First New Films for our 2024/2025 Season

Here are details of the films we will be showing in the first half of our 2024/2025 season. The titles of each film are linked to the Internet Movie Database, and there is a link to a trailer where available. A printable PDF version is available here CFS 2024-25 leaflet

That They May Face The Rising Sun
Tuesday September 10th 2024 at 19.45

The early 1980’s; Joe, a writer, and his artist wife Kate have returned to rural Galway where he grew up. Although they are outsiders, a patchwork of memorably eccentric characters come and go to their open house where they eat, drink and talk, giving us a keenly observed, revealing portrayal of a close knit community. This gentle, heartfelt film is a lyrical adaptation of John McGahern’s last novel. The dialogue is wonderful with local sarcasm and wit, whole passages coming straight from the book. Serene and beautiful with a delicate piano score; there is no melodrama but an abundance of insight and a tribute to a passing world. If you liked The Quiet Girl come to this.

Rose
Tuesday September 24th 2024 at 19.45

Acting as her carer, Ellen takes her sister Inger with her and her new husband Vagn on a coach tour to France. Inger has schizophrenia and we see her fellow travellers reacting to her in very different ways – some tender, some wary, one disapproving and hostile. Portraying someone with mental health challenges is a delicate issue but the director/writer’s personal experiences inform the accuracy of the screenplay and the characterisation. The always superb Sofie Gråbøl gives a sensitive and genuinely heartfelt performance letting us see Inger as a complex and self-aware individual and ensuring Inger’s story is told with genuine feeling. This Danish comedy/drama has many humorous and touching moments and is a poignant and wonderful film.

LOLA
Tuesday October 8th 2024 at 19.45

1941, sisters Thom and Mars have built a machine, LOLA, that can intercept radio and TV broadcasts from the future. They listen to iconic music before it has been made, place bets already knowing the outcome and embrace their inner punk well before the movement came into existence. But with World War II escalating, the sisters decide to use LOLA for good to intercept information from the future that could help with military intelligence. This initially proves to be a huge success, rapidly twisting the fortunes of the war. While Thom becomes intoxicated by LOLA, Mars begins to realize the terrible consequences of its power. LOLA is a fable of causality and consequence executed with bracing ingenuity.

Content note: Some dodgy history but excellent original music by Neil Hannon.

Io Capitano
Tuesday October 22nd 2024 at 19.45

Young Senegalese cousins, Seydou and Moussa, ignore the entreaties of their families and community to take on a perilous journey to Europe in pursuit of a better life. Traversing hostile cities, the Sahara and the Mediterranean, they attempt the deadliest migrant route in the world. The technical brilliance, visually stunning cinematography and captivating performance of novice actor, Seydou Sarr, bring it all to life. A powerful, cinematic film that doesn’t shirk the reality of the exploitation and inhumanity the boys encounter. While being a tough watch at times, it is very moving and ultimately the boys’ love for each other and compassion for others make it rewarding and uplifting.

Content note: Scenes of imprisonment and torture.

Lingui – The Sacred Bonds (plus CFS AGM)
Tuesday October 29th 2024 at 19.45

Single mother Amina is determined her pregnant teenage daughter should not face the shunning she herself suffered and supports her wish to end the pregnancy and return to school – not easy to do in Chad where terminating a pregnancy violates national and religious laws. Without the tradition of Lingui, the sacred bonds, a collective resilience in the face of great hardship, it would be impossible. And without Amina’s personal interpretation of Lingui that empowers her, there would be no hope at all. Amazing cinematography and a vibrant colour palette feature strongly. Achouackh Souleymane’s performance is raw and powerful and the storytelling is sublime and poetic; elevating this beautiful film far above the ‘issue’ film a simple description suggests.

Riceboy Sleeps
Tuesday November 5th 2024 at 19.45

A highly acclaimed semi-autobiographical feature based on the life of writer/director Anthony Shim.  Set initially in the 1990’s, we follow the life of So-Young (Choi Seung-yoon), who a few years earlier, with her infant son, left her native Korea and a life of poverty for the opportunities of Canada.  However, as the years go by, poverty is replaced by monotony, racism and bullying.  Will this mother and son find the better life they are looking for? This is an ambitious work from its young filmmaker – heartbreaking, tender and full of empathy.  A wondrously heart-warming and emotionally charged coming-of-age story and, if you enjoyed the award-winning US feature Minari a few years ago, this is not to be missed.

Content note: Filmed in British Columbia, Canada and South Korea. The dialogue is in both English and Korean.

Anatomy Of A Fall
Tuesday November 12th 2024 at 19.45

An engrossing and beautifully crafted film about a mysterious death. Accident, suicide or murder? Written especially for her, Sandra Hüller gives a riveting performance as the enigmatic Sandra Voyter who is caught up in the nightmare of a murder trial that dominates the second half of the film. But this is no stodgy legal drama or customary who-done-it. We take a deep dive into the complexity of familial relationships – between wife and husband and mother and son – and their non-traditional life choices. Even though we have all the facts – brilliantly woven into the narrative and each memorable conversation – there are no easy answers. It is for us to decide how we interpret the truth.

Content note: Only 59% of the dialogue is French. Sandra, who is German and her husband Samuel, who is French, use English as their Lingua Franca.

1976
Tuesday December 10th 2024 at 19.45

An absorbing, quietly compelling thriller as well-to-do doctor’s wife, Carmen, strays into the terror of Chile’s Pinochet dictatorship. Whilst her immediate concerns revolve around decorating their beach house and entertaining guests, she is persuaded by her priest friend to aid a wounded man he is sheltering. As they begin to talk and she learns more about the political divide, Carmen begins to step outside her comfortable yet unfulfilled bourgeois life and its collusion of silence about the regime. She becomes unwittingly drawn into events and into a web of intrigue. With the eerie sound design underlining her fear, the suspense intensifies. Who should she trust?

All Of Us Strangers
Tuesday December 17th 2024 at 19.45

Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal excel in this poignant and emotional love story. Adam, a 40 something writer lives alone in a London tower block. While working on a script about his parents, he returns to the house he grew up in, where he finds his parents, seemingly alive but still at the age they were when they died. Making repeated visits to the house as he tries to come to terms with his unresolved grief and loneliness, we see him asking them the questions he was denied from asking by their early deaths. Adam’s interactions with his parents are intertwined with his developing relationship with Harry, another tenant in his block. Blurring memories, dreams and fantasy with reality it is both beautiful and profound. A must see.

Content note: Strong sexual scenes.

That They May Face The Rising Sun Tuesday September 10th 2024 at 19.45

Rose Tuesday September 24th 2024 at 19.45

LOLA Tuesday October 8th 2024 at 19.45

Io Capitano Tuesday October 22nd 2024 at 19.45

Lingui – The Sacred Bonds (plus CFS AGM) Tuesday October 29th 2024 at 19.45

Riceboy Sleeps Tuesday November 5th 2024 at 19.45

Anatomy Of A Fall Tuesday November 12th 2024 at 19.45

1976 Tuesday December 10th 2024 at 19.45

All Of Us Strangers Tuesday December 17th 2024 at 19.45