Friday, 9 December 2016

December film - I, Daniel Blake - 12th and 21st December 2016

The second screening of our December film, I, Daniel Blake, will be on Wednesday, 21st December 2016 at 7.20pm. Wine will be available for purchase.








Winner of the Palme d'Or 2016, the highest prize at the Cannes Film Festival, 'I, Daniel Blake' is the latest social realism film from the multi award-winning British director, Ken Loach.  It is infused with quiet, but righteous anger about the failings of the society Loach lives in and which he repeatedly rails against so effectively.  It concerns an unlikely but tender friendship which develops between a single mother of two children and a middle-aged, unemployed carpenter, both of whom are feeling the effects of the shrinking welfare system they are dependent upon. This rare, political drama will touch your soul and perhaps go some way towards explaining Brexit and why certain members of society feel undeservedly disaffected.  Unforgettable!




Tuesday, 1 November 2016

November Film - Sunset Song - 14th and 23rd November

The second screening of our November film, Sunset Song, will be Wednesday, 23rd November at 7pm.

In 'Sunset Song', the legendary British director, Terence Davies, tells the story of a young woman coming of age on a farm in northern Scotland on the cusp of WW1. Chris Guthrie, a bright young woman with a real love of learning and dreams of becoming a schoolteacher, is fighting her own war against her fiery, brutish father, who abuses both her mother and brother. Her struggle for independence against all odds provides the film with its deeply resonating emotional core, but the film is also closely attuned to the moods of landscape and sky which are breathtakingly beautiful (shot in both Scotland and New Zealand).  The film is one of Davies's finest achievements. 



Thursday, 6 October 2016

October film - Love and Friendship - Wednesday, 19th October, 7.00pm

The second screening of the October film - Love and Friendship - will be on Wednesday, 19th October at 7.00pm. Wine will be available for purchase from the cinema beforehand.

Based on Jane Austen's lesser-known novella 'Lady Susan', which was published long after the writer's death, 'Love and Friendship' is the delicious tale of a bright, unscrupulous, attractive young widow, adept at manipulating men.  She is determined to be a matchmaker for her daughter and also for herself while she's at it.  This is a delightfully witty Jane Austen adaptation about a natural coquette and her wily designs.  Heaps of fun!




Friday, 9 September 2016

September film - Wide Open Sky - 12th and 21st September

The second screening of the September film, Wide Open Sky, will be on Wednesday, 21st September at 7.00pm. Wine and cheese will be available from 6pm.



Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Sydney Film Festival, Wide Open Sky is the uplifting story of a children’s choir in outback NSW. In this remote corner of the state, footy is king and music education is rare as rain. Determined to see the children reach their potential, the choir’s passionate and driven artistic director, Michelle Leonard, strives to open up their world through music. Wide Open Sky takes us into the lives of Kyh, Mack, Opal and Taylah, four brave and hopeful primary school children who travel far from home to music camp to prepare for the choir’s big concert. They have just three days to learn a demanding repertoire. Set against a stunning landscape and featuring music by acclaimed band Dirty Three, Wide Open Sky is a funny, heartwarming snapshot of childhood in rural Australia. These little voices have big dreams, and the choir offers them the chance of a lifetime.





Thursday, 11 August 2016

August Film - Anomalisa - 15th and 24th August


The second screening of our August film - Anomalisa - will be on Wednesday, 24th August at 6.50 pm. Wine will be available to purchase on the night.

Charlie Kaufman, the mind behind 'Being John Malkovich' and 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind', returns with 'Anomalisa', which David Stratton considers the most original film he has seen in a long while and one of the most exciting.  He gives it four and a half stars!  A British born man flies from his home in LA to work in Cincinnatti and checks into the Fregoli Hotel.  Fregoli is the name given to a rare disease in which the victim holds a delusional belief that different people are the same person, able to change his or her appearance.  This, according to Stratton, is a significant clue to the meaning of the film.  Prepare yourself for a heartfelt and singular experience, funny, sad, shattering and honest, as the man struggles with his inability to connect with other people.  A thought-provoking treat!

Thursday, 30 June 2016

July film - The Daughter - 18th and 27th July

The screening date for the second screening of the July film The Daughter will be Wednesday, 27th July, 7pm

The cinema has kindly offered to provide biscuits and cheese for film club members, wine (red and white) will be available to purchase from 6pm.

A star-studded Antipodean cast (Geoffrey Rush, Sam Neill, Miranda Otto, Odessa Young, to name but a few) appear in this month's AFC film 'The Daughter', which is loosely based on Henrik Ibsen's 'The Wild Duck'.  It is a deeply-involving, naturalistic drama in which family skeletons in the cupboard are slowly revealed with potentially devastating results.  A hot favourite at Sydney, London and Stockholm Film Festivals - and now in Armidale!  Nothing but the best for our AFC members!


Wednesday, 1 June 2016

June Film - Mistress America - second screening, Wednesday, 15th June, 7.00 pm

The second screening of the June film, Mistress America, will be Wednesday, 15th June at 7pm.




Mistress America
Director Noah Baumbach and his muse Greta Gerwig return (after 'Frances Ha') with yet another critically-acclaimed film set in New York.  This warm, zany comedy about eager young people trying to find their place in the world is Indie cinema at its best. Four starts from David Stratton.  We hope you enjoy it!