Sat 7 Jun • Matinee

LA SCALA OPERA SERIES

LA FORZA DEL DESTINO (U) 1.45
by Giuseppe Verdi

One of the grandest Italian operas, the tragic plot is a sprawling epic that covers six years and two countries, a world peopled by beggars, soldiers, monks, pilgrims, peasants and gypsies. Against this backdrop, Leonora's love for the Peruvian Don Alvaro is unacceptable to her family. They elope; her father pursues them and is killed. Fate buffets the lovers as they are hunted relentlessly by Leonora's brother until the trio is forced to confront what fate and society demand of them.

Recorded at Teatro del Maggio Musicale, Florence in high definition, the opera will be projected in 2K digital, the highest quality standard in cinemas today, together with 5.1 surround sound.

Director: Nicolas Joel
Conductor: Zubin Mehta
Design: Ezio Frigerio
Costumes: Franca Squarciapino
Cast: Violeta Urmana (Donna Leonora), Carlo Guelfi (Don Carlos di Vargas), Marcello Giordani (Don Alvaro), Julia Gertseva (Preziosilla).

Sung in Italian with English subtitles.

Approximate running time: 230m (including interval)

£12/£10 Concs & Friends

Sun 8 Jun • Matinee

SUGAR AND SPICE AND ALL THINGS MOVIES (U) 12.00

(UK 2008) dir. Melih Kancelik 22m. Digital.

Documentary about cinema collector and enthusiast, Umit Mesut, and his Hackney based sweet shop that now resembles a film museum. For Umit, sweets are a sideline; his real passion is for cinema. In his shop window there is sign: "...This is Super 8 Not Video or DVD Rubbish". We follow him from his celluloid Aladdin's Cave to the Rio Cinema in Dalston, in an attempt to answer the big question: does Digital spell the end for cinema, or a new beginning? A fascinating documentary featuring a unique Hackney character.

+ Q&A with director and participants

£5

LA SCALA OPERA SERIES

IL TRITTICO (PG) 1.45
by Giacomo Puccini

Puccini's trilogy of one-act operas, first performed in December 1918 and featuring some of his most meltingly beautiful melodies. 'Il Tabarro' ('The Cloak') is the story of a passionate love triangle; 'Suor Angelica' ('Sister Angelica') tells the heart-rending tale of a cloistered nun with a worldly secret; and 'Gianni Schicchi' is a comedic farce inspired by Dante.

Recorded at La Scala, Milan in high definition, the opera will be projected in 2K digital, the highest quality standard in cinemas today, together with 5.1 surround sound.

Director: Luca Ronconi
Conductor: Riccardo Chailly
Design: Margherita Palli
Costumes: Silvia Aymonino
Cast: Juan Pons (Michel), Miro Dvorski (Luigi), Paoletta Marrocu (Giorgetta), Anna Maria Popescu (Frugola).

Sung in Italian with English subtitles.

Approximaterunning time: 230m. (including 2 intervals)

£12/£10 Concs & Friends

AHLAAM (15) 1.15

(Iraq 2005) dir. Mohamed Al-Daradji 111m. Subtitles. Digital.
Aseel Adel, Bashir Al-Majid, Mohamed Hashim, Kaheel Khalid, Mortadha Saadi, Talib Al-Furati.

Director, writer and cameraman Mohamed Al-Daradji's drama of three Iraqui lives before and after the 2003 invasion is a remarkable achievement, made under all but impossible conditions with its cast and crew subject to harassment and even kidnappings from both sides. Filmed in Baghdad with a largely non-professional cast, and with intertwining stories from across the country, this is an original, ambitious and thought-provoking movie that powerfully mixes images of great horror and great beauty.

£6/£5 Concs

THE BUSINESS OF BEING BORN (15) 11.00am

(US 2008) dir Abby Epstein 87m.
Ricki Lake, Cara Muhlhahn, Abby Epstein, Michel Odent, Marsden Wagner, Ina May Gaskin.

Compelled to explore the subject after the birth of her first child, actress Ricki Lake recruits filmmaker Abby Epstein to question the way American women have babies. The film interlaces intimate birth stories with surprising historical, political and scientific insights and shocking statistics about the current maternity care system. Should most births be viewed as a natural life process, or should every birth be treated as a potentially catastrophic medical emergency?
+ panel discussion

All proceeds to ‘Save Independent Midwifery Campaign’

£8/£5 Concs

LA SCALA OPERA SERIES

TRISTAN UND ISOLDE (PG) 12.30
by Richard Wagner

Based largely on the romance by Gottfried von Straßburg, Wagner's composition of Tristan und Isolde was inspired by his affair with Mathilde Wesendonck and the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer. Widely acknowledged as one of the peaks of the operatic repertory, Tristan is notable for Wagner's advanced use of chromaticism, tonality, orchestral colour and harmonic suspension.

Recorded at La Scala, Milan in high definition, the opera will be projected in 2K digital, the highest quality standard in cinemas today, together with 5.1 surround sound.

Director: Patrice Chéreau
Conductor: Daniel Barenboim
Design: Richard Peduzzi
Cast: Ian Storey (Tristan), Waltraud Meier (Isolde), Michelle De Young (Brangane), Gerd Grokowski (Kurwenal).

Sung in German with English subtitles.

Approximate running time: 300m. (including 2 intervals)

£12/£10 Concessions & Rio Friends

Hired Geeks present

WE JAM ECONO: THE STORY OF THE MINUTEMEN (15) 11.15pm

(US 2005) dir. Tim Irwin. 90m. Digital.
D. Boon, Mike Watt, George Hurley, Thurston Moore, Ian MacKaye, Greg Norton, Richard Melzer.

Acclaimed feature-length documentary on one of the most revered, intriguing, and inspired American bands ever. At the heart of their story is the immeasurable personal and musical bond between bassist Mike Watt and singer and guitarist D. Boon. Childhood friends, their unbridled creativity and political views were the foundation of this groundbreaking band which refused to be categorized as Punk. New interviews with over 50 musicians, artists, journalists, and friends help tell the Minutemen story, from their humble beginnings in the harbor town of San Pedro, California, to the demise that no one could have ever imagined.

£6.50

MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES (U) 1.45

(Canada 2006) dir. Jennifer Baichwal 87m. Digital.

For many years renowned artist Edward Burtynsky has captured the devastating impact of industrial expansion through large-scale photographs. This documentary focuses on his work, and while his artistic ambitions lead him all across the world, here he is primarily concerned with China's rapid industrialization. Coming on the heels of Al Gore's AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH this is an all the more staggering wake-up call to modern environmental fears.

£6/£5 Concs