actor Josh Wiggins’s impressive work as the stubborn boy striving to earn his father’s respect—and save his life.
"A movie of great heart and courage.” - Time Out ★★★★★
Director: Patty Jenkins.
Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nelson. USA 2017. 133 mins.
Since Cathy Lee Crosby burst onto the big screen as the original Wonder Woman in 1974 there have several other versions of DC Comics’ legendary female superhero, but now Israeli actress Gal Gadot (Gisele from the Fast & Furious franchise) takes centre stage as the Amazon warrior-princess after a breakout turn last year in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice. Raised as a fearless defender of her island paradise in the early 20th century, young Diana meets Steve Trevor (Pine), an American pilot who informs her of the mighty war raging beyond her shores. Inspired to right the world’s wrong, she leaves for London to discover her true destiny and her full, unearthly powers. Gifted director Patty Jenkins (Monster) is behind the camera, overseeing a stellar cast that includes Robin Wright and Connie Nelson.
Director: Patty Jenkins.
Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nelson. USA 2017. 133 mins.
Since Cathy Lee Crosby burst onto the big screen as the original Wonder Woman in 1974 there have several other versions of DC Comics’ legendary female superhero, but now Israeli actress Gal Gadot (Gisele from the Fast & Furious franchise) takes centre stage as the Amazon warrior-princess after a breakout turn last year in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice. Raised as a fearless defender of her island paradise in the early 20th century, young Diana meets Steve Trevor (Pine), an American pilot who informs her of the mighty war raging beyond her shores. Inspired to right the world’s wrong, she leaves for London to discover her true destiny and her full, unearthly powers. Gifted director Patty Jenkins (Monster) is behind the camera, overseeing a stellar cast that includes Robin Wright and Connie Nelson.
Director: Patty Jenkins.
Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nelson. USA 2017. 133 mins.
Since Cathy Lee Crosby burst onto the big screen as the original Wonder Woman in 1974 there have several other versions of DC Comics’ legendary female superhero, but now Israeli actress Gal Gadot (Gisele from the Fast & Furious franchise) takes centre stage as the Amazon warrior-princess after a breakout turn last year in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice. Raised as a fearless defender of her island paradise in the early 20th century, young Diana meets Steve Trevor (Pine), an American pilot who informs her of the mighty war raging beyond her shores. Inspired to right the world’s wrong, she leaves for London to discover her true destiny and her full, unearthly powers. Gifted director Patty Jenkins (Monster) is behind the camera, overseeing a stellar cast that includes Robin Wright and Connie Nelson.
DocHeads launches the second season of its critically-acclaimed programme of short documentaries with “The Past in the Present”, a collection of films that explore how our lives are shaped by the events that precede them - through secrets, mysteries, memories and myths.
Innovative, boundary-pushing and cinematic: it’s an immersive experience designed for the big screen.
Shot entirely on an iPhone 6, Victoria Mapplebeck’s 160 Characters brings to life the secrets buried in a vintage mobile. Charlie Lyne’s Fish Story searches for the truth behind a fishy tale. Florence Kennard’s Norma’s Colours is a dream-like exploration of memory told through Norma’s extraordinary belongings. In Calling Home, Jade Jackman uses phone recordings from the women the government doesn’t want you to hear, memories of detention from residents of the notorious Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre in Bedfordshire. Off the Grid by Meghna Gupta, takes us to Sandwip, a Bangladeshi island without electricity that straddles past and present.
After the screening there will be a Q&A, offering the audience an opportunity to take part in intelligent discussion with filmmakers around their stories.
Violetta gives up every hope of happiness in this heart-wrenching love story. With its world-famous arias, La traviata is the perfect introduction to Glyndebourne.
Alfredo, a young man from the provinces, falls in love with Violetta, the stylish toast of Paris. But she’s not the marrying kind – at least not until now. However, their dreams are threatened by both a merciless society that condemns Violetta’s racy past and an equally merciless disease.
There’s rarely a dry eye in the house when this poignant tale unfolds through Verdi’s robust, tuneful, full-hearted and full-throated score, laced through with melodies as familiar as the story.
Russian soprano Venera Gimadieva portrays the iconic role of Violetta, alongside American tenor Michael Fabiano as Alfredo. The visual beauty of Tom Cairns’s opulent production aptly echoes the irresistible allure of this beloved opera.
‘With a team this thrilling and a production so intelligent, Glyndebourne has a sure-fire hit on its hands.’ ★★★★★– The Observer
Captured live in 2014. Sung in Italian with English subtitles.
Also on screen this summer: Brett Dean’s brand new Shakespeare-inspired opera, Hamlet (live) and a new production of Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito (live).
Director: Patty Jenkins.
Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nelson. USA 2017. 133 mins.
Since Cathy Lee Crosby burst onto the big screen as the original Wonder Woman in 1974 there have several other versions of DC Comics’ legendary female superhero, but now Israeli actress Gal Gadot (Gisele from the Fast & Furious franchise) takes centre stage as the Amazon warrior-princess after a breakout turn last year in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice. Raised as a fearless defender of her island paradise in the early 20th century, young Diana meets Steve Trevor (Pine), an American pilot who informs her of the mighty war raging beyond her shores. Inspired to right the world’s wrong, she leaves for London to discover her true destiny and her full, unearthly powers. Gifted director Patty Jenkins (Monster) is behind the camera, overseeing a stellar cast that includes Robin Wright and Connie Nelson.
In partnership with the Science Museum we are bringing you a robotic double bill to celebrate their blockbuster exhibition Robots.
Featuring a model of Fritz Lang’s iconic Maschinenmensch Maria and the real-life Terminator (from Terminator Salvation), the Science Museum’s exhibition takes you on an epic journey through 500 years of humanoid robots, exploring why robots exist and how they have come to be a mirror for our society.
Metropolis is regarded as a pioneering work of cinematic science fiction, Metropolis features one of the very first screen depictions of a robot, and tells the story of a dystopian future city where an exploited underclass of workers is plotting a revolt.
The Terminator sees a seemingly indestructible humanoid cyborg sent from 2029 to 1984 to assassinate a waitress, whose unborn son will lead humanity in a war against the machines, while a soldier from that war is sent to protect her at all costs.
Director: Patty Jenkins.
Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nelson. USA 2017. 133 mins.
Since Cathy Lee Crosby burst onto the big screen as the original Wonder Woman in 1974 there have several other versions of DC Comics’ legendary female superhero, but now Israeli actress Gal Gadot (Gisele from the Fast & Furious franchise) takes centre stage as the Amazon warrior-princess after a breakout turn last year in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice. Raised as a fearless defender of her island paradise in the early 20th century, young Diana meets Steve Trevor (Pine), an American pilot who informs her of the mighty war raging beyond her shores. Inspired to right the world’s wrong, she leaves for London to discover her true destiny and her full, unearthly powers. Gifted director Patty Jenkins (Monster) is behind the camera, overseeing a stellar cast that includes Robin Wright and Connie Nelson.
Variety critic Guy Lodge introduces this special screening of Jonathan Glazer's underrated 2004 masterpiece from an original 35mm print.
It took Anna (Nicole Kidman) 10 years to recover from the death of her husband, Sean, but now she's on the verge of marrying her boyfriend, Joseph (Danny Huston), and finally moving on. However, on the night of her engagement party, a young boy named Sean (Cameron Bright) turns up, saying he is her dead husband reincarnated. At first she ignores the child, but his knowledge of her former husband's life is uncanny, leading her to believe that he might be telling the truth.
★★★★★ ‘Spellbindingly imaginative. A dazzling production.’
Radio Times
All children, except one, grow up…
Captured live at the National Theatre, a recorded performance of JM Barrie’s much-loved tale screens in cinemas this summer.
When Peter Pan, leader of the Lost Boys, loses his shadow, headstrong Wendy helps him to reattach it. In return, she is invited to Neverland, where Tinker Bell the fairy, Tiger Lily and the vengeful Captain Hook await. A riot of magic, music and make-believe ensues.
A delight for children and adults alike, Sally Cookson (NT Live: Jane Eyre) directs this wondrously inventive production, a co-production with Bristol Old Vic theatre.
Director: Patty Jenkins.
Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nelson. USA 2017. 133 mins.
Since Cathy Lee Crosby burst onto the big screen as the original Wonder Woman in 1974 there have several other versions of DC Comics’ legendary female superhero, but now Israeli actress Gal Gadot (Gisele from the Fast & Furious franchise) takes centre stage as the Amazon warrior-princess after a breakout turn last year in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice. Raised as a fearless defender of her island paradise in the early 20th century, young Diana meets Steve Trevor (Pine), an American pilot who informs her of the mighty war raging beyond her shores. Inspired to right the world’s wrong, she leaves for London to discover her true destiny and her full, unearthly powers. Gifted director Patty Jenkins (Monster) is behind the camera, overseeing a stellar cast that includes Robin Wright and Connie Nelson.
Mad To Be Normal is the story of controversial Scottish psychiatrist, R.D. Laing and the infamous anti-psychiatry experiment he ran at Kingsley Hall - a medication-free sanctuary which made headlines around the world. During the 1960s and 1970s Laing was an international celebrity. In Santa Monica, 4,000 people turned out to see him perform a lecture. A radio journalist confidently referred to him as the “white Martin Luther King.” His books topped student reading lists the world over, as his language excited and enthralled them: “a child born today stands a 10 times greater chance of being admitted to a mental hospital than to a university... perhaps it is our very way of educating them that is driving them mad.”
ourscreen: Organised with ourscreen.com, the website for people-powered cinema. Create your own film screening at your local cinema in three easy steps.
Dogwoof proudly presents the UK premiere of Whitney: Can I Be Me followed by a live satellite Q&A with acclaimed director Nick Broomfield. Broadcast live from Sheffield Doc/Fest, this exclusive event creates the ultimate Whitney moment with largely never-before-seen footage and exclusive live recordings. Whitney Houston was the epitome of superstar, an “American Princess” and the most awarded female artist ever. Even though she made millions of dollars, had more consecutive number ones than The Beatles, and became recognised for having one of the greatest voices of all time, she still wasn’t free to be herself and died at just 48 years old. Whitney: Can I Be Me tells Whitney Houston’s incredible and poignant life story with insights from those closest to her.
We're delighted to welcome Woody Harrelson to the cinema for a post-screening Q&A.
Director: Craig Johnson.
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Laura Dern, Isabella Amara. USA 2017. 94 mins.
Based on the classic graphic novel by Daniel Clowes, Wilson is a comedy drama about a middle-aged, single man with just two friends - who in actual fact don’t seem to like him very much - and a dog. After the death of his father, Wilson - played with gleeful anarchy by Woody Harrelson - searches for his ex-wife, Pippi (Dern) only to discover that there was more to their relationship than he’d realised: a daughter (Amara) given up for adoption, now a teenager. The story of Wilson’s journey is neither a wistful nor a charming one and he appears quite oblivious to any shortcomings in his life. But despite his crazy outlook and unlikeable flaws, his character has strange appeal as do the hilarious deadpan situations he finds himself in.
Director: Patty Jenkins.
Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nelson. USA 2017. 133 mins.
Since Cathy Lee Crosby burst onto the big screen as the original Wonder Woman in 1974 there have several other versions of DC Comics’ legendary female superhero, but now Israeli actress Gal Gadot (Gisele from the Fast & Furious franchise) takes centre stage as the Amazon warrior-princess after a breakout turn last year in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice. Raised as a fearless defender of her island paradise in the early 20th century, young Diana meets Steve Trevor (Pine), an American pilot who informs her of the mighty war raging beyond her shores. Inspired to right the world’s wrong, she leaves for London to discover her true destiny and her full, unearthly powers. Gifted director Patty Jenkins (Monster) is behind the camera, overseeing a stellar cast that includes Robin Wright and Connie Nelson.
A season of fresh films and classic cinema, curated by members of the Critics' Circle Film Section. For the latest screening, we welcome The Metro film critic Larushka Ivan-Zadeh who will introduce iconic technicolor musical Singin' in the Rain.
It didn’t win a single Oscar, yet when La La Land is long-forgotten we’ll still be Singin’ In The Rain. I remember I first dutifully watched it because I knew it was a ‘classic’, and being bowled over by how funny, irreverent and whip-smart it was. Boasting breath-takingly fancy footwork and surreal fantastical set pieces, this glorious, gossamer light love letter to Hollywood is simply one of the best musicals ever made.
Director: Han Jae-rim
Starring: Cho In-sung, Jung Woo-sung, Bae Seong-woo, Ryu Jun-yeol
After seeing his small-time crook father humiliated by a visiting prosecutor, juvenile delinquent Tae-su (Cho In-sung, A Dirty Carnival) realises where the real power in this world is found. When, after years of study, the long hours and meagre pay offered by his position don’t provide the life he desires, Tae-su puts his morals aside and takes up with the most powerful prosecutors in the country, led by the charismatic Han Kang-sik (Jung Woo-sung, Asura: The City of Madness). Introduced into a world of money, parties and long-sought after power, Tae-su enjoys life at the top but with a career built upon a web of corruption, and with violent gangsters, a wronged wife and shady friends all gunning for him, how long can it last?
With its stylish portrayal of the unchecked hedonism enjoyed by men thrust into positions of power and the lies and corruption that keep them there, The King plays out like a Korean Wolf of Wall Street, albeit with more synchronised dancing, shamans and soju.
As part of the Whitechapel Gallery's Jonathan Meades Retrospective, Picturehouse Central are screening Meades' works on his adopted homeland of France.
Both films scrutinise the 95 per cent of France that Brits drive through and don't notice en route, to the 5 per cent that conforms to their expectations.
'It became evident that this would be a landmark series from the moment Meades began to speak.' Clive James, The Daily Telegraph
Films:
Fragments of an Arbitrary Encyclopaedia (BBC, 2012)
Just a Few Debts France Owes to America (BBC, 2012)
The Whitechapel Gallery's retrospective runs throughout June: http://www.whitechapelgallery.org/events/jonathan-meades-retrospective/
As part of the Whitechapel Gallery's Jonathan Meades, Picturehouse Central are screening a selection of Meades' Magnetic North series.
Here Meades travels from the flatlands of Flanders to Germany's spectacular Baltic coast in an attempt to decipher exactly what northernness entails.
'An intellectual confidence and a sense of mischief you won’t find anywhere else on TV. Meades is an artist of television.’ Robert Hanks, The Independent
Films:
Flanders to Hamburg (2008)
The Hansa Cities (2008)
The Whitechapel Gallery's retrospective runs throughout June: http://www.whitechapelgallery.org/events/jonathan-meades-retrospective/
Dispossession: The Great Social Housing Swindle plus panel discussion.
Director: Paul Sng, UK, 2017, 82min.
Q&A guests:
After the screening we'll be joined for a panel discussion by director Paul Sng, Sian Berry from The Green Party, Dr Lisa McKenzie from the London School of Economics, Beverley Robinson from the Aylesbury Estate, executive producer Luke Doonan, and Dawn Foster from The Guardian, hosted by Mia Bays from Birdseye View.
For some people, a housing crisis means not getting planning permission for a loft conversion. For others it means, quite simply, losing their home. Dispossession: The Great Social Housing Swindle is a feature documentary directed by Paul Sng (Sleaford Mods – Invisible Britain) and narrated by Maxine Peake, exploring the catastrophic failures that have led to a chronic shortage of social housing in Britain. The film focuses on the neglect, demolition and regeneration of council estates across the UK and investigates how the state works with the private sector to demolish council estates to build on the land they stand on, making properties that are unaffordable to the majority of people. Dispossession is the story of people fighting for their communities, of people who know the difference between a house and a home, and who believe that housing is a human right, not an expensive luxury.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales, we’re exploring our collective past through a season of exceptional British movies.
My Beautiful Laundrette
Director: Stephen Frears. Starring: Daniel-Day Lewis, Gordon Warnecke. UK 1985. 97 mins.
Featuring Daniel Day Lewis in his breakthrough role as a right-wing extremist who falls for a Pakistani man, inadvertently stirring racial prejudices throughout their South London neighbourhood, Stephen Frears' iconic film is both a touching romance and a powerful depiction of the struggles of minorities in Thatcher’s Britain.
13.00Criminal Acts: A Charged Past: A season to mark the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales.
Vintage Sundays: Classic films back on the big screen where they belong.
(USA / UK 2005. Dir: Terrence Malick. English and Algonquin. 135 mins)
2017 sees the 400th year anniversary of the death of Pocahontas, who died in Gravesend in 1617. To mark this anniversary, Border Crossings’ ORIGINS Festival screens one of the greatest films of the 21st Century – Terrence Malick’s THE NEW WORLD. It is a film of astounding elemental beauty, which re-imagines the meeting between Captain John Smith (Colin Farrell) and Powhatan princess Pocahontas (in a revelatory performance by Q’orianka Kilcher,) as a romantic idyll between spiritual equals. The action then follows Pocahontas as she marries John Rolfe (Christian Bale) and travels to England.
“with The New World cinema has reached its culmination, its apotheosis.” – The Guardian
Followed by a Q&A with Dakota Sioux historian Stephanie Pratt
A young woman (Lil Dagover) confronts the personification of Death (Bernhard Goetzke), in an effort to save the life of her fiance (Walter Janssen). Death weaves three romantic tragedies and offers to unite the girl with her lover, if she can prevent the death of the lovers in at least one of the episodes. Thus begin three exotic scenarios of ill-fated love, in which the woman must somehow reverse the course of destiny: Persia, Quattrocento Venice, and a fancifully rendered ancient China.
The story has been told before, but never like this. An occupied desert nation. A radical from the wilderness on hunger strike. A girl whose mysterious dance will change the course of the world.
This charged retelling turns the infamous biblical tale on its head, placing the girl we call Salomé at the centre of a revolution.
Internationally acclaimed theatre director Yaël Farber (Les Blancs) draws on multiple accounts to create her urgent, hypnotic production, which will be broadcast live from the stage of the National Theatre.
Director: Michael Mann.
Starring: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Jon Voight, Diana Venora, Amy Brenneman, Ashley Judd, Natalie Portman. USA 1995. 171 mins.
Two of America’s finest, most charismatic film actors came together for the first time on screen in Michael Mann’s highly intelligent, stylish, violent thriller – and the result is electrifying. An absorbing duel between two men – one the icy cool mastermind of a criminal gang specialising in high-risk, high-yield heists (De Niro), the other the dogged detective assigned to his case (Pacino) – plays out on the battleground of contemporary LA, a moody, ever shifting city of twisted morals and crumbling relationships. Beautifully crafted, superbly paced and boasting a superlative heist gone wrong among several unforgettable sequences, Heat brought Michael Mann the recognition he long deserved as one of America's most talented directors.
Berlin, 1940. The city is paralysed by fear. When Otto and Anna's son is killed at the front, their loss drives them to an extraordinary act of resistance: they start to drop anonymous postcards all over the city, attacking Hitler and his regime. If they are caught, it means certain execution. Soon their campaign comes to the attention of Gestapo inspector Escherich (Daniel Brühl), and a murderous game of cat and mouse begins.
Alone In Berlin is based on Hans Fallada's bestselling novel, described by Primo Levi as "the greatest book ever written about German resistance to the Nazis"
To mark the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales, we’re exploring our collective past through a season of exceptional British movies.
Love Is The Devil
Director: John Maybury. Starring: Derek Jacobi, Daniel Craig, Tilda Swinton. UK 1998. 90 mins.
John Maybury’s daring art biopic stars Derek Jacobi as Francis Bacon and Daniel Craig as his muse, a small-time thief drawn into the painter’s bohemian circle. Tilda Swinton gives a standout performance as the foul-mouthed proprietress of the legendary Colony Room, the Soho club that served as a hub for the group, which also included photographer John Deakin and artist Isabel Rawsthorne.
18.30Criminal Acts: A Charged Past: A season to mark the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales.
Discover Tuesdays: Discover stunning cinema. Whether it's a cult classic, an art-house gem or a riveting documentary, there will always be a chance to see something different and brilliant in our weekly slot.
Director: Christopher Nolan.
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain. USA 2014. 169 mins.
Amongst a group of explorers and scientists pushing the boundaries of space travel by journeying through a newly discovered wormhole is Cooper (McConaughey, with echoes of his role in 1997’s Contact). He’s an idealistic everyman willing to leave behind his two young children to join a venture whose noble goals include saving humanity from its destructive excesses. Director Christopher Nolan creatively builds on the experimental cinematography he employed in The Dark Knight Rises – using anamorphic 35mm and an IMAX camera attached to a plane – with stunningly eye-boggling results.
We're thrilled to present these screenings of a 70mm print.
This award-winning story follows a young girl named Suzu Urano, who in 1944 moves to the small town of Kure in Hiroshima where she marries Shusaku Hojo, a young clerk who works at the local naval base. Living with his family, Suzu becomes essential to the running of the household and creatively prepares meals during the tough wartime conditions while also carrying out daily housework. In 1945, intense bombings by the US military finally reach Kure, with devastating effect to the townsfolk and their way of life. Suzu’s life is changed irrevocably, but through perseverance and courage, she manages to continue to live life to the fullest.
World-famous tenor Jonas Kaufmann makes his role debut as Otello in Verdi's passionate retelling of Shakespeare's great tragedy of jealousy, deception and murder. Soprano Maria Agresta will be his Desdemona and baritone Ludovic Tézier his nemesis Iago in a new production by Olivier Awardwinning director Keith Warner.
A major work of the opera repertory, Verdi's Otello draws on the full forces of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, the Royal Opera Chorus and this stellar line-up of principal singers, with exquisite duets, emotionally potent solo numbers and thrilling choruses.
Particular highlights include Otello and Desdemona's rapturous love duet and Desdemona's poignant 'Willow Song'. Royal Opera Music Director Antonio Pappano conducts this Italian masterpiece.
Director: Andew J. Cohen. Starring: Will Ferrell, Amy Poehler, Allison Tolman. USA 2017. 88mins.
After Scott and Kate Johansen (Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler) lose their daughter Alex’s college fund, they become desperate to earn it back so she can pursue her dream of attending a university. With the help of their neighbor Frank (Jason Mantzoukas), they decide to start an illegal casino in his house.
Director: Christopher Nolan.
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain. USA 2014. 169 mins.
Amongst a group of explorers and scientists pushing the boundaries of space travel by journeying through a newly discovered wormhole is Cooper (McConaughey, with echoes of his role in 1997’s Contact). He’s an idealistic everyman willing to leave behind his two young children to join a venture whose noble goals include saving humanity from its destructive excesses. Director Christopher Nolan creatively builds on the experimental cinematography he employed in The Dark Knight Rises – using anamorphic 35mm and an IMAX camera attached to a plane – with stunningly eye-boggling results.
We're thrilled to present these screenings of a 70mm print.
Cyrano is cursed with a prominent nose but gifted with words. He uses this talent to help handsome Christian win Roxane’s heart, whom he also loves...
“When we, comedians of la Comédie-Française, stage plays, we consciously feel this desire to show off this theatre of ours, to show everyone why we love it and why we want to be here.” With these words in mind, award-winning director, stage and cinema actor Denis Podalydès takes over the historical stage. Opera buffa, tragedy, romantic drama, symbolist poetry, slapstick comedy… all genres are called upon to give life to this staging of one of the most emblematic texts of the French repertoire!
Please note, the broadcasts, live from the historic stage, do not include English subtitles.
Be part of a major new operatic work – join us for the world premiere of Brett Dean’s new opera based on Shakespeare’s best-known tragedy.
Brett Dean’s colourful, energetic, witty and richly lyrical music expertly captures the modernity of this timeless tale, while Matthew Jocelyn’s libretto is pure Shakespeare.
A cast of some of the finest singing actors of the moment will bring Hamlet to life. British tenor and Glyndebourne favourite Allan Clayton will play Hamlet. British mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly will play Gertrude and Canadian soprano Barbara Hannigan will make her Glyndebourne debut as Ophelia. Legendary British bass John Tomlinson plays The Ghost of Old Hamlet.
Hamlet will be conducted by Vladimir Jurowski, Glyndebourne’s former Music Director.
Neil Armfield has directed numerous productions for Opera Australia, including their first full-length presentation of The Ring Cycle. He is the director of the acclaimed films Candy and Holding the Man.
‘The themes of life and death, love and betrayal have opera written all over them.’
—Brett Dean, Composer
Sung in English with English supertitles
Also on screen this summer: a timeless production of La traviata (captured live in 2014) and a new production of Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito (live).
A collaboration between American film-maker Sofia Coppola and Italian haute couture king Valentino comes in the form of a revival of Giuseppe Verdi’s classic opera, LA TRAVIATA.
Violetta Valéry is a well-known courtesan in Paris whose life appears to be glamorous, but who also suffers from a serious illness. She lives on the money given to her by her male patrons. But when she meets Alfredo Germont, a young man from a good family, they fall in love and move to the country. Alfredo’s father disapproves of their relationship and comes to tell Violetta that her involvement with Alfredo will ruin his family’s reputation. Out of her love for Alfredo, Violetta agrees to leave him and returns to Paris. Thinking she has betrayed him, Alfredo is heartbroken. He follows her to a party and publicly insults her. A few months later, Violetta is close to death. Alfredo, who has learned why Violetta left him, returns to her. He is shocked by her weakness as she strains to get to her feet. They vow to be together forever, but she soon collapses and breathes her last.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales, we’re exploring our collective past through a season of exceptional British movies.
Nighthawks
Director: Ron Peck, Paul Hallam. Starring: Ken Robertson. UK 1978. 114 mins.
Often seen as Britain's first major gay film, Nighthawks is a vivid account of the London gay scene soon after decriminalisation, where, newly freed from the threat of imprisonment, men are able to seek love and sex in the dark confines of Soho clubs.
The Donmar Warehouse presents the first part of Phyllida Lloyd's Shakespeare Trilogy in cinemas, which has been described by The Observer as “one of the most important theatrical events of the last twenty years”.
Julius Caesar depicts the catastrophic consequences of a political leader's extension of his powers beyond the remit of the constitution. As Brutus (Harriet Walter) wrestles with his moral conscience over the assassination of Julius Caesar (Jackie Clune), Mark Antony (Jade Anouka) manipulates the crowd through his subtle and incendiary rhetoric to frenzied mob violence.
“Lloyd's account of Julius Caesar seethes with menace, and here the prison setting makes perfect sense” ***** EVENING STANDARD
Phyllida Lloyd transforms her tense, arresting production of Shakespeare’s famous discourse on power, loyalty and tragic idealism into a gripping version for screen.
After the screening we'll be joined by Mick Rock for a Q&A.
Shot! The Psycho-Spiritual Mantra of Rock is a deep look into the mind of one of rock’s greatest living photographers: Mick Rock. Rock’s work with some of the most accomplished personalities of the past forty years - David Bowie, Queen, Blondie, Lou Reed and Iggy Pop – created many of the images that would come to define them. Presented in his own words, Rock takes us through his journey from the glam rock shimmer of London, through to the snarl of NYC punk and into the new millennium, combining a portrait of the man who did the work, with a look at what the work did to a man.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales, we’re exploring our collective past through a season of exceptional British movies.
Weekend
Director: Andrew Haigh. Starring: Tom Cullen, Chris New. UK 2011. 97 mins.
Andrew Haigh’s modern classic, a breakout hit and a milestone in British cinema, sees two young men find a one-night-stand turning into something far more serious. As their relationship deepens, they debate their daily struggles in an overwhelmingly straight world, and come to realise that despite almost half a century of progress, the fight for social equality is far from over.
18.30Criminal Acts: A Charged Past: A season to mark the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales.
Discover Tuesdays: Discover stunning cinema. Whether it's a cult classic, an art-house gem or a riveting documentary, there will always be a chance to see something different and brilliant in our weekly slot.
America in the mid-1980s. In the midst of the AIDS crisis and a conservative Reagan administration, New Yorkers grapple with life and death, love and sex, heaven and hell.
Andrew Garfield (Silence, Hacksaw Ridge) plays Prior Walter along with a cast including Denise Gough (People, Places and Things), Nathan Lane (The Producers), James McArdle (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and Russell Tovey (The Pass).
This new staging of Tony Kushner’s multi-award winning two-part play is directed by Olivier and Tony award winning director Marianne Elliott (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and War Horse). Part One: Millennium Approaches was first performed at the National Theatre in 1992 and was followed by Part Two: Perestroika the following year.
Part One: Millennium Approaches will be broadcast live on 20 July 2017.
America in the mid-1980s. In the midst of the AIDS crisis and a conservative Reagan administration, New Yorkers grapple with life and death, love and sex, heaven and hell.
Andrew Garfield (Silence, Hacksaw Ridge) plays Prior Walter along with a cast including Denise Gough (People, Places and Things), Nathan Lane (The Producers), James McArdle (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and Russell Tovey (The Pass).
This new staging of Tony Kushner’s multi-award winning two-part play is directed by Olivier and Tony award winning director Marianne Elliott (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and War Horse). Part One: Millennium Approaches was first performed at the National Theatre in 1992 and was followed by Part Two: Perestroika the following year.
Part One: Millennium Approaches will be broadcast live on 20 July 2017.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales, we’re exploring our collective past through a season of exceptional British movies.
My Summer Of Love
Director: Pawel Pawlikowski. Starring: Emily Blunt, Natalie Press. UK 2004. 86 mins.
Pawel Pawlikowski's BAFTA-winning drama, a potent depiction of girlhood, young love and endless summers, finally returns to the big screen. A young Emily Blunt shines as bored rich kid Tamsin, who seduces working class Mona, to the dismay of the Christian community in their small Yorkshire village.
Spurned by Tito, Vitellia seeks revenge. Besotted Sesto agrees to avenge her as a token of his love, but all does not go to plan. A brand new take on one of Mozart’s final works.
Vitellia’s path to the throne is thwarted by the man who deposed her father, so she presses her admirer Sesto to murder him.
Driven by love, Sesto does his worst. But in return, receives a lesson in forgiveness.
Conducted by Robin Ticciati and directed by Claus Guth, Mozart’s opera delivers all of the sublime musical beauty and heart-tugging humanity we expect of him.
Loosely based on the life of the Roman Emperor Titus, La clemenza di Tito distills the suspense of Don Giovanni, the warmth of The Marriage of Figaro, and the nobility of The Magic Flute into one powerful parable of love and friendship, vengeance and mercy.
Australian tenor Steve Davislim makes his Glyndebourne debut as Tito, with Alice Coote as Vitellia and Kate Lindsey as Sesto.
Sung in Italian with English supertitles.
Also on screen this summer: a timeless production of La traviata (captured live in 2014) and Brett Dean’s brand new Shakespeare-inspired opera, Hamlet (live).
America in the mid-1980s. In the midst of the AIDS crisis and a conservative Reagan administration, New Yorkers grapple with life and death, love and sex, heaven and hell.
Andrew Garfield (Silence, Hacksaw Ridge) plays Prior Walter along with a cast including Denise Gough (People, Places and Things), Nathan Lane (The Producers), James McArdle (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and Russell Tovey (The Pass).
This new staging of Tony Kushner’s multi-award winning two-part play is directed by Olivier and Tony award winning director Marianne Elliott (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and War Horse). Part One: Millennium Approaches was first performed at the National Theatre in 1992 and was followed by Part Two: Perestroika the following year.
Part One: Millennium Approaches will be broadcast live on 20 July 2017.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales, we’re exploring our collective past through a season of exceptional British movies.
Prick Up Your Ears
Director: Stephen Frears. Starring: Gary Oldman, Alfred Molina. UK 1987. 110 mins.
Stephen Frears and screenwriter Alan Bennett depict the realities of gay life in ’60s London in this classic ’80s drama. Gary Oldman and Alfred Molina star as controversial playwright Joe Orton and his partner Kenneth Halliwell. As Orton scales literary heights and Halliwell struggles to keep up, they descend into an increasingly tumultuous relationship, with devastating consequences.
The decay of Rome reaches violent depths in Shakespeare’s bloodiest play. Blanche McIntyre (The Two Noble Kinsmen) returns to the RSC to direct Shakespeare’s brutal revenge tragedy.
Titus is a ruler exhausted by war and loss. He relinquishes power, but leaves Rome in disorder. Rape, cannibalism and mutilation fill the moral void at the heart of this corrupt society.
Shakespeare presents us with murder as entertainment and, as the body count rises, poses questions about sexuality, family, class and society.
America in the mid-1980s. In the midst of the AIDS crisis and a conservative Reagan administration, New Yorkers grapple with life and death, love and sex, heaven and hell.
Andrew Garfield (Silence, Hacksaw Ridge) plays Prior Walter along with a cast including Denise Gough (People, Places and Things), Nathan Lane (The Producers), James McArdle (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and Russell Tovey (The Pass).
This new staging of Tony Kushner’s multi-award winning two-part play is directed by Olivier and Tony award winning director Marianne Elliott (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and War Horse). Part One: Millennium Approaches was first performed at the National Theatre in 1992 and was followed by Part Two: Perestroika the following year.
Part One: Millennium Approaches will be broadcast live on 20 July 2017.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales, we’re exploring our collective past through a season of exceptional British movies.
Early ’60s London, and gay men across the city are being blackmailed, threatening exposure at a time when consensual homosexual acts could still result in imprisonment. Basil Dearden’s classic thriller stars Dirk Bogarde in his most daring role, as a gay lawyer fighting back against the blackmailers who dare to target him.
18.30Criminal Acts: A Charged Past: A season to mark the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales.
Discover Tuesdays: Discover stunning cinema. Whether it's a cult classic, an art-house gem or a riveting documentary, there will always be a chance to see something different and brilliant in our weekly slot.
This fender and genre-bending film takes us into the not-too-distant machine-driven future. Kokone should be diligently studying for her university entrance exams, but she just can’t seem to stay awake. Aside from stealing precious study time, her napping is even more distracting, as it brings on strange dreams with warring machines that hint at family secrets that have been dormant for years. She can’t ask her father, a hipster mechanic more talented and artful than his job requires, as he’s always busy modifying motorcycles and cars in flights of fancy. What are these visions that lead Kokone at once closer to and further away from her family?
The incredible Billie Piper (Penny Dreadful, Great Britain) returns in her Evening Standard Best Actress award-winning role. A young woman is driven to the unthinkable by her desperate desire to have a child in Simon Stone’s radical production of Lorca’s achingly powerful masterpiece. The unmissable theatre phenomenon sold out at the Young Vic and critics call it “an extraordinary theatrical triumph” (The Times) and “stunning, searing, unmissable” (Mail on Sunday). Billie Piper’s lead performance is described as “spellbinding” (The Evening Standard), “astonishing” (iNews) and “devastatingly powerful” (The Daily Telegraph). Set in contemporary London, Piper’s portrayal of a woman in her thirties desperate to conceive builds with elemental force to a staggering, shocking, climax. Please note that this broadcast does not have an interval.
★★★★★
“Brutal yet ferociously funny” - Metro
★★★★★
“Billie Piper makes a shattering Yerma in Simon Stone’s inspired reworking of Lorca” - The Observer
★★★★★
“A shatteringly powerful reinvention of a familiar classic” - The Independent
Mozart’s glorious opera 'The Magic Flute' is brought enchantingly to life in David McVicar’s production with beautiful sets by John Macfarlane. Prince Tamino promises the Queen of the Night that he will rescue her daughter Pamina from the enchanter Sarastro. He begins his quest, accompanied by the bird-catcher Papageno – but all is not as it seems…
David McVicar’s classic production embraces both the seriousness and comedy of Mozart’s work. The audience is transported to a fantastical world of dancing animals, flying machines and dazzlingly starry skies. The setting provides a wonderful backdrop for Mozart’s kaleidoscopic score, from the Queen of the Night’s coloratura fireworks to Tamino and Pamina’s lyrical love duets and Papageno’s hearty, folksong-like arias.
As well as being a comedy 'The Magic Flute' is an expression of Mozart’s profound spiritual beliefs: Enlightenment concerns with the search for wisdom and virtue are at the heart of this enchanting tale. The Magic Flute was an instant success with audiences and Mozart’s supposed rival Salieri described it as an ‘operone’ – a great opera.
When Rodolfo, a penniless poet, meets Mimì, a seamstress, they fall instantly in love. But their happiness is threatened when Rodolfo learns that Mimì is gravely ill.
Acclaimed director Richard Jones (Boris Godunov, Il trittico) directs a new production of Puccini’s 'La bohème'. Irresistible in its witty, passionate blend of comedy and tragedy, the opera focusses on the lives of a groupof young artists as they eke out an existence on the bohemian fringes of Paris, the capital of the 19th century. Jones brings his characteristically acute insight to this much-loved classic, visualized in Stewart Laing’s spectacular, stylized 1850s setting.
Puccini’s romantic depiction of bohemian Paris, with memorable music and a love story drawn from everyday life, has captivated audiences around the world, making La bohème one of the best-loved of all operas. It was first performed in Covent Garden in 1897 and has had more than five hundred performances there since.
A full-throttle war play that revels in the sweat of the battlefield, Coriolanus transports us back to the emergence of the republic of Rome.
Caius Martius Coriolanus is a fearless soldier but a reluctant leader. His ambitious mother attempts to carve him a path to political power, but he struggles to change his nature and do what is required to achieve greatness. In this new city state struggling to find its feet, where the gap between rich and poor is widening every day, Coriolanus must decide who he really is and where his allegiances lie.
Rome Season Director, Angus Jackson, completes the Royal Shakespeare Company’s collection of Shakespeare’s Roman plays with a visceral production which sees Sope Dirisu (One Night in Miami, Donmar Warehouse, 2016) take on the title role.
At a garden party on a sunny afternoon, Alice is surprised to see her parents’ friend Lewis Carroll transform into a white rabbit. When she follows him down a rabbit hole events become curiouser and curiouser… As Alice journeys through Wonderland, she encounters countless strange creatures. She’s swept off her feet by the charming Knave of Hearts, who’s on the run for stealing the tarts. Confusion piles upon confusion. Then Alice wakes with a start. Was it all a daydream?
Christopher Wheeldon’s 'Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland' burst onto the stage in 2011 in an explosion of colour, stage magic and inventive, sophisticated choreography. Joby Talbot’s score combines contemporary soundworlds with sweeping melodies that gesture to ballet scores of the 19th century. Bob Crowley’s wildly imaginative, eye-popping designs draw on everything from puppetry to projections to make Wonderland wonderfully real.
Alice encounters a cast of extraordinary and instantly recognizable characters, from the highly strung Queen of Hearts – who performs a hilarious send-up of The Sleeping Beauty's famous Rose Adage – to a playing-card corps de ballet, a sinuous caterpillar and a tap-dancing Mad Hatter. But the ballet does not avoid the darker undercurrents of Lewis Carroll’s story: a nightmarish kitchen, an eerily disembodied Cheshire Cat and the unhinged tea party are all here in vivid detail. The delicious result shows The Royal Ballet at its best, bringing together world-class dance with enchanting family entertainment.
Leaving the world of J-pop behind her, Mima Kirigoe begins life as an actress on a crime drama show called Double Blind. When offered a lead role in the show as a rape victim, Mima accepts in spite of her manager’s reservations. However, the backlash from fans over her career change and a strange website called ‘Mima's Room’, written by a fake Mima, begin to worry her. When a stalker appears and people involved in Double Blind begin turning up dead, with all the evidence pointing to her, Mima is thrown into a state of confusion, madness and paranoia.
The young Clara creeps downstairs on Christmas Eve to play with her favourite present – a Nutcracker doll. But the mysterious magician Drosselmeyer is waiting to sweep her off on a magical adventure. After defeating the Mouse King, the Nutcracker and Clara travel through the Land of Snow to the Kingdom of Sweets, where the Sugar Plum Fairy treats them to a wonderful display of dances. Back home, Clara thinks she must have been dreaming – but doesn’t she recognize Drosselmeyer’s nephew?
Peter Wright’s nigh-on definitive production for The Royal Ballet ranks as one of the most enduring and enchanting versions of 'The Nutcracker'. With its festive period setting, dancing snowflakes and enchanting stage magic, Lev Ivanov’s 1892 ballet has become the perfect Christmas entertainment, with Tchaikovsky’s sumptuous, sugar-spun music the most recognizable of all ballet scores.
Loosely based on the story by E.T.A. Hoffmann, the ballet opens with a lively Christmas party, its Victorian setting captured in opulent detail by Julia Trevelyan Oman’s designs. Wright’s choreography ingeniously incorporates surviving fragments of the ballet’s original material, including the sublime pas de deux for the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Prince. But in emphasizing the relationship between Clara and the Nutcracker Prince, the production also gains a touching subtext of first love.
The corruption of innocence is at the heart of Verdi’s potent tragedy in David McVicar’s production for The Royal Opera. Rigoletto, court jester to the libertine Duke of Mantua, is cursed by the father of one of the Duke’s victims for his irreverent laughter. When the Duke seduces Rigoletto’s daughter Gilda, it seems the curse is taking effect…
David McVicar’s production highlights the cruelty at the heart of the court of Mantua. Richly dressed courtiers engage in orgies and revelries to Verdi’s heady, spirited dances. The opera’s many musical highlights include the ebullient ‘La donna è mobile’, in which the Duke boasts of his disregard for women; Gilda’s exquisite, plangent duets with Rigoletto and the Duke; and the gorgeous Act III quartet that beautifully weaves the voices together as the story quickens to its shattering conclusion.
Giuseppe Verdi wrote in 1855 that Rigoletto was his ‘best opera’. He had had to overcome state censorship to stage it – the censors objected to its depiction of an immoral ruler – but he was vindicated by the premiere’s huge success in 1851. Rigoletto was performed 250 times in the next 10 years and has remained one of the most popular of all operas.
'Tosca' is one of the great evenings of opera, and from its strident opening chords conjures up a world of political instability and menace.
Jonathan Kent’s production for The Royal Opera captures the dangerous political turbulence of Rome in 1800. The Chief of Police, Scarpia – one of the most malevolent villains in opera – ruthlessly pursues and tortures enemies of the state. His dark, demonic music contrasts with the expansive melodies of the idealistic lovers, Tosca and Cavaradossi, who express their passion in sublime arias, including ‘Vissi d’arte’ and ‘E lucevan le stelle’. Giacomo Puccini’s dramatic work was a hit with audiences on its 1900 premiere and it remains one of the most performed of all operas – with its gripping plot and glorious music, it’s easy to see why.
A candle-lit church, Scarpia’s gloomy study with its hidden torture chamber and the false optimism of a Roman dawn: this handsome production throws into relief the ruthlessly taut drama, as the tension is wound up towards a fateful conclusion. Puccini’s meticulously researched score is infused with the same authentic detail, from distant cannon fire during the Act I Te Deum to tolling church bells and the sounds of a firing squad.
'I am all the daughters of my father's house,
And all the brothers too.'
Twelfth Night is a tale of unrequited love – hilarious and heartbreaking. Two twins are separated in a shipwreck, and forced to fend for themselves in a strange land. The first twin, Viola, falls in love with Orsino, who dotes on OIivia, who falls for Viola but is idolised by Malvolio. Enter Sebastian, who is the spitting image of his twin sister...
Christopher Luscombe, Director of the ‘glorious’ (Daily Telegraph) Love’s Labour’s Lost and Much Ado About Nothing (2014 and 2016), returns to the Royal Shakespeare Company to tackle Shakespeare’s greatest comedy, a brilliantly bittersweet account of "the whirligig of time".
Christopher Wheeldon, Artistic Associate of The Royal Ballet, created his adaptation of Shakespeare’s late great romance 'The Winter’s Tale' for The Royal Ballet in 2014. Building on the success of 'Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland', T'he Winter’s Tale' received ecstatic praise at its premiere, acclaimed by critics and audiences alike for its intelligent, distinctive and emotionally powerful story, told through exquisite dance. It is now widely judged to be a modern ballet classic.
The story follows the destruction of a marriage through consuming jealousy, the abandonment of a child and a seemingly hopeless love. Yet, through remorse and regret – and after a seemingly miraculous return to life – the ending is one of forgiveness and reconciliation. With powerful designs by Bob Crowley and atmospheric music by Joby Talbot, The Winter’s Tale is a masterful modern narrative ballet.
'Carmen' is the best-known work by French composer Georges Bizet, and one of the most famous operas in the entire art form – numbers such as the Habanera and the Toreador Song have permeated the popular consciousness as little else has. The opera’s heady combination of passion, sensuality and violence initially proved too much for the stage, and it was a critical failure on its 1875 premiere. Bizet died shortly after, and never learned of the spectacular success his Carmen would achieve: the opera has been performed more than five hundred times at Covent Garden alone.
This ever-popular opera is given a fresh point of view in Barrie Kosky’s highly physical production, originally created for Frankfurt Opera. The Australian director is one of the world’s most sought-after opera directors, whose Royal Opera debut with Shostakovich’s The Nose in 2016 was greeted with delight. For Carmen he has devised a far-from-traditional version, incorporating music written by Bizet for the score but not usually heard, and giving a new voice to the opera’s endlessly fascinating central character.
Leonard Bernstein was one of the first classical composers in America to achieve both popular and critical acclaim. He was eclectic in his sources – drawing on jazz and modernism, the traditions of Jewish music and the Broadway musical – and many of Bernstein’s scores are remarkably well suited to dance. He was particularly associated with Jerome Robbins, their credits together including Fancy Free and West Side Story. To celebrate the centenary year of the composer’s birth, The Royal Ballet has united all three of its associate choreographers to celebrate the dynamic range and danceability of Bernstein’s music.
The programme includes two world premieres by Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor and Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldon, marking each artist’s first foray into Bernstein. At the heart of the programme is the first revival of Artist in Residence Liam Scarlett’s The Age of Anxiety, created in 2014 to Bernstein’s soul-searching Second Symphony. Both symphony and ballet are inspired by W.H. Auden’s masterful modernist poem, itself written in response to the atmosphere of disillusionment and uncertainty that followed the end of World War II.
Verdi’s life-long love affair with Shakespeare’s works began with Macbeth, a play he considered to be ‘one of the greatest creations of man’. With his librettist, Francesco Maria Piave, Verdi set out to create ‘something out of the ordinary’. Their success is borne out in every bar of a score that sees Verdi at his most theatrical: it bristles with demonic energy.
The warrior Macbeth fights on the side of the King of Scotland – but when a coven of witches prophesy that he shall become king himself, a ruthless ambition drives Macbeth and his wife to horrific acts.Murder makes Macbeth king, and intrigue and butchery are the hallmarks of his brief, doomed reign. The witches make another prediction, which also comes true: Macbeth and his lady lose their lives, and justice is restored.
Phyllida Lloyd’s 2002 production for The Royal Opera is richly hued, shot through with black, red and gold. The witches – imagined by designer Anthony Ward as strange, scarlet-turbaned creatures – are ever-present agents of fate. Lloyd depicts the Macbeths’ childlessness as the dark sadness lurking behind their terrible deeds. The Royal Opera’s production uses Verdi’s 1865 Paris revision of the opera, which includes Lady Macbeth’s riveting aria ‘La luce langue’.
Manon’s brother Lescaut is offering her to the highest bidder when she meets Des Grieux and falls in love. They elope to Paris, but when Monsieur G.M. offers Manon a life of luxury as his mistress she can’t resist. With the Lescauts’ encouragement Des Grieux cheats at cards in an attempt to win Monsieur G.M.’s fortune. They are caught. Manon is arrested as a prostitute and deported to New Orleans, followed by Des Grieux. On the run, Manon dies from exhaustion.
Kenneth MacMillan’s source for Manon was the 18th-century French novel already adapted for opera by Massenet and Puccini. The premiere was given on 7 March 1974, with the lead roles danced by Antoinette Sibley and Anthony Dowell. The ballet quickly became a staple of The Royal Ballet’s repertory, and a touchstone of adult, dramatic dance.
MacMillan found new sympathy with the capricious Manon and her struggle to escape poverty. Designs by his regular collaborator Nicholas Georgiadis reflect this, depicting a world of lavish splendour polluted by miserable destitution. MacMillan’s spectacular ensemble scenes for the whole Company create vivid, complex portraits of the distinct societies of Paris and New Orleans. But it is Manon and Des Grieux’s impassioned pas de deux – recalling the intensity of MacMillan’s earlier Romeo and Juliet – that drive this tragic story, and make Manon one of MacMillan’s most powerful dramas.
'Swan Lake' has had a special role in the repertory of The Royal Ballet since 1934. This Season The Royal Ballet creates a new production with additional choreography by Artist in Residence Liam Scarlett. While remaining faithful to the Petipa-Ivanov text, Scarlett will bring fresh eyes to the staging of this classic ballet, in collaboration with his long-term designer John Macfarlane.
Prince Siegfried chances upon a fl ock of swans while out hunting. When one of the swans turns into a beautiful woman, Odette, he is enraptured. But she is under a spell that holds her captive, allowing her to regain her human form only at night.
'Swan Lake' was Tchaikovsky’s first ballet score. Given its status today as arguably the best loved and most admired of all classical ballets, it is perhaps surprising that at its premiere in 1877 Swan Lake was poorly received. It is thanks to the 1895 production by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov that Swan Lake has become part of not only ballet consciousness but also wider popular culture. That success is secured not only by the sublime, symphonic sweep of Tchaikovsky’s score, but also by the striking choreographic contrasts between Petipa’s royal palace scenes and the lyric lakeside scenes created by Ivanov.
