Film / Previews
Event Cinema for April 2016
It’s all go: the Easton Cowgirls, the Louisiana’s new music film night, three nights of the Banff Mountain film tour, Dracula’s pooch at Arnos Vale Cemetery, the world’s only erotic bicycle film festival, The Godfather with nosh, world champ cyclist Graeme Obree talking about his new documentary, three Metropolitan operas, Bluescreen’s 15th birthday bash, headline-grabbingly controversial sex’n’violence opera Lucia di Lammermoor and Sir Ian McKellen live from the South Bank talking about his remastered Richard III. As ever, you can find more info on everything in our comprehensive and detailed daily film listings starting here.
Metropolitan Opera: Madama Butterfly
Puccini’s evergreen opera about Japanese geisha Cio-Cio-San’s doomed romance with American naval officer Pinkerton. Cultural imperialism ahoy! Soprano Kristine Opolais returns to title role and Roberto Alagna sings Pinkerton in this revival of the late Anthony Minghella’s acclaimed 2006 production.
is needed now More than ever
Screening April 2: Showcase Cinema De Lux, Vue Cribbs Causeway, Vue Longwell Green
Balls, Barriers & Bulldozers + Q&A
Local filmmaker Harriet Hoare’s documentary follows the Easton Cowgirls and Republica Internationale teams as they travel to Palestine in October 2014 to play football in Hebron, Ramallah and Bethlehem. Along the way, they witness the daily realities for Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with three of the footballers and director Harriet Hoare.
Screening April 4: Curzon
BRFF: Identification Photos + Q&A
Bristol Radical Film Festival presents Brazilian director Anita Leandro’s harrowing documentary about the horrific treatment of four guerilla fighters arrested during the military dictatorship in Brazil from 1964 to 1985. Their story is told through the use of official police reports and photographs. Anita Leandro will be present for a Q&A after the screening.
Screening April 4: Cube
Peasant girl Giselle carks it of a broken heart when she learns that the love of her life, Albrecht, has betrayed her. Now she finds herself obliged to join the wilis – a bunch of vengeful spirits who condemn Albrecht to a frenzy of hoofing until he perishes of exhaustion. Peter Wright’s ever-popular production of this romantic ballet draws on Marius Petipa’s classic version, which was first staged in St Petersburg in 1884.
Screening April 6: Showcase Cinema De Lux, Orpheus, Odeon, Vue Cribbs Causeway, Vue Longwell Green
Encore screening April 17: Showcase Cinema De Lux
The annual Banff Mountain Film Festival world tour returns to the Victoria Rooms with two separate programmes of high-altitude adventuring. Full details of the films being screened in each programme can be found here.
Screening April 6-8: Victoria Rooms
Quadrophenia + northern soul night
Fine adaptation of The Who’s rock opera about the mods’n’rockers of pre-Beatles England, with mod Phil Daniels finding time between Brighton beach tear-ups to woo a pre-trout pout Leslie Ash. It was fashionable to sneer at this in the ‘80s, but the film’s reputation has grown has grown since then and it’s aged a lot better than the ghastly music and fashions of that era. Be warned, however, that it does feature Sting’s acting debut. The Cube’s screening is part of a themed night, which also promises “the best of Bristol’s northern soul DJs”.
Screening April 8: Cube
Arsenal + Bronnt Industries Kapital score
Aleksandr Dovzhenko’s 1929 silent anti-war classic follows a recently demobbed soldier as he returns to his hometown Kiev amid celebrations of Ukrainian freedom at the end of WWI. The film was recently restored by the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Centre (ODNC) in Kiev, and the British Council and ODNC commissioned Bristol-based producer/multi-instrumentalist Guy Bartell of Bronnt Industries Kapital to compose a new soundtrack, which will be performed live tonight. This event is part of Filmic 2016.
Screening April 10: Watershed
Miguel de Cervantes’ enduringly popular novel about the adventures of bumbling knight Don Quixote and his faithful squire Sancho Panza was adapted by 19th century Russian choreographer Marius Pepita, with music by Ludwig Minkus, to become one of the Bolshoi’s signature ballets. Featuring new choreography by Alexei Fadeyechev, this latest production is broadcast live from Moscow.
Screening April 10: Showcase Cinema De Lux, Orpheus, Vue Longwell Green, Cineworld
Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse
Filmed at the Royal Academy of Arts exhibition and on location, this new Exhibition on Film documentary explores how different contemporaries of Monet built and cultivated modern gardens to explore expressive motifs, abstract colour, decorative design and utopian ideas. Filmed in HD, it’s a great way to savour these masterpieces without hauling ass to London, paying a fortune to get in and then being herded along like cattle.
Screening April 12: Vue Cribbs Causeway
Bristol Bad Film Club: Zoltan Hound of Dracula
The Bristol Bad Film Club comes up trumps again with this cheapo curio from 1978, which was also released under the rather more prosaic title, Dracula’s Dog. You need the plot? Oh, OK then. Russian soldiers manage to unleash Drac’s equally toothy canine sidekick during an excavation of his tomb in Romania. Fanged Fido then makes his way to California to track down his master’s last living descendent (who, mysteriously, has two children, which means he can’t be Drac’s last living descendent at all, though this doesn’t seem to have occurred to the filmmakers). The screening takes place in the suitably spooky surroundings of the Anglican Chapel at Arnos Vale Cemetery. Tickets, price just £5, are available here. All profits from the screening go to the very excellent Holly Hedge Animal Sanctuary.
Screening April 13: Arnos Vale Cemetery
The Queen archives disgorge yet another classic show by Freddie, Brian, Roger and, um, the other one. This one’s from 1975, and if it seems rather familiar that’s because it’s the Christmas Eve Hammersmith Odeon show which was broadcast live on The Old Grey Whistle Test. This includes the first-ever live performance of Bohemian Rhapsody. It’s been remastered with 5.1 sound, but the real attraction here is a documentary including previously unseen footage of Queen’s formative years.
Screening April 14: Vue Longwell Green
Metropolitan Opera: Roberto Devereux
In the last of Donizetti’s trilogy of Tudor queen operas, Elizabeth I finds herself obliged to sign the death warrant of the man she loves, Roberto Devereux. Operatic wailing and gnashing of teeth ensues. As with the earlier Anna Bolena and Maria Stuarda, the production is by Sir David McVicar, while soprano Sondra Radvanovsky takes on the challenge of singing all three of Donizetti’s Tudor queen operas in the course of a single season.
Screening April 16: Showcase Cinema De Lux, Vue Cribbs Causeway, Vue Longwell Green
Battle Mountain: Graeme Obree’s Story + Q&A
David Street’s documentary follows veteran 47-year-old maverick cycling champion Graeme Obree – aka ‘The Flying Scotsman’ – as he sets out to break new records on the Battle Mountain roads of Nevada at the World Human-Powered Speed Challenge. Although he’s up against well-funded teams taking advantage of the latest developments in science and technology, old-school Graeme is making imaginative use of a saucepan and a pair of roller blades. Graeme Obree will be present for a Q&A after this screening, which is presented in association with Cyclescreen.
Screening April 17: Watershed
The first part of Francis Ford Coppola’s (mostly) magnificent mafia saga. That great mumbler Marlon Brando gives a commanding performance as Don Vito Corleone, his cheeks stuffed with cotton wool to make him appear like an especially menacing hamster. It’s screened to mark Cannoli & Gun‘s first birthday – this being, of course, the film from which the movies’n’nosh specialists take their name. Note that it’s showing at Rosemarino’s Colston Street branch and not the Clifton one. Your ticket price gets you entry to the film plus antipasto salad, veal marsala and cannoli (no veggie option, apparently). Go here for ticket details.
Screening April 18: Rosemarino
Classic rock doc launches new Tuesday music film night in the Louisiana’s cellar. Coming up: Amy, Control, Almost Famous, etc., etc. See listings for details.
Screening April 19: Louisiana
A football comedy about a couple of lovable bozo fans who are so disgruntled when the ref disallows a vital goal that they take matters into their own hands . . . and kidnap the ref. This independent comedy won the Raindance Award for Best British Feature in back in November. Although the film wasn’t actually shot round these parts, it’s the result of a collaboration between Bristol-based film production company Happy Hour and Red Card Media. There are two local screenings. The first is at the Vue Cribbs Causeway on 23 April, followed by a Q&A with director Matt Wilde. Tickets are available here. The second one is at the Orpheus on 24 April (no director Q&A). You can get advance tickets for this one here.
Screening April 23: Vue Cribbs Causeway
Royal Shakespeare Company: Shakespeare Live!
As you may have noticed, there’s some kind of big Shakespeare thing going on this year. The Beeb’s contribution is this big Bard variety show hosted by David Tennant, which is broadcast live from the RSC on BBC2 and simulcast to cinemas nationwide. The blurb informs us that this will feature “performances of some of the greatest dramatic scenes ever written, played by some of our greatest actors, as well as songs, comedy, dances and music celebrating Shakespeare’s legacy.” Among those taking part are Akala (Hip Hop Shakespeare), Birmingham Royal Ballet, Ian Bostridge, Sanjeev Bhaskar, English National Opera, Alison Moyet, Al Murray, The Orchestra of the Swan, The Royal Ballet and Rufus Wainwright.
Screening April 23: Orpheus, Showcase Cinema De Lux, Vue Cribbs Causeway, Vue Longwell Green
The world’s one and only erotic bicycle film festival (hey – it’s a niche market) returns to Bristol after its sold-out show two years ago. Apparently, horny pedallers can expect “an entirely new programme of short films celebrating human-powered transportation and sex-positive culture.”
Screening April 23: Cube
Power in Our Hands + panel discussion
Using newly digitised archive footage, this documentary charts the fascinating history of the deaf community’s fight to be heard. Their argument is that deafness is not a disability, and that British Sign Language makes them a distinct cultural and linguistic group with a rich heritage. The film is released to mark the 125th anniversary of the British Deaf Association. This screening will be introduced by Carolyn Denmark, the BDA’s Access & Inclusion (Heritage) officer. It’s followed by a panel discussion chaired by artist and filmmaker David Ellington, who will be joined by Carolyn, Sarah Taven, Clark Denmark and Dr Paddy Ladd.
Screening April 24: Watershed
The Lammermoor family needs loot, and fast – so Lucia is expected to make a good marriage. Much to her brother Enrico’s chagrin, however, she’s fallen for his enemy, Edgardo. But before they can tie the knot, Edgardo buggers off to do battle in France. Enrico seizes his opportunity to marry her off in his absence. Cue: operatic misery and madness. Katie Mitchell’s new production of Donizetti’s tragic opera attracted headlines after punters were told to expect graphic sex and violence, which is, of course, unlikely to hamper ticket sales. It’s broadcast live to cinemas on April 25, with encore screenings for those who can’t get enough of this warbling filth at some venues on May 1.
Screening April 25: Showcase Cinema De Lux, Orpheus, Odeon, Vue Cribbs Causeway, Vue Longwell Green
Encore screening May 1: Showcase Cinema De Lux
Bluescreen’s 15th Birthday Party
For 15 years, the Cube’s regular open screen film night has invited local filmmakers to bring along their work (no longer than 20 minutes) in almost any format to be whacked on screen. Tonight, Bluescreen celebrates its birthday with a selection of films from the last decade-and-a-half, plus, er, cake. The evening also includes the premiere of the Bluescreen documentary. The Cube Orchestra will kick things off with a special rescore and there will be Bluescreen Hi-Fi spinning tunes in the bar all evening. Go here for more on Bluescreen.
Screening April 26: Cube
Inspired by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett’s acclaimed book The Spirit Level, this new documentary explores the ever-expanding gap between rich and poor through the individual stories of seven people in the US and UK, where the top 0.1% cling on to the same amount of wealth as the bottom 90%. The screening will be followed by a Q&A.
Screening April 27: Curzon
Simulcast from the BFI Southbank, this brand, spanking new 2K restoration of Richard Loncraine’s daring 1996 Shakespeare adaptation is preceded by a short documentary featuring Ian McKellen visiting locations involved in the film and followed by a live Q&A with McKellen and Loncraine. Go here for our review of the film and here for a vintage 1996 interview with Ian McKellen and Richard Loncraine.
Screening April 28: Watershed
Described as the first Freudian opera, Richard Strauss’s Elektra ditches most of the trappings of Greek drama as its eponymous primal, neurotic heroine gets vengeful on everyone’s bottoms. Soprano Nina Stemme, who’s become the go-to girl for heroines in Strauss and Wagner, takes the title role in the late Patrice Chéreau’s production.
Screening April 30: Showcase Cinema De Lux, Vue Cribbs Causeway, Vue Longwell Green
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