INTRODUCTION​

WELCOME TO our new season. Yet again, making the final selection hasn’t been straightforward – some international films struggle to get even a modest release – but we think we have something for everyone. How much you like them, we’ll find out in due course. Last season, not one film breached the 90% barrier and this is quite a rare occurrence – but we remain optimistic. Our friends at Beer Film Society celebrate their 20^th season this year and we wish them well. Certainly, there was more variety back then - we showed A Very Long Engagement (95%), Little Miss Sunshine (90%) and The Lives of Others (96%) between 2005 and 2007. A final word from Mr Hitchcock: “Film is not photographs of people talking”. I just wish more of the current crop of film and TV directors would give this maxim the attention it deserves.

Programme 2026-27

2026

27 September

FOUR LETTERS OF LOVE

Ire/UK, 2024, 125m, colr, 12A 

Director: Polly Steele

With Pierce Brosnan, Gabriel Byrne, Helena Bonham Carter, Fionn O’Shea

THE 1970s. Nicholas (O’Shea) reminisces about his childhood in Dublin. His father William (Brosnan) was a civil servant (not quite as straight-laced as Bill Nighy was in Living) who experienced a moment of ‘divine intervention’. Whereupon, he set off for Ireland’s west coast to become a painter. In short order, the lives of our four main protagonists intersect . . . Based on a bestselling novel and scripted by the author, Niall Williams, this is a heartfelt, enjoyable opener to the season. The director has made mostly documentaries so far; this is her second feature.

4 October

THE BLUE TRAIL 

Brazil/Mex/Neth/Chile, 2025, 85m, colr, 15, s/t 

Director: Gabriel Mascaro 

With Denise Weinberg, Rodrigo Santoro, Miriam Socarras

BRAZIL, SOMETIME in the near future. In what has – plausibly – become a dystopian state, elderly citizens are herded into so-called colonies. This prevents them being a burden on their families who are then free to make a greater effort to boost their nation’s economic production. 77-year-old Tereza gives the authorities the slip and, with the help of a river boat captain, travels into the Amazonian forest. Shades of The African Queen here especially as The Blue Trail was filmed in the academy (4:3) ratio, and the colour veers towards the hypnotic. 

1 November

I SWEAR

UK/Ire, 2025, 120m, colr, 15  

Director: Kirk Jones

With Robert Aramayo, Maxine Peake, Shirley Henderson

JOHN DAVIDSON was a sports-mad teenager who, at the age of 14, was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome. Over the next few years, and as he entered adulthood, he had to deal with the social stigma attached to it. With the help of his substitute mother, Dottie, and several mentors, he did much to further the public’s understanding. Indeed, eventually, he was the subject of three BBC documentaries and received an MBE. Robert Aramayo gives a superb performance as John. The ‘incident’ that occurred as he collected his Bafta demonstrated that there might still be, for us all, a little way to go. 

15 November

H IS FOR HAWK

UK/US/Thai/Sing, 2025, 115m, colr, 12A 

Director: Philippa Lowthorpe

With Claire Foy, Brendan Gleeson, Denise Gough

THIS IS THE STORY of Helen MacDonald whose book won the 2014 Samuel Johnson Prize then became an unexpected bestseller. Helen read English at Cambridge and then worked in falcon research. She was very close to her father and, when he died, she adopted, on impulse, a goshawk (named Mabel). As the bird’s training progresses, Helen finds herself bonding with it and overcoming her grief and loss. There is some excellent wildlife cinematography, and it’s good to have Brendan Gleeson back on screen, in flashback, as her father.

22 November

THE PRESIDENT’S CAKE

Iraq/Qu/US, 2025, 105m, colr, 12A, s/t 

Director: Hasan Hadi

With Baneen Ahmed Nayyef, Sajad Mohamad Qasem

TEATIME CAKE HAS always been an important part of our identity, but two cakes in a year from the Middle East . . . Bear with us, you might find this to be a Lunana-style charmer (94%, 2023/24 season). Lamia has to bake a cake for Saddam Hussein’s birthday as it’s compulsory for schoolgirls. So, she sets off with her best friend, grandmother and a pet cockerel to source the scarce ingredients. Writer-director Hadi, whose childhood was impacted by sanctions, won the Caméra d’Or for best first film at Cannes, last year – and it was well deserved. 

13 December

THE CHRISTOPHERS

Uk/US, 2025, 100m, colr, 15 

Director: Steven Soderbergh

With Ian McKellen, Michaela Coel, Jessica Gunning, James Corden

LORI (Michaela Coel) is a young art restorer very much down on her luck. She is persuaded by the children of a once-famous artist not so much to forge his work but to complete it, as he has been inactive for many years. For there is money in art especially after an artist has passed away. Ian McKellen is wonderful as the garrulous Julian Skar, delivering some splendidly witty dialogue in a warm, lively comedy-drama. Soderbergh - who directed Ocean’s Eleven (2001) and Erin Brockovich - does a great job here, too. 

2027

3 January

TUNER

Canada/US, 2025, 107m, colr, 15 

Director: Daniel Roher

With Dustin Hoffman, Leo Woodall, Alisen Richmond-Peck

NIKI IS a piano tuner with a difference. He suffers from hyperacusis, a condition that means that his hearing is very sensitive compared to the norm. So, should the need arise, he can crack a safe without using a stethoscope. (This has been a very familiar sight in films and TV dramas!) Not surprisingly, it does arise when his mentor Harry (Dustin Hoffman) becomes unwell and there are medical bills to pay. The sound design is crucial to the film’s success and it’s the work of Max Behrens. Members might recall how effective his use of sound was in The Zone of Interest. 

17 January

BHAJI ON THE BEACH

UK, 1993, 101m, colr, PG,   

Director: Gurinder Chadha

With Kim Vithana, Jimmi Harkishin, Sarita Khajuria 

IT SEEMED a good idea to revisit one of our earlier successes that is currently enjoying a revival (including at BFI Southbank in July). A group of Asian women from Birmingham head for Blackpool on a coach outing. Will they dip their toes in the water? It’s great fun, but also makes some pertinent points about racism, culture and the nature of Britishness. Gurinder Chadha was a new director when we first became excited about Bhaji; subsequent films have included Bend it Like Beckham and Blinded by the Light. Currently, she is in pre-production on an untitled musical project. 

31 January

DEAF

Spain, 2025, 99m, colr, 12A, s/t 

Director: Eva Libertad

With Miriam Garlo, Alvaro Cervantes, Elena Irureta

ANGELA IS pregnant; she and her husband, Hector, are excited about the impending arrival. However, there are difficulties that they must both face as Angela is deaf and Hector is hearing. When the baby is born, there will be that agonising wait until they discover whether she too can hear. Spanish cinema has served us well over the years and Deaf, a film of small, telling moments that deliver a powerful message, is a welcome addition to the list. If it is as well received as our French comedy La Famille Bélier, an earlier example of deaf representation in cinema, we’ll be delighted.

14 February

FAIL-SAFE

US, 1964, 112m, b/w, PG 

Director: Sidney Lumet

With Henry Fonda, Walter Matthau, Fritz Weaver, Dan O’Herlihy

IT’S A SHAME that A House of Dynamite wasn’t available to book, but it gives us an opportunity to revisit this 1964 classic. Fail Safe was the dramatic flipside to the same year’s Dr Strangelove. A U.S. nuclear bomber is accidentally dispatched to Moscow; if it gets through, the American president (Fonda, superb) will have some difficult decisions to make. Lumet was a genius at getting an ensemble cast to wring every ounce of tension from a claustrophobic setting – his cinema debut was 12 Angry Men. And, in 2026, the subject matter is topical again!

28 February

NOUVELLE VAGUE

Fr/US, 2025, 106m, b/w, 12A, part-s/t 

Directors: Richard Linklater

With Guillaume Marbeck, Zoey Deutch, Aubrey Dullin   

THE YEAR IS 1959 and a young Jean-Luc Godard seizes the chance to make his first film À Bout de Souffle (Breathless). It was low budget, black and white, starred one unknown (Jean-Paul Belmondo) and an ex-unknown (Jean Seberg) who had created a stir in Otto Preminger’s Saint Joan (1957). And, almost overnight, the French New Wave was born. This is Richard Linklater’s tribute to the director and the making of the film – although, by all accounts, his favourite French director is François Truffaut. 

7 March

ROSE OF NEVADA

UK, 2025, 114m, colr, 15   

Director: Mark Jenkins

With George MacKay, Callum Turner, Francis Magee  

A VILLAGE in Cornwall. Nick and Liam sign on to work on a fishing trawler. Nothing is as it seems, however, and when they return to port they find that they have regressed by some three decades. Mark Jenkins’ visual style made an immediate impact with Bait (2019). He shoots on 16mm, will scratch or over-expose the negative . . . all to create the right template for what he wants to say. And he writes, directs, edits and composes the soundtrack for Rose of Nevada. It’s quite possible you will find it to be a ‘Marmite experience’ – but a fascinating one, nonetheless! 

SOME PRESS COMMENTS

FOUR LETTERS OF LOVE

‘Heartfelt and sincere’ Sight & Sound

‘Delivers when it’s whimsically funny’ The Sun

THE BLUE TRAIL

‘A gorgeous aquatic road movie . . . take the trip’ Hollywood Reporter

‘A freewheeling Amazonian adventure’ Sight & Sound

I SWEAR

‘An absolute gem of a film’ The Post New Zealand

 ‘Mr Aramayo is astonishing, giving an intensely committed performance’ Wall Street Journal

H IS FOR HAWK

‘A quietly thoughtful and skilful piece of cinema’ Film Ireland Magazine

‘A career best for Foy who will doubtless win many awards’ The Spectator

THE PRESIDENT’S CAKE

‘A tremendously moving moral fable’ Roger Ebert.com  

‘The director infuses his work with humour, resisting any moralising over characters’ S & S

THE CHRISTOPHERS

'A brush-stroked pleasure from a master director’ Radio Times 

‘The pairing of McKellen and Coel never ceases to be delicious’ Sunday Times 

TUNER

'A finely honed balance of humour, drama and tension’ Movies in Focus

‘An impressive blend of romance, crime, and melody’ Film Ireland Magazine 

BHAJI ON THE BEACH

‘An understated gem and a vital portrait of Thatcher’s Britain’ BFI Southbank

‘As a look at the Afro-Asian community . . . it’s everything one could ask for’ Alexander Walker  

DEAF

‘Navigates sensitive emotional terrain with sure-handed intelligence and empathy’ Radio Times

 ‘A remarkable film’ Cinéfilo Serial

FAIL-SAFE

 ‘An under the radar classic’ Movie Palace Podcast

‘An impressive and disturbing brink-of-doom thriller’ Empire

NOUVELLE VAGUE

‘A light-touch love letter from Linklater’ Evening Standard

‘Linklater tells the story with so much joy that it will reel you in’ Daily Mail 

ROSE OF NEVADA

'A Cornish modern classic. Eerie, heartbreaking, wonderful’ Mark Kermode

‘Haunting, bittersweet and a little scary’ The New Yorker