Film / watershed
Watershed reveals top films of 2023
Over 125,000 people visited the Watershed cinema in 2023, in a year which saw Barbie mania, restored old films, a Q&A with Tilda Swinton and threats to the venue’s funding.
The independent cinema released its yearly statistics on Monday, including its most watched films of 2023.
The year saw thousands come together at locations across the city to come and play as part of the cinema’s Playable City Week.
Meanwhile its Cinema Rediscovered programme saw a record breaking year for admissions, with thousands turning out to celebrate classic, restored, and rare old films.
And in even more good news, four of the cinema’s most films were directed by women this year, a record for the Watershed.
But one pink-filled film topped the list, with Greta Gerwig’s Barbie drawing in droves of adoring fans to dance at Barbie-themed cocktail parties, meet drag queen Quiches Lorraine at the cinema’s Barbie Party, and pose in the glittery Barbie-themed photo booth.
Here is the list of the cinema’s best sellers of 2023:
- Barbie (director: Greta Gerwig)
- Asteroid City (director: Wes Anderson)
- Saltburn (director: Emerald Fennell)
- Past Lives (director: Celine Song)
- The Old Oak (director: Ken Loach)
- Tár (director: Todd Field)
- Enys Men (director: Mark Jenkin)
- Rye Lane (director: Raine Allen Miller)
- Stop Making Sense (director: Jonathan Demme)
- The Boy and the Heron (director: Hayao Miyazaki)
Speaking on the Watershed’s website, the team said it had been a “tough few years” – near the end of 2023, Bristol City Council announced it could be pulling its cultural funding for the venue.
“But thanks to your support last year we started to feel more like our old selves, with audiences coming back to the cinemas and new customers discovering us.”
Mark Consgrove, who curates the Watershed’s cinema programme, said 2023 felt like the year “cinema came back from the lows of Covid”.
Main photo: Pop. 87 Productions/Focus Features
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