Little Joe

LITTLE JOE

Alice is a plant breeder who has engineered a very special crimson flower, remarkable for its therapeutic value: this plant makes its owner happy. Alice takes one home as a gift for her teenage son, Joe, but her creation may not be as benign as she thinks.

Little Joe takes an unorthodox approach to a thorny and difficult theme, but like its title character, the end result exerts a creepy thrall.

Parasite

PARASITE

Due to the ongoing situation with COVID-19, this event will be cancelled until further notice.

 

The Parks are a picture of aspirational wealth; the Kims are rich in smarts but not much else. By chance, they are brought together and the Kims sense a golden opportunity as a symbiotic relationship forms between the families. When an interloper threatens the Kims’ newfound comfort, a savage battle for dominance breaks out.

An urgent, brilliantly layered look at timely social themes, Parasite finds writer-director Bong Joon Ho in total command of his craft.

Queen Slim

QUEEN & SLIM

While on a first date together, a black man and woman are pulled over for a minor traffic infraction. The situation escalates, and the man kills the police officer in self-defence. The couple are forced to go on the run, but a video of the incident makes them a national symbol of trauma, terror, grief and pain.

A timely, stylish, provocative and powerful fugitive story.

The Lighthouse

THE LIGHTHOUSE

In the late 1800s, two lighthouse keepers find their sanity challenged by storms, strange visions of mermaids, vengeful seagulls, and too much alcohol. As the storms get worse and the ferry due to relieve them fails to appear, the men’s grip on reality steadily unravels.

A gripping story brilliantly filmed and led by two powerhouse performances, The Lighthouse further establishes Robert Eggers as a filmmaker of exceptional talent.

Waves

WAVES

Featuring an astonishing ensemble of award-winning actors and breakouts alike, Waves traces the epic emotional journey of a suburban African-American family—led by a well-intentioned but domineering father—as they navigate love, forgiveness and coming together in the aftermath of a loss.

WAVES is a heartrending story about the universal capacity for compassion and growth even in the darkest of times.

Long Days Journey Into Night

LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT

Luo Hongwu returns to Kaili, the hometown from which he fled 12 years earlier. As memories of an enigmatic and beautiful woman resurface – a woman he loved and whom he has never been able to forget – Luo Hongwu begins his search for her.

Past and present, reality and dream interweave in Bi Gan’s stunningly beautiful and highly innovative film noir, featuring an incredible 3D finale

So Long My Son

SO LONG, MY SON

SO LONG, MY SON traces the lives of two families over three decades of social, political and human upheaval in China. Following the loss of a child in a tragic accident, their paths separate. Yet even as their lives diverge, a common search for truth and reconciliation around the tragedy remains.

Intimate in focus yet epic in size and scope, SO LONG, MY SON sets a heartbreaking saga of family tragedy against the changing face of modern China.

Honey Boy

HONEY BOY

Based on his own experiences, Shia LaBeouf’s script tells of a young actor’s stormy childhood and early adult years as he struggles to reconcile with his father through cinema and dreams, fictionalising his childhood ascent to stardom, and crash-landing into rehab. LaBeouf takes on the daring and therapeutic challenge of playing a version of his own father.

Har’el’s feature narrative debut is a one-of-a-kind collaboration between filmmaker and subject, exploring art as therapy and imagination as hope.

The Nightingale

THE NIGHTINGALE

In 1820s Australia, a young convict suffers a terrible crime at the hands of her abusive master. To seek revenge, she enlists the help of an Aboriginal tracker, a man dealing with his own traumas. Their journey leads them deep into the wilderness, where they must learn to trust each other.

Writer / Director Jennifer Kent (The Babadook) taps into a rich vein of palpable rage to tell a war story that leaves a bruising impact as it targets toxic masculinity and the legacy of colonialism

Judy & Punch

JUDY & PUNCH

In a bizarre version of suburbia, soccer moms and best friends Jill and Lisa are locked in a passive-aggressive battle of the wills. Things only get weirder when Jill’s husband develops a taste for pool water and Lisa becomes pregnant with a football.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg in this hilariously demented satire destined to be a cult classic.

Greener Grass

GREENER GRASS

In a bizarre version of suburbia, soccer moms and best friends Jill and Lisa are locked in a passive-aggressive battle of the wills. Things only get weirder when Jill’s husband develops a taste for pool water and Lisa becomes pregnant with a football.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg in this hilariously demented satire destined to be a cult classic.

 

Monos Hull Independent Cinema

MONOS

On a remote mountaintop, a rebel group of commandos perform military training exercises while watching over a prisoner (Julianne Nicholson) for a shadowy force known only as ‘The Organization’. After a series of unexpected events drives them deep into the jungle, fracturing their intricate bond, their mission slowly begins to collapse.

Set in a beautiful but dangerous landscape, this awe-inspiring film is a breathtakingly epic vision that will leave you mesmerised and utterly gripped.

Spanish, English with English subtitles.

American Women

Dir: Jake Scott| USA / UK | 2019 | 112 min | Drama

In rural Pennsylvania, Deb Callahan’s life is forever changed when her teenage daughter mysteriously disappears. Deb is left to raise her young grandson while navigating the trials and tribulations of subsequent years and ultimately to the long-awaited discovery of the truth.

Sienna Miller gives a career-best performance in this captivating drama that pulls us deep into the lives of these good, flawed, ordinary people.

For more information on Hull Independent Cinema and to purchase an annual membership card visit www.hullindependentcinema.com

‘DO THE RIGHT THING’ (Spike Lee, 1989) – Film Screening

DO THE RIGHT THING (Spike Lee, 1989)
Middleton Hall, 1600-1830
Tickets: free
With a short introduction by Dr James Zborowski, Senior Lecturer in Film and Television Studies

Spike Lee’s multi-award-winning masterpiece, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, uses a story of simmering racial tensions in a Brooklyn neighbourhood to examine the ethics of protest, resistance, and violence.

‘I am the Coyote’ Film Screening: A Sense of Freedom (1979)

Biopic based on the autobiography of Jimmy Boyle, the notorious former gangster from the Gorbals in Glasgow who was reputed to be Scotland’s most violent man. Boyle turned to art during his incarceration at Barlinnie prison where the Special Unit he was admitted to placed an emphasis on rehabilitation, and after his release Boyle became a sculptor and novelist. Please note attendees must be over 18.

81 mins | certificate 18
Directed by John Mackenzie

Bait

Julie is a young film student struggling to find a firm direction in life when she meets the seemingly unwavering and decisive Anthony. The two immediately take to one another and an intense romance blossoms between them. However, as the relationship develops it becomes clear that Anthony is not being honest about all aspects of himself and Julie slowly discovers that they could have potentially devastating consequences for them both.

One of Britain’s most distinctive filmmakers, Joanna Hogg (Archipelago, Unrelated) presents a deeply personal examination of her own youthful experiences in this beautifully crafted portrait of self-discovery.

Starring Honor Swinton Byrne, Neil Young, Tilda Swinton, Richard Ayoade.

Awards and Reviews

Winner – Grand Jury Prize World Cinema, Sundance Film Festival; Nominee – Best British Film, Edinburgh International Film Festival; Sydney Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival Official Selections

“Refrigerated and mysterious, uncompromising, uningratiating; an artefact in the highest auteur register, but a film that creeps up on you – from behind.” – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

“Joanna Hogg paints a precise picture of a woman trying to develop her own artistic vision while caught in the slipstream of a toxic relationship. An understated, exquisite gem of a film.” – Empire Magazine

Certificate

THE SOUVENIR is rated 15. Visit the BBFC website for full details (may include plot spoilers).