Film / News
Event Cinema for November 2016
Opera, ballet, political docs, outdoor adventuring flicks, Alan Bennett, silent classics with live music, Hieronymous Bosch, the marvellous Idiocracy and a great deal more. It’s another packed month of event cinema. Don’t forget that the Afrika Eye film festival also takes place at the Watershed over the weekend of Nov 11-13, while BFI Black Star continues all month. Oh, and if you fancy a trip to Bath, the Bath Film Festival (Nov 3-13) has an exceptional programme of previews, regional premieres and events.
A timely free screening of this US documentary exploring grassroots opposition to fracking in the face of huge corporations with shitloads of money and suitably oily PR people at their disposal. Should the scientific arguments about the health and environmental consequences of the process be insufficient to persuade you, there’s the requisite celebrity endorsement of the anti-fracking cause from the likes of Mark Ruffalo and Nathalie Merchant. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the film’s executive producer, Mark Lichty, who’s in the UK on a nine-day tour. Doors open at 7pm, with the film on screen at 7.30pm. Go here for more details.
Screening Nov 1: Trinity Centre
Royal Opera House Live: Anastasia
One of legendary British choreographer Kenneth MacMillan’s first creations on becoming director of the Royal Ballet in 1970, this expressionist meditation on memory and identity is based on a real-life historical case that had fascinated him. Back in the 1920s, a psychiatric patient named Anna Anderson claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia, daughter of the last Tsar of Russia, who had somehow survived the Russian Revolution. It’s set to music by Tchaikovsky to evoke Anastasia’s privileged upbringing, with Martinu’s more edgy modern work proving a perfect fit for the growing identity confusion
Screening Nov 2: Everyman, Orpheus, Vue Cribbs Causeway, Vue Longwell Green, Odeon
Encore screening Nov 6: Vue Cribbs Causeway, Vue Longwell Green
The Fabulous Nicholas Brothers
Self-taught African-American entertainers Fayard (1914-2006) and Harold (1921-2000) Nicholas became one of the biggest musical acts of their time, headlining on Broadway, radio and television and in vaudeville and nightclubs. Their dazzling, show-stopping numbers in movies such as Down Argentine Way, Sun Valley Serenade and Stormy Weather made them international icons. Fans have Gene Kelly, who teamed up with them in The Pirate; Bob Fosse and Gregory Hines, whose first acts were modelled on them; ballet legends George Balanchine and Mikhail Baryshnikov; Michael Jackson, who once had Fayard as a dance coach; and Fred Astaire, who named their Stormy Weather ‘staircase’ number the greatest of all musical sequences. In this BFI Black Star event, Bruce Goldstein – Director of Repertory Programming at Film Forum in New York – presents a unique compilation tribute to the Nicholas Brothers, featuring a collage of rarely seen home movies, photographs and film clips.
Screening Nov 2: Watershed
The Curious World of Hieronymus Bosch
Held at the Het Noordbrabants Museum in the Netherlands earlier this year, Hieronymus Bosch – Visions of Genius was the once-in-a-lifetime, largest ever Bosch retrospective, bringing together 36 of his 44 surviving works. If you were unable to get there, this HD Exhibition on Screen documentary is as close as you’re ever likely to get. The advantage, of course, is that you don’t get frogmarched past the exhibits and have benefit of informed commentary from the likes of filmmaker and artist Peter Greenaway, The Times’ Chief Art Critic Rachel Campbell-Johnston, and Director of the Het Noordbrabants Museum Dr. Charles de Mooij.
Screening Nov 3: Everyman
Screening Nov 8 & Nov 10: Vue Cribbs Causeway
F.W. Murnau’s expressionist vampire classic, starring the splendidly creepy Max Schrek. Murnau’s film was an unauthorised adaptation of Dracula, so the title had to be changed and the Count’s name switched from Dracula to Orlok. The director wasn’t even allowed to use the word ‘vampire’. Nonetheless, Bram Stoker’s heirs still won a court ruling that ordered all prints be destroyed. Just one escaped, and that’s the version which survives to this day. Some say it’s still the greatest vampire movie ever made. It’s screened at the Curzon with a live score performed by My Octopus.
Screening Nov 3: Curzon
The BBC and See Hear celebrate all things related to sign language and the deaf community in film and television with this series of screenings and workshops. Saturday’s screenings kick off at 10am with See Hear: Then and Now, which explores the evolution and 35-year history of the first and longest-running deaf programme in the world. This is followed at 12.15pm by Life and Deaf – an immersive documentary that created quite a stir when it was shown on BBC4 earlier this year. Finally, Deaf Shorts at 3.15pm comprises four very different short films, each with deaf characters and sign language at their heart. Sunday brings a panel discussion on The Future of Deaf Television starting at 11am. Participants include Camilla Arnold (Producer, Flashing Lights Media), Kerena Marchant (Head of Content, British Sign Language Broadcasting Trust) and William Mager (Series Producer, BBC See Hear). Tickets for all events are free and can be booked in advance. All screenings are subtitled, and feature sign language. All presentations and Q&A sessions will include live speech to text transcription and a sign language interpreter. In addition, all of the Watershed’s cinema auditoria are fitted with induction loop systems and are wheelchair accessible. Go here for the full See Hear weekend programme.
Screening Nov 5 & 6: Watershed
Idiocracy + live stand-up comedy
Poor old Beavis and Butt-head creator Mike Judge hasn’t had much luck with his feature films. His cult hit Office Space didn’t get a UK cinema release. Nor did this bracingly non-PC political satire from 2006, which Fox had no idea how to market. Today, it seems like a prescient insight into Trump’s America. In the present day, Luke Wilson is deemed sufficiently average to participate in a military hibernation experiment and is promptly forgotten. Five centuries on, he awakes to find that stupid people have outbred clever ones and the world is run by morons. “Evolution does not necessarily reward intelligence,” explains the opening narration. “With no natural predators to thin the herd, it began to simply reward those who reproduced the most, and left the intelligent to become an endangered species.” Judge recently acknowledged the inaccuracy of his prediction, observing that he was off by 490 years. This welcome StandUp Picture Show screening is perfectly timed to take place just four days ahead of the US presidential election. It’s preceded by live comedy from Tiernan Douieb, Fin Taylor, Jo Duncan and more. The event is bound to sell out quickly, so bag your tickets in advance here.
Screening Nov 5: Cube
Bolshoi Ballet: The Bright Stream
There’s cross-dressing high-jinks ahoy at harvest time down on a Soviet collective farm, where the arrival of a dance troupe reunites a ballerina with her childhood friend, Zina. Role-swapping ensues to teach Zina’s unfaithful hubby a lesson. Shostakovich anticipated that his jolly ballet, replete with happy dancing proletarians and a cycling dog, would delight Stalin. Alas, he was mistaken and dictatorial chuckles were not forthcoming. Indeed, history records that the co-librettist was packed off to a gulag and never seen again. You may wish to note that this isn’t a live broadcast, but a recording of a Bolshoi performance from 2012.
Screening Nov 6: Showcase Cinema De Lux, Orpheus, Vue Cribbs Causeway, Vue Longwell Green
Remember Black Pond – the hugely enjoyable ultra-low-budget, BAFTA-nominated Britflick from 2012 about a middle-class family vilified after a man dies at their dinner table? This had plenty of local connections, notably the fact that co-director Will Sharpe used to be down this way a lot when he was in Casualty. Now he’s teamed up with Tom Kingsley once more for what’s billed as “a romantic comedy set in space, or – to be more specific – planet Earth”. It follows world-weary banker Zac on his search for his eccentric sister, Alice, who goes missing while on a narrowboat trip with her new boyfriend. The cast includes Simon Bird of The Inbetweeners fame. Will and Tom will be present for a Q&A after this screening.
Screening Nov 6: Cube
Mumford & Sons: Dust and Thunder
The much-mocked yet hugely popular Mumfords treat a grateful South Africa to their new, slightly rockier, banjo-free sound. It’s directed by veteran Dick Carruthers, whose credits range from Led Zeppelin: Celebration Day to Oasis: There and Then and Aerosmith Rocks Donington.
Screening Nov 8: Showcase Cinema De Lux
Mountain Film Festival: Mountains on Stage
Established in France in 2013, the Mountain Film Festival comes to the UK for the first time with a selection of four films exploring winter in the mountains, from freeride skiing to dog sledding. Expect “personal stories, spectacular scenery and adrenaline fuelled scenes from athletes and film makers at the very top of their game.” Advance tickets are available here.
Screening Nov 8: Showcase Avonmeads
The tobacco industry developed a handy PR trick. By putting up so-called experts who cast doubt on the harmful effects of smoking, it sowed the seeds of doubt and created the illusion of a scientific debate. This proved so successful that it has become a model for climate change deniers, backed by legions of pliable, red-faced, right-wing social media keyboard warriors whose level of scientific understanding is generally on a par with their spelling and punctuation. Robert Kenner, director of the Oscar-nominated food industry expose Food Inc, lifts the lid on the small band of professional spinners, obfuscators and pseudo-scientists, often backed by fake ‘grassroots’ organisations, whose objective is to delay action against their paymasters for as long as possible. It’s adapted from the book of the same title, co-written by Harvard professor Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway. The Salt Cafe’s screening will be introduced by ecologist Nikki Jones.
Screening Nov 9: Salt Café
The Psychedelic Society of Bristol presents this documentary about a man who decides to opt for a quick fix after being addicted to opiates for more than 20 years. The radical psychedelic detox agent ibogaine cleanses addiction by putting the user into a gut-wrenching hallucinatory state for 36 hours. But several fatalities have been reported in connection with the unlicensed drug, and he must weigh up the options before embarking on the trip of a lifetime. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director David Graham Scott and professionals using psychedelics in the treatment of addiction.
Screening Nov 12: Cube
The Draughtsman’s Contract + artists’ shorts
Weird, is it not, how little we see of Peter Greenaway’s work on the big screen these days, in contrast to that of his dead boring contemporaries Wim Wenders and Jim Jarmusch? Back in the early ’80s, Greenaway was the undisputed king of UK arthouse cinema, with each release leading to queues round the block. The Draughtman’s Contract was his feature debut and pretty much established the Watershed’s reputation on release back in 1982, just after the venerable media centre opened. Driven by a distinctive Michael Nyman score, it’s the ribald tale of a 17th century draughtsman (Anthony Higgins), who’s hired to make 12 drawings of a vast country estate. His payment comes in the form of sexual favours dispensed by the landowner’s wife and daughter. Witty and intriguing, it’s ripe for rediscovery. It’s back on screen with a selection of artists’ short films to complement the Arnolfini’s Daphne Wright: Emotional Archaeology exhibition.
Screening Nov 13: Arnolfini
The Battle of the Somme + live accompaniment
A huge box office hit on release in 1916, with nearly 20 million people flocking to see it, this British government propaganda film blends real footage with sequences that were staged for the cameras. The Curzon’s screening includes live musical accompaniment.
Screening Nov 13: Curzon
Purple Rain + ‘Jam of the Year’
Prince’s brazenly egotistical first and best foray into film is the semi-autobiographical tale of ‘The Kid’ (guess who), who experiences all the usual trials and tribulations on his way to pop stardom. The performances are pretty ropy and the film was nominated for two Razzies: Worst Original Song (Prince for Sex Shooter) and Worst New Star (Appollonia Kotero). But Prince was at the height of his powers back in 1984, so fans were happy to overlook such shortcomings. This Colston Hall event is the centrepiece of Bristol’s contribution to BFI Black Star, which is billed as “the UK’s biggest ever season of film and television dedicated to celebrating the range, versatility and power of black actors”. The evening kicks off at 6pm with Alex Penfold and band, dance group Funk Supreme, and various guests. Purple Rain is shown on a particularly huge screen at 7pm. Then there’s an after-party with Norman Jay MBE. Advance tickets are available here. Go here for more on BFI Black Star in Bristol.
Screening Nov 13: Colston Hall
European Outdoor Film Tour 2016
The 16th annual European Outdoor Film Tour pitches up at St. George’s once again. The programme runs for a total of 120 mins with a 30 minute break to get your breath back. Advance tickets cost £13.50, including inevitable ‘handling fee’, and are available here.
Screening: St. George’s, Nov 14
Royal Opera House Live: Les Contes d’Hoffmann
Convinced that his four lovers have been snaffled by a succession of villains, tortured and somewhat pissed poet Hoffmann is compelled to regale his buddies with his serial romantic misfortunes. Drawn from three yarns by E.T.A. Hoffmann, Offenbach’s ever-popular opera fantastique is packed with clockwork dolls, magical glasses, ghostly voices and sensual courtesans. Completed before he carked it in 2003, obviously, Midnight Cowboy and Marathon Man director John Schlesinger’s 1980 production sets the tales in the late 19th century. Vittorio Grigolo takes the title role while baritone Thomas Hampson multi-tasks as all four villains.
Screening Nov 15: Showcase Cinema De Lux, Everyman, Orpheus, Vue Cribbs Causeway, Vue Longwell Green, Odeon
Encore screening Nov 20: Vue Cribbs Causeway, Vue Longwell Green
Inspired by the great man’s acerbic diaries, Adam Low’s documentary follows 82-year-old writer and – cliché alert! – national treasure Alan Bennett over the course of a year as he travels to New York, the scene of his early triumph in Beyond The Fringe, to accept an award from the city’s Public Library; to Shepherd’s Bush to record an episode of Private Passions for Radio 3 and open up about the importance of music in his life; to his local community-run library in Primrose Hill, which, he despairs, some would rather see turned into a Pizza Hut; to the East Coast railway line, which he’d like to see renationalised; and to the village in Yorkshire he calls home. He also talks about his yearning to own a donkey. The screening is followed by a new-fangled live satellite broadcast of a Q&A with Bennett from his local library in Primrose Hill.
Screening Nov 16: Showcase Cinema De Lux, Everyman, Curzon, Vue Cribbs Causeway, Vue Longwell Green
Everybody’s favourite, phenomenally popular purveyor of light, waltz-oriented entertainment to mature audiences sure doesn’t fuck about when it comes to getting a head start on the festive season. Reassuringly, it’s much the same as usual, with ‘King of the Waltz’ Andre Rieu leading punters on a “live intimate tour of Maastricht’s magical Christmas highlights”, as well as participating in a Q&A. The small print reveals this is the only live part of the broadcast, as the concert itself was recorded last year. Expect Jingle Bells, White Christmas and so on, plus all the usual waltzy stuff and shitloads of fake snow.
Screening Nov 19: Cineworld Yate, Cineworld Hengrove, Vue Longwell Green, Vue Cribbs Causeway, Curzon, Orpheus, Everyman, Showcase Cinema De Lux
Encore screening Nov 27: Showcase Cinema De Lux, Cineworld Yate, Vue Longwell Green, Vue Cribbs Causeway
The Australian Ballet: Cinderella
Russian-American choreographer Alexei Ratmansky puts a colourful spin on ye old tale of domestic servitude, misplaced footwear, handsome princes and fairy godmothers. It’s the second of three pre-recorded ballets from down under that are heading for British cinema screens. Next up is Coppelia (April 19, 2017).
Screening Nov 23: Showcase Cinema De Lux, Orpheus, Vue Cribbs Causeway, Vue Longwell Green
Teatro dell’Opera: Tristan und Isolde
Just in case the Metropolitan Opera’s recent Tristan und Isolde wasn’t enough Wagner for you, here’s another production of his epic meditation on love and death. This one opens the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma’s 2016/2017 season. It’s conducted by Daniele Gatti and directed by Pierre Audi. This is a co-production of – deep breath – the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, the Theiatre des Champs-Eìlyseìes in Paris, the De Nationale Opera in Amsterdam and the Municipal Theater in Sao Paulo.
Screening Nov 27: Showcase Cinema de Lux
A new documentary about the life and career of the speediest fella on the planet – and quite possibly the only athlete not to be pumped full of drugs – Usain Bolt. This screening includes live footage broadcast from the film’s London premiere, plus an exclusive interview with Mr. Bolt himself.
Screening Nov 28: Showcase Cinema De Lux, Vue Cribbs Causeway, Vue Longwell Green
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