GERRINGONG PICS AND FLICKS

  In 1995, a 32-year-old failed medical student called Brian MacKinnon became a global news story and a legend when it emerged he had, two years earlier, posed as a teenager called Brandon Lee to reattend his old school, Glasgow’s Bearsden Academy, taught by his old teachers who did not recognise him, just so that he could retake his Higher exams and reapply to medical schools, which would not admit people over 30. One of his classmates was Jono McLeod, and it is McLeod who has directed this film about MacKinnon’s extraordinary true-life tragicomedy, interviewing his school contemporaries and using animated sequences with Lulu and Clare Grogan voicing incidental characters. He also interviews MacKinnon himself who did not want to appear on camera, lip-synched instead by the actor Alan Cumming.  With staggering chutzpah, this grown man put on a school uniform and bluffed his way through class, befuddled pupils who didn’t want to mention how weirdly old he looked, delighted teachers with

     Based on actual events, this 1916 story is set in a small, tight-knit community in the Scottish Outer Hebrides. Kirsty McLeod (Hermoine Corfield) lives a difficult life in a remote village with her hard-working mother, Mairi (Morven Christie) and her sister, Annie (Ali Fumiko Whitney). Ever since the days of sitting on the beach with her late father, listening to him talk about the world beyond their shore, she has been a dreamer. And while her father may be gone, she still dreams of more than planting potatoes. She wants bigger things but those dreams seem so far out of reach as the outside world is bracing for the First World War, bringing brutality and tragedy. The Road Dance is filmed in an exquisitely realised setting on the Isle of Lewis, from the stone houses with grass covered rooftops to the people who make up the community. They  bring an authenticity and character to the film.

 A memorable performance from Tom Hanks, backed by a crackling good supporting cast. A Man Called Otto is a well-crafted and an emotionally involving remake of a book and film about a widowed old grump who begins to grow and change after experiencing some major life setbacks.  It's a small gem of  wry humour and human insight. Otto is that curmudgeonly neighbour who never just lets things go, whether he’s barking at a woman for letting her dog urinate on his lawn, chastising a neighbor for his too-tight exercise outfit, yelling at a delivery truck driver for unauthorized parking or telling a stray cat to leave him alone. Recently forced out of his managerial engineering position and now retired, Otto has nothing but time on his hands, and he spends much of that time patrolling his gated neighborhood in an unnamed Rust Belt town in suburban America, growling about bicycles that aren’t parked in the rack, garbage that hasn’t been properly sorted into the recycling bin, etc., etc. Ho

  This is the latest in George Gittoes' award-winning documentaries about war and the human stories of hope and redemption ( Soundtrack to War ,   2005 and  Love City ,  Jalalabad , 2013).  Ukrainistan Artist War  continues this vital focus, showing the wars raged by artists against invasion. It   is an urgent   and essential film that delivers an outcry of optimism that humanity can end violent conflict and embrace peace through creativity. Ukrainistan Artist War  is an anti-war film in the tradition of Picasso’s  Guernica.  Gittoes and partner, producer/musician Hellen Rose, go beyond the headlines and behind battle lines of Ukraine and Afghanistan to candidly capture the tragedy of those now displaced and separated by the Russian-Ukrainian war. This screening will be a very special event as the documentary makers (local residents of Gerringong area) will be with us to talk about their work, their art and to answer questions. Independent Sydney curator Reverend Rod Pattenden, who

    Margrete, Queen of the North A grand, sweeping, historical drama from Denmark 1402.  Queen Margarete is ruling Sweden, Norway and Denmark through her adopted son, Erik, but a conspiracy is in the making.  Margrete finds herself in an impossible dilemma that could shatter her life's work - the Kalmar Union. Trina Dyrholm is magnificent as the queen who has only her piety, courage and strength to guide her.

  FILM INFORMATION In this inspiring true story, amateur historian Philippa Langley believes she has made the archeological find of the century: the lost burial site of King Richard III. She takes on Britain's most eminent historians, forcing them to rethink the legacy of one of the most controversial rulers in English history. Rating: PG-13 (Brief Suggestive References,Some Strong Language) Genre: Comedy, Drama Original Language: English Runtime :  1h 49m Director: Stephen Frears Producer: Steve Coogan, Christine Langan, Dan Winch, Wendy Griffin Writer: Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope Click here to see the film trailer Click here to buy tickets online

  Gloriously-shot, stylish, romantic, and mysterious, with a shocking finale you might not see coming. Murder, perhaps suicide, upscale sushi, failing/failed relationships, “angel of mercy”, love at first arrest, chronic insomnia and crow’s feathers are all important elements in Chan-wook’s and cowriter Chung Seo-kyung's story of a weekend marriage and detective’s quest to put the nasty amongst us away for good.

  The Velvet Queen This is more than just a nature documentary — it enters the realm of mysticism and the images of the leopard itself provide an immensely satisfying conclusion. [David Stratton] In the heart of the Tibetan highlands, multi-award-winning nature photographer Vincent Munier guides writer Sylvain Tesson on his quest to document the infamously elusive snow leopard. Munier introduces Tesson to the subtle art of waiting from a blind spot, tracking animals, and finding the patience to catch sight of the beasts. Through their journey in the Tibetan peaks, inhabited by invisible presences, the two men ponder humankind's place amongst the magnificent creatures and glorious landscapes they encounter along the way. Genre: Documentary Original Language: French (France) Writer/Directors: Marie Amiguet, Vincent Munier Producer: Pierre-Emmanuel Fleurantin Runtime: 1h 32m Join us on Friday 14th April Doors open at 6.45pm and film starts at 7.30pm. Tickets at the door, cash or card.

  REMEMBER: FILM SCREENINGS NOW START AT 7.30PM EACH MONTH. The original French title of this film is  With love and fury  (  Avec amour et acharnement  , France, 2022). This direct translation perhaps better captures the focus of director Claire Denis, who is examining the anarchic drift of desire when an old love reappears in an established marriage and reignites inner fires.  In this love triangle, the characters of  Vincent Lindon  and Juliette Binoche experience these fires in a brutal way.  Sara - a truly exquisite work by Juliette Binoche,  is experiencing all that seems contradictory, diffuse and difficult to explain at first sight. She is pleased with her marriage, but at the same time she is magnetically attracted to a man who until recently was just part of the past. But this is no conventional melodrama. In the hands of this director it explores whether the power of desire and passion can be the salt of this marriage that deepens and enriches it or, with the same power, is

FULL TIME  (À PLEIN TEMPS) À PLEIN TEMPS À PLEIN TEMPS WINNER - 2021 VENICE FILM FESTIVAL (ORRIZONTI) - Best Actress, Best Director  WINNER - 2021 LES ARCS FILM FESTIVAL - Cineuropa Award (Best Film), Best Actress   In his second feature film,  Full Time , French writer-director Éric Gravel transforms a week in the life of a working mother into a heart-pounding thriller. Laure Calamy (Sybil; My Donkey, My Lover, and I; Call My Agent) stars as Julie, a single mother of two who lives in the suburbs and commutes to Paris to work as head chambermaid at a five-star hotel. Over the course of the week we spend with her, everything that could go wrong does go wrong as she balances life and prepares for a job interview that can give her and her children a better life.   We’re used to going to the movies to watch men do conventionally stressful male tasks – like fight a war — but the care work that women so often do is rarely acknowledged as equally high stakes and stressful.  Full Time ser