Merry Christmas from Keswick Film Club

A Small Act brings us to the end of our Autumn season of films. We're now taking a short break over Christmas but we'll be back on January 8th with The Well Diggers Daughter. There are another 10 films in the Spring Programme as well as an evening of short film and around 30 films on offer at the 13th Keswick Film Festival in February.

Merry Christmas.

A Small Act - Sunday 18th December 2011

And so to our final film of 2011. It only seems like a week or two ago that Adele Blanc Sec kicked off the autumn programme.  A Small Act, on Sunday shouldn't contain any battle scenes, nor any embarrassing nuptuals. From the Guardian:

Directed by an American graduate in African history from UCLA and the University of Nairobi, this touching documentary takes its title from the small amount of money given each month to pay for the education of a poor boy in rural Kenya. Hilde Back arrived in Sweden as a refugee in 1940; her parents died in the Holocaust. The beneficiary of her generosity, Chris Mburu, subsequently went on to Harvard Law School, as did his cousin Jane, and both are now leading figures with the United Nations...

The Princess of Montpensier - Sunday 11th December 5pm

In the run up to Christmas, this week's film, The Princess of Montpensier, should be lighter than last week's. Bertrand Tavernier has been directing films since the 1960s (remember 'Sunday in the Country' or 'Round Midnight'?). He is one of the most prolific and generous of directors, and there is no word that summarizes a "Tavernier film" except, usually, masterful.

The story here is of a noblewoman forced to marry a man she has never met. It is set against the religious wars of the 16th Century in France, but it tells mainly of the  the contradictions between her value as a possession and as an object of desire, between her desires (for both knowledge and passion) and her complete lack of rights to decide for herself.

Outside The Law - Sunday 4th December 5pm

This week's offering looks good - Outside the Law, set in the time of the struggle for independence in Algeria. I am particularly looking forward to seeing one of my favourite actors, Jamel Debbouze in a more serious film - he was the Grocer's assistant in Amelie and the lead in Luc Besson's Angel A, if that rings any bells.

TimeOut described it as follows

French-Algerian filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb’s ‘Outside the Law’ is a fierce historical tale with Jean-Pierre Melville’s ‘Army of Shadows’ (1969) written all over it. Even more sweeping and provocative than his ‘Days of Glory’ (2006), which honoured the contribution of North African troops to the liberation of France in 1944, Bouchareb’s latest fictionalises the origins and campaign of Algeria’s National Liberation Front (FLN), the movement that waged a campaign of violence in France and Algeria in the run-up to independence in 1962. It’s a big, bold film defined by a reserved passion, a stately style and strong performances from its three leads.

Life, Above All - Sunday 27th November 5pm

This week's film is Life, Above All. Based on the novel 'Chanda's Secret', this puts 12 year old Chanda in the hot seat, trying to hold her family together in an AIDS afflicted township in South Africa. We are showing this film just in time for World AIDS Day (1st December), and it comes as a timely reminder that this is still devastating communities in Africa. One of the main reasons it is still so bad there is the African's refusal to recognise it as a disease, preferring to blame witchcraft, poison or, simply each other. It is the death of Chanda's sister here that gets the family ostracised by their community, and Chanda's attempts to deal with it that are the central points of the film.Expect to be deeply moved (especially by the performance of Khomotso Manyaka as Chanda), but also expect humour and a sense of hope for the future. 'A very rewarding watch' - Anna Smith, Empire

Patagonia - Sunday 20th November 5pm

Our world tour takes us from the Middle East to South America and South Wales this week, with Patagonia. It looks like an intriguing offering as described by 'The Arts Desk':

To anyone less than familiar with a transatlantic migration of 150 souls which took place in 1865, a bilingual film with dialogue in Spanish and Welsh may look like a subtitled bridge too far. Any such prejudgement would be a mistake. Patagonia is a film rich in cinematic textures which visits not one but two ravishing parts of the world rarely celebrated in widescreen................If you squint hard at Patagonia in Patagonia, and pretend the grass isn’t yellow, some of its lumps and humps do look a bit like the steep green hills of home. On the deepest level of all, though, Evans’s affecting film asks what ties continue to link these two remarkably dissimilar places from opposite hemispheres, one baked by sun, the other washed by rain. There is no answer beyond memory, and the enchantment lent by distance.

KFC Gala Night, Sunday 13th November

Our next Special Night is coming up this Sunday 13th November. We are showing TWO FILMS for the PRICE OF ONE...PLUS there will be some FREE snacks between the films to keep you sustained!

The evening is our GALA NIGHT which is to thank Rod Evans for all he did for the club since it began in 1998. Rod has chosen both of the films and will be introducing them too, so I am sure a lot of you will want to come along!

The films are The Tree of Life - the winner of this year's 'Palme d'Or' at Cannes, starring Brad Pitt and directed by Terrence Malick which we will be showing at 4.00pm. At 7.30pm, we have Incendies - a mystery thriller based in the Middle East and itself nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Film...a veritable feast of movies!

Between the two movies, there will be some snacks served in the Freemason's Hall over the road from the Alhambra. These will be free to anyone buying a ticket for the films, but we would like to get a rough count of those people who will be there, so please let us know if you plan on coming along.

Confessions - Sunday 6th November 5pm

This weekend we have very different film for you - 'Confessions', another entry for this year's Foreign Language Oscar, this time from Japan. A chilling tale of murder and revenge, we see  a school teacher, Yuko Moriguchi, dealing with the death of her own child which, she believes, was at the hands of the school pupils she teaches, not the accident the police believe. Her 'proof' and revenge are shown in a series of flashbacks, twists and turns.

The director, Tetsuya Nakashima, wraps the story up with 'his signature stylistic inventiveness', making him 'one of the few directors currently working who has intelligence enough to ensure that his films aren't just eye-poppingly stylish but loaded with emotional substance' -  Tom Huddleston, Time Out. A bit different to last week's film, you will agree!

Young Hearts Run Free - Sunday 30th October 5pm

This Sunday's offering Young Hearts Run Free has all the hallmarks of a fascinating evening, almost a rehearsal for the Festival, with a terrific low budget film followed by a Q&A with the Director, Mark Simpson. Its described by the future artists website as;

1974; during a violent miners’ strike in a quiet village a teenage artist meets the gorgeous new girl from London but their tempestous relationship and attempts to escape cause him to betray his family, community and best friends.
With political protests and community bonds straining under a crumbling economy the 1974 setting is relevant for today and Young Hearts Run Free is an uplifting and soulful mix of cool 1970s styles, romance, teenage angst and gritty social realism.
Andy Mark Simpson’s debut feature was made with the director’s own money on a tiny budget but has gone on to get national press attention (***Total Film, ***The Telegraph, ‘Heartfelt’ The Guardian), has won festival awards in Britain, USA and India and has been released in cinemas around the UK not only that but, this from the Bootleg Film Festival: ‘Young Hearts Run Free is a fascinating, passionate, revelatory tale of what it is to be young and in love. This is a wonderfully realised debut from a seriously talented newcomer.’

In A Better World - Sunday 23rd October 5pm

We are back at the Alhambra on Sunday for Susanne Bier's 'In A Better World', which won the 2011 Oscar for the best Foreign Language Film and Golden Globes in both the USA and Italy. Our second Danish film this year brings us two families facing conflict in two parts of the world - In Africa where the father of one boy works in a refugee camp and back home in Denmark where his son tries to deal with being bullied at school. He is helped by his new-found friend, who is himself trying to get over his own mother's death. The Danish title 'Haevnen' translates as 'Revenge', which gives us a better idea of the background story here; revenge or forgiveness? Bier's strength is storytelling and her ability to find actors to do those stories justice. There has been critical acclaim for the actors here too, especially the two boys. 

We had her previous film - 'After the Wedding' - at our 2007 Film Festival, which scored 84% with the audience. So... an award winning film, a good script with good acting and a director we know we like...see you on Sunday at 5.00pm?

Pina 3D - Sunday 16th October 5pm (Rheged)

Our film on Sunday - PINA - is the result of Wim Wenders' inspiration, and should inspire us too! Possibly the first 3D film to move beyond blockbuster trickery, we have a chance to see what a great director can do with it.

Showing on the huge screen at Rheged, this is, quite literally, a film like no other you have seen before... If you want to read more about the efforts made to use 3D here, see www.pina-film.de/en/about-3D

For those who have booked the meal afterwards, please bring cash, as we have promised to collect the money for them and I dont take credit cards...! £9.00 per head please.. See you at Rheged on Sunday at 5.00pm.

Last Call For Rheged Meals

We need to confirm the number of people who will be joining us for the meal after Pina on Sunday. So if you'd like to stay for the food, please can you email Vaughan by 9.00pm on Wednesday 12th October.

For £9 you can choose from:-
1.Lamb and Mint Hotpot with red cabbage and crusty bread
OR
2.Roasted vegetable, tomato and basil pasta

followed by
A.Vanilla Cheesecake and Mango Coulis
OR
B.Ice cream and Berry compote

You can pay on the night, but only if you have ordered in advance, so please reply before you forget! We hope you can all come to the film - it promises to be one of the highlights of the year - and that the idea of making an evening of it appeals too!

Armadillo - Sunday 9th October 5pm

This Sunday we have Armadillo and over at the POV website director, Janus Metz, explains how audiences have reacted to the film:

Armadillo's account and analysis of the brutalizing mechanisms of war has been recognized by audiences all over the world, but it is also a film that doesn't give any direct answers and that dwells on the ambivalence of difficult moral questions. Audiences have come away with different readings of the film, but the fundamental narrative and the exploration of war at ground level have resonated with people all over the world. I have shown the film to Afghans, who have praised it for its precision and importance, and I have shown it to Vietnam vets, who have told me that Armadillo also reflected their experiences.

A night out at Rheged with Wim Wenders and a meal

In less than two weeks on Sunday 16th October we are off to Rheged to see Wim Wenders' 'Pina' on the IMAX screen and in 3D. Wenders sets out to to deliberately use 3D to explore the use of space on a stage as part of choreography, so we can expect to see an answer to the question posed in the trailer - 'Is it Dance? Is it Theatre? Or is it simply life?'

To increase that treat further, if you want, we have organised a meal at Rheged after the film! Why not make an evening of it? For £9.00 you will get the following choice:-

1. Lamb and mint hotpot with red cabbage and crusty bread
or
2. Roasted vegetable, tomato and basil pasta

Followed by:

A. Vanilla cheesecake and mango coulis
or
B. Ice cream and berry compote

If you'd like to come please get in touch with Vaughan and let him know what choices you would like (just 1 or 2 and A or B will do), we may also offer transport if you need it; so let us know about that too!

There is another deal you might be interested in - Rheged now have a new Gallery open which has an exhibition of costumes used in films. As part of our evening, if you want to see this too, you can get in for a special rate of £2.50 before the film - just SHOW YOUR KFC MEMBERSHIP CARD) So why not get to Rheged early and take a look round the gallery too?!

This should be an extra special night for the club; there aren't many 3D films that promise so much, and we get to see it on the large IMAX screen at Rheged too. We hope you can make it!

Please get in touch as soon as you can if you want to eat as well, so we can finalise the arrangements!

Mary and Max - Sunday 2nd October 5pm

It is time for our 'claymation' special this weekend at the Alhambra, which is a novelty for the club and should prove interesting; how do clay models translate to adult movies? What makes one of these movies so good it wins an Oscar?

We have two films to see, both directed by Adam Elliot; the first is the short 'Harvie Krumpet', which won the 2004 Oscar for the Best Animated Short Film - 'The odd biography of a man who has Tourette's Syndrome, chronic bad luck, menial jobs, nudist tendencies, and a book of "fakts" hung around his neck.' I'll confess I am not a 'clay lover', but I have recently watched this film and I'll admit I liked it, despite my initial reservations. A film about life...intriguing!

Our main movie for the night is 'Mary and Max', Elliot's follow-up - 'A tale of friendship between two unlikely pen pals: Mary, a lonely, eight-year-old girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max, a forty-four-year old, severely obese man living in New York'. Adam Elliot certainly picks his subjects! Again, reviewers and audiences seem to love it, what will Keswick Film Club make of it? I suspect we will be mixed, but come along and see what you think!

Keswick Film Club wins more awards at Annual Film Society Awards

The British Federation of Film Societies Annual awards took place in London on 17th September and, once again Keswick did not come away empty handed. This year saw us win a commendation for our Programme again. For a small town, Keswick definitely does well – we have now won 21 awards since winning the Best New Society award in 2000, including Film Society of the Year in 2006.

One of the main reasons for our success was the hard work and inspiration that Rod Evans put into the club until he stood down earlier this year. His work brought him a well deserved award for Outstanding Contribution by an Individual. This award was passed on to Rod at the beginning of our film on Sunday, which was greeted by very warm applause from the audience. We all owe Rod a great deal.

Our Programming has also been the mainstay of our club; no matter how well you run a film night, people only keep coming if they appreciate the films. Keswick has always tried to stay ahead of the pack, for which David Miller deserves much thanks. We have been lucky to have the Keswick Alhambra Monday night programme delivering films that many other film clubs would be proud of, leaving us free to go one stage further in our film selection; thanks to David we have consistently delivered! Our selection of foreign language, art house and
documentary films stands up against any club.

It is also worth mentioning that our website and brochure are, in my humble opinion, as good if not better than any other club. The award for best website was combined with ‘best marketing’ this year, but taking a look at other leading club sites, Stephen Brown also deserves praise; Have a look at any of them and I think you will agree!

Vaughan Ames, KFC Chair

Before The Devil Knows You're Dead - Sunday 22nd September 5pm

This Sunday's film should be less contentious than Louise-Michel, but will definitely be more thrilling. Sydney Lumet directed Philip Seymour-Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney and Marisa Tomei in this 'razor sharp' action thriller in 2008. At that time Lumet was 84, but the pundets have this film down as one of his best, alongside '12 Angry Men' and 'Serpico'. Peter Bradshaw in the Guardian said 'I needed hours to relax my tensed-up muscles'. We are showing this film as a tribute to Sydney Lumet who died last year.

Louise-Michel: 50.31%

Louise-Michel split the audience last night, resulting in a score of 50.31%. Interestingly there were nearly as many 1-star scores as 5-stars ones.

* 12
** 19
*** 21
**** 14
***** 15

Read John Stake's Review for his thoughts on the film.

Louise-Michel - Sunday 18th September 5pm

More Gallic humour this Sunday in the shape of Louise-Michel. I am always wary when critics describe a movie as 'destined to be a cult film' but the overwhelming majority of reviewers have been taken by the mix of black comedy and social comment that Benoit Delepine and Gustave de Kerverne have created.

   

Adele Blanc-Sec: Audience Score 76.7%

The two Keswick organisations that pray most for rain on a regular basis must be the Leisure Pool and the Film Club. Sunday's monsoon, allied to to our traditional opening night get together resulted in a pleasingly full Alhambra (152) for the first film of the Autumn Season.

Not challenging stuff but Indiana Jones avec les sous-titres was a tasty amuse-bouche for the winter nights ahead Adele Blanc-Sec proved to be a fine feelgood opener and showed what the French can do with a ripping yarn, a charming heroine and some serious CGI. 

Autumn Season Launch

Our Autumn programme begins this Sunday with The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec, a light-hearted comedy adventure romp; a 'mix of Amelie and Indiana Jones' according to Empire magazine. You can read the programme notes and watch the trailer here on the website.

As always we'd like to invite you for a start of season drink with us, so please do come along from 4.15pm on 11th September to swap your summer(?) stories with other members.

If you'd like to join or renew your membership you can download the application form and return in - it's tremendously helpful if you can do this before Sunday evening.

We have created an event on our Facebook page if you would like to let us and other 'Fans' know you'll be coming along.

Autumn Trailers

If you're stuck for something to do on your Bank Holiday, you could whet your appetite for the Autumn season with this 30 minute selection of trailers:

Autumn Programme Announced

The new brochures will soon be on their way to members and you can now see the new programme here on the website. Lots of great films to keep you entertained until Christmas including The Tree of Life, Mary and Max, the Oscar winning In A Better World. It all starts on September 11th with The Extraordinary Adventures Of Adele Blanc-Sec.

Autumn Programme

We're busy putting together the details for the Autumn season which will start again on Sunday 11th September. The programme is already looking great and hopefully you're looking forward to seeing what great films we've selected for the winter months. We'll be adding more details to the website soon.

End Of Season

Thank you all for coming to another great season of films, from the under appreciated lows of Uncle Boonmee (39.4%) to the heights of The Wildest Dream (90.6%), all of the scores and audience figures are available here.

Harimaya Bridge was enjoyed by the great majority and we'd like to thank all those who contributed to the collection for a Shelter Box for Japan. The collection's £237 fell a bit short of the £400 needed for Shelter Box, so the committee has decided to make up the rest from any donations you might still wish to make, and from Club reserves.

We'll be back in September with another great selection of films.

UK Première Of Harimaya Bridge - Sunday 10th April 5pm

This Sunday evening, Keswick Film Club is offering you the chance to see the UK Première of Harimaya Bridge free of charge! This a chance to try out our friendly club without paying a penny, so bring along your friends.

Harimaya Bridge is about an American who goes to Japan to reclaim some important family items after the death of his estranged son. While there, he discovers some secrets about his son...

After the recent disaster in Japan, there will be voluntary collection towards a Shelter Box.

Of Gods And Men - Sunday 2nd April 5pm

On Sunday we have what was considered probably the highlight of KFC's spring season: Of Gods and Men - and its reputation has certainly not dimmed since it was selected for our programme back in November. Peter Bradshaw has written a paean of praise (see our 'Cinema Handout' pdf file) as have nearly all the critics - but do have a look in your brochure. You might like the description by Derek Malcolm (London Evening Standard and President of the British Federation of Film Societies, no less): 'This is a deeply humane and compassionate film... moving because it tells us, often in the quietest detail, what basic decency and goodness really means.' I haven't used 'unmissable' much this year. Unmissable!

AGM + Loose Cannons - Sunday 25th March from 4pm

Cinema-going may not be top of your list in weather like this, but we do hope you’ll be able to get to the AGM on Sunday. 4pm at the Alhambra. Ask your questions, have your say - and meet your new Chairman! The meeting usually lasts only half an hour or so, but if you really can’t make it, do try to get to the Alhambra by 5pm for Loose Cannons. It’s said by David Parkinson of Empire magazine, the critic of great taste and distinction who gave our Festival such a good write-up, to be ‘a slickly funny and polished Italian romantic comedy’ and described by Ben Walters of Time Out as ‘engaging, affecting, well-acted & handsomely shot’ It has done pretty well for audience reaction on the Rotten Tomatoes website too, so we’re hoping it will please the majority.

The Wildest Dream at Rheged IMAX - Sunday 20th March 5pm

'For lovers of the greatest of outdoors, The Wildest Dream is a worthy excursion, especially on the big IMAX screen.' say Film Threat. Yes, you can catch it at 2pm on certain days at Rheged, but for the Club experience, do try to get there on Sunday - for another thing it's £3.50 cheaper! (Unless you're a senior citizen or child, which makes us only £2 cheaper). Here's another quote from a critic you probably won't have heard of: "This, not crud like A Christmas Carol, is what IMAX is made for. The visually astonishing Dream turns nature into artwork, whether Anker's partner Leo Houlding is doing a crazy-dangerous climb without safety ropes or Anker's enjoying a view that makes him look parallel to the sun."

Uncle Boonme - Sunday March 13th 5pm

We’re looking forward to Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Thai movie Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian, who isn’t given to doling out plaudits to also-rans, awards it 5 stars and describes it thus: ‘a cumbersome title, but it is a gloriously worthy winner of the Palme d'Or at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival This is a visionary film in the director's characteristic style: mysterious, dreamlike, gentle, quiet, magical. It has elements that are at first glance absurd, and at second or third glance, too, come to that. But they are beguiling and beautiful as well: the extended, wordless opening sequence in which a water buffalo appears to break free from its rope and roam the plains and forests of north-east Thailand at dusk is superbly filmed…It all has something sublime and visionary about it, with a spiritual quality I can't remember seeing in any film recently. Uncle Boonmee offers pleasure and heartbreak in equal measure… one of those rare films that contribute to the sum of human happiness’

On Tour - Sunday 6th March 5pm

This is how Edinburgh Filmhouse described On Tour: Mathieu Amalric (you saw him as the locked-in character in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly or even the villain in Quantum of Solace) ‘revives the genre of backstage drama through a performance form that is itself a revival of a moribund art – burlesque. The result is an entertaining, nostalgic film with a lot of charm. Amalric stars as a former French TV producer and personality who has returned from an extended stay in the United States with a troupe of New Burlesque artists. He has planned a tour of the port cities of France from Le Havre to Toulouse, then on to a grand finale in Paris.’ There’s much more information in the film notes:, where Jason Wood of Little White Lies – a review site I’m finding increasingly trustworthy – finishes his review with ‘The film’s conclusion… is amongst the finest and most thrillingly executed sequences in recent French cinema’

The Wildest Dream at Rheged

The message from Rheged is that The Wildest Dream looks fantastic on their huge IMAX screen, so we hope you’ll be able to join Club members on 20th March for a memorable experience. A large part of the idea though is to invite you to eat in the Rheged restaurant after the film: you can choose 2 courses (starter and main, or main and dessert) at £11.95, or 3 courses at £14.95.

There is a bus service from Keswick at 16.15, and which gets to Rheged at 16.45 for those not wishing to drive, but, unfortunately, not back. If people want us to arrange a coach please let us know – that would be likely to cost £4-5 if about 50 people were interested. We also need 50 people to want to eat in order to make the meal happen, and Rheged would like to know names and choices fairly soon, so if you could please let Rod know by Thursday 10th March if you’re feeling peckish (and include ‘yes’ to a coach if you want transport), that would be very helpful.

Enemies of the People - Sunday 27th February 5pm

Enemies of the People is coming up on Sunday. If you enjoyed seeing The Killing Fields in the 2002 Festival, part of our 'Painting with Light - Great cinematographers' strand, (Chris Menges, DP for that film was, along with Jack Cardiff, one of the illustrious band) you'll doubtless really welcome the chance to complete your knowledge of those terrible Khmer Rouge times in Cambodia. But no matter if you didn't: Enemies of the People is quite capable of standing alone as a gripping documentary aimed at restoring justice and healing old wounds. It scored 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, and achieved a high audience satisfaction too. Derek Adams of Time Out said 'This is patient, persistent, probing and fearless journalism of the highest order and it shocks to the core.' and just look at Andrew Marr's tribute on the film page, where you can also find the notes.

Certified Copy - Sunday 20th February 5pm

After the Festival we're back to the old familiar routine of good films for a Sunday evening... This Sunday we’ve got Certified Copy (Copie conforme) – The distinguished Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami’s first film made in Europe, employing one of Europe’s foremost actresses – Juliette Binoche got the Best Actress gong at Cannes last year for her performance – and William Shimell, usually listed as ‘one of Britain's most accomplished operatic baritones’ in his first major film role.

12th Keswick Film Festival

12th Keswick Film Festival: Thursday 10th - Sunday 13th
www.keswickfilmfestival.org

Peepli [Live] - Sunday 6th February 5pm

We're looking forward to one more film before the Festival and on Sunday Peepli [Live] should appeal to hearts and minds equally. One of the central themes - Indian farmers' suicides - won't immediately seem an antidote to the sad lives depicted in the last two Sundays' films but, though tragic, it is an amusing part of a Catch-22 situation satirised by Anusha Rizvi in her debut feature. For example, Boxoffice Magazine tells us: 'The juxtaposition of the tragedy and the lunacy of the circumstances are not completely disparate; satire is an appropriate weapon here, but it's the drama in Peepli Live that truly resonates.' And Moving Pictures Magazine: 'Its comical, sharply observant caricatures of India's political and media jackals offers a much-needed reality check in a country where celluloid escapism is too often the rule.' And finally Empire speaks of 'a highly-assured debut by Rizvi' and The Guardian 'a satirical gem'. Sounds intriguing...?

The Arbor - Sunday 30th January 5pm

Did you know that on Sunday we have what Sight & Sound judged (through their panel of eminent international critics) as number 5 on the list of the best ten of 2010? Yes, The Arbor, the story of playwright Andrea Dunbar. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear you say ‘no’: some films (The King’s Speech?) get the hype they deserve, others don’t, and this one didn’t. At the London Film Festival, director, Clio Barnard, another artist turned filmmaker, took home the Sutherland award, given to the director of the most original feature, as well as the best British newcomer prize. She also won the BIFA for best British newcomer.

Before that, we’re going to be treated to a very professional-looking short called Corpses and Other Teenage Problems made by Halifax-based Robert Frost, who is coming along on person to introduce it. All things considered, it should be a very entertaining evening.

Leap Year - Sunday 23rd January 5pm

Coming up on Sunday, we have Leap Year, another Mexican film (made by an Australian) but it's a case of chalk and cheese, after Alamar: you just need to look at the description in the KFC spring brochure to see that the subject matter is challenging, and may not be to the taste of all. But we do think that it's the kind of film that gives the breadth and vitality to its programme that any active film club should be countenancing, especially when that film wins the Caméra d'or at Cannes 2010 (Steve McQueen won it for Hunger in 2008) and it gains the approval of 100% of the critics on Rotten Tomatoes. 'Proves, if you were beginning to doubt, that people still make good grown-up films' said Nigel Andrews of the Financial Times. So, 'strong adult content', as they say - please don't come if you're likely to be offended...

There's quite a lot more to find out about it, if you need further info, in the programme notes (PDF)

Alamar - Sunday 16th January 5pm

This Sunday before Alamar (To the Sea) we'll be showing Oceans Journey, an underwater travelogue by local filmmaker John Walker both films contain some beautiful nature photography. Alamar was largely overlooked on release but well praised by the critics:

'Moving...assured, refreshingly simple...a bubble of blissed-out tropicalia.' Time Out.

'An immensely charming movie.' Daily Express.

'Lyrical...beautiful.' Seattle Times.

Spring Season Opening - The Kids Are All Right

As is traditional now, we’re going to kick off the next part of our year with drinks (wine or juice) on Sunday 9th at 4.15pm. Do come along to wish your friends and fellow-members a Happy New Year before The Kids Are All Right at 5pm.