Award winning film Amour on Tuesday 21st May 7.30pm Desmond Complex

Newcastle West Film Club, with thanks to the Compassionate Communities project, will be screening the Oscar and Palme D’Or winning film Amour. As this event is funded by the project there will be no entry fee. Screening time is at 7.30pm and there will be refreshments available beforehand. The event is over 18s only. For more information you can phone 087 6877970 or you can email ncwfilmclub@gmail.com.
Over the course of our seasons we have screened several films that have been very touching and thought provoking as they touched on themes of illness, loss, bereavment and grieving. These are films that have stuck in our minds, and perhaps for some had a real impact, as film can be a very strong medium for connecting with what is real for everyone at some point in their life. Therefore we were very interested in screening as part of the Compassionate Communities project. We are delighted with the opportunity, however we are also mindful of the responsibility to screen a film that is appropriate and reflective of the sensitive nature of the issues. We hope our choice of film reflects this.

About the Compassionate Communities Project
The Compassionate Communities Project was initiated by Milford Care Centre in 2011 and piloted in an area of Northwest Limerick City. It has now been extended to the whole of Limerick City and to the town of Newcastlewest in County Limerick.
Milford Care Centre is committed to providing Specialist Palliative Care services of the highest standard and recognises that death, dying, loss and care affect us all and are not just the responsibility of health and social care professionals. Most people who are living with advanced life limiting illnesses spend their time at home and in their communities and neighbourhoods, with families, relatives, friends and work colleagues. The majority of people affected by advanced illness want to be cared for, and to die, at home.
Many people feel unprepared when such illnesses befall them or others and are uncertain as how to offer support and assistance, or even how to talk together about what is happening. In many local communities and health and social care organisations there is a need to renew, rediscover or find new ways of caring for and supporting one another – those who are dying, their families, the bereaved and those who work with them.
The Compassionate Communities Project seeks to work in partnership with, individuals, groups and communities, to enhance the social, emotional and practical support available to those living with a serious life-threatening illness, those facing loss and those experiencing bereavement. In focusing on the experiences of death, dying, loss and care in whatever circumstances they occur the Project aims to:
• provide information about death, dying, loss and care
• explore and develop a range of personal and community supports
For more information see http://www.compassionatecommunities.ie

About the film

Georges and Anne are retired music teachers in their eighties living in Paris having been together most of their lives. Their relationship and bond is tested when illness strikes.It also explores the involvement of their daughter in this changing situation. This very moving film won the Palme D’Or at 2012 Cannes Film Festival as well as the Best Forign Language Film (as well as other nominations) at the 85th Academy Awards.
This French language film has English subtitles.
Director Michael Haneke, 127 mins

Bealtaine Screening Wed 1st May

Newcastle West Film Club are delighted to be screening the film ‘The Sapphires’ on Wed 1st May at 7.30 in Desmond Complex.
This is part of the Bealtaine Film Tour/Bealtaine Festival so there will be no entry fee.
Bealtine Festival celebrates creativity as we age and encourages the involvement of older people in arts and culture in Ireland.
The Sapphires is a film set in 1968 as four young, talented Australian Aboriginal girls learn about love, friendship and war when their all girl group The Sapphires entertain the US troops in Vietnam.
If you would like more information about the event you can phone 087 6877970 or you can email ncwfilmclub@gmail.com. With thanks to Bealtaine Festival, Access Cinema and Desmond Complex.
In the meantime why not check out the trailer.

We Are Celebrating Our Tenth Season!

Happy New Year to you all. Wishing you a wonderful and film filled 2013. We are smiling as this is our tenth season. It feels like a bit of an achievement and we are proud!
So to continue the tradition we are offering another 3 films that we hope will interest you in different ways for different reasons.
As usual all films are screened in Desmond Complex at 8pm and are for 0ver 18s. We suggest you arrive a little earlier and enjoy a cuppa or a glass of wine. Entrance is 7 euros.

Samsara Fri 1st Feb 2013

Director:Ron Fricke, USA, 2011, 99 mins
Filmed over nearly five years in twenty-five countries on five continents, and shot on seventy-millimetre film, Samsara transports us to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders. From the makers of Baraka and winner of the 2012 Film Critics Award for Best Documentary, Dublin International Film Festival.

Women on the 6th Floor, Fri 1st March 2013

Director: Philippe Le Guay, France,2010, 118 mins
In 1960s Paris, a conservative couple’s lives are turned upside down by two Spanish maids. Jean-Louis (Fabrice Luchini, Potiche) lives a bourgeois existence absorbed in his work, cohabitating peacefully with his neurotic socialite wife Suzanne (Sandrine Kiberlain, Mademoiselle Chambon) while their children are away at boarding school. The couple’s world is turned upside-down when they hire a Spanish maid Maria (Natalia Verbeke). Through Maria, Jean-Louis is introduced to an alternative reality just a few floors up on the building’s sixth floor, the servants’ quarters. He befriends a group of sassy Spanish maids (Carmen Maura, Lola Duenas, Berta Ojea, Nuria Sole, Concha Calan), refugees of the Franco regime, who teach him there’s more to life than stocks and bonds.

Barbara, Fri 5th April 2013

Director: Christian Pretzold, Germany, 2012, 105 mins

Winner of the Best Director prize at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, the latest film from Christian Petzold (Yella, Jerichow) is a simmering, impeccably crafted Cold War thriller, starring the gifted Nina Hoss-in her fifth lead role for the director-as a Berlin doctor banished to a rural East German hospital as punishment for applying for an exit visa. As her lover from the West carefully plots her escape, Barbara waits patiently and avoids friendships with her colleagues-except for Andre (Ronald Zehrfeld) the hospital’s head physician, who is warmly attentive to her. But even as she finds herself falling for him, Barbara still cannot be sure that Andre is not a spy. As her defensive wall slowly starts to crumble, she is eventually forced to make a profound decision about her future. A film of glancing moments and dangerous secrets, BARBARA paints a haunting picture of a woman being slowly crushed between the irreconcilable needs of desire and survival. Germany’s official Oscar submission for Best Foreign Language Film

Link to Spiralling, short film about violence within a relationship

Last night we screened Tyrannosaur as part of the 16 Days of Action campaign, an event funded by West Limerick Resources and supported by Adapt House Limerick. It was a very thought provoking film and inspired some animated conversation facilitated by staff from Adapt House. For those of you who couldn’t make it but would be interested in finding out more about domestic violence the following is a link to a short film called Spiralling

http://www.bdaf.org.uk/professionals/spiralling-dvd-and-toolkitpiralling,

The film depicts how violence can creep into a relationship.  And if anyone would like to know more about the support services available you can contact Adapt House Limerick 061 412354.

Screening for 16 Days of Action campaign on 29th Nov 2012

Newcastle West Film Club are proud to support West Limerick Resources and Adapt House by facilitating a screening as part of the 16 Days of Action against Domestic Violence campaign. The event will take place on Thursday 29th Nov at 8pm in Desmond Complex. There will be no admission charge and is open to all over 18. There will be a short film ‘Spiralling’ shown first which shows how violence can develop in relationships. Then the main film Tyrannosaur will follow.  This film has been highly acclaimed and has won many awards including three at the Sundance Film Festival. Here is a short description of the film and a trailer. For more information on the event you can contact the film club on 087 6877970 or email ncwfilmclub@gmail.com.

Joseph, an unemployed widower, plagued by violence and a rage that is driving him to self-destruction, undergoes a life change after killing his dog in a fit of rage. Desperate to change his ways and get out of his unpleasant past and surroundings, he earns a chance of redemption when by chance he becomes close to local charity shop worker Hannah, a respectable wholesome and kindly Christian woman who takes pity on him, and they become close friends. However Hannah has a dark secret of her own which threatens to plunge Joseph back into his former life.

Directed by Paddy Considine, 2011. UK.

Film Club Information

It may be timely to refresh on some information about the Film Club. Newcastle West Film Club is run by volunteers. The first Season started in Sept 2008 and since then we have done an Autumn and Spring Season. We are now on Season 9! In between we also show films as part of Bealtaine festival for older people, and for specialised events such as Integration Week and Limerick Language Alive Week.

The goal is to offer an alternative social outlet in the community. Somewhere different to go. It offers the chance to meet new people as well as socialise with friends. We also value offering films that would not usually be available in the mainstream cinemas and you might not get to see otherwise. And of course there is something lovely about watching a great film on a big screen(well bigger than the tv!), and in the company of a small community of people.

We have tried out different nights of the week and different frequency of screening. What we have settled on for now is a routine of screening three films before Christmas and three after, on the First Fridays of Oct, Nov, Dec, Feb, Mar, Apr. The film itself starts at 8pm however we have tea/coffee/wine available available before hand so people like to arrive a bit earlier and relax over a cuppa or a glass of wine. Some people arrange to meet their friends there, others come by themselves and enjoy chatting to new people. It’s the sort of space where everyone is prepared to have a chat and it usually isn’t about film!

As for the films. Well we usually try and balance a selection over the three films within the season and over the season just gone. We will try and include one English language film and the other films are usually foreign language with subtitles. Most people find they get into watching the subtitles very quickly. It can be challenging trying to get the right balance in our schedule-and we are always open to feedback about this!

After the films we find some people like to stay around for another cuppa and a chat, while others head home. It’s very relaxed that way.

Of course then there are the practicalities. We screen in Desmond Complex, which is behind the Fire Station. We meet upstairs in the lobby. Entry is 7 euros. This amount includes a 1 euro daily membership, which basically makes you a member of the club for that day. ( requirement as a club). There is no commitment required to attend again, it is pay as you go.

If you would like any further information you can email ncwfilmclub@gmail.com or you can phone 087 6877970. And you can find us on facebook, just look for Newcastle West Film Club.

Thank you!

Many Thanks

We would like to extend our thanks to all who supported our street collection yesterday. It was our first venture into the world of street collecting ,and while we all froze a little bit it was a very positive experience. As well as recieving some welcome cash contributions, it was also a chance to let people know about the Film Club.  We think we offer an enjoyable night out, we just want the community to know about it!! The financial boost from the collection will help greatly with keeping the club viable and vibrant. So thank you again to all who contributed. And a special thank you to all how volunteered with the collection, and a mention to Newcastle West Rovers who gave a very practical support in the form of collection tables!

NCW Film Club Season 9

Yet another season of film to bring us up to Christmas. We are settled into our new routine of screening on the first Friday of the month, for three months. It seems to have become a very social occasion with lots of folk arriving early to relax with a cup of tea or glass of wine and taking the chance to meet new people or catch up with friends. Add in a good film and we think its a recipe for a good night out!

As ever we found it challenging to select three films. It can feel like a bit of a risk, especially when everyone has their own idea of what is a good film. Also we try not to get too much into a comfort zone and like to stir it up occasionally with a more challenging film. But always we hope they are films that you will feel were worth seeing.

So this seasons selection?

‘Stella Days ‘  05/10/2012

Director: Thaddeus O’Sullivan, Ireland, 2011. 87 mins

A small town cinema in rural Ireland becomes the settling for a dramatic struggle between faith and passion, Rome and Hollywood and a man and his conscience.

Stella Days

Monsieur Lahzar 02/11/2012

Director Phillippe Falardeau, Canada, 2011. 94 mins.

At a Montréal public grade school, an Algerian immigrant is hired to replace a popular teacher who committed suicide in her classroom. While helping his students deal with their grief, his own recent loss is revealed

Breathing December 7th

Director: Karl Marcovics, Austria, 2011. 94 mins

Through his work at a morgue, an incarcerated young man trying to build a new life starts to come to terms with the crime he committed.

Bealtaine Film 2012-Sat 26th May 2pm

Its May again, which means it’s all about Bealtaine, the Irish national arts festival celebrating creativity in older age.

For the 4th year we are delighted to be taking part in the film tour element of the festival. This year’s film is the lovely film My House in Umbria starring Maggie Smith. We have changed our routine a little and this year the screening will happen on Sat 26th May, at 2pm, in Desmond Complex.  There will be no admission charge as this is presentedby Access Cinema and IFI in association with Seven Seas.

If you have any queries about this event you can contact Mary at 087 6877970.

In the meantime check out the trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bESsOYQl2V0

 

My House in Umbria

Would you like to take part in a documentary about cinema related experiences?

Here’s the information!
RTÉ and Planet Korda Pictures are making a documentary about going to the cinema in Ireland called ‘See You at the Pictures!’.

We are looking for people who are happy to be interviewed about their cinema related experiences.

Tell us about your favourite film, favourite actor or most memorable cinema experience.

Did you dress up for the ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’? Do you remember when films in Ireland were censored? Do you remember going to a cinema that no longer exists?

We’re keen to hear from people of every age, from all over Ireland. Whether your story is big or small, funny or sad, informative or simply odd, we’d love to hear about it.

If you don’t have any specific personal memories but can give us factual information about a cinema we’d like to talk to you too. If you know how much a cinema used to charge, what films were shown, what the pre-film entertainment was like, what snacks were sold, we’d like to find these things out too, so get in touch.

We will follow up every letter and email so start writing those memories down.

Stories and information can be submitted to us via our website, www.seeyouatthepictures.com, or you can email us at stories@planetkorda.com.

If you’d like to send us a letter our address is: Stories, Planet Korda Pictures, The IFI, 6 Eustace Street, Dublin 2

You can also follow our progress on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/Seeyouatthepictures and Twitter, @SeeYouatthePics