Sat 17 Apr • Matinee

SCHOOL OF ROCK (PG) 1.15

(US 2003) dir.Richard Linklater 109m.
Jack Black, Mike White, Joan Cusack, Sarah Silverman.

“As teacher training films go, SCHOOL OF ROCK is different. It’s not just that our hero, Jack Black’s quack supply teacher, is to all purposes a headbanging jackass who can’t even spell his claimed name (Schneebly). What makes his encounter with a class of prep-school fifth graders the greatest breakthrough in pedagogy since Bill and Ted met Socrates is his discovery that even square kids might yet be saved by a swift baptism in the rejuvenating fount of Rock. A cathartic class comedy for kids of all sizes...”
(Time Out)

£5/£4 Concs/£4 Under 15’s

Sun 18 Apr

SONGS FROM THE SECOND FLOOR (15) 2.00
(Den/Swe/Nor 2000) dir.Roy Andersson 99m. Subtitles.
Lars Nordh, Stefan Larsson, Peter Roth, Hanna Eriksson.
“Loosely linked sketches and tableaux depicting personal calamity against a backdrop of social breakdown and apocalyptic despair. A middle-aged man begs to get his job back. An immigrant is stabbed before an impassive bus queue. A magician saws a man in half – without success. The imagery is stunning, and it’s hard to think of anything quite like it.”
(Time Out)

+ KITCHEN STORIES (PG) 4.00

(Nor 2003) dir.Bent Hamer 95m. Subtitles.
Tomas Norström, Joachim Calmeyer, Bjørn Floberg, Reine Brynolfsson.
“It’s the early 1950s, and Sweden’s home Research Institute, having successfully
created the perfect kitchen for the national housewife, sets its sights on the Norwegian bachelor. Don’t let this seemingly limited premise put you off; it’s from the chamber restrictions of the scenario that the film’s humour and insights derive. This is wonderfully warm-hearted and entertaining cinema from one of Norway’s most distinctive talents.”
(Gareth Evans, Time Out)

Tue 20 Apr • Parents & Babies Club

THE STATION AGENT (15) 1.15

(US 2003) dir.Thomas McCarthy 90m.
Peter Dinklage, Patricia Clarkson, Bobby Cannavale, Raven Goodwin, Paul Benjamin, Michelle Williams.

An opportunity for parents with babies to visit the cinema without having to find a baby sitter or worry about their babies causing disturbance. A secure space is provided for pushchairs.
Adm £5/£4 Concessions

Thur 22 Apr • Parents & Babies Club

KILL BILL VOLUME 2 (18) 12.15

(US 2004) dir.Quentin Tarantino136m.
Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, Gordon Liu, Michael Parks, Bo Svenson.

An opportunity for parents with babies to visit the cinema without having to find a baby sitter or worry about their babies causing disturbance. A secure space is provided for pushchairs.

Adm £5/£4 Concessions

Sat 24 to Thur 29 Apr • Raindance East Film Festival

We are happy to be one of the venues for the 4th Raindance East Film Festival. With an exciting line-up of events focussing on the cultural diversity of the area and giving voice to the local community, Raindance East is guaranteed to inspire filmmakers and audiences alike. Taking place from 23 to 29 April 2004, and produced by Raindance, the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and Lee Valley Park, Raindance East provides the opportunity to view an incredible range of feature films from India, Japan, France, Germany, the UK and the USA with screenings at the Genesis Mile End and UGC West India Quay as well as the Rio. There is also a series of short film programmes with particular East London connections from which the best film will be voted winner of the prestigious Kodak award by the festival audience. Ticket prices are £5/£4 Concessions except where indicated. Pick up a programme leaflet from the Rio box office or go to: www.raindance.co.uk.

Sat 24 Apr • Discover Hackney presents

International Animation for children (U) 1.45

Discover Hackney and Circuit Films are pleased to present an animation workshop at the Turkish Community Centre Halkevi on the weekend of 24/25 April as part of the Raindance East Festival. Tutor and animator Corin Hardy will look at different simple animation techniques before the children get stuck in to make a short film of their own. The workshop is aimed at 7-11 year olds and there are a few limited spaces left for children who want to participate. Please call Circuit Films on 020 7690 0114 for more information and to book. The workshop will take place over both days between 10 am and 1.45pm, with an hours break for lunch, and on Saturday will be followed by a screening of international animation suitable for families across the road at the Rio Cinema at 1.45pm

Adm free

Discover Hackney presents

Hackney Film Fund Shorts (15) 3.00

TOMATO DELIVERY
(Br 2004) dir.Xiaosong Que 11m.
The disquieting lament of Lei, about an illegal alien’s grief over a shattered dream. The film was inspired by the tragedy of 58 young Chinese found dead in a lorry.

NOVEMBER SKY
(Br 2004) dir.Mmolokis Christie 15m.
A tale of youth and misadventure following Raymond and his mates in pursuit of the legendary Black Diamond Firework.

LET GO
(Br 2004) dir.Arvid Eriksson 10m.
A balloon ends up under the ceiling of an old theatre, and the theatre manager’s world falls apart.

ORDERS OF LOVE
(Br 2004) dir.Jes Benstock 10m.
Jes explores his complex family history.
Adm free

Shorts Programme 1 (15) 4.15

PERFECT
(Br 2004) dir.Rankin 13m.
A love story set in a perfect world. A couple’s dark secret is exposed but, however twisted and shocking, Perfect revels the human drama of what it is to love.

DAD’S DEAD
(br 2004) dir.Chris Shepherd 7m.
Winner of a British Independent Film Award, this combines film, animation and graphics. Through a series of ghostly reminiscences, a young man tries to piece together fragmented moments.

THE BYPASS
(Br 3004) dir.Amit Kumar 15m.
A circular desert tale, off the beaten track, where danger lurks around every corner.

TEN MINUTES
(Br 2004) dir.Ben Mole 16m.
One boldly self-serving editor (Nick Moran) and ten minutes that could make or break his career.

DESIRE
(Br 2004) dir.Alexander Snelling 2m.
The lust for that which we cannot have.

SELF-HELP
(Br 2004) dir.Tez Asfaw 13m.
Why do the moments that shape our lives often occur when we least expect them?
LSD ’73
(Br 2004) dir.Paul Duane 15m.
The hazy memories of an LSD user.

CHEESE MAKES YOU DREAM
(Br 2004) dir.Kara Miller 5m.
A tale of the search for love at the later stages in life with a sinister twist.

FISHY
(Br 2004) dir.Deva Palmier 10m.
Glenda falls in love with Freddie, her goldfish. As her search for work flounders, her love deepens.

Sun 25 Apr • Discover Hackney presents

DIRTY PRETTY THINGS (15) 2.00

(Br 2002) dir.Stephen Frears 97m.
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Audrey Tautou, Sergi Lopez.

"Okwe (Ejiofor), a Nigerian immigrant, spends his nights tending the front desk in a London hotel, managed by the aptly-named Sneaky (Lopez). When he discovers a human heart blocking a toilet in one of the rooms, he discovers that Sneaky has a sideline in peddling organs belonging to immigrants desperate for a UK passport. Frears captures the capital in all its festering glory, and the multi-national cast offers some outstanding performances, notably from Ejiofor who invests Okwe with a tender heart and soul."
(Film Review)

NB. This film replaces the both previously advertised films SILENCE OF THE FOREST and FLAME. We apologise for any inconvenience and disappointment caused.

JIYAN (12A) 4.00

(Kurdistan 2002) dir.Jano Roseiani 99m. Kurdish with English subtitles
Cast: Kurdo Galali, Pisheng Berzinci, Çoman Hawrami.

Five years after the infamous chemical and biological bombing of Halabja, Diyari, a Kurdish/American Samaritan, returns to his homeland to build an orphanage in what is left of Halabja. During the course of his stay, he meets a colourful bunch of townfolk, many of whom remain physically and/or psychologically marked with the effects of the chemical agents. Among them is Jiyan, a ten year old orphan. A strong bond between the two ensues and later he names the orphanage after her.

NB. This film replaces the previously advertised A LITTLE BIT OF FREEDOM.

FREESTYLE (15) 6.00

(US 2003) dir. Kevin Fitzgerald 72m.
Featuring Supernatural, Mos Def, Black Thought, Freestyle Fellowship, Lord Finesse, Cut Chemist, Craig G, Medusa, Planet Asia.

Explosively documenting the story of a group of underground hiphop MCs and DJs from the early 1980s to the present day, FREESTYLE explores the world of improvisational rap – the rarely recorded art form of rhyming spontaneously. Made over the course of seven years, Freestyle takes the viewer on a journey through the previously unexamined dimensions of hip-hop as a spiritual, community based art form. Combining the best of independent cinema with the hip hop mix tape format, no two screenings are ever the same.

+ SOUNDZ OF SPIRIT (15)

(US 2003) dir. Joslyn Rose Lyons 60m.
Featuring Zion I, Blackalicious, Outkast, KRS-1, Saul Williams, The Last Poets, DJ Qbert, Mystic, Talib Kweli, Michael Franti, Medusa, Jurassic 5.

SOUNDZ OF SPIRIT explores the relationship between the creative process and spirituality in hip-hop culture and features performances and in-depth interviews with a diverse group of MCs, DJs, poets, producers and dancers. The artists’ efforts to elevate hip-hop to a revolutionary worldwide movement are brilliantly showcased as are hip-hop culture’s often-overlooked positive messages concerning community, ethnicity, racism, creativity and activism. The screenings are followed by a freestyle MC competition hosted by Homegrown at the Scala.

Mon 26 Apr

AFRO-PUNK: THE ROCK AND ROLL NIGGER EXPERIENCE (15) 6.45

(US 2003) dir. James Spooner 66m.

This doc addresses issues of racial identity in punk rock and hard core scenes and chronicles the lives of Tamar-Kali, Matt, Moe, and Mariko, four people who have the shared experience of being black in a mostly white sub-culture. Director James Spooner interviews a wide range of people from all over the United States, and with a clearly DIY punk rock style of filmmaking Spooner is able to show the multiple ways in which his subjects feel ostracized. They are on the outside of the punk rock community because of their race, and they are on the outside of their black peers because of their ripped leather jackets and spiked hair. Spooner’s style is simple but he deals with a multitude of issues surrounding the black experience in a rock culture. He tackles the issues of co-optation of cultural elements, inter-racial dating, and race as a defining element among other issues. Afro Punk features performances by Bad Brains, Cipher, and Ten Grand. James Spooner made this film out of a passion to tell his story to others and to create a sense of community for others who share his experience. Spooner grew up in New York City and California. He became involved with the punk sub-culture around the time he was fourteen. Afro Punk is his first movie.

+ RAKSHA

(Br 2004) dir.sRohin Francis & Ryan Perera
An intensely thrilling rush through the city; man and guardian head towards the same final destination.

Tue 27 Apr

VODKA LEMON (15) 6.45

(Fr 2003) dir.Hiner Saleem 90m. Subtitles.
Romik Avinian, Lala Sarkissian, Romik Avinian, Lala Sarkissian, Ivan Franek, Rouzanne Mesropian, Zahal Karielachvili.

“Distinguished by ravishingly beautiful images of a desolate community enveloped in heavy snow, Kurdish director Hinter Saleem’s fourth feature film is a little gem that takes a potentially grim subject and mines it for maximum humour and insight.’ Variety This beautifully understated film takes a loving look at a community that has little left and even less to look forward to. The story focuses on the grizzled Hamo, an impoverished widower who is forced to sell his worldly possessions on the roadside in order to get by. One of his sons is now living in Paris and sends home photographs of his new successful life complete with girlfriend. Hamo’s other son, the loser Dolivan prefers to find comfort in a bottle of vodka. Each day Hamo visits the graveyard where his wife is buried. There he meets Nina, an attractive widow who is mourning her husband’s death in the war, and selling drinks to truck drivers on the highway to support herself. Quirky characterisation combined with moments of great visual beauty make for a film full of unexpected surprises. Hiner Saleem was born in Akkra in Iraqi Kurdistan. After making his early living as a painter in the ‘80s, he directed a series of short films. His work focuses on Kurdistan and the aspirations of the Kurdish people. Vodka Lemon is his third feature.”
(Suzanne Ballantyne, Raindance East)

+ FISHY

(Br 2004) dir.Deva Palmier 10m.

Glenda falls in love with Freddie, her gold-fish. As her search for work flounders, her love for Freddie deepens.

Wed 28 Apr

HAC Republic Panel 6.15

HAC Republic is a programme of documentarybased participatory filmmaking. Young people from Hackney worked with established filmmakers to produce a series of shorts in a pilot project set up to explore the relationship between commercial features and community filmmaking. This discussion will explore the potential for developing such models across the UK. Represented on the panel will be UK Film Council, BBC Films, Hi8us-South and Primal Pictures and the local Hackney community. The shorts made will be screened after the panel.

Thur 29 Apr • Closing Gala

ONE FOR THE ROAD (15) 7.00

(Br 2003) dir.Chris Cooke 96m.
Rupert Procter, Greg Chisholm, Mark Devenport, Hywel Bennett.

“When businessman Jimmy (Chisholm) finds himself attending a week-long self-help group for men convicted of drink-driving he thinks he’s found a way of off-loading his superfluous factory via millionaire and karaoke enthusiast Richard (Bennett). He is joined in his plan to scam by Mark (Devenport) an unlicensed taxi driver who is afraid of being left alone at night and Paul (Procter), a stressed out salesman who feels everyone is against him. When not engaged in inadvertently hilarious role-playing exercises the group naturally head down to the pub. Through it all we learn of their dysfunctional family backgrounds. Paul’s wife has had it with his drinking and forces him to live in a tent at the end of the garden, Jimmy’s mother is a promiscuous alcoholic and the life of Mark is so ordinary it’s depressing. Chris Cooke’s impressive debut, shot on DV and set in Nottingham is a hilarious and poignant portrait of British men under the influence, filled with bittersweet humour and some fine acting from the first rate ensemble cast. Director Chris Cooke moved to Nottingham after dropping out of a Fine Arts degree. He has worked with DV for the last ten years and is known for a style of semi-improvised performances, minimal lighting and hand-held camerawork. This is his debut feature.”
(Suzanne Ballantyne, Raindance East)

Sun 2 May • Double bill

AMERICAN SPLENDOR (15) 1.30

(US 2003) dirs.Shari Springer Berman/Robert Pulcini 100m.
Harvey Pekar, Paul Giamatti, Shari Springer Berman, Earl Billings.

“What a sad, tender, wise and beautiful film co-director/co-screenwriters Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini have made from Harvey Pekar's life and his American Splendor comics. Like Terry Zwigoff's equally superb GHOST WORLD, this is a film about the kind of people most movies never bother about. It's a profound tribute to lives lived on the fringes of society – to the introspective loners who are the most observant chroniclers of our times. AMERICAN SPLENDOR represents a bold deconstruction of the fatigued biopic form. Not content to present the Cleveland-based Pekar's life as anything resembling a straightforward narrative, Berman and Pulcini – who have previously made only documentaries – wildly jiggle around the raw materials of their film until they're left with a freewheeling phantasmagoria of dramatic scenes, documentary interviews (with the real Pekar) and crazily inspired animated bits drawn by the likes of R. Crumb and Joe Zabel. The result is a vibrant, untamed film that stubbornly refuses to fit into any prefigured category. Above all, the film is a bittersweet and delicately rendered love story about the ramshackle, picture-imperfect family Pekar assembles after years of loneliness and failed marriages – comprising wife Joyce (an unrecognisable and thoroughly wonderful Hope Davis) and foster daughter Danielle (Madilyn Sweeten) – and how his comics inadvertently lead him to it.”
(Scott Foundas, Variety)”

+ BIG FISH (PG) 3.30

(US 2003) dir.Tim Burton 125m.
Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Carter.

“Ed Bloom’s myth-making has been happily embraced by one and all except for his son Will (Billy Crudup). But when the old man (Albert Finney) takes ill, his son, who hasn't spoken with him in a long time, returns to Alabama with pregnant wife Josephine (Marion Cotillard) with one ambition in mind: "I just want know the true versions of events, of stories, of things.” Per the norm with Burton's films, craft aspects are superlative, beginning with Dennis Gassner's exceptionally varied production design and Colleen Atwood's equally diverse costumes, and including Philippe Rousselot's sensitively modulated lensing, Danny Elfman's supple score and the many imaginative special effects, among them a literal rendering of the imposing title creature.”
(Todd McCarthy, Variety)

Tue 4 May • Parents & Babies Club

BIG FISH (PG) 12.30

(US 2003) dir.Tim Burton 125m.
Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Carter.

An opportunity for parents with babies to visit the cinema without having to find a baby sitter or worry about their babies causing disturbance. A secure space is provided for pushchairs.

Adm £5/£4 Concessions

Wed 5 May • Classic Matinee

BIG FISH (PG) 12.30

(US 2003) dir.Tim Burton 125m.
Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Carter.

NB. With a 15 minute intermission

Thur 6 May • Parents & Babies Club

KILL BILL VOLUME 2 (18) 12.15

(US 2004) dir.Quentin Tarantino136m.
Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, Gordon Liu, Michael Parks, Bo Svenson.

An opportunity for parents with babies to visit the cinema without having to find a baby sitter or worry about their babies causing disturbance. A secure space is provided for pushchairs.

Adm £5/£4 Concessions

Sat 8 May • Matinee 3.00

Hackney Stop the War Coalition presents

MY SEPTEMBER TOO

(Br 2002) dir.Ken Loach 10m.

Ken Loach’s powerful contribution to the film by 11 renowned international directors – 11’09’’01 SEPTEMBER 11 – which reflects on the events that changed the world. Winner of the Fipresci Critic’s prize for Best Short Film in the Venice Film Festival 2002.

+ WHY WAR? (15)

(Br 2003) dir.Chris Reeves 50m.

A provocative new documentary film which throws a revealing new light on George Bush’s "war on terrorism". The film includes material from Iraq never previously shown in this country, unique footage of the anti-war protests and exclusive interviews with leading commentators both from Britain and Iraq. What are the real reasons behind the US invasion of Iraq? WHY WAR? is a provocative new documentary film which throws a revealing new light on George Bush’s "war on terrorism". From the makers of the acclaimed anti-war film NOT IN MY NAME, and narrated by Prunella Scales, the film includes material from Iraq never previously shown in this country, unique footage of the anti-war protests and exclusive interviews with leading commentators both from Britain and Iraq. With contributions from Tony Benn, Noam Chomsky, Bianca Jagger, George Galloway, Greg Pallast, George Monbiot, Lindsey German, and many others, the video explores the global dangers of George Bush’s "war on terrorism" and the reasons Tony Blair supported the invasion of Iraq. And in a revealing interview former UK government minister Michael Meacher raises disturbing questions about the American government’s handling of the attack on the Twin Towers on Sept 11 2001.

To be followed by discussion with David Shayler (ex-MI5 agent), Lindsey German (Convenor, Stop the War Coalition) and Jeremy Corbyn MP.

Adm £5/£2 Concs

Sun 9 May • Denys Arcand double bill

THE DECLINE OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE (18) 2.00

(Can 1986) dir.Denys Arcand 101m.
Pierre Curzi, Dorothée Berryman, Dominique Michel, Rémy Girand, Louise Portal.

“Four university professors, three married and one gay, gather at a country retreat and prepare a large meal for the evening. Meanwhile their wives are at a health club. Finally they all converge for the big dinner and the knives come out...”
(Time Out)

+ THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS (18) 4.00

(Can/Fra 2003) dir.Denys Arcand 99m. Subtitles.
Rémy Girard, Stéphane Rousseau, Marie-Josée Croze, Dorothée Berryman, Dominique Michel.

“Warm, wise and witty, THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS is a beautiful film. A sequel to writer-director Denys Arcand's barbed relationships comedy THE DECLINE OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE, it finds its frank and funny French-Canadian friends 15 years older, reunited at the bedside of the terminally ill Remy (Rémy Girard). His estranged son (Stéphane Rousseau) is also on hand - a city broker who finds it hard to forgive his philandering father. This sounds serious but it's never sombre, with chuckles to match tears, jokes jostling with acidic observations on mankind's ‘history of horrors’.”
(Nev Pierce, BBCi)

Tue 11 May • Parents & Babies Club

ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (15) 12.45

(US 2004) dir.Michel Gondry 108m.
Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, Tom Wilkinson.

An opportunity for parents with babies to visit the cinema without having to find a baby sitter or worry about their babies causing disturbance. A secure space is provided for pushchairs.

Adm £5/£4 Concessions

Thur 13 May • Parents & Babies Club

ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (15) 12.45

(US 2004) dir.Michel Gondry 108m.
Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, Tom Wilkinson.

An opportunity for parents with babies to visit the cinema without having to find a baby sitter or worry about their babies causing disturbance. A secure space is provided for pushchairs.

Adm £5/£4 Concessions

Sun 16 May • Yasujiro Ozu double bill

FLOATING WEEDS (PG) 1.15

(Jap 1959) dir.Yasujiro Ozu 119m. S/t. New print.
Ganjiro Nakamura, Machiko Kyô, Ayako Wakao.

“A remake of a movie Ozu made in the 30’s, this is unusual in being one of his new films in colour, and in having a relatively dramatic plot that even allows for suspense, violence and (mild) sexual activity. A kabuki acting troupe visits a small coastal town; poor audiences only add to the trouble caused when ageing actor-manager Komajuro arouses the suspicions of Sumiko, his leading lady and mistress, by repeatedly disappearing to spend time with an old flame and Kiyoshi, a son of marriageable age who’s always thought of Komajuro as his uncle... Forget the clumsy subtitles; the sheer beauty of Ozu’s exquisite compositions and the expressive use of sound tell all you need to know about the characters, their emotions and relationships.”
(Time Out)

+ TOKYO STORY (U) 3.30

(Jap 1953) dir.Yasujiro Ozu 136m. Subtitles. New print.
Chishu Ryu, Chieko Higashima, Setsuko Hara.

“Yasujiro Ozu's wonderful film is his masterpiece: tender, profoundly mysterious and desperately sad. Tomi (Higashiyama) and Sukichi (Ryu) are an elderly couple who make the arduous journey to Tokyo to visit their heartless grown-up children, who are just too busy with their professional lives and young families to find any time for them. After 50 years, TOKYO STORY is as gentle, as humane and as profoundly moving, and disturbing, as ever.”
(The Guardian)

Tue 18 May • Parents & Babies Club

SPRING, SUMMER, AUTUMN, WINTER... AND SPRING (15) 1.00

(South Korea/Germany 2003) dir.Kim Ki-duk 103m. Subtitles.
Oh Yeong-su, Kim Ki-duk, Kim Yeong-min, Seo Jae-gyeong, Ha Yeo-jin, Kim Jung-ho.

An opportunity for parents with babies to visit the cinema without having to find a baby sitter or worry about their babies causing disturbance. A secure space is provided for pushchairs.

Adm £5/£4 Concessions

Thur 20 May • Parents & Babies Club

SPRING, SUMMER, AUTUMN, WINTER... AND SPRING (15) 1.00

(South Korea/Germany 2003) dir.Kim Ki-duk 103m. Subtitles.
Oh Yeong-su, Kim Ki-duk, Kim Yeong-min, Seo Jae-gyeong, Ha Yeo-jin, Kim Jung-ho.

An opportunity for parents with babies to visit the cinema without having to find a baby sitter or worry about their babies causing disturbance. A secure space is provided for pushchairs.

Adm £5/£4 Concessions

Sun 23 May • Bernardo Bertolucci double bill

THE CONFORMIST (18) 1.45

(It/Fr/Ger 1969) dir.Bernardo Bertolucci 113m. Subtitles.
Jean-Louis Trintignant, Stefania Sandrelli, Pierre Clémenti, Dominique Sanda.

“A subtle anatomy of Italy’s fascist past, juggling past and present with bravura flourish. A dazzling historical and personal perspective, demonstrating how the search for normality ends in the discovery that there is no such thing.”
(Time Out)

+ THE DREAMERS (18) 3.55

(Fr/Br/It 2003) dir.Bernardo Bertolucci 116m.
Eva Green, Louis Garrel, Michael Pitt.

“In Paris as a student in the spring of 1968, Matthew (Pitt) is a young American who, during a demo against the government’s firing of Henri Langlois as head of the Cinémathèque, meets and falls in with Isabelle (Eva Green) and Théo (Louis Garrel), a brother and sister as beautiful as they are bent on making their lives ressemble the movies they adore. When they invite him to move into their apartment, the relatinoship becomes more intimate, and intense; meanwhile, things are also heating up out on the streets...Bertolucci’s delicious movie is written and directed with feeling and flair, and played to near-perfection by its appealing young leads. A real pleasure.”
(Geoff Andrew, Time Out)

Tue 25 May • Parents & Babies Club

THE DREAMERS (15) 12.45

(Fr/Br/It 2003) dir.Bernardo Bertolucci 116m.
Eva Green, Louis Garrel, Michael Pitt.

An opportunity for parents with babies to visit the cinema without having to find a baby sitter or worry about their babies causing disturbance. A secure space is provided for pushchairs.

Adm £5/£4 Concessions

Thur 27 May • Parents & Babies Club

SPRING, SUMMER, AUTUMN, WINTER... AND SPRING (15) 1.00
(South Korea/Germany 2003) dir.Kim Ki-duk 103m. Subtitles.

Oh Yeong-su, Kim Ki-duk, Kim Yeong-min, Seo Jae-gyeong, Ha Yeo-jin, Kim Jung-ho.
An opportunity for parents with babies to visit the cinema without having to find a baby sitter or worry about their babies causing disturbance. A secure space is provided for pushchairs.

Adm £5/£4 Concessions

Sun 30 May • Double bill

GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING (12A) 2.00

(Br 2003) dir.Peter Webber 100m.
Scarlett Johansson, Colin Firth, Tom Wilkinson, Judy Parfitt.

“Tracy Chevalier’s novel, from which GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING is adapted,attempts to solve the mystery that surrounds Vermeer’s painting of the same name. Although no one is sure of the identity of the beautiful girl who inspired the artist to produce one of the world’s greatest paintings, Chevalier cobbled togehter a series of clues and created a best-selling novel. Director Weber sticks firmly to the book and in so doing, has produced a captivating film whose stunning use of set design and colour recreates Vermeer’s sense of space and reality in almost every shot. Firth’s Vermeer is distant and untouchable, making his attraction ot Griet all the more powerful. Johansson, meanwhile, shows a remarkable resemblance to the servant girl in the picture, and her ability to keep Griet simple and naturally beautiful (coupled with her turn in LOST IN TRANSLATION) is a marker of good things to come.”
(Empire)

+ SYLVIA (15) 3.55

(Br/US 2003) dir.Christine Jeffs 114m.
Gwyneth Paltrow, Daniel Craig, Jared Harris.

“Gwyneth Paltrow’s take on every girl student’s favourite troubled poet, Sylvia Plath, is quite special. Paltrow excels, giving an emotional performance that captures perfectly Plath’s despair and frustration with her own situation, as well as her envy of husband Ted Hughes. As Sylvia becomes increasingly paranoid and unbalanced, Ted’s patience runs out and their destructive, sometimes violent marriage deteriorates further. Daniel Craig also weighs in with a strong performance as Hughes, whose gruff northern swagger makes him a hit with one too many ladies for Plath’s liking.”
(Empire)

Tue 1 Jun • Parents & Babies Club

BAD EDUCATION (15) 11.00am

(Sp 2004) dir.Pedro Almodóvar 104m. Subtitles.

Gael Garcia Bernal, Fele Martinez, Javier Camara, Daniel Gimenez-Cacho, Lluis Homar, Francisco Boira.

An opportunity for parents with babies to visit the cinema without having to find a baby sitter or worry about their babies causing disturbance. A secure space is provided for pushchairs.

Adm £5/£4 Concessions

Thur 3 Jun • Parents & Babies Club

BAD EDUCATION (15) 1.00

(Sp 2004) dir.Pedro Almodóvar 104m. Subtitles.

Gael Garcia Bernal, Fele Martinez, Javier Camara, Daniel Gimenez-Cacho, Lluis Homar, Francisco Boira.

An opportunity for parents with babies to visit the cinema without having to find a baby sitter or worry about their babies causing disturbance. A secure space is provided for pushchairs.

Adm £5/£4 Concessions

Sun 6 Jun • Documentary double bill

SPELLBOUND (U) 2.00

(US 2002) dir.Jeffrey Blitz 97m. Documentary.

“Webster’s Unabridged – the American spelling contest’s bible of choice – is a demanding mistress. This doozy documentary follows eight of its squeezes, aged 12 to 15, through the preparations for, and then the agonies and ecstasies of, a two-day knockout spelling hoe-down in Washington DC, the climax of the 1999 National Spelling Bee championship. It’s great drama – Yana Gorskaya’s crisp, judicious editing pulls it all into beguiling shape, teasing out the suspense while leading your prejudices a merry dance. It’s as enthralling as any fiction.”
(Time Out)

+ ETRE ET AVOIR (U) 4.00

(Fr 2002) dir.Nicolas Philibert 104m. Subtitles.

“This wonderful documentary film charts half a year in the life of Georges Lopez and the infant and junior pupils he teaches at a tiny single-class school in the Auvergne. That may not sound so rewarding, but in following the fortunes of this small group, Philibert attains an extraordinary intimacy with his subjects. It’s one of the very finest films you’re likely to see in a long time.”
(Time Out)

Tue 8 Jun • Parents & Babies Club

BAD EDUCATION (15) 1.00

(Sp 2004) dir.Pedro Almodóvar 104m. Subtitles.
Gael Garcia Bernal, Fele Martinez, Javier Camara, Daniel Gimenez-Cacho, Lluis Homar, Francisco Boira.

An opportunity for parents with babies to visit the cinema without having to find a baby sitter or worry about their babies causing disturbance. A secure space is provided for pushchairs.

Adm £5/£4 Concessions

Wed 9 Jun • Classic Matinee

SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE (12A) 2.30

(US 2003) dir.Nancy Meyers 128m.
Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Keanu Reeves.

“Notorious Manhattan womaniser Harry Sanborn (Nicholson) is looking forward to a weekend with new girlfriend Marin (Peet) in her palatial Hamptons beach house. What he's not prepared for is the arrival of Marin's mother Erica (Keaton). Especially since Erica is much closer to Harry's age than Marin is! The weekend is further interrupted when Harry has a heart attack and is forced to remain in Erica's care. And before they realise what's happening, both discover a surprising mutual attraction. But Harry has competition; his handsome young doctor (Reeves) is deeply attracted to Erica as well. Keaton is absolutely fantastic as a sexy middle-aged woman who's much more than a jittery bundle of nerves (although she's that too). Nicholson is at the peak of his powers too, maintaining that old-Jack grin while balancing it with a more interesting voyage of self-discovery that involves both broad physical humour and emotional resonance.”
(Rich Cline, shadowsonthewall.co.uk)

NB. With a 15 minute intermission

Thur 10 Jun • Parents & Babies Club

BAD EDUCATION (15) 1.00

(Sp 2004) dir.Pedro Almodóvar 104m. Subtitles.
Gael Garcia Bernal, Fele Martinez, Javier Camara, Daniel Gimenez-Cacho, Lluis Homar, Francisco Boira.

An opportunity for parents with babies to visit the cinema without having to find a baby sitter or worry about their babies causing disturbance. A secure space is provided for pushchairs.

Adm £5/£4 Concessions

Sun 13 Jun

ELEPHANT (15) 1.45

(US 2003) dir.Gus Van Sant 81m.
Alex Frost, Eric Deulen, John Robinson, Elias McConnell.

“Gus Van Sant’s Palme d’Or winner began life as a conventional Hollywood psychodrama inspired by the Columbine high school massacre. Then it mutated into something more abstract, more personal. Filmed in languorous Steadicam shots, ELEPHANT sucks us into the lives of half a dozen or more students, slipping easily between them over the course of what seems at first like an uneventful school day. Some 30 minutes in we get a premonition of the terrible atrocity in store. Van Sant’s film elicits unusually strong responses; certainly it’s deeply harrowing.”
(Time Out)

+ 21 GRAMS (15) 3.35

US 2003) dir.Alejandro González Iñárritu 124m.
Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Benicio Del Toro, Charlotte Gainsbourg.

“Like a smashed mirror, Alejandro González Iñárritu's enigmatic movie shows us broken lives in shards of fear. At its centre is a terrible accident whose impact has shattered everyone involved, and the movie itself is picking up the pieces and reassembling the truth. The narrative is busted up, as if being remembered by someone in shock. It lets the director dive boldly into the mystery of individual experience and identity, and shows us the poetry as well as the prose of his characters' lives. Most importantly, the movie has three absolutely outstanding performances from Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro and Naomi Watts. Between them, they offer a compelling triptych of human pain. Fluid, exhilarating, virtuoso cinema.”
(The Guardian)

Tue 15 Jun • Parents & Babies Club

21 GRAMS (15) 12.30

(US 2003) dir.Alejandro González Iñárritu 124m.
Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Benicio Del Toro, Charlotte Gainsbourg.

An opportunity for parents with babies to visit the cinema without having to find a baby sitter or worry about their babies causing disturbance. A secure space is provided for pushchairs.

Adm £5/£4 Concessions

Thur 17 Jun • Parents & Babies Club

UZAK (Distant) (15) 12.45

(Turkey 2002) dir.Nuri Bilge Ceylan 110m. Subtitles.
Muzafer Ozdemir, Mhemet Emin Toprak, Zuhal Gencer Erkaya, Nazan Kirilmis.

An opportunity for parents with babies to visit the cinema without having to find a baby sitter or worry about their babies causing disturbance. A secure space is provided for pushchairs.

Adm £5/£4 Concessions

3rd London Kurdish Film Festival

Please note the festival has been postponed to 17 – 23 September.

The festival will present an exciting range of new films and documentaries from Kurdish film makers living and working in many different countries. There will be opportunities for discussion with film makers and educational events. Further details will be posted here nearer the time of the festival and a programme booklet will be available in early September. Please send an e-mail with your address to kff@riocinema.org.uk if you would like us to send you one by post.