Current Films
Tickets are $15.00 across the board, not bad eh!
Swallows of Kabul
STARTS Thurs 29 Oct
The Swallows of Kabul is based on Algerian author Yasmina Khadra’s 2002 novel of the
same name. The cherished tale is brought to life in an exquisite animated film directed by
multi-award winning filmmakers Zabou Breitman and Éléa Gobbé-Mévellec.
The Swallows of Kabul follows two couples living in the Afghan capital in summer 1998,
and the impact Taliban rule has on each relationship. Through their individual love stories,unforgettable characters emerge amid the devastating impact of armed combat. On one side sits idealistic Mohsen (Swann Arlaud) and Zunaira (Zita Hanrot) who dream of a better future, and on the other is a disillusioned prison guard, Atiq (Simon Abkarian), and his seriously ill wife, Mussarat (Hiam Abbass). One day, a foolish gesture causes life to take an irrevocable turn...
Writer and Director Zabou Breitman comments on her inspiration to capture the poetry of
Khadra’s novel as an animation;
“There was the opportunity to turn it into something incredible using animation. The
extreme abstraction and sense of time that animation brings can help create a kind of
softness that’s conducive to representing the hardness of this narrative.
The Swallows of Kabul is based on Algerian author Yasmina Khadra’s 2002 novel of the
same name. The cherished tale is brought to life in an exquisite animated film directed by
multi-award winning filmmakers Zabou Breitman and Éléa Gobbé-Mévellec.
The Swallows of Kabul follows two couples living in the Afghan capital in summer 1998,
and the impact Taliban rule has on each relationship. Through their individual love stories,unforgettable characters emerge amid the devastating impact of armed combat. On one side sits idealistic Mohsen (Swann Arlaud) and Zunaira (Zita Hanrot) who dream of a better future, and on the other is a disillusioned prison guard, Atiq (Simon Abkarian), and his seriously ill wife, Mussarat (Hiam Abbass). One day, a foolish gesture causes life to take an irrevocable turn...
Writer and Director Zabou Breitman comments on her inspiration to capture the poetry of
Khadra’s novel as an animation;
“There was the opportunity to turn it into something incredible using animation. The
extreme abstraction and sense of time that animation brings can help create a kind of
softness that’s conducive to representing the hardness of this narrative.
The Mystery of Henri Pick
STARTS 22 OCT
The perfect film for lovers of literature and intrigue alike, writer/director Rémi Bezançon (A Happy Event) presents a riddle wrapped in an enigma, packed into a cheese-stained pizza box, that begs the questions: Who is Henri Pick, and how did this supposedly illiterate pizza cook write an acclaimed bestseller?
"Henri Pick is an easily digestible and highly cultivated whodunit" - Hollywood Reporter
“Rémi Bezançon has fun creating a hybrid film detailing a story-within-a-story literary investigation conducted by the great Fabrice Luchini.” - Cineuropa
The perfect film for lovers of literature and intrigue alike, writer/director Rémi Bezançon (A Happy Event) presents a riddle wrapped in an enigma, packed into a cheese-stained pizza box, that begs the questions: Who is Henri Pick, and how did this supposedly illiterate pizza cook write an acclaimed bestseller?
"Henri Pick is an easily digestible and highly cultivated whodunit" - Hollywood Reporter
“Rémi Bezançon has fun creating a hybrid film detailing a story-within-a-story literary investigation conducted by the great Fabrice Luchini.” - Cineuropa
Miss Juneteenth
STARTS 23 OCT
Winner of Best Texan Film at SXSW, this drama follows a single mother and former Miss Juneteeth preparing her daughter for the same beauty pageant years later. However, as the competition draws closer, the mother and daughter begin to question the pageant's significance.
Winner of Best Texan Film at SXSW, this drama follows a single mother and former Miss Juneteeth preparing her daughter for the same beauty pageant years later. However, as the competition draws closer, the mother and daughter begin to question the pageant's significance.
Steelers
STARTS 11 NOV
In 1995, in a pub in London’s King’s Cross, a group of friends discussed the idea of a gay rugby club. From that casual conversation, the first gay rugby team was born - the Kings Cross Steelers. 25 years later, there are 60 clubs worldwide and once every two years they get together for the world tournament of gay rugby – The Bingham Cup.
Australian journalist, Eammon Ashton-Atkinson’s heartfelt documentary travels to Amsterdam as the Kings Cross Steelers attempt victory at the 2018 event. Along the way, we get to know some of the team. There’s Drew, prop by day, drag queen by night; Simon, who found a much-needed support system at the club, and head coach Nic, who isn’t shy of shedding a few proud tears when talking about her boys.
It’s an inspiring testament to the power of teamwork and friendship.
— Michael Blyth, BFI Flare
“A LO-FI PORTRAIT WITH A WONDERFULLY BIG HEART.” — Steph Walker, New Zealand International Film Festival
In 1995, in a pub in London’s King’s Cross, a group of friends discussed the idea of a gay rugby club. From that casual conversation, the first gay rugby team was born - the Kings Cross Steelers. 25 years later, there are 60 clubs worldwide and once every two years they get together for the world tournament of gay rugby – The Bingham Cup.
Australian journalist, Eammon Ashton-Atkinson’s heartfelt documentary travels to Amsterdam as the Kings Cross Steelers attempt victory at the 2018 event. Along the way, we get to know some of the team. There’s Drew, prop by day, drag queen by night; Simon, who found a much-needed support system at the club, and head coach Nic, who isn’t shy of shedding a few proud tears when talking about her boys.
It’s an inspiring testament to the power of teamwork and friendship.
— Michael Blyth, BFI Flare
“A LO-FI PORTRAIT WITH A WONDERFULLY BIG HEART.” — Steph Walker, New Zealand International Film Festival
Lucky Grandma
STARTS 12 NOV
A chain-smoking newly widowed granny (Tsai Chin, Casino Royale) is at the centre of this heist comedy set in New York City's Chinatown.
"In the heart of Chinatown, New York, an ornery, chain-smoking, newly widowed 80-year-old grandma is eager to live life as an independent woman, despite the worry of her family. When a local fortune teller (Wai Ching Ho) predicts a most auspicious day in her future, Grandma decides to head to the casino and goes all in, only to land herself on the wrong side of luck-suddenly attracting the attention of some local gangsters. Desperate to protect herself, Grandma employs the services of a bodyguard (Corey Ha) from a rival gang and soon finds herself in the middle of a Chinatown gang war." (Tribeca Film Festival)
A chain-smoking newly widowed granny (Tsai Chin, Casino Royale) is at the centre of this heist comedy set in New York City's Chinatown.
"In the heart of Chinatown, New York, an ornery, chain-smoking, newly widowed 80-year-old grandma is eager to live life as an independent woman, despite the worry of her family. When a local fortune teller (Wai Ching Ho) predicts a most auspicious day in her future, Grandma decides to head to the casino and goes all in, only to land herself on the wrong side of luck-suddenly attracting the attention of some local gangsters. Desperate to protect herself, Grandma employs the services of a bodyguard (Corey Ha) from a rival gang and soon finds herself in the middle of a Chinatown gang war." (Tribeca Film Festival)
A Son
STARTS 13 NOV
Tunisia, summer 2011. A holiday to the southern country ends in disaster for Fares, Meriem and their 10-year old son Aziz when he is accidentally shot in an ambush. His injury will change their lives - Aziz needs a liver transplant, which leads to the discovery of a long-buried secret. Will Aziz and their relationship survive?
"It's a film reminiscent of the work of Iranian master Asghar Farhadi, full of twists and turns as it puts its characters in increasingly tragic situations." - Cineuropa
"The evenhanded way in which the script gives equal space to husband and wife is one of the film’s chief satisfactions, and both actors inhabit their roles with a gripping degree of authenticity" - Variety
"Barsaoui has a bright future ahead of him as a director of dramas that expertly capture complex human emotions within their socio-cultural, historical and political context." - The Hollywood Reporter
Tunisia, summer 2011. A holiday to the southern country ends in disaster for Fares, Meriem and their 10-year old son Aziz when he is accidentally shot in an ambush. His injury will change their lives - Aziz needs a liver transplant, which leads to the discovery of a long-buried secret. Will Aziz and their relationship survive?
"It's a film reminiscent of the work of Iranian master Asghar Farhadi, full of twists and turns as it puts its characters in increasingly tragic situations." - Cineuropa
"The evenhanded way in which the script gives equal space to husband and wife is one of the film’s chief satisfactions, and both actors inhabit their roles with a gripping degree of authenticity" - Variety
"Barsaoui has a bright future ahead of him as a director of dramas that expertly capture complex human emotions within their socio-cultural, historical and political context." - The Hollywood Reporter