V E N T N O R F I L M S O C I E T Y
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SAMSARA - TUES 8th OCTOBER 2024, 2.30 & 7.30pm
Production year: 2023
Country: Spain
Cert (UK): U
Runtime: 1hr 53
Genre: Spiritual drama
Language: Lao, Swahili
Original Title: Samsara
Director: Lois Patiño
Cast: Toumor Xiong, Amid Keomany, Simone Milavanh
PLEASE NOTE THAT FILMS ARE NOT ALWAYS SHOWN FORTNIGHTLY THIS SEASON. PLEASE CHECK DATES CAREFULLY.
In Laos, young shaven-headed Buddhist monks in their orange robes meditate in the temple and consider their future amongst the magnificent waterfalls of Kuang Si, a popular tourist site, but also a place of great beauty and spiritual significance. A young man, Amid, crosses the river each day to read to an elderly woman, Mon, a sacred Tibetan text to guide her through the afterlife.
Eyes closed, we follow Mon’s spiritual journey to reincarnation in a unique, immersive experience of sound and light that leads the viewer into another dimension.
We emerge from this remarkable lyrical interlude to witness the birth of a baby goat in an Islamic family in Zanzibar. An unforgettable, multi-sensory cinematic journey.
Please note that this screening contains prolonged scenes with flashing and flickering images which may affect viewers who are susceptible.
To book, email ventnorfilmsociety@hotmail.com
We regret we are unable to accept card payments.
THE TEACHERS' LOUNGE - TUES 22nd OCT 2024, 2.30 & 7.30pm
An idealistic young teacher, Carla, is new to the school, when a series of thefts leads suspicion to fall on one boy, perhaps because of his race. Carla seeks to clear his name, casting doubt on a fellow member of staff, who strongly proclaims her innocence. The following investigation unleashes accusations and mistrust among outraged parents, staff and students. Caught in the middle, Carla tries to mediate, but finds herself near breaking point in this gripping, intense thriller.
To book, email ventnorfilmsociety@hotmail.com
Production year: 2023
Country: Germany
Cert (UK): 12A
Runtime: 1hr 38 mins
Genre: Psychological Drama
Language: German
Original Title: Das Lehrerzimmer
Director: Ilker Çatak
Cast: Leonie Benesch, Anne-Kathrin Gummich, Rafael Stachowiak
IO CAPITANO - TUES 5th NOVEMBER 2024, 2.30 & 7.30pm
Production year: 2023
Country: Italy,Belgium,France
Cert (UK): 15
Runtime: 2 hrs 1 mins
Genre: Drama
Language: Wolof, French,
Original Title: Io Capitano
Director: Matteo Garrone
Cast: Seydou Sarr, Moustapha Fall, Issaka Sawadogo
Longing for a brighter future as TikTok music stars, two Senegalese teenagers set out for Italy, but between their dreams and reality lie perilous checkpoints, the Sahara Desert, and the treacherous waters of the Mediterranean, where one of the boys is forced to become the boat’s captain.
Brutal reality and magic realism combine with a glimmer of hope in a passionate exposé of the greed, trauma and corruption driving today’s slave trade in migrants.
The casting of the two talented young lead actors is inspired, with sensitive performances depicting their warm, fraternal relationship. Sarr gives a
a captivating, sensitive performance as Seydou, who displays an almost naive purity and innocence, maintaining his empathy for his fellow migrants in face of exposure to the darkest side of humanity.
To book,
email ventnorfilmsociety@hotmail.com
AMA GLORIA - TUES 19th NOVEMBER 2024, 2.30 & 7.30pm
Production year: 2023
Country: France
Cert (UK): 12
Runtime: 1hr 23 mins
Genre: Drama
Language: French
Original Title: Àma Gloria
Director: Marie Amachoukeli-Barsacq
Cast: Louise Mauroy-Panzani, Ilça Moreno Zego, Abnara Gomes Varela
Six-year-old Cléo adores her nanny Gloria, who pretty much brought her up. She is devastated when Gloria must suddenly return to care for her own family in Cape Verde, but her father arranges for the two to spend one last summer together on the African island. Emotions run high as Cléo struggles to fit in with Gloria’s family, who, in turn, resent the years of Gloria's absence. Told from Cléo’s viewpoint, beautiful, dream-like animated sequences take us back into the world of childhood and our earliest life lessons.
The young actress Louise Mauroy-Panzani is set to be at the front of the queue for every acting award going for her role as Cléo in this gorgeous French drama. Just six years old at the time of filming (the casting director spotted her in Paris arguing with her brother in the street), she gives a performance so open and natural, it has an almost transparent quality. You feel what her character Cléo feels as her world is turned upside down over one summer.
To book, email ventnorfilmsociety@hotmail.com
THE BOY AND THE HERON- TUES 26th NOV 2024, 2.30 & 7.30pm
Production year: 2023
Country: Japan
Cert (UK): 12A
Runtime: 2 hrs 4 mins
Genre: Animation Fantasy
Language: Japanese
Original Title: Kimitachi wa dô ikiru ka
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Cast: Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Kô Shibasaki
The latest (maybe last?) animation from Studio Ghibli’s veteran director Hayao Miyazaki is a beautifully hand-drawn adventure which explores themes of coming of age and coping with conflict and loss.
A headstrong young boy Mohito struggles to adjust to a new life on his father’s country estate. However, he encounters a talking heron, who leads him to an abandoned tower and into a world of fantasy inhabited by weird parakeets, pelicans and cuddly spirit creatures, the Warawara.
The film was seven years in the making, with almost all the drawings drawn on paper by pencil and backgrounds painted with poster colours by 60 animators.
The English language version features a host of A list voice actors, including Christian Bale, Robert Pattinson, Mark Hamill, Florence Pugh, and Willem Dafoe. However, at the present time, we intend to screen the original Japanese version, with subtitles.
To book, email ventnorfilmsociety@hotmail.com
LA CHIMERA -TUES 3rd DECEMBER 2024, 2.30 & 7.30pm
Production year: 2023
Country: Italy
Cert (UK): 15
Runtime: 2hrs 10 mins
Genre: Adventure/Romance
Language: Italian
Original Title: La Chimera
Director: Alice Rohrwacher
Cast: Josh O'Connor, Carol Duarte, Vincenzo Nemolato
Everyone has their own Chimera, something they yearn to achieve but never manage to find. For a band of tombaroli, professional tomb-robbers of ancient Etruscan grave goods and archaeological wonders, the Chimera means the dream of giving up work and finding the treasure of a lifetime.
But for Arthur, a dodgy English archaeologist, the Chimera looks like the woman he lost, Beniamina. To find her, Arthur pursues the invisible, searches everywhere, digs deep inside the earth – in a magical search for the mythical door to the afterlife. In an adventurous journey between past and the present, in forests and cities, amid solitude and the riotous celebrations of an Italian fiesta, the intertwined destinies of these colourful characters unfold, each of them in search of their personal Chimera.
Ostensibly a crime caper, this is, in fact, a moving, profound and touching story, and a real treasure of a film.
To book, email ventnorfilmsociety@hotmail.com