London Symphony

Produced by Katharine Round
Directed by Alex Barrett
UK 2017
72 mins

London Symphony is a cinematic celebration of our capital city – a combination of music and moving images which harks back to the days of silent pictures, and looks forward to a proudly multicultural  future.

Described as “a modern-day city symphony” and taking its lead from a genre of films which flourished in the 1920s, Alex Barrett’s  adventurous project strives to capture “the essence of London”. Filmed in over 300 locations, taking in all various the boroughs, it’s a celebration of diversity and difference.  Buildings old and new sit side by side; parks offer respite from the urban architecture; bridges span rivers bringing communities together; and religious buildings offer a multitude of spiritual homes.
Barrett’s previous feature Life Just Is  was an admirably low-key affair, a micro-budget London drama.  London Symphony is a more ambitious affair; four years in the making with a team of cinematographers generating over a hundred hours of raw footage.

Providing a rich soundtrack for these images, composer James McWilliam explores the differing moods and melodies of the city. Teaming up with the Covent Garden Sinfonia, the film-makers have organised a number of screenings of London Symphony where McWilliam’s score would be performed live, at venues ranging from The Barbican to the Shree Ghanapathy Temple in Wimbledon – the first fully consecrated Hindu temple in Europe.

We are very pleased to announce that this screening of London Symphony will be introduced in person by the director Alex Barrett. This is a unique opportunity to see a brand new work by one of the UK's most promising young filmmakers.

Tangerine

Starring Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor and  Karren Karagulian
Screenplay by Sean S. Baker and Chris Bergoch
Directed by Sean Baker
USA 2015
88 mins

Making a movie used to take expensive equipment, a huge crew and the backing of a studio or other major financial institution. 'Tangerine', a mesmerising ultra-low-budget feature by Sean Baker, is proof that things have changed forever - the film was shot entirely using the iPhone 5S!

In spite of the modesty of its means of production 'Tangerine' is a technical tour-de-force -  visually dazzling with a gorgeous use of colour and and authentic sense of place.

The film is set on Christmas Eve around the streets and diners of Hollywood and follows two transgender sex workers  - Sin-Dee Rella and Alexandra - as they search for Sin-Dee's pimp boyfriend who has been cheating on her.

Baker cast two non-actors in the lead roles - a double act whose performances are energetic, refreshing and sharply truthful against the artificial backdrop of LA. Their rip-roaring odyssey through the sub cultures of Los Angeles takes us into parts of the city we have never seen before on a wild night of adventure.

Funny, moving and outrageous with an dynamite soundtrack to match  'Tangerine' was a big hit at the Sundance festival in 2016. Sean Baker has gone on to make a highly acclaimed follow up feature - 'The Florida Project' - soon to be released in cinemas. It is also set in the margins of society and like 'Tangerine' is not an earnest social document but an exuberant celebration of difference and independent spirit. 

Bonnie and Clyde

Starring Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman and Estelle Parsons
Screenplay by David Newman and Robert Benton
Directed by Arthur Penn
USA 1967
111 mins

Our last film 'Shampoo' starred Warren Beatty playing Beverley Hills hairdresser George Roundy in a razor-sharp parody of the excesses of 1970s Los Angeles. Some eight years earlier Beatty starred in and produced 'Bonnie And Clyde' - a game changing crime picture that would reframe the gangster genre and usher in a bold new age of American cinema. 1968 was the year of revolutions and 'Bonnie And Clyde' broke taboos; combining an anarchic tone with naturalistic performances, graphic violence and frank sexuality to take the world by storm and chime perfectly with the countercultural times in which it was made.

Robert Benton and David Newman - the writers of this morally ambiguous and controversial movie -  were on the staff of Esquire magazine and had never penned a screenplay before this one. Their unorthodox script did the rounds and attracted the attention of French new wave directors Francois Truffaut and Jean Luc Godard both of whom were among those slated to make it. It was finally directed by Arthur Penn - an acclaimed director of theatre, TV and cinema whose other work includes 'The Left Handed Gun', 'The Miracle Worker', 'Alice's Restaurant' and 'Little Big Man'.  

This controversial 'true crime' story made instant stars out of Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway but ended the career of eminent New York Times film critic Bosley Crowther - whose repeated campaigning attacks on the film were so out of touch that in the end the paper replaced him. 
The film's style and its costumes in particular launched a fashion craze with Dunaway's hairstyle and Beatty's snappy suits featuring on magazine covers all over the world.

'Bonnie And Clyde' also spawned a series of pop songs in Europe including Georgie Fame's 'The Ballad Of Bonnie And Clyde' in the UK.

Shampoo

Starring Warren Beatty, Julie Christie and Goldie Hawn
Screenplay by Robert Towne and Warren Beatty
Directed by Hal Ashby
USA 1975
110 mins

Warren Beatty is perhaps the most extravagantly talented figure in contemporary American cinema - he has been nominated 14 times for an Academy Award - twice for producing, writing, directing and acting in the same film - the only person in history to achieve this. Beatty's recent career has been patchy and the movies infrequent but his influence and body of work is unlike any other in recent times. His romantic prowess is also legendary - with partners including Cher, Madonna, Joan Collins and his co-star in 'Shampoo' Julie Christie.

Beatty shares the screenplay credit for Shampoo with legendary writer Robert Towne, whose work includes 'Chinatown', 'The Last Detail' and 'Marathon Man'. The film is a biting satirical comedy set on election day 1968 - an election that Richard Nixon was destined to win - with all that followed...
Beatty plays George a Beverly Hills hairdresser whose many liaisons with his wealthy clientele make for an interesting if complicated life. George is ambitious  and wants his own salon and sets out to try and get bank rolled by Lester - the rich husband of his lover Felicia.

Hal Ashby's deft direction, a sharp script, music by Paul Simon and a handful of terrific performances make this an unmissable treat. Look out for the late great Carrie Fisher in an early role as a teenager on a mission.

"You ever listen to women talk, man? Do you? 'Cause I do, till it's running outta my ears! I mean I'm on my feet all day long listening to women talk and they only talk about one thing: how some guy fucked 'em over, that's all that's on their minds, that's all I ever hear about! Don't you know that?"

Lift To The Scaffold

Starring Jeanne Moreau, Maurice Ronet and  Georges Poujouly
Screenplay by  Noël Calef
Louis Malle and Roger Nimier
Directed by Louis Malle
France 1958
88 mins

We have lost a number of notable actors and filmmakers over the summer - from George Romero to Roger Moore and John Heard to Jonathan Demme but none has more iconic status than the great French actress Jeanne Moreau who passed away aged 89 in July.

Moreau's long, rich and varied career included such titles as 'Les Amants', 'The Bride Wore Black', 'Diary Of A Chambermaid' and 'Jules et Jim'. She was internationally admired and appeared in a number of English language films over the years. Her sometimes complex private life included being married to the director William Friedkin as well as numerous affairs with among others Francois Truffaut and the director of this film - Louis Malle. Moreau was a great theatre performer and a talented producer and director. She was also an accomplished vocalist - releasing a number of albums and once singing alongside Frank Sinatra at Carnegie Hall...

'Lift To The Scaffold' was an early movie in her career - in it she worked with one of the directors in the 'nouvelle vague' (New Wave) of French cinema - Louis Malle. Malle went on to be one of the great directors of the modern era - his other work includes 'Lacombe Lucien" and 'Atlantic City". 'Lift To The Scaffold' was his debut and is a film noir  - telling the story of Florence and Julien - two lovers who plot to murder Florence's husband but fate is against them and soon their plans go terribly wrong...

Shot in a realistic style and in black and white the film features a dynamite performance by Moreau and a fabulous jazz score by the great Miles Davis (with whom she also had an affair) A marvellous combination of elements and a fitting tribute to this great actress.

The Graduate

Starring Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft and Katherine Ross
Directed by Mike Nichols
USA 1967
106 minutes

We have lost a number of notable actors and filmmakers over the summer - from George Romero to Roger Moore and John Heard to Jonathan Demme but none has more iconic status than the great French actress Jeanne Moreau who passed away aged 89 in July.  Moreau's long, rich and varied career included such titles as 'Les Amants', 'The Bride Wore Black', 'Diary Of A Chambermaid' and 'Jules et Jim'. She was internationally admired and appeared in a number of English language films over the years. Her sometimes complex private life included being married to the director William Friedkin as well as numerous affairs with among others Francois Truffaut and the director of this film - Louis Malle. Moreau was a great theatre performer and a talented producer and director. She was also an accomplished vocalist - releasing a number of albums and once singing alongside Frank Sinatra at Carnegie Hall...
'Lift To The Scaffold' was an early movie in her career - in it she worked with one of the directors in the 'nouvelle vague' (New Wave) of French cinema - Louis Malle. Malle went on to be one of the great directors of the modern era - his other work includes 'Lacombe Lucien" and 'Atlantic City". 'Lift To The Scaffold' was his debut and is a film noir  - telling the story of Florence and Julien - two lovers who plot to murder Florence's husband but fate is against them and soon their plans go terribly wrong...
Shot in a realistic style and in black and white the film features a dynamite performance by Moreau and a fabulous jazz score by the great Miles Davis (with whom she also had an affair) A marvellous combination of elements and a fitting tribute to this great actress.

Before the main feature we will be screening 'Crimson' an exciting new short film by local filmmakers Dorothy Kay and Cordelia Lawler.
Don't miss this screening which will be introduced by Dorothy and Cordelia themselves!

All The President's Men

Starring Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Robards and Martin Balsam
Screenplay by William Goldman based on the book by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein
Directed by Alan J Pakula
USA 1976
138 mins

Almost exactly 45 years ago, on June 17 1972, a group of men were caught breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate building in Washington DC. Bob Woodward - a junior reporter on The Washington Post newspaper was sent to cover what seemed to be a minor burglary. What Woodward gradually uncovered along with his partner Carl Bernstein was a gigantic conspiracy - one that went all the way to the top of the government - to the President himself - Richard Nixon. In large part as a result of their investigations Nixon would eventually resign - ending an unprecedented and extraordinary passage in American political history.

This thrilling big screen adaptation of the Watergate story was directed by Alan J Pakula. 'All The President's Men' forms part of what is known as his 'Paranoia Trilogy' - the other two pictures being 'Klute' and 'The Parallax View'. Working with ace cinematographer Gordon Willis, Pakula brings an unsettling, edgy visual sensibility to the film - with the brightly lit newsroom scenes in strong contrast to the dark, shadowy meetings between the two reporters and their informants. Screenwriter William Goldman steers us skilfully through the labyrinthine details of the conspiracy - focusing on the detective story and the mounting energy and excitement of the investigation.

Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman are perfectly cast as Woodward and Bernstein - their contrasting characters and physical style make them one of cinemas best dramatic double acts - leading to perhaps the most successful screen depiction of journalism and journalists we have seen.
From the arresting opening sequence in which typewriter keys spell out the date in giant close up 'All the President's Men' is a compelling and sophisticated drama and with rumours of illegal activity and treason swirling around the Trump presidency and impeachment seemingly waiting in the wings what better time to screen it.

The film will be introduced by the distinguished Foreign Affairs Correspondent for Channel 4 News Jonathan Rugman. Last November Jonathan gave  unique context to our screening of 'Primary Colors' in the run-up to the Presidential election. 'All The President's Men' is one of his favourite movies and he will undoubtedly deliver a fascinating  commentary on the picture and its relationship to the current political situation.

We are planning to start the screening as soon after 8.0pm as possible so please make sure that you arrive in good time!

Y Tu Mama También

Starring Maribel Verdú, Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna
Written by Alfonso Cuarón and Carlos Cuarón
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón
Mexico 2001
106 mins
 

Like our last film 'Sideways' - 'Y Tu Mama También' is a road movie - a category usually thought of as an American genre but this one hails from south of the border - Mexico to be precise.

Mexico has given us some of the most powerful and interesting pictures of recent years. Directors like Alejándro Gonzalez Iñárritu and Guillermo Del Toro have brought their extraordinary visions to the screen in films like 'Amores Perros' and 'Pan's Labyrinth'. Their fellow filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón has made a wide variety of Spanish and English language movies including the intriguing dystopian fantasy 'The Children of Men', the best of the Harry Potter cycle 'The Prisoner Of Azkaban' and the exhilarating space thriller 'Gravity'.

Cuarón made 'Y Tu Mama También' after a spell in the US - avowedly as an escape from the straitjacket of Hollywood production techniques. This freewheeling story of Julio and Tenoch - two teenage boys who embark on a road trip with Luisa - a woman in her 30s - is on one level an erotic and exuberant road trip but underneath that is a much more thoughtful and lyrical movie. Controversial too - 'Y Tu Mama También' achieved notoriety for its frank portrayal of sex as the three protagonists combine and re-combine on the way to the beach of their dreams.

The film was shot by Emmanuel Lubezki - one of the most brilliant cinematographers working today. His work on 'Gravity', 'Birdman' and 'The Revenant' as well as this picture has raised the bar in camera technique and visual style.

Gael García Bernal who plays Julio is one of the brightest stars in Mexican cinema known not only for his acting but also as a producer and director.

'Y Tu Mama También' is not for the easily offended but this intimate and affecting drama will charm you along the way...

Sideways

Starring Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church,
Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh
Written by Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor
Directed by Alexander Payne
USA 2004
123 mins

The last two films we screened have dealt with marriage and divorce - our latest is set on the eve of a wedding and follows a bachelor road trip by the groom and his best friend in the wine country of northern California.

Miles and Jack were room mates at college, now in middle age. Miles is an English teacher and aspiring writer while Jack is an actor. With Jack about to be married the pair head off on a road trip to drink wine and maybe play some golf. But Miles discovers that Jack is looking for a last sexual adventure before he gets hitched - leading them both into trouble along the way.

Alexander Payne is one of the best directors working in American cinema today - his films 'Election' and 'Nebraska' have both been screened by the AFC in the past. He has a delightfully light touch with comedy and gets terrific performances from his cast. The script for 'Sideways' won him the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar - one of two that he has been awarded.

Paul Giammatti is brilliant as the tortured, unhappy Miles while Thomas Haden Church is a perfect foil as the fun-loving and chaotic Jack. There are great supporting turns too  from Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh.

'Sideways' is also a love poem to wine - Miles's often expressed hatred of Merlot went so far as to have an effect on wine sales in both the US and the UK - with Merlot sales declining after the film's release while his favoured variety Pinot consumption went up!

This deft comedy is a delight from start to finish - enjoy it's bittersweet taste and maybe wash it down with a glass or two of Pinot - or Merlot if you prefer...

Adam's Rib

Starring Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn, Judy Holliday and Tom Ewell
Written by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin
Directed by George Cukor
USA 1949
101 mins

Our last movie - 'A Separation' - was the extraordinary, gruelling account of a disintegrating marriage and the court case caused by the breakup. 'Adam's Rib' also features a husband and wife in court but this time they are two lawyers representing opposite sides in a legal case.

When Doris Attinger (Judy Holliday) shoots her husband after apparently discovering him being unfaithful she is accused of attempted murder. Adam Bonner (Tracy) is assigned to prosecute her while Amanda Bonner (Hepburn) becomes her defence attorney. The two engage in a full on battle both inside and outside the courtroom.

This ageless romantic comedy was helmed by one of George Cukor - one of the all-time-great directors whose pictures include 'The Philadelphia Story', 'A Star Is Born' and 'My Fair Lady'.
The sparkling script  to 'Adam's Rib' was written by a married couple - Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin. Kanin wrote a number of successful Hepburn/Tracy vehicles and Ruth Gordon was a brilliant, uniquely quirky actress who made memorable appearances in later life in 'Rosemary's Baby' and 'Harold And Maude'.

The stars of 'Adam's Rib' - Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy - are one of the most celebrated partnerships of Hollywood's golden age. This was their sixth film together. The two were secret lovers for decades - never declaring their involvement publicly they were eventually parted by Tracy's early death in 1967.

As a result their on-screen chemistry is almost without parallel in cinema and a joy to behold.

A Separation

Starring Leila Hatami, Peyman Moaadi,
Shahab Hosseini and Sareh Bayat
Written and directed by Asgar Farhadi
USA 2011
123 mins

Our last movie 'Birth' was a very strange family tale - childhood, death, grief and sexual intrigue all combining in a heady Freudian brew. Our next film is also firmly rooted in family life but this time the focus is on a middle class couple's divorce in modern day Iran and the impact on all the various people involved.

Simin (Leila Hatami) wants to leave the country with her family because she doesn't want her daughter Termeh to grow up there. Her husband Nader opposes the move because he wants to care for his ageing father. The dispute drives them to the divorce court. This struggle between the husband and wife and the shock waves it creates draw us in to their world and raises fascinating questions about truth, justice, religion, gender and human behaviour. 

'A Separation' is directed by Asgar Farhadi - winning him the Academy Award for best foreign language film in 2012 along with a host of other international prizes. His latest film 'The Salesman' has just netted Farhadi a second Oscar - unexpectedly beating the hot favourite 'Toni Erdmann'. It's more than possible that voting was swayed by Donald Trump's infamous travel ban which meant that Farhadi was forbidden from entering the USA to attend the ceremony!

'A Separation' is an extraordinarily nuanced and complex drama - paced like a Hitchcock film it gives a fascinating insight into life in contemporary Iran. The actors in this film truly inhabit their roles - seemingly actually caught in the trap in which the characters find themselves.
However 'A Separation' is no worthy social document - it has a deceptively simple narrative but Farhadi's compelling, suspenseful style exposes the fault lines below the surface, sidestepping brilliantly the heavy censorship imposed on all filmmakers in Iran. 

Special Screening: Napoleon

Written, produced and directed by Abel Gance
Starring Albert Dieudonné, Gina Manès,
Antonin Artaud and Edmond Van Daële
France 1927
332 mins

Napoléon is quite simply unique in film history. Made at a time when cinema was in its infancy, when the camera was usually static, editing slow and predictable and movies often little more than filmed plays this epic is bold and groundbreaking. 90 years later it still feels incredibly modern and daring. Lost for many years until Kevin Brownlow began his painstaking restoration and featuring a marvellous specially composed orchestral score by Carl Davis, Napoléon is a both a thrilling spectacle and a brilliant example of narrative cinema.

The longest picture we have ever screened in the history of the AFC !
Napoléon will begin at 2.30pm.
There will be 2 intervals - the first of 20 minutes and the second of 45 minutes.
The screening will end at around 9.0pm

Birth

Starring Nicole Kidman, Cameron Bright,
Danny Huston and Lauren Bacall
Directed by Jonathan Glazer
USA 2004
96 mins

Our last movie 'The Manchurian Candidate' featured at its heart a strange, twisted mother son relationship - one that transgresses the normal boundaries of human behaviour. In 'Birth' there is the possibility of an even stranger bond between a male child and a grown woman.
Anna, whose husband Sean died suddenly 10 years earlier, is about to marry her boyfriend Joseph when she meets a young boy, also called Sean, who claims to be the reincarnation of her dead partner. Sean tells her not to go through with the wedding. She and Joseph later confront the boy but in the subsequent days he reveals a disturbingly intimate knowledge of her dead husband and of the details of their relationship...

The British director of 'Birth' Jonathan Glazer is known as one of the most talented and visionary commercials directors working today. His iconic 1999 ad 'Surfer' - made for Guinness - was voted best commercial of all time in a poll of Channel 4 viewers. In all Glazer has made only three films since his debut in 2000 with the electrifying British gangster film 'Sexy Beast'. His most recent movie - the science fiction picture 'Under The Skin' is perhaps the most extraordinary British film of recent years - a brilliant synthesis that combines actors and non actors with hallucinogenic visuals and a mesmeric electronic score by Mica Levi.

'Birth',  Glazer's second film,  is a lost work - some would say masterpiece. Both controversial and divisive - it was booed and feted on it's original release with some observers condemning a scene in which Kidman shares a bath with the young Sean.

'Birth' was written by Jean Claude Carrière - one of France's most celebrated screenwriters - best known as a long-time collaborator with the great surrealist filmmaker Luis Buñuel. 
A stellar cast includes Nicole Kidman as Anna with Danny Huston playing Joseph. The Hollywood legend Lauren Bacall, aged 80, plays Anna's mother.

This is a rare opportunity to see 'Birth' - it will puzzle you, disturb you and quite possibly infuriate you - but you are likely to be thinking and talking about it for days afterwards...

The Manchurian Candidate

Starring Frank Sinatra, Janet Leigh, Angela Lansbury and Lawrence Harvey
Directed by John Frankenheimer
USA 1962
126 mins

Our last movie 'Brick' was an ingenious modern film noir reworking of the detective genre. Following on from that is one of the most celebrated Cold War conspiracy thrillers of the 1960s - John Frankenheimer's brilliant, neo-noir tale of political intrigue and psychological warfare - 'The Manchurian Candidate'.

Set in the years after the Korean war the film centres on Bennett Marco (played by Frank Sinatra) - an army captain whose unsettling and mysterious nightmares send him on the trail of an extraordinary plot to elect an extreme right wing candidate as President of the United States. He contacts the other members of his platoon (who like him were captured and imprisoned before being released) in an effort to discover what happened to them during their time as prisoners-of-war.

Sinatra is excellent as the troubled officer and Lawrence Harvey is alternately chilling and pitiful as Raymond - the unknowing perpetrator of the plot. However stealing the show is Angela Lansbury (best known as Miss Marple in TV's 'Murder She Wrote')  as Raymond's terrifying, ruthless and politically-ambitious mother.

'The Manchurian Candidate' has a dynamic, modern visual feel - using hand-held camera and extreme angles to give us a dark, distorted viewpoint on the characters and action. It was released only 12 months before the Kennedy assassination and disappeared from distribution for a number of years after Sinatra acquired its rights in the 1970s.

The film's director John Frankenheimer began his career in television and made some of the best films of the era including the underrated 'Seconds' and the excellent 'Seven Days In May'.
With a newly-elected Donald Trump in charge and headlines linking his campaign success to Russian influence this screening could not be more timely. Is it really possible that we now have a Manchurian candidate in the White House?

Brick

Starring Joseph Gordon Levitt, Lukas Haas, Nora Zehetner and Emilie de Ravin
Directed by Rian Johnson
USA 2005
109 mins

Our last movie 'Sing Street' was a joyous low budget comedy set around a Dublin high school. Our next film also has a school setting - but is in a very different genre - the so-called neo noir. This is a hardboiled detective film - think Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler - in which a murder is investigated and clues are followed - the twist is that here the detective is a student and the witnesses and suspects are fellow schoolmates and acquaintances in contemporary America.

The script is smart - with the dialogue mirroring the cadences and jargon of the 1930s and 40s but  cleverly combined with the language of modern teenagers.There is also just a touch of Twin Peaks darkness in Rian Johnson's debut indie feature - shot in his home town of San Clemente California and using as a location the very high school that he attended. 

This ingenious blend of of old Hollywood and new independent cinema features cool monochromatic cinematography by Steve Yedlin - the look is influenced by the classic Roman Polanski period detective movie 'Chinatown'. The music is by Rian Johnson's cousin Nathan with support from his band The Cinematic Underground. The composer draws from the tradition of noir film scores but adds a contemporary twist.

The lead role is filled by Joseph Gordon Levitt - one of the most interesting actors working today. He has appeared in big budget pictures like 'Inception' and 'The Dark Knight Rises' as well as many independent movies - always delivering nuanced and unusual portrayals. His latest outing was as Edward Snowden in Oliver Stone's recent film about the whistleblower.

Director Rian Johnson's rise has been meteoric since this first film. His sci-fi time travel thriller 'Looper' was a brilliant mind-bending treat and he was subsequently selected to direct the forthcoming  Episode XIII in the rebooted Star Wars franchise.

'Brick' won a fistful of awards including a Sundance special jury prize and a best newcomer at the British Independent Film Awards.

Sing Street