A New Year and New Films

We'd like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. It has been a tough year, and looks like getting tougher again into the new year. On the assumption that we can continue, we have selected 5 films for January/February and will book 6 more to take us up to the Keswick Film Festival on 24 March... assuming that Covid 19 does not stop us again in 2022... fingers crossed (and washed!).

All being well, we'll be returning on Sunday 9th January with Aaron Sorkin's Being The Ricardos which goes behind the scenes of "I Love Lucy" before it airs for the first time. Details of the other films will be added to the website soon.

From The Vine - Sunday 19th December 5pm

 

Wine is now the most drunk alcohol in the UK (official); it is Christmas when we might all be tempted to have a drop more; and in this season of good will, we thought a 'feel good' comedy about wine-making would be just what we needed to finish off our season!

In From The Vine, Jo Pantoliano (better known for his tough guy roles) gets to lead as Marco, the CEO of a Canadian company who quits his job, books a ticket to Italy and knowing nothing about wine-making, tries to re-open the vineyard he inherited from his grandfather.

"A warm movie with a big heart" - Rich Cline, Shadows On The Wall

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Balloon - Sunday 12th December 5pm

Tibetan director "Pema Tseden has amassed the most quietly inspiring of filmographies, his novelist's eye yielding storytelling far richer than just ethnography or social observation. His beautiful, funny and tragic newest film, Balloon is a case in point - both a gorgeously intimate family drama and an idiosyncratic artistic statement flecked with humour and sorrow, but alive always to the co-existence of the banal with the spiritual" – Jessica Kiang, Variety.

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Annette - Sunday 5th December 5pm

 

Annette is a film likely to split our audience; will you love or hate it? A musical with music (and story) by Sparks, where Annette is played by... a puppet. Adam Driver is Henry, an extrovert stand-up comedian who falls in love with Ann, an Opera singer (Marian Cotillard). Their baby, Annette, threatens to bring about the end of his career, but has special powers of her own which Henry is happy to exploit to get his career back

"The most original film of 2021, Annette is a ride like no other, a spellbinding waltz in a storm." - Ian Freer, Empire Magazine

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Night Of The Kings - Sunday 28th November 5pm

 

Imagine being sent to prison in an isolated place, miles from anywhere. Now imagine that this prison is run by an inmate with total power, and, finally, imagine that he tells you that you have to tell a story to the whole prison or you will die. This is Roman's fate in our film this week, Night Of The Kings. 

"If you’ve ever floundered when asked to tell a joke off the cuff, you’ll feel Roman's pain. Except he has it much worse. He has to weave an entire story. All night long. Surrounded by 200 jeering prisoners nicknamed things like 'Half-Mad' and 'Petrol'. Not ideal". – Huw Oliver, Time Out.

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Limbo - Sunday 21st November 5pm

 

Director Ben Sharrock is a Scot who has previously lived and worked with refugees in Syria and Algeria. He set out to make this week's film, Limbo, to show the plight of refugees not in their homeland but here in Britain where they wait for the process to see if they will be accepted or not. 

"For a film that is so infused with sadness... Limbo is remarkably funny - a gentle, empathic kind of humour that is derived from the men's bleak existences, without mocking them." - Wendy Ide, Observer.

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The Father - Sunday 14th November 5pm

 

Is The Father another film made for Keswick? A great British Drama starring Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Coleman; how good can it get?

A film written by the director from his own stage play, especially for Anthony Hopkins who plays the Father; maybe no surprise then that Anthony Hopkins has had amazing reviews and has become the oldest winner of an Oscar for Best Actor.

"Haunting and credible, powered by some unshakable performances." - Hannah Strong, Little White Lies

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Another Round - Sunday 7th November 5pm

More Mads Mikkelsen this week in the Oscar winning Another Round.Four teachers decide to put a philosopher's theory to the test: human's natural blood sugar level is 0.5% too low, so why don’t they try keeping it higher by drinking all the time?

“A heady, vibrant, funny film about Danish drinking culture and middle-aged angst.” - Clarisse Loughrey, Independent

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Riders of Justice - Sunday 31st October 5pm

 

This Sunday we have the Danish drama Riders Of Justice with Mads Mikkelsen out for revenge. Before the film at 4:15pm we'll be holding our AGM.

Here's what some critics are saying about Riders Of Justice:

"What separates the ensuing mayhem from a thousand generic thrillers out there is an impish streak and writing that smartly juggles big ideas, mad gun battles and guilty laughs." - Time Out

“Fun in a "what on earth is happening" kind of way.” - Mark Kermode

 “A very violent, very funny and oddly life-affirming film.” - Wendy Ide, Observer

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Annual General Meeting 31st October

We are holding the club AGM at 4.15 pm on Sunday 31 October, in the Alhambra,  before the showing of Riders of Justice. It is important as always for the Club, but maybe more so than normal after a year of little activity; we need to get everything moving again.  Anyone who wants to help the club in any way is welcome at any time but the AGM is a good place to put yourself forward. 

You can find more details on ways you can help, the agenda for the AGM and other documents on our AGM page.

After Love - Sunday 24th October 5:00 PM

 

This is Aleem Khan's first feature film, which got the backing of the BBC and the BFI after he was awarded the Screen International 'Star of Tomorrow' in 2015. Our programmers saw this at a weekend of films and loved it. 

"After Love has the agony of a domestic tragedy and the tension of a Hitchcock thriller." - Peter Bradshaw, Guardian

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Are You Ready For Our New Season?

Nomadland

Only a few days to go to our first film since last year; we hope you are looking forward to it! On Sunday 17 October at 5.00pm in the 'new' Alhambra you can see the Oscar winning Nomadland; have you booked your seats yet? 

“Life on the road has never been so tenderly captured, politically alive and profoundly moving.” - Ian Freer, Empire

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Our first film now on 17 October

Those of you who receive the Alhambra emails will already know that they are now scheduled to re-open the new-look Alhambra on Friday 15 October after rotten floor boards further delayed them; the amount of work they have had to do defies belief - Well done them!

We are now planning to have our first film, 'Nomadland' - the double Oscar winner that has been the centre of so much attention this year  - on Sunday 17 October. Another Round and The Father will now be shown at the start of November. 

Apologies for the changes to the dates.  Looking on the bright side, there are still three Oscar winning films for you to enjoy! You should be able to book these via the Alhambra website after 30 September.

Lets get together again in October

After such a long enforced break we hope you are all looking forward to seeing films again. For most of us seeing how marvellous the Alhambra is now looking after the revamp is surely temptation enough to come along and watch a movie. If that wasn't enough, the Alhambra is offering you the latest James Bond movie and whether that tempts you or not Keswick Film Club will be back in action starting with three Oscar winning movies to see on the Big Screen! How can you resist?!

To tie in with the Alhambra relaunch we are now starting on Sunday 3 October. Until everything settles down a bit we are sticking to the way we organised during the lockdowns - we will book and announce films one month at a time rather than having a brochure for the season. You will find information on all the October films here on the website. We are starting off with three Oscar winners that we have missed while we off the air, followed by a British drama and a Danish comedy/thriller.

We'll be back in September (hopefully)

Normally at this time of year we'd be bringing our programme to a close and shutting down for the summer to allow everybody to enjoy the lighter evenings. We only got to show 10 films this year so we were considering carrying on with the club screenings when cinemas were allowed to open. However, you may have heard that the Alhambra is going to stay closed for a little bit longer. Rather excitingly they've made use of the closure to start work on adding a second screen under the balcony. There will be other changes such as a new bar and ticketing area and improved toilets, all without losing any of the current charm. Keep an eye on the Keswick Reminder or sign up for email updates to find out more about what's happening. 

So lets start looking forward to next season! We are hoping to open around our normal date - probably 12 September. We will be planning a whole new season  maybe we can fill the Alhambra again after all this time? More details will follow as we know more - whether Covid-19 is beaten enough for full audiences or if we still have to have social distancing, and we are looking forward to reinstating the brochure and membership again with all its benefits - cheaper seats, season tickets. It will be good to be back and see you all again!

Happy(?) New Year

With Cumbria now in Tier 4 we must close the Film Club again. With the new strain of the virus appearing to spread throughout Britain, and the vaccine not yet in our arms to protect us, we are not expecting to re-open in the short term, but watch this space; we will let you know as soon as we know anything. 

So once again the Club has been disrupted by this horrible pandemic. Please stay safe - wash your hands, wear your mask and keep your distance outside. We will see you again when we can.