Season 28 Spring 2024

Welcome to 2024, we hope it is a great year for all of our audience. For us at Newcastle West Film Club it means a new season of film. This was one of those seasons when we had so many strong contenders to pick between and also made us feel inspired to show films that feel a bit different to our usual selection. We look forward to your feedback on the season.

The housekeeping stuff: films start at 8pm though we have tea/coffee/wine refreshments available if you want to relax for a short while before the film starts. Entry is €8 and card payment is available. All films are for over 18. The venue is Desmond Complex. The venue is wheelchair accessible and we have a hearing loop installed. For further information you can phone/message 087 6877970 or email ncwfilmclub@gmail.com.

PAST LIVES. Friday 2nd Feb 2024. 8pm

Director Celine Song. USA. 2023 105 mins

Nora and Hae Sung, classmates at a primary school in Seoul, have their deep friendship ended abruptly when Nora’s family emigrates to Canada. Two decades later, they meet in New York and over one week address notions of chance and circumstance and the choices people make that create a life.

Past Lives is an authentically beautiful romantic debut feature from playwright Celine Song. Exploring “In Yun’’, a Korean notion of connection between people – the string of fate which tangles together across different lifetimes, it subtly addresses the tension between a life longed for and the life lived.

With spellbinding performances from Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro it brims with compassion for how complicated the human condition can be.

Quotes:

 ★★★★★ ”It’s a beautiful, transporting film but one made with both feet firmly on the ground.”
-Benjamin Lee, The Guardian

‘’It is a very tough thing indeed to make a film that is at once restrained and brimming with feeling, a movie that could be fairly described as both big and small.’’

-Peter Debruge, Variety

★★★★★ Celine Song’s tender, time-spanning romance is an exquisitely judged wonder. A directorial debut of remarkable poise and power.

-Matt Maytum, Total Film

ANATOMY OF A FALL. Friday 1st March 2024. 8pm

Director Justine Triet. France 2023. 152 minutes

Sandra, a successful German writer, has been living in the French Alps with her husband Samuel and son Daniel. When Samuel’s dead body is found below one of their chalet’s windows, a police investigation raises many questions. One year later, Sandra is on trial for murder. As the trial proceeds, Sandra and her husband’s complex relationship comes under intense scrutiny. The conflicting evidence, inconsistent testimony and shocking truths that are revealed make Anatomy of a Fall a compelling and gripping drama.

Featuring an outstanding lead performance from Sandra Hüller, Justine Triet’s film scooped the top prize earlier this year at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, and became one of year’s most anticipated films.

Awards:

Winner – Palme d’Or, Cannes Film Festival 2023

Winner – Audience Award, Best International Feature, Sydney Film Festival 2023

Quotes:

“★ ★ ★ ★ ★ A sparkling intellectual thriller than lingers for days.”

– The Telegraph

“★ ★ ★ ★ ★ … a fascinating, knotty courtroom thriller.”
– The Irish Times

TYPIST ARTIST PIRATE KING. Friday 5th April 2024

Director Carol Morley. UK 2023. 106 minutes

From acclaimed British filmmaker, Carol Morley, inspired by the extensive archive of forgotten artist Audrey Amiss, Typist, Artist, Pirate King is a dark, funny road movie. Using Amiss’s diaries, letters and art, the film weaves real events into an imagined journey as Audrey goes on a road trip with her psychiatric nurse Sandra to a gallery in Sunderland to exhibit her art.
Exploring the growing friendship between these two very different women as they hit the road in an electric car looking for reconciliation, peace of mind and recognition Morleys latest feature is filled with adventure, humour and compassion

Quotes:

‘’ ★★★★  It is tremendously shot by Agnès Godard and the compassion of the film is palpable.’’ — Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

“A delight, and a film which cleverly picks apart the clichés of the timeworn artist biopic.” — David Jenkins, Little White Lies

Season 27 Autumn 2023

It’s back to school and back to Film Club time. We hope you can join us for our next season of film. Films are screened in Desmond Complex, Newcastle West. Films start at 8pm. There are refreshments available before hand. Entry is €8 and cash and card payments are accepted. Over 18s only. The venue is wheelchair accessible and there is an audio loop. For further information you can email ncwfilmclub@gmail.com or phone 087 6877970. Or you can find us on Facebook.

Rise. Friday 8th September 2023, 8pm

Director: Cédric Klapisch. 120 minutes. France. 2021

Elise (Marion Barbeau), a ballet prima donna, believed she had a perfect life with a loving boyfriend and a successful career. However, one catastrophic night, her world falls apart as she discovers her partner’s infidelity before suffering a serious injury on stage. Now, she faces a recovery period that may take two years, with the possibility of never being able to dance professionally again. In search of physical and emotional healing, Elise escapes to Brittany, leaving Paris behind. Surrounded by friends, a new love interest, and the liberating world of contemporary dance, she rebuilds her relationship with her reserved father and rediscovers her true self. Ballet-trained Paris Opera principal Marion Barbeau’s body-and-spirit performance is only- ever magnetic and heartwarming.

Presented with the support of the French Embassy and the Institut Français.

“…breezy, charming love letter to the art form, its tightknit communities, and what nourishes the impulse to find healing expression in movement…”–Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times

Róise and Frank. Friday 6th October 2023. 8pm

Director: Rachel Moriarty and Peter Murphy. 84 mins. Ireland. 2022

Róise, a woman still in mourning following the death of her husband Frank, is initially annoyed when a mysterious dog shows up at her door. But a series of eerie coincidences soon has Róise convinced that the dog is Frank, reincarnated. As this new canine companion helps Róise overcome her grief, ‘Frank the dog’ also proves an unlikely newfriend for shy, hurling-loving local boy Maidhchi. But as Frank wins over the town, Róise’s neighbour Donncha has some sinister plans for the doggo…Set in the scenic Ring Gaeltacht area in Co Waterford, Róise & Frank is a charming Irish-language film for the whole family: a comedy-drama that will elicit smiles, tears and plenty of laughs.

Presented in association with Eigse Michael Hartnett Festival.

Róise and Frank is a genuinely delightful film”–The Irish Times“

A wonderful story of finding hope in the darkest of places”–Film Ireland

Lunana: A Yak In The Classroom. Friday 3rd November 2023. 8pm

DIRECTOR: Pawo Choyning Dorji. Bhutan. 109 mins. 2019

When a daydreaming but discontented young teacher is posted to Lunana, a remote village high in the Himalayan mountains, he is disheartened to find a simple yak herding community lacking basic amenities such as electricity or even a blackboard in its school classroom . But the enthusiasm of his young students and the unassuming warmth of the village folk buoy his spirits and he must decide whether to return to the city before the gruelling winter sets in or remain in this strange and captivating land. Beautifully photographed in extraordinary mountain locations, this poetic and enchanting drama earned Bhutan the country’s first ever Oscar nomination and gives a fascinating insight into a region largely uncharted on screen.

Empire of Light. Friday 1st December 2023. 8pm

Director Sam Mendes. 119 mins. UK 2022

Set in an English seaside town in the early 1980s,Hilary (Olivia Colman) is a manager at the Empire cinema, a beautiful, crumbling building past its prime. Hilary is struggling with her mental health, crippling loneliness and the dysfunctional sexual relationship she is trapped in with married cinema owner Mr Ellis(Colin Firth).When Stephen (Michael Ward),a handsome young Black man joins the staff at the Empire she is immediately draw to him. Stephen longs to escape the provincial town in which he faces daily adversity because of his race. Both Hilary and Stephen find a sense of belonging through their unlikely and tender relationship and come to experience the healing power of music, cinema, and community.

Quotes:“★★★★Empire of Light is a sweet, heartfelt, humane movie, which doesn’t shy away from the brutality and the racism that was happening in the streets outside the cinema.”-Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian‘

…its message of love, tolerance and finding family wherever you can should make an impact in darkened rooms wherever it plays..’’-Fionnuala Halligan, Screen International

‘’Whatever Mendes’s connection to the material, he’s made something humane and nourishing, a picture of rare thoughtfulness and decency.’’-Richard Lawson, Varity

Season 26 Beckons

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year and best wishes for 2023.

We are hitting the ground running this new year with an early start to our season. For the first time in our history we are doing a second screening of a film. Due to demand we are screening An Cailín Ciuin as an extra screening to our regular season. It is so positive to see an Irish and Irish language film doing so well. Hope you can join us for this or some of the other films we will be screening this season.

Some of the housekeeping information: Films are screened in Desmond Complex, Newcastle West. Films start at 8pm. There are refreshments available before hand. Entry is €8 and cash and card payments are accepted. Over 18s only. The venue is wheelchair accessible and there is an audio loop. For further information you can email ncwfilmclub@gmail.com or phone 087 6877970. Or you can find us on Facebook.

An Cailín Ciúin. Friday 20th January 2023. 8pm

Director: Colm Bairead. 94 minutes, Ireland 2022



Nine year old Cáit (Catherine Clinch) is sent by her dysfunctional family to spend the summer with anAunt and Uncle she has never met before. Through the tender care of her aunt Eibhlín (Carrie Crowley) Cáit finally feels loved and safe. Despite himself her uncle Sean (Andrew Bennett) forges a bond and for the first time Cáit experiences the warmth of a loving home. The once quiet Cáit blossoms in their care, but in this house where there are meant to be no secrets, she discovers one. Wonderfully recreating the feel of a country home in 1980s Ireland, An Cailín Ciúin, adapted from Claire Keegan’s acclaimed short story, Foster, is a genuine, deeply felt portrait of the bonds that sustain us.

Festivals: Dublin International Film Festival 2022
Berlin International Film Festival 2022 Awards Winner

Best Feature Film Grand Prix of the Generation Kplus International Jury
,
Berlin International Film Festival
2022 Winner
,
Best Film Irish Film & Television Awards 2022

Winner Best Director Film, Colm Bairéad Irish Film & Television Awards 2022

Winner Best Irish Film Award, Dublin Film Critics Circle
Dublin International Film Festival 2022




Juniper. Friday 3rd Feb 2023. 8pm

Director: Matthew Saville. New Zealand. 2022. 94 mins

Starring:Charlotte Rampling, Marton Csokas, George Ferrier, Edith Poor,Desray Armstrong, Angela Littlejohn

Sam (17) has been on a self-destructive spiral that could lead to his death. He returns home from boarding school to find his wheelchair-bound English grandmother, Ruth has moved in. Ruth is an ex-war photographer with a lust for life and a love of the bottle. Sam soon finds himself profoundly confronted by her alcoholic wit and chutzpah. Their first meeting is awkward; their second violent. Things get worse when Sam finds himself stranded alone with her and her nurse Sarah for the school holidays. Both strong-willed characters, a battle of supremacy ensues, enabling Sam to embrace life again and for Ruth to face her mortality

Official Competition. Friday 3rd March 8pm

Directors: Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat. Spain Argentina 2021.

Cast:Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas, Oscar Martínez

In this Spanish comedy, a millionaire decides on his eightieth birthday that he needs something more memorable than business success to guarantee his legacy. He decides to produce a film and after securing the rights to a Nobel Prize-winning novel, engages acclaimed but unconventional auteur Lola Cuevas (Penelope Cruz) to direct. She in turn casts two very different actors–global movie star Felix (Antonio Banderas)and distinguished thespian Iván (Oscar Martínez)-as her leads. Before long, methods, personalities and egos clash! Official Competition is a clever satire that pokes fun at various elements of film culture, but also has some genuine laugh-out-loud moments. All three actors are clearly enjoying themselves, but it is Cruz that is the standout here.

Festivals:

Venice International Film Festival 2021

Toronto International Film Festival 2021

San Sebastián International Film Festival 2021

Tallin Black Nights Film Festival 2021

Tribeca Film Festival 2022

Quotes:“

★ ★ ★★ Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas are a blast in this riotous takedown of egotistical actors.”-Phil de Semlyen, Time Out, Venice International Film Festival 2021

“Big laughs and searing insights into the artistic process power this highly enjoyable film world satire.”-David Jenkins, Little White Lies, Venice International Film Festival 2021

Aftersun. Friday 7th April 2023

Director ; Charlotte Wells. 102 mins UK / USA. 2022

Cast: Paul Mescal. Frankie Corio

11-year-old Sophie and her father Calum travel to a holiday resort in Turkey for a relaxing sunshine break. As they lounge by the pool and explore the tourist sights, they record their trip on a camcorder. Twenty years later, an adult Sophie looks back on the holiday and her relationship with her father-both the fond memories and the things that have been lost forever. The extraordinary debut feature from Scottish writer/director Charlotte Wells is an achingly tender portrait of a father-daughter relationship. Driven by magnificent performances from young Frankie Corio and Ireland’s own Paul Mescal, Aftersun dives deep and unearths the unspoken emotional truths that exceedingly few films manage to capture.

Festivals& awards:

Cannes Film Festival 2022–French Touch Prize of the Jury

British Independent Film Awards 22–16 nominations

Quotes:

“This is one for the ages”–★★★★★The Irish Times

“With remarkable confidence, [Wells] just lets her movie unspool naturally, like a haunting and deceptively simple short story.–★★★★★The Guardian

Facebook

Unfortunately our Facebook page was disabled. So we are starting again. Please do visit us at our new page. https://www.facebook.com/Newcastle-West-Film-Club-100338836164486/

Season 25 Autumn 2022

We are pleased to announce our next season of film. Our 25th Season since 2008. In a break from tradition, this autumn season will have 4 films. We are delighted to be participating in the Eigse Michael Hartnett festival. As that screening falls on what would traditionally have been our first night back, we are bringing our season’s first screening forward. So we will commence on the 23rd September.

Our films are screened in Desmond Complex, Gortboy V42 WT20. All films will start at 8pm. Admission is €8 and card payments are accepted. Over 18s only. Refreshments are available before hand. For further information you can email ncwfilmclub@gmail.com or contact 087 6877970.

AFTER LOVE. FRIDAY 23rd September. 8pm

Director : Aleem Khan. UK, 2020, 89 mins Cert Club.

Muslim convert Mary Hussain leads a quiet, contented life with her husband Ahmed, the captain of a cross-Channel ferry to France. But when Ahmed dies suddenly, Mary discovers that her husband may have been keeping secrets from her about his real connection to Calais.

Determined to uncover the full truth, Mary leaves her home to embark on a life-changing journey, the outcome of which will shake her to her core and force her to re-evaluate everything she had previously believed.

This debut from director Aleem Khan is a compelling yet sensitive exploration of how people can make connections despite cultural or physical barriers, and features a power-house central performance from British actress Joanna Scanlan as Mary.

Winner – Best Actress, Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival 2021

Winner-Best Actress BAFTA 2022

AN CAILÍN CIÚIN. Friday 7th October. 8pm (Eigse Michael Hartnett festival)

Director: Colm Bairéad. Ireland. 2022. 94 mins.

Nine-year-old Cáit (Catherine Clinch) is sent by her dysfunctional family to spend the summer
with an Aunt and Uncle she has never met before. Through the tender care of her aunt Eibhlín (Carrie Crowley) Cáit finally feels loved and safe. Despite himself, her uncle Sean (Andrew Bennett) forges a bond and for the first time, Cáit experiences the warmth of a loving home. The once quiet Cáit blossoms in their care, but in this house where there are meant to be no secrets, she discovers one.  
Wonderfully recreating the feel of a country home in 1980s Ireland, An Cailín Ciúin, adapted from Claire Keegan’s acclaimed short story, Foster, is a genuine, deeply felt portrait of the bonds that sustain us.

Winner, Best Feature Film, Grand Prix of the Generation Kplus International Jury, Berlin
International Film Festival, 2022
Winner, Best Film, Irish Film & Television Awards, 2022
Winner, Best Director, Film, Colm Bairéad, Irish Film & Television Awards 2022
Winner – Best Irish Film Award, Dublin Film Critics Circle, Dublin International Film Festival,
2022

THE HUMANS. Friday 4th November. 8pm

Director Stephen Karam, USA, 2021, 108 mins

The Blake family gather for Thanksgiving at daughter Brigid’s new apartment that she shares in lower Manhattan with boyfriend Richard. Travelling from Pennsylvania, is her father Erik who detests New York, obsessing about floods and 9/11, her devout, reserved mother Deirdre and ailing grandmother Momo. Brigid’s older sister Aimee joins them; a lawyer who has just been laid off and has ended her relationship with her girlfriend. 
As darkness falls outside and eerie things start to go bump in the night, the group’s deepest fears are laid bare. The piercingly funny, haunting debut film from writer-director Stephen Karam, adapted from his Tony Award-winning play, The Humans explores the hidden dread of a family and the love that binds them together.

Quotes:
‘’The Humans is a marvel of slight shifts in tone and rhythm, guided by a uniformly strong cast of actors who deliver naturalistic performances which show the cracks in their characters’ pleasant veneer‘’

Tim Grierson, Screen International,

‘’ The film is a remarkably insightful and powerful portrait of the human condition.’’

Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter

COMPARTMENT NO.6. 2nd December. 8pm

Director: Juho Kuosmanen, 107 minutes, Finland, Germany, Russia, 2021, 15A

Young Finnish archaeology student Laura is convinced by her lecturer – and lover – to take a 

trip to an ancient site of petroglyphs near the Arctic Circle. 

When she embarks on the long-distance train journey to take her there, she has to share her carriage with the Ljoha a seemingly foul-mouthed, misogynistic drunk travelling to his new job as a miner. Initially they despise each other, but, the more time Laura spends with Ljoha the more they connect and Ljoha reveals an unforeseen kindness beneath the macho façade.

Winner of the Grand Prix at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen’s Compartment No. 6 is a warming and unexpected tale of adventure, self-discovery and human connection.

Winner – Grand Prix Award, Cannes Film Festival 2021

Quotes:

” ★★★★ Despite the bone-chilling cold of its location in Murmansk in Russia’s remote north-west, there’s a wonderful human warmth and humour in this offbeat romantic story of strangers on a train.” 

– Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

“This is one of those films where the journey matters more than the destination… deeply atmospheric’’

– Jonathan Romey, Screen International

‘‘Kuosmanen’s storytelling has a fundamental generosity of spirit, tender though not sentimental.’’

– David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter

Limbo Friday 13th May 8pm

Director Ben Sharrock. 104 minutes, United Kingdom, 2020,15A

Omar (Amir El-Masry) is a young Syrian musician stationed upon a fictional remote Scottish 

island, where he and a group of new arrivals await the results of their asylum claims. Omar 

shares his accommodation with Farhad, a Freddie Mercury fan who fled Afghanistan; 

Nigerian Wasef, who dreams of footballing glory; and Abedi, a reluctant realist.

Isolated from his family and any sense of belonging in a strange land, a broken arm leaves 

Omar feeling further adrift and unable to play his grandfather’s oud (a stringed instrument), 

which he has carried all the way from his homeland.

Grounded by El-Masry’s tender and understated performance, Limbo deftly balances comedy 

with melancholy, to create a wonderfully touching story about wanting to belong.

Festivals:

Cannes Film Festival 2020

Toronto International Film Festival 2020

San Sebastián International Film Festival 2020

BFI London Film Festival 2020

Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival 2021

Awards

Winner – TCM Youth Award, San Sebastián International Film Festival 2020

Quotes:

“★ ★ ★ ★ ★ This wonderful, not-to-be-missed comedy finds new ways to tell old stories.” 

– Donald Clarke, The Irish Times

“★ ★ ★ ★ ★ What a thoroughly wonderful sophomore feature from the British director Ben 

Sharrock – witty, poignant, marvellously composed and shot, moving and even weirdly 

gripping.” – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

We Are Coming Back On 22nd April

After an unexpected 2 year hiatus we are coming back to Desmond Complex on 22nd April. We wanted to wait until we could provide an experience as close to what it was like before. In a break from our first Friday routine we will be screening two films, on the 22nd April and 13th May. Screenings will be held in Desmond Complex, Gortboy, Newcastle West. 8pm sharp. Entry is €8. For further information you can phone 087 6877970 or you can email ncwfilmclub@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook.

22nd April Mystery of Henri Pick

Presented with Support from Institut Francais and the French Embassy

Fabrice Luchini (Jean-Michel Rouche), Camille Cottin (Joséphine Pick)

101 Mins. France/Belgium. French Language with Subtitles. Director: Remi Bezancon, 2019. Club

A discovery within a remote Breton library that collects rejected, never published manuscripts, launches the career of Henri Pick, a pizza-chief who died two years earlier and, according to his widow, had never read a book in his life. As the novel becomes an overnight literary sensation, Jean-Michel Rouche (Fabrice Luchini) a famous literary critic suspects all is not as it appears.

A veritable literary whodunit ensues as the irrepressible Rouche teams up with Pick’s daughter Joséphine (Camille Cottin) to uncover the truth behind the enigma that is Henri Pick.

Fabrice Luchini delights as the charming but persistent literary detective, who will risk losing his job, his wife, and his reputation on seemingly little more than a hunch.

Quotes:

“Leave it up to the French to craft a delectable Agatha Christie-style caper … Henri Pick is an easily digestible and highly cultivated whodunit …” – Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter

 

“Rémi Bezançon has fun creating a hybrid film detailing a story-within-a-story literary investigation conducted by the great Fabrice Luchini. … the film offers Fabrice Luchini a golden role (who is brilliantly supported by the other main characters) …”

– Fabien Lemercier, Cineuropa

Missing Film Short Film

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Access Cinema

There are two things that have kept Newcastle West Film Club going over the years. You the audience and Access Cinema. Many of you may not realise the essential support we receive from them in the background. They curate film lists for us to choose from, take care of copyright and bookings and give us great advice. And when Film Clubs like us are closed they too are impacted. They are launching a campaign to remind us of the importance of film and film clubs and are looking for support to keep supporting us. Hear this lovely interview today with Ryan Tubridy and the makers of a new short film about how much we love film 💓

https://www.rte.ie/radio/utils/share/radio1/21922087

Autumn Season 2020-Covid 19

Dear audience. Normally at this time of year we are preparing for the return of our Autumn season in October. However sadly that is not to be this year. We have continued to review the situation however even overcoming the logistics and the uncertainty at the end of the day we do not think we would be able to offer the social experience. And we feel this is the most important aspect of the film club. We will continue to review this but for the moment we will not be back in October. Keep well and we hope to see you sooner rather than later.