#32BoroughsOfFilm: Following our report from their last screening of 2019 – NINOTCHKA (03 DEC) – we’re delighted to announce the new Spring/Summer 2020 programme at Wimbledon Film Club. To celebrate the club’s 15th year, first the members & then the public were invited to choose a favourite film for this auspicious occasion… Here’s everything you need to know!

By RADIANT CIRCUS

Twitter @radiantcircus | Instagram @radiantcircus

If you’ve read the writeup of our visit to Wimbledon Film Club, you’ll know that we really loved their welcoming approach to the appreciation of fine films. Whilst NINOTCHKA was their final screening of 2019, there’s much to shout about in the year ahead. In addition to celebrating 15 years of gathering in darkness (more about that in a bit…), Wimbledon Film Club has recently been recognised in a string of categories at the coveted Cinema For All Awards, including: Commendation in the Community Award 2019; Distinction in the Film Discovery Award 2018; and, Commendation for Best Film Programming 2018. That’s no mean feat for an entirely voluntary outfit. We congratulate them.

One feature that also stands out about the club is how seriously they take their members’ input about choosing and rating films. This is no mere club where you turn up uncertain about how the programme gets put together. Throughout the year they poll their members for opinion and these are the films that get chosen. For their anniversary screening, the members’ choices were then put to a wider public poll. And the winner is… IN BRUGES! – an inspired choice (see below for full listings).

Other members’ choice screenings in the year ahead include: THE PAWNBROKER (28 JAN); BOOKSMART (03 MAR); CLOSELY OBSERVED TRAINS (10 MAR); TRANSIT (31 MAR); BAIT (19 MAY); and HAPPY AS LAZZARRO (30 JUN). Many of these come with added value special guests, and following more member feedback, even those films without an expert introduction are discussed by audiences afterwards.

Membership is open throughout the year, and could do with a boost to help the club thrive for another 15. Annual membership costs just £30/£25concs, whilst membership for students and anyone under 30 is completely FREE! For that, you get a host of benefits, including priority booking and £6 film tickets. If you’re not around often enough to benefit from a membership, simply buying a ticket for any film you fancy will give the club’s fortunes a boost. We encourage everyone to get out there and support this great community cinema.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Spring/Summer 2020 season at Wimbledon Film Club…

FULL PROGRAMME

POND LIFE d. Bill Buckhurst, 2018 + Q&A with the director at Curzon Wimbledon (21 JAN 20:30):

• “Entrancing 1990s coming of age drama adapted by Richard Cameron from his own play follows a group of young people over one summer in a South Yorkshire mining village. Riveting realism & poetry brought to life by Richard Hawley’s haunting original score. Q&A with director Bill Buckhurst. “Young cast are pitch-perfect … sweet and, at times, rather sad slice-of-life drama.” Simran Hans, Observer.”

THE PAWNBROKER d. Sidney Lumet, 1965 + Q&A with Peter Evans at Curzon Wimbledon (28 JAN 20:30):

• “Rod Steiger launched a stellar career as a serious actor with his Oscar-nominated performance as an embittered concentration camp survivor running a pawnshop in 1960s Harlem.  Powerful film from director Sidney Lumet, who made some of Hollywood’s most visionary political/social dramas. Q&A with film historian Peter Evans, special guest Mayor of Merton. “Mixture of European art movie … and American ciné-vérité.” Time Out.”

MONOS d. Alejandro Landes, 2019 at Curzon Wimbledon (11 FEB 20:30 – main featured image!):

• “The regimented life of a group of teenage guerrillas, living in a surreal landscape, mutates spectacularly when left to their own devices. Inspired by his native Colombia, Alejandro Landes’ drama spellbinds with disturbing universality. “Brilliantly played by a youthful ensemble cast, accompanied by a breathtaking Mica Levi score, it is alternately sensuous and scary, thrilling and appalling.” Mark Kermode, Observer.”

VITA & VIRGINIA d. Chanya Button, 2019 + Q&A with Chris Park of Sutton LGBTQ+ Forum at Curzon Wimbledon (18 FEB 20:30):

• “Enjoyable period drama/biopic from director Chanya Button brings a modern sensibility & soundtrack to the relationship between aristocrat Vita Sackville-West & novelist Virginia Woolf, charting its impact on Woolf’s landmark work Orlando. Q&A with Chris Park of Sutton LGBTQ+ Forum. “Diverting hothouse flower of a movie … intriguing and uncompromisingly high-minded … a vehement, urgent idealism.” Peter Bradshaw, Guardian.”

BOOKSMART d. Olivia Wilde, 2019 at Curzon Wimbledon (03 MAR 20:30):

• “Charming comedy from director Olivia Wilde. On the eve of their high school graduation, two academic superstars & best friends realize they should have worked less & played more. “Reaches the audience-friendly highs of a studio comedy while retaining an indie sensibility … it feels fresh, a film that will be rewatched and quoted.” Benjamin Lee, Guardian.”

CLOSELY OBSERVED TRAINS d. Jiri Menzel, 1966 at Curzon Wimbledon (10 MAR 20:30):

• “Comedy-drama from Czech New Wave director Jiri Menzel, about a shy clerk at a village train station navigating love life difficulties. Set in German-occupied Czechoslovakia during WW2. “Menzel’s love of small detail and his tenderness towards his characters leaves in almost everything your average Hollywood editor would cut … quietly uproarious.” Derek Malcolm, Guardian.”

A WOMAN AT WAR d. Benedikt Erlingsson, 2018 at Curzon Wimbledon (24 MAR 20:30):

• “Enchanting, funny eco-thriller from director Benedikt Erlingsson. Choir teacher by day, green activist by night Helga takes a stand against big business as she battles to rid the Icelandic highlands of an aluminium plant. “Spins gold from several contemporary fixations … Erlingsson weaves a captivating dark comedy from urgent, quite chilling issues.” Aimee Knight, Little White Lies.”

TRANSIT d. Christian Petzold, 2018 at Curzon Wimbledon (31 MAR 20:30):

• “A journalist fugitive from fascist-occupied Paris and the wife of a dead author face Kafkaesque barriers as they seek to escape to freedom. Situated in a historically indeterminate moment, overlapping past & present, director Christian Petzold creates an unsettling, universal drama. “Existential thriller about loss, trauma, statelessness.” Manohla Dargis, NYT.”

WFC FILM QUIZ at The Dog & Fox SW19 (21 APR from 18:30):

• “Fun, friendly film quiz, back by popular demand. All welcome, no need to come as a team. Food & drink for sale at the bar. Free entry. Tables from 18.30. Starts at 20:00.”

IN BRUGES d. Martin McDonagh, 2008 Wimbledon Film Club 15th Anniversary Screening at Curzon Wimbledon (05 MAY 20:30):

• “Martin McDonagh’s black comedy crime caper starring Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson & Ralph Fiennes. Dublin hitman Ray & his partner are stranded in Bruges, the last place on earth that Ray wants to be. “Dark, human comedy, with a plot that cannot be foreseen but only relished.” Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times.”

BAIT d. Mark Jenkins, 2019 + Q&A with Danny Leigh at Curzon Wimbledon (19 MAY 20:30):

• “Mark Jenkin’s critically-acclaimed breakthrough feature, shot with clockwork cameras on hand-processed film. Tensions between locals and outsiders rise to boiling point in a Cornish fishing village. Q&A with film critic Danny Leigh, former co-host of the BBC1 Film programme. “A genuine modern masterpiece … one of the defining British films of the year, perhaps the decade.” Mark Kermode, Observer.”

PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE d. Celine Sciamma, 2019 + Q&A with Ginette Vincendeau at Curzon Wimbledon (02 JUN 20:30):

• “Celine Sciamma’s rich, beautiful period drama explores the female gaze in 18th century France. Young artist Marianne is commissioned to paint the wedding portrait of aristocrat Héloïse without her knowledge. “Haunting and downright revolutionary … thoughtful and tender romance.” Isabel Stevens, Sight & Sound. Q&A with critic Ginette Vincendeau.”

THE DOO DAH MAN d. Claude Green, 2018 + Q&A with the director at Curzon Wimbledon (16 JUN 20:30):

• “Road movie set in 1980s southwestern USA. Two lives intersect when a prickly high school graduate fleeing his family past meets a smooth-talking con artist on the run from the law. Q&A with director Claude Green. “Based on the teenage experiences of co-writer Jack Ballo … the surrogate father-son relationship that emerges from their travels proves quietly engaging.” Jason Best, Movie Talk.”

HAPPY AS LAZARRO d. Alice Rohrwacher, 2018 at Curzon Wimbledon (30 JUN 20:30):

• “Mesmerising, touching allegorical drama from director Alice Rohrwacher. When a kind-hearted farm boy in a remote Italian village befriends a young nobleman cursed by his imagination, they form an unlikely & life-altering bond. “Slips across time and genres with a honeyed beauty … sliding from neorealist tradition into magic realism.” Simran Hans, Observer.”

WIMBLEDON FILM CLUB

“Wimbledon Film Club is a friendly, award-winning local club, holding regular screenings at Curzon Wimbledon with speakers, post-film discussions and members’ choice films. All welcome!”

Web wimbledonfilmclub.com | Instagram @wimbledonfilm | Twitter @WFCscreenings | Facebook @WimbledonFilmClub

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*THE SMALL PRINT: As accurate as we could make it. Apologies for any errors. Updates & corrections will be made to the online version. Event dates/times are subject to change by the venue/organiser. We try to only list events you can book for at the time of posting: however, some events may still be sold out. Please click quickly! We don’t filter by age/certification: all readers & subscribers should be 18+.