This season we’re offering you two smash hits from way back when.

We’ve already enjoyed Sunset Boulevard, and on 31 January we turn our attention to an even older film: It happened one night.

For those who are not convinced: you’re not alone, because at the time the film studio wasn’t too convinced either, but the film soon became an enormous hit. So huge that it was the first to perform the so-called Oscar slam, winning top prize in the five main categories. That has only happened twice since!

The chemistry between Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert is magic and the story isn’t too sentimental but sharp and witty. The hitch-hiking scene is marvellous and in the end you’ll find yourself rooting for both parties.

But will there be a happy ending…. ?

YOUS CANNAE PASS!

Chilling and heart-warming at the same time, the documentary Nae Pasaran! delves into the horrors of Pinochet’s dictatorship and how Rolls Royce workers in East Kilbride refused to work on Chilean Air Force parts. This documentary on how Scotland thwarted Pinochet’s dictatorial actions in faraway 1970s Chile had been in the pipeline since the season before the Covid lockdown, but for several reasons we can only show it to you now.

The documentary feels very personal which is probably no wonder, seeing that the director – Felipe Bustos Sierra – is of Chilean descent himself, though now firmly based in Scotland. Nae Pasaran! was his first (and so far only) feature-length film. Released in 2018, it was received very well and got nominated for several awards, including best director (factual) and best documentary, in the British Independent Film Awards.

An important, though little-known piece of history, which we’re glad to be able to finally bring to you on January 10!

Screening Friday 6th December 2024

Not too keen on sugar-coated Disney animations? Or maybe you find the myriad of Japanese animation films a little too infantile?

Don’t worry, with our December film, Belleville Rendez-vous, you’ll get none of that. Instead, you’ll be treated to a highly original, maybe slightly quirky, animation film, which basically reinvented the genre at the time.

Frenchman Sylvain Chomet must have felt the same, for his first feature movie, released in 2003, was not only unlike any other animated film out at the time. He even included a few digs at the more commercial side of the animations industry. Watch out for Mickey Mouse appearing in a slightly compromised place (a toilet!) and a wallet commenting on other Disney characters.

But you don’t have to watch it for those reasons. Just come and watch because it is visually entertaining, fun, fast-paced and you’ll love Bruno the dog!

It’s also worth noting that it won Oscars for the Best Animated Feature and Best Music in 2004.

Oh and don’t forget: Christmas nibbles and cheer from 6.30pm onwards! Plus a free DVD give-away bonanza!

Not a dry eye in the house.

That’s what we’re promising you if you join us on the 15^th of November to watch “One Life”, the 2023 film by James Hawes. Yet, there’s not an ounce of sentimentalism to be witnessed. But then, when you got Anthony Hopkins on the billing, you’re more or less assured of a high-quality film, aren’t you?!

And Hopkins is the embodiment of a long-lasting career, defying the commonly held view that film careers are are only for the young and beautiful. It’s amazing to see how he manages to keep finding roles to play that showcase his talent, yet feel differently with each picture he makes.

An honourable mention needs to go to Johnny Flynn who managed to make all of us swoon when he played Mr. Knightly in the 2020 adaptation of jane Austen’s Emma, only to return now in a much more serious role. Will he prove to be just as versatile as Mr. Hopkins…?