21st August (3rd Friday)

Fallen Leaves

Finland | 2023 | 81 mins | Comedy, Drama, Romance | Dir: Aki Kaurismäki

Cast: Alma Pöysti, Jussi Vatanen and Janne Hyytiäinen

In modern-day Helsinki, two lonely souls in search of love meet by chance in a karaoke bar. However, their path to happiness is beset by obstacles – from lost phone numbers to mistaken addresses, alcoholism, and a charming stray dog. (Source: IMDB)

Official submission of Finland for the ‘Best International Feature Film’ category of the 96th Academy Awards in 2024. The film was selected to compete for the Palme d’Or at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize. Between 2023 and 2025, Fallen Leaves won 12 awards and received 60 nominations. Its Awards include in 2024, for Best Film Not in the English Language (USA National Society of Film Critics Awards), Best Director at the Chicago International Film Festival, and the Audience Award at the Munich Film Festival.

Accompanying Short Film: Post-It Love | 2009 | Atkinson / Townley (TO BE CONFIRMED)

17th July (3rd Friday)

A Town Like Alice

UK | 1956 |117 mins | Drama, Romance, War | Dir: Jack Lee 
Cast: Virginia McKenna and Peter Finch

This drama, based on the book by Nevil Shute, focuses on Jean Paget (Virginia McKenna), a British office worker captured by the Japanese in Malaysia during World War II. Kept with other women prisoners, Jean eventually meets Australian soldier Joe Harman (Peter Finch), who secretly aids the weary group by stealing food. When Joe’s actions are discovered, he is punished, and Jean assumes him to be dead. However, years later, she finds out he may still be alive and sets out in search of him. (Source: Rotten Tomatoes)

At the 1957 BAFTA Awards, A Town Like Alice won two awards, one for Best Actress (Virginia McKenna), the other for Best Actor (Peter Finch). It received a further five nominations, including Best British Film, Best British Screenplay, and Best Film from any Source.  It was also nominated for the Best Cinematography Award at the British Society of Cinematographers Awards.

Accompanying Short Film: Offside | 2006 |Nattiv / Tadmor (TO BE CONFIRMED)

19th June (3rd Friday)

Loving Vincent

Poland | 2017 | 94 mins | Animation, Drama, Mystery

Dirs: DK Welchman (as Dorota Kobiela) and Hugh Welchman

Cast: Robert Gulaczyk, Douglas Booth, Jerome Flynn

In the summer of 1891 in France, nearly twelve months after master painter Vincent van Gogh’s (Robert Gulaczyk’s) mysterious death, Armand Roulin (Douglas Booth), the local postman’s (Chris O’Dowd’s) young son, is reluctantly tasked with delivering one of the artist’s final letters to his brother Theo, in Paris. However, when Armand discovers that Theo too met his own demise, he embarks on a mission to investigate Vincent’s untimely death, starting off from scenic Auvers-sur-Oise. Has Van Gogh committed suicide or was he murdered? As Armand’s search for evidence continues, there’s more to this enigma than meets the eye. (Source: Nick Riganas)

In 2017 and 2018 Loving Vincent was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film in the Academy Awards and won 24 of 53 other award nominations.
The world’s first fully painted animation feature. It was filmed in live-action with real actors and actresses, then each frame was painted and animated. Each of this enchanting movie’s 65,000 frames is an oil painting on canvas, using the same identical technique as Vincent van Gogh, created by a team of one hundred painters, animated with rotoscope. No AI or CGI in this masterpiece. In the end credits, the cast and sets are shown before painting.

Accompanying Short Film: Birthday Boy | 2004| Sejopng Pank

15th May (3rd Friday)

The Miracle Worker 

USA | 1962 | 106 mins | Biography, Drama | Dir: Arthur Penn

Cast: Patty Duke, Anne Bancroft, Victor Jory, Inga Swenson, Andrew Prine

Blind and deaf after suffering a terrible fever as a baby, young Helen Keller (Patty Duke) has spent years unable to communicate, leaving her frustrated and occasionally violent. As a last chance before she is institutionalized, her parents (Inga Swenson, Andrew Prine) contact a school for the blind, which sends half-blind Annie Sullivan (Anne Bancroft) to teach Helen. Helen is initially resistant, but Annie gradually forms a bond with her and shows Helen ways of reaching others. (Source: Rotten Tomatoes)

It will be impossible for this Arthur Penn classic to not touch your soul.

Accompanying Short Film: Impairable | 2016 | Mark Alex Vogt (TO BE CONFIRMED)

17th April (3rd Friday)

One, Two, Three

Germany/USA | 1961 | 104 mins | Comedy | Dir: Billy Wilder

Cast: James Cagney, Pamela Tiffin, Horst Buchholz, Arlene Francis and Liselotte Pulver

In 1961, MacNamara is a managing director for Coca Cola in West Berlin, just before the Wall is put up. When his boss’ daughter Scarlett comes to West Berlin, MacNamara must look after her, which becomes a difficult task. After MacNamara has found out that Scarlett is seeing an East German communist named Otto, he goes to extreme lengths trying to conceal this from the girl’s father in order to save his job. (Source: Leon Wolters)

In 1962, One Two Three was nominated for an Oscar and two Golden Globe awards – Best Cinematography black and white, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Motion Picture.

This Wilder classic is not to be missed.

Accompanying Short Film: The Coldest Caller | 2011 | John Tucker

27TH March (4TH Friday)

Ray 

USA | 2004 | 152 mins | Biography, Drama, Music | Dir: Taylor Hackford

Cast: Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, and Regina King

Legendary rhythm and blues singer Ray Charles’ life transpires on-screen. Told in his adult life with flashbacks to his youth. Ray Charles was born into an impoverished family in Florida and had a turbulent childhood which included losing his brother and then his sight at the age of seven. He found refuge in music and sounds and found his calling and his gift behind a piano keyboard. Touring across the southern musical circuit, the soulful singer gained a reputation. His dynamic personality and tremendous talent were an explosive combination. Ray took 1940s and 1950s America by surprise. Ray pioneered the coupling of gospel and country music, and started a musical revolution with his emotional interpretations, the characteristic suit, and the big smile on his face. Ray Charles is one of the most enduring and inimitable performers in modern music.

In 2006, Ray won two Grammy Awards for its soundtrack, and in 2005 won or was nominated for six Academy Awards, four BAFTA awards and multiple other awards.

Accompanying Short Film: Things Might Grow | 2020 | John Mathieson

20TH February (3rd Friday)

Lucky Grandma

USA | 2019 | 87 mins | Comedy, Crime, Drama | Dir: Sasie Sealy

Cast: Tsai Chin, Hsiao-Yuan Ha and Michael Tow

In the heart of Chinatown, New York, an ordinary, chain-smoking, newly-widowed 80-year-old grandma (Tsai Chin) is eager to live as an independent woman despite the worry of her family. When a local fortune teller predicts a most auspicious day in her future, Grandma decides to head to the casino and goes all-in, only to land herself on the wrong side of luck. But her fortunes appear to change when, on the bus home, the man sitting beside her suddenly expires and she absconds with his bag stuffed with US dollar bills. However, the money belongs to New York’s Chinese mob and she finds herself at the centre of a Chinatown gang war. Still, never underestimate an unflappable pensioner.

Accompanying Short Film:  Looney Tunes: How to catch a duck  (TO BE CONFIRMED)

21st November (Third Friday)

COSI

Australia | 1996 | 103 mins | Comedy/Drama/Music/Romance | Dir: Mark Joffe
Cast: Ben Mendelsohn, Barry Otto and Toni Collette

Lewis, a young Sydney amateur theatre director at his first experience, is offered a job with a Governmental program for the rehabilitation of mentally ill patients in a Sydney institution for mentally ill. His project is overrun by one of the patients Roy who wants to put on stage, “Cosi Fan Tutte” (Mozart). None of the patients in the cast can sing and none of them know Italian, which is the language of the libretto. Through a lot of difficulties Lewis and his cast develop a deep understanding. The play smartly adapted for the unusual cast is finally produced: lots of unforeseen situations solved ‘a la crazy way’ but indeed brilliantly. Great success and sad farewell of the director from his cast.

Make sure to pencil Cosi into your calendar and diary.

 

Accompanying Short Film: Taj Mahal presents
UK | Year | 6m | Short | Dir: David Dearlove | Cast: Phil Davis, Tom Ashley, Director’s Dad

17th October (Third Friday)

AU REVOIR LES ENFANTS [GOODBYE, CHILDREN]

French | 1987 | 104 mins | War/Drama | Dir: Louis Malle
Cast: Gaspard Manesse, Raphael Fejtö and Francine Racette

In 1944, upper class boy, Julien Quentin, and his brother, François, travel to Catholic boarding school in the countryside after vacations. Julien is a leader and good student and when the new student, Jean Bonnet, arrives in the school, they have friction in their relationship. However, Julien learns to respect Jean and discovers that he is Jewish, and the school’s priests are hiding him from the Nazis. They become best friends and Julien keeps the secret. When the priest Jean discovers that the servant Joseph is stealing supplies from the school to sell in the black market, he fires the youth. Soon the Gestapo arrives at school to investigate the students and the priests that run and work in the boarding school.

Between 1988 and 1989, Au Revoir Les Enfants won 28 awards, including Best Film (French Cesar Awards), and received 12 nominations, including, in 1988, for Best Foreign Language Film and for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (US Academy Awards).

 

Accompanying Short Film: The Monk and the Fish
UK | 1994 | 6:41 | Animation Short | Dir:Michaël Dudok de Wit | Awards: César Award for Best Short Film (1996); Academy Award for Best Short Film (animated) (1995); BAFTA Award for Best British Short Film (1995).

19th September (Third Friday)

THE SQUARE

Australia | 2008 | 105 mins | Noir/Thriller | Dir: Nash Edgerton
Cast: David Roberts, Claire van der Boom and Joel Edgerton

Lovers, Ray and Carla, plan to burn down her house at Christmas and to run off with her husband’s drug money. Ray has a side scheme going too, taking kickbacks on the love hotel project whose construction he is managing. The suburban Aussie marrieds live across a river from each other, the much older, domesticated Ray in an upper middle-class neighbourhood, Carla on the wrong side of the water. The cheaters will lure their families to the same Christmas picnic celebration, to provide alibis while still being able to sneak off and chat about the arson. Carla’s tow-truck owner hubby, Smithy, is a fearsome tough to cross, so will the philanderers’ holiday gifts come through, or explode in their lying faces?

Between 2008 and 2011, The Square won two awards and received 15 nominations, including, in 2009, for Best Film (Film Critics Circle of Australian Awards and Australian Film Institute and Sydney Film Festival).

 

Accompanying Short Film: Death Doula
2022| 39m | Animation | Comedy | Drama | Dir: Jenna Sutch | Awards: Jenna Sutch won the “Outstanding Director Drama” award for her work on the series.