|
Date
Sept 17 Oct 1 Oct 15 Oct 29 Nov 12 Nov 26 Dec 3 Jan 7 Jan 21 Feb 4 Feb 18 Mar 4 April 15 |
Film
I, Daniel Blake Julieta* Jackie The Fencer* Denial A Quiet Passion Queen of Katwe Lady Macbeth The Olive Tree* Miss Sloane The Hunt for the Wilderpeople Frantz* Their Finest |
Audience (approx)
120 130 100 150 150 140 140 150 155 135 145 120 Postponed from March 18th |
Reaction
94.5% 80% 65% 94.6% 88% 57% 88% 66% 87% 81% 92% 84% |
If you have a comment on one of our films, please leave it below
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* Because of the difficulties experienced last season with the legibility of subtitles, we have deliberately included fewer subtitled films - four in the above list.
Tea and cakes downstairs each Sunday from 4:45pm
Film on-screen 5:30pm
Film on-screen 5:30pm
WELCOME TO the new season – our second year of residence in our temporary home, the Marine Theatre. We will again continue to keep you updated on the Regent’s progress. Since we last dimmed the lights there has been quite some publicity about the role of women in the industry, both in front of - and behind - the camera. Promoting their contribution is nothing new here in Lyme Regis, of course. We have done this since the fifth film of Season 1 (I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing), in 1988, and will continue to do so. More recently, however, to heighten public awareness and embolden film programmers, a three F system was pioneered here in the south west and has now gained international recognition. With a modest tweak, we have used it as follows: F = female director; F = noteworthy female role(s); f = female editor.
17 September
I, DANIEL BLAKE
UK/Fr/Bel, 2016, 100m, colr, 15, F
Director: Ken Loach
With Dave Johns, Hayley Squires, Brianna Shann
NEWCASTLE, THE PRESENT. Daniel Blake (played superbly by Johns) is a widowed joiner recovering from a heart attack. We witness, and share, his frustrations as he battles a benefits system that repeatedly declares him fit for work. A chance encounter with single mum Katie (Squires, equally impressive), sees them find an inner resolve in partnership, but will it be enough? A masterwork even by Loach’s own high standards, heartbreaking but flecked with stoical humour, and with a Joadesque final scene that also unequivocally declares ‘WE are the people’.
‘A moving experience that deserved its standing ovation’ Metro
‘An immediate classic’ The Times
1 October
JULIETA
Spain, 2016, 99m, colr, 15, s/t, F
Director: Pedro Almodóvar
With Emma Suárez, Adriana Ugarte, Daniel Grao, Inma Cuesta
THE FILM OPENS in contemporary Madrid, as middle-aged Julieta makes final preparations for a move to Portugal with her current boyfriend. An unexpected meeting with a friend of her now estranged daughter causes her to reconsider the move, as thirty years of memories are re-awakened. Julieta has an enjoyably Hitchcockian feel to it – not just in the playful way the characters sometimes observe and follow each other, nor in the appearance of a brooding housekeeper, but also in the duality of character and personality as used so brilliantly in Vertigo and Psycho.
‘Ravishing and extremely moving . . . exquisite’ Time Out
‘Almodóvar’s best since Volver. Exhilarating’ Little White Lies
‘Dazzling’ Financial Times
15 October
JACKIE
US/UK/Fr/BVI, 2016, 100m, colr, 15, F
Director: Pablo Larraín
With Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, John Hurt
TENTATIVELY AGREEING TO a 1963 Life magazine interview whilst still visibly struggling to come to terms with her husband’s assassination, Jackie Kennedy gives us her account of the events before, and immediately after, that terrible day in Dallas. Natalie Portman’s measured and exact performance, aided by a telling use of close ups, has attracted much praise. There is also a poignant cameo from John Hurt and some striking production design that helps to convey Jackie’s alienation and isolation. All together it makes for a fascinating project from the director of No, our politically themed success of the 2013-2014 season.
'A five-star first lady’ The Telegraph
‘Extraordinary’ The Hollywood Reporter
29 October
THE FENCER
Fin/Ger/Est, 2015, 99m, colr, PG, s/t, F
Director: Klaus Härö
With Märt Avandi, Ursula Ratasepp, Hendrik Toompere
ESTONIA, 1952. Endel Nelis, recently of Leningrad but now looking to lower his profile, starts his new job as a sports teacher. Despite the school’s lack of facilities, impoverished pupils and a head that puts his opposition to the idea front and centre, Endel decides that a fencing club is just what is needed. Its enthusiastic members make such rapid progress that he enters them in a Soviet competition, even though the venue is in Leningrad. Well made and well acted, it is a shame that this hugely enjoyable underdog story has had only a modest UK distribution.
'With gorgeous cinematography, the sharp-sweet drama . . . is a pleasure to watch’ The Times
‘Well-acted, smoothly crafted drama’ Variety
12 November
DENIAL
US/UK, 2016, 110m, colr, 12A, s/t, Ff
Director: Mick Jackson
With Rachel Weisz, Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Spall, Andrew Scott
IN 1996, AND FOLLOWING a spat at a Georgia college two years earlier, the British historian David Irving announced he was suing American historian Deborah Lipstadt for libel. (He claimed that accusing him of anti-Semitism had ruined his reputation.) As the case was tried in Britain, where the law assumes that you are guilty unless your defence team demonstrates that the alleged libel is true, it was Lipstadt who had to prove, in court, that the Holocaust happened. Denial is an absorbing battle of words and intellect – and Timothy Spall is so good that we fear, for a moment, that the truth might just not prevail.
'Probing, witty and compelling’ The Times
‘A film of substance and dramatic power’ Sight & Sound
26 November
A QUIET PASSION
UK/Bel/US, 2016, 125m, colr, 12A, Ff
Director: Terence Davies
With Cynthia Nixon, Jennifer Ehle, Jodhi May, Keith Carradine
THE FILM’S OPENING sequence in the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, where we observe a teenage Emily Dickinson giving a feisty, yet restrained, response to her headmistress, establishes both tone and character quite beautifully. Ms Dickinson recognizes and, to a degree, accepts the constraints of both society and family, but she also knows her own mind. She will not accept either marriage or religion as a convention; she will write poetry and see it published (barely); she will face down that harbinger of death, Bright’s disease, with her integrity intact. Cynthia Nixon is superb in the leading role and can surely expect an Oscar® nomination.
'An exceptional film’ The Independent
‘Beautifully composed’ The Guardian
‘Stunning performance from Cynthia Nixon’ Little White Lies
3 December
QUEEN OF KATWE
US, 2016, 124m, colr, PG, FF
Director: Mira Nair
With David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong’o, Madina Nalwanga
THE SHANTY TOWN OF Katwe, Uganda, 2007. Phiona Mutesi is a poor nine-year-old girl who helps her single mother, and siblings, by selling vegetables. One day, she overcomes her shyness and wanders into a small classroom where free porridge is available. The children, under the guidance of a former soccer player (Oyelowo), are learning chess. Intrigued by what she sees, Phiona discovers that she has a natural aptitude for the game. Local competitions are followed by national championships, but will she be able to overcome her grim circumstances and compete at international level? A heart-warming triumph from the director of Monsoon Wedding.
'Displays many of the virtues of Nair’s films’ Sight & Sound
‘Gorgeous to look at . . . Nair tells the story with immense warmth and cheer’ Empire
7 January
LADY MACBETH
UK, 2016, 89m, colr, 15, F
Director: William Oldroyd
With Florence Pugh, Cosmo Jarvis, Paul Hilton
ADAPTED FROM LESKOV’S NOVELLA Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, but transposed to mid-Victorian Northumberland, this is a quite remarkable feature debut from William Oldroyd. 17-year-old Katherine (Pugh) enters into an arranged marriage with a much older man to clear a family debt. Subjected immediately to a cruel sexual rejection she begins an affair with Sebastian, the groomsman. Her sins discovered, Katherine resorts to murder. Replete with laced-up formality, prejudice, psychological violence and many symbolic accoutrements, Lady Macbeth is the best costume noir since Anthony Mann’s Reign of Terror in 1949.
‘Riveting debut feature’ The Independent
‘Sometimes a glorious film appears like a cold dart out of an open sky’ Sunday Times
21 January
THE OLIVE TREE
Sp/Ger/Fr/Can, 2016, 99m, colr, 15, s/t, F F
Director: Icíar Bollaín
With Anna Castillo, Javier Gutiérrez, Pep Ambròs
NORTHERN SPAIN, PRESENT DAY. Alma, now twenty, has stayed on at the family chicken farm. Her grandfather Ramón, now diagnosed as having Alzheimer’s, hasn’t spoken to anyone for 10 years – ever since the ancient olive tree he loved was sold and shipped to Germany. Convinced that its magical properties will help Ramón overcome his affliction Alma sets off for Dusseldorf, accompanied by her uncle Alcachofa and admirer Rafa. There they will demand that the multinational company, in whose lobby it now resides, returns the tree to its rightful home. This is a warm, sincere, humorous delight and the equal of our earlier success The Lemon Tree.
'Universally appealing, grafting gentle comedy’ Variety
‘Deceptively simple drama . . . rooted in the best cinematic soil there is – emotional truth’ The Hollywood Reporter
4 February
MISS SLOANE
Fr/USUK, 2016, 132m, colr, 15, F
Director: John Madden
With Jessica Chastain, Mark Strong, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Sam Waterson, John Lithgow
MADELINE SLOANE IS a Washington lobbyist who infuriates her superiors by refusing to work against a gun-control bill; then she earns their undying enmity by switching sides. Smart, steely and familiar with every trick in the book she may be, but the forces opposing her are ruthless and unforgiving . . . A stirring change of pace for the director of Shakespeare in Love and Best Exotic; he gets excellent performances from the supporting cast and a veritable tour-de-force from Ms Chastain. She grabs the film by the throat 30 seconds in and doesn’t let go until the end credits roll.
'Meticulously constructed’ Sight & Sound
‘Mesmerising to watch, Sloane is expertly played by Chastain’ Empire
18 February
HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE
NZ/US, 2016, 101m, colr, 12A,
Director: Taika Waititi
With Sam Neill, Julian Dennison, Rima Te Wiata, Rachel House
NEW ZEALAND, THE PRESENT. Ricky is a troubled, overweight young teenager in and out of foster homes and obsessed with being “gangster”. In desperation the child welfare services place him with an older couple, Hec and Bella, who live on a remote farm out in bush country. When Ricky and Hec, who has injured an ankle, are trapped on an extended walkabout their bond strengthens. Unfortunately, Linda, a social worker who models herself on the Terminator thinks Ricky has been kidnapped and launches a manhunt. Wilderpeople is a warm, sweet film that will have you in stitches and is probably the most purely enjoyable offering of the entire season.
‘You’ll be left with a glow that’ll ensure Wilderpeople a place on your best-of-year list’ Empire
‘Very likely the summer’s most magical film’ Seven Days
4 March
FRANTZ
Fr/Ger/US, 2016, 101m, colr & b/w, 12A, s/t, Ff
Director: François Ozon
With Paula Beer, Pierre Niney, Ernst Stötzner
AN UPDATE OF master director Ernst Lubitsch’s 1932 drama Broken Lullaby, Frantz is a thoughtful, handsomely made film about forgiveness, the healing of wounds and the need for people and, by extension, nations to come together. Whilst visiting the symbolic grave of her fiancé Frantz Hoffmeister, Anna meets a French war veteran laying flowers on his grave and brings Adrien home to meet his grieving parents. Initially unwilling and unforgiving, they begin to cherish his memories of how he met their son in pre-war Paris. But is everything as it seems?
'One of the most touching romances this year’ Film Ireland Magazine
‘A human drama with an aching heart set against a winningly old-fashioned canvas’ Empire
18 March
THEIR FINEST
UK/Swe, 2016, 117m, colr, 12A, FF
Directors: Lone Scherfig
With Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin, Bill Nighy, Jack Huston
LONDON, 1940. Catrin, a novice scenario writer, is given a job at the Ministry of Information. Her talent for writing women’s dialogue (“slop”) leads to an invitation to join the team working on a propaganda feature about the evacuation from Dunkirk. Based, at least in part, on the early career of Diana Morgan, the one woman in the Ealing ‘writers’ room’, Their Finest is witty, technically very accomplished and beautifully performed, especially by Arterton. The real icing on the cake, however, is the delightful re-creation of 1940s filmmaking – the perfect end to a film society season!
'Hopeful and buoyant and utterly winning’ Vanity Fair
‘A delight . . . Bill Nighy is brilliantly funny’ Evening Standard
I, DANIEL BLAKE
UK/Fr/Bel, 2016, 100m, colr, 15, F
Director: Ken Loach
With Dave Johns, Hayley Squires, Brianna Shann
NEWCASTLE, THE PRESENT. Daniel Blake (played superbly by Johns) is a widowed joiner recovering from a heart attack. We witness, and share, his frustrations as he battles a benefits system that repeatedly declares him fit for work. A chance encounter with single mum Katie (Squires, equally impressive), sees them find an inner resolve in partnership, but will it be enough? A masterwork even by Loach’s own high standards, heartbreaking but flecked with stoical humour, and with a Joadesque final scene that also unequivocally declares ‘WE are the people’.
‘A moving experience that deserved its standing ovation’ Metro
‘An immediate classic’ The Times
1 October
JULIETA
Spain, 2016, 99m, colr, 15, s/t, F
Director: Pedro Almodóvar
With Emma Suárez, Adriana Ugarte, Daniel Grao, Inma Cuesta
THE FILM OPENS in contemporary Madrid, as middle-aged Julieta makes final preparations for a move to Portugal with her current boyfriend. An unexpected meeting with a friend of her now estranged daughter causes her to reconsider the move, as thirty years of memories are re-awakened. Julieta has an enjoyably Hitchcockian feel to it – not just in the playful way the characters sometimes observe and follow each other, nor in the appearance of a brooding housekeeper, but also in the duality of character and personality as used so brilliantly in Vertigo and Psycho.
‘Ravishing and extremely moving . . . exquisite’ Time Out
‘Almodóvar’s best since Volver. Exhilarating’ Little White Lies
‘Dazzling’ Financial Times
15 October
JACKIE
US/UK/Fr/BVI, 2016, 100m, colr, 15, F
Director: Pablo Larraín
With Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, John Hurt
TENTATIVELY AGREEING TO a 1963 Life magazine interview whilst still visibly struggling to come to terms with her husband’s assassination, Jackie Kennedy gives us her account of the events before, and immediately after, that terrible day in Dallas. Natalie Portman’s measured and exact performance, aided by a telling use of close ups, has attracted much praise. There is also a poignant cameo from John Hurt and some striking production design that helps to convey Jackie’s alienation and isolation. All together it makes for a fascinating project from the director of No, our politically themed success of the 2013-2014 season.
'A five-star first lady’ The Telegraph
‘Extraordinary’ The Hollywood Reporter
29 October
THE FENCER
Fin/Ger/Est, 2015, 99m, colr, PG, s/t, F
Director: Klaus Härö
With Märt Avandi, Ursula Ratasepp, Hendrik Toompere
ESTONIA, 1952. Endel Nelis, recently of Leningrad but now looking to lower his profile, starts his new job as a sports teacher. Despite the school’s lack of facilities, impoverished pupils and a head that puts his opposition to the idea front and centre, Endel decides that a fencing club is just what is needed. Its enthusiastic members make such rapid progress that he enters them in a Soviet competition, even though the venue is in Leningrad. Well made and well acted, it is a shame that this hugely enjoyable underdog story has had only a modest UK distribution.
'With gorgeous cinematography, the sharp-sweet drama . . . is a pleasure to watch’ The Times
‘Well-acted, smoothly crafted drama’ Variety
12 November
DENIAL
US/UK, 2016, 110m, colr, 12A, s/t, Ff
Director: Mick Jackson
With Rachel Weisz, Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Spall, Andrew Scott
IN 1996, AND FOLLOWING a spat at a Georgia college two years earlier, the British historian David Irving announced he was suing American historian Deborah Lipstadt for libel. (He claimed that accusing him of anti-Semitism had ruined his reputation.) As the case was tried in Britain, where the law assumes that you are guilty unless your defence team demonstrates that the alleged libel is true, it was Lipstadt who had to prove, in court, that the Holocaust happened. Denial is an absorbing battle of words and intellect – and Timothy Spall is so good that we fear, for a moment, that the truth might just not prevail.
'Probing, witty and compelling’ The Times
‘A film of substance and dramatic power’ Sight & Sound
26 November
A QUIET PASSION
UK/Bel/US, 2016, 125m, colr, 12A, Ff
Director: Terence Davies
With Cynthia Nixon, Jennifer Ehle, Jodhi May, Keith Carradine
THE FILM’S OPENING sequence in the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, where we observe a teenage Emily Dickinson giving a feisty, yet restrained, response to her headmistress, establishes both tone and character quite beautifully. Ms Dickinson recognizes and, to a degree, accepts the constraints of both society and family, but she also knows her own mind. She will not accept either marriage or religion as a convention; she will write poetry and see it published (barely); she will face down that harbinger of death, Bright’s disease, with her integrity intact. Cynthia Nixon is superb in the leading role and can surely expect an Oscar® nomination.
'An exceptional film’ The Independent
‘Beautifully composed’ The Guardian
‘Stunning performance from Cynthia Nixon’ Little White Lies
3 December
QUEEN OF KATWE
US, 2016, 124m, colr, PG, FF
Director: Mira Nair
With David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong’o, Madina Nalwanga
THE SHANTY TOWN OF Katwe, Uganda, 2007. Phiona Mutesi is a poor nine-year-old girl who helps her single mother, and siblings, by selling vegetables. One day, she overcomes her shyness and wanders into a small classroom where free porridge is available. The children, under the guidance of a former soccer player (Oyelowo), are learning chess. Intrigued by what she sees, Phiona discovers that she has a natural aptitude for the game. Local competitions are followed by national championships, but will she be able to overcome her grim circumstances and compete at international level? A heart-warming triumph from the director of Monsoon Wedding.
'Displays many of the virtues of Nair’s films’ Sight & Sound
‘Gorgeous to look at . . . Nair tells the story with immense warmth and cheer’ Empire
7 January
LADY MACBETH
UK, 2016, 89m, colr, 15, F
Director: William Oldroyd
With Florence Pugh, Cosmo Jarvis, Paul Hilton
ADAPTED FROM LESKOV’S NOVELLA Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, but transposed to mid-Victorian Northumberland, this is a quite remarkable feature debut from William Oldroyd. 17-year-old Katherine (Pugh) enters into an arranged marriage with a much older man to clear a family debt. Subjected immediately to a cruel sexual rejection she begins an affair with Sebastian, the groomsman. Her sins discovered, Katherine resorts to murder. Replete with laced-up formality, prejudice, psychological violence and many symbolic accoutrements, Lady Macbeth is the best costume noir since Anthony Mann’s Reign of Terror in 1949.
‘Riveting debut feature’ The Independent
‘Sometimes a glorious film appears like a cold dart out of an open sky’ Sunday Times
21 January
THE OLIVE TREE
Sp/Ger/Fr/Can, 2016, 99m, colr, 15, s/t, F F
Director: Icíar Bollaín
With Anna Castillo, Javier Gutiérrez, Pep Ambròs
NORTHERN SPAIN, PRESENT DAY. Alma, now twenty, has stayed on at the family chicken farm. Her grandfather Ramón, now diagnosed as having Alzheimer’s, hasn’t spoken to anyone for 10 years – ever since the ancient olive tree he loved was sold and shipped to Germany. Convinced that its magical properties will help Ramón overcome his affliction Alma sets off for Dusseldorf, accompanied by her uncle Alcachofa and admirer Rafa. There they will demand that the multinational company, in whose lobby it now resides, returns the tree to its rightful home. This is a warm, sincere, humorous delight and the equal of our earlier success The Lemon Tree.
'Universally appealing, grafting gentle comedy’ Variety
‘Deceptively simple drama . . . rooted in the best cinematic soil there is – emotional truth’ The Hollywood Reporter
4 February
MISS SLOANE
Fr/USUK, 2016, 132m, colr, 15, F
Director: John Madden
With Jessica Chastain, Mark Strong, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Sam Waterson, John Lithgow
MADELINE SLOANE IS a Washington lobbyist who infuriates her superiors by refusing to work against a gun-control bill; then she earns their undying enmity by switching sides. Smart, steely and familiar with every trick in the book she may be, but the forces opposing her are ruthless and unforgiving . . . A stirring change of pace for the director of Shakespeare in Love and Best Exotic; he gets excellent performances from the supporting cast and a veritable tour-de-force from Ms Chastain. She grabs the film by the throat 30 seconds in and doesn’t let go until the end credits roll.
'Meticulously constructed’ Sight & Sound
‘Mesmerising to watch, Sloane is expertly played by Chastain’ Empire
18 February
HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE
NZ/US, 2016, 101m, colr, 12A,
Director: Taika Waititi
With Sam Neill, Julian Dennison, Rima Te Wiata, Rachel House
NEW ZEALAND, THE PRESENT. Ricky is a troubled, overweight young teenager in and out of foster homes and obsessed with being “gangster”. In desperation the child welfare services place him with an older couple, Hec and Bella, who live on a remote farm out in bush country. When Ricky and Hec, who has injured an ankle, are trapped on an extended walkabout their bond strengthens. Unfortunately, Linda, a social worker who models herself on the Terminator thinks Ricky has been kidnapped and launches a manhunt. Wilderpeople is a warm, sweet film that will have you in stitches and is probably the most purely enjoyable offering of the entire season.
‘You’ll be left with a glow that’ll ensure Wilderpeople a place on your best-of-year list’ Empire
‘Very likely the summer’s most magical film’ Seven Days
4 March
FRANTZ
Fr/Ger/US, 2016, 101m, colr & b/w, 12A, s/t, Ff
Director: François Ozon
With Paula Beer, Pierre Niney, Ernst Stötzner
AN UPDATE OF master director Ernst Lubitsch’s 1932 drama Broken Lullaby, Frantz is a thoughtful, handsomely made film about forgiveness, the healing of wounds and the need for people and, by extension, nations to come together. Whilst visiting the symbolic grave of her fiancé Frantz Hoffmeister, Anna meets a French war veteran laying flowers on his grave and brings Adrien home to meet his grieving parents. Initially unwilling and unforgiving, they begin to cherish his memories of how he met their son in pre-war Paris. But is everything as it seems?
'One of the most touching romances this year’ Film Ireland Magazine
‘A human drama with an aching heart set against a winningly old-fashioned canvas’ Empire
18 March
THEIR FINEST
UK/Swe, 2016, 117m, colr, 12A, FF
Directors: Lone Scherfig
With Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin, Bill Nighy, Jack Huston
LONDON, 1940. Catrin, a novice scenario writer, is given a job at the Ministry of Information. Her talent for writing women’s dialogue (“slop”) leads to an invitation to join the team working on a propaganda feature about the evacuation from Dunkirk. Based, at least in part, on the early career of Diana Morgan, the one woman in the Ealing ‘writers’ room’, Their Finest is witty, technically very accomplished and beautifully performed, especially by Arterton. The real icing on the cake, however, is the delightful re-creation of 1940s filmmaking – the perfect end to a film society season!
'Hopeful and buoyant and utterly winning’ Vanity Fair
‘A delight . . . Bill Nighy is brilliantly funny’ Evening Standard
Dates for your diary for next season
2018
Sunday 23 Sept; 7 Oct; 21 Oct; 4 Nov; 18 Nov; 2 Dec; 9 Dec (Christmas film).
2019
Sunday 6 Jan; 20 Jan; 3 Feb; 17 Feb; 3 March; 17 March.
The film selection process takes place in early summer of 2018, and a provisional programme will appear here as soon as possible.
Sunday 23 Sept; 7 Oct; 21 Oct; 4 Nov; 18 Nov; 2 Dec; 9 Dec (Christmas film).
2019
Sunday 6 Jan; 20 Jan; 3 Feb; 17 Feb; 3 March; 17 March.
The film selection process takes place in early summer of 2018, and a provisional programme will appear here as soon as possible.
Notes on the film selection process
In general terms, we are a FILM SOCIETY and so anything is fair game. In reality, however, we do respect our demographics and, whilst The Human Centipede might play a late night at Cambridge, it’s not really for us. Also, we do usually filter out the mainstream films (Potter, Bond etc) and those that have had strong first runs at local cinemas. Nor do we, as a rule, programme the older classics – membership has exceeded all expectations since we took the decision to focus on recent releases. Then.....
To conclude, the questionnaire is used and is important (whilst recognising that its format and style are not without flaws), but your committee has an overarching responsibility with regard to the final selection.
In general terms, we are a FILM SOCIETY and so anything is fair game. In reality, however, we do respect our demographics and, whilst The Human Centipede might play a late night at Cambridge, it’s not really for us. Also, we do usually filter out the mainstream films (Potter, Bond etc) and those that have had strong first runs at local cinemas. Nor do we, as a rule, programme the older classics – membership has exceeded all expectations since we took the decision to focus on recent releases. Then.....
- As Booking Officer, David monitors UK releases all year round. July to February releases make up the members’ questionnaire. This is an important part of the process and the results are collated carefully. However, the committee does not consider it to be binding on all decisions and it has never been used to provide all the titles. Why not? Well, a brand new title might subsequently garner poor reviews, the top six choices might all be French, or American, or war films and so the season might be unbalanced or repetitive.
- Committee members try and attend regional viewing sessions and we also welcome word of mouth feedback from members who have seen something in London, Paris or the States, for example. We try and see some of the borderline cases on DVD or distributor screeners.
- Suitable releases between March and June/July are then added to the questionnaire titles and the long list of up to 60 films goes on to a large spreadsheet with ratings etc.
- These sheets, plus reading materials and reviews are then distributed to committee members.
- We make the final stage as scientific as possible. There are two planning meetings. At the first, the committee goes through all 60 titles identifying the shortlist certainties and the ones we can dismiss (this is where the questionnaire comes into play and it is just as valuable in showing us the least popular titles). This reduces the number of films to about twenty.
- At the second meeting, a week later, the committee deliberates! The remaining titles and other details e.g. French romantic comedy, have been put on index cards. This helps to achieve a good balance and we can also vary the running order for a ‘best fit’. It is normal to agonize over the last couple of choices, but blood is most certainly not spilt and we end up with 13 titles and about 4 reserves. Easy! Unless the film has not been released after all, or, for budgetary reasons, the distributor has either not released it in digital format at all, or has quickly used the hard drive to store another title....
To conclude, the questionnaire is used and is important (whilst recognising that its format and style are not without flaws), but your committee has an overarching responsibility with regard to the final selection.
