Hull Independent Cinema: Bring Them Down

BRING THEM DOWN
Dir Chris Andrews | Ireland, UK, Belgium | 2024 | 106 mins | Rated 15 | English, Irish
Michael, the last son of a shepherding family, lives with his ailing father, Ray. Burdened by a terrible secret, Michael has isolated himself from the world. When a conflict with rival farmer Gary and his son Jack escalates, Michael is drawn into a devastating chain of events, forcing him to confront the horrors of his past and leaving both families permanently altered. A tense and gripping thriller about two warring families set against the harsh landscape of rural west Ireland.
Starring Christopher Abbott, Barry Keoghan, Colm Meaney
AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
BIFA: Winner, Best Debut Director; Nominee, Breakthrough Producer
London Film Festival: Nominee, Best Film
Cork International Film Festival: Nominee, Best New Irish Feature
Rome Film Fest: Winner, Best Screenplay; Nominee, Best Film
REVIEWS
“An impressive first feature from Christopher Andrews… a bruising tale of vengeance accompanied by a savage, percussive score by Hannah Peel.” ★★★★
Wendy Ide, The Observer
“A granular depiction of traditional rural life that quickly descends into a toxic cycle of violence.” ★★★★ Christina Newland, iNews
“Is as bleak and chilly as a winter’s night in the Irish hinterland, and every bit as bracing.” ★★★★ David Hughes, Time Out
“… for Abbott it’s yet more evidence of what a compelling, underrated screen presence he is.” ★★★★ Hannah Strong, Little White Lies”

Hull Independent Cinema: Flow

FLOW
Dir Gints Zilbalodis | Latvia, Belgium, France | 2024 | 85 mins | Rated U | No Dialogue
The world seems to be coming to an end, rocked by disasters. Its remaining animals struggle to survive in a world now devoid of people but covered in evidence of their recent presence. Cat is a solitary animal, but as his home is devastated by a great flood, he finds refuge on a boat populated by various species, and will have to team up with them despite their differences. In the lonesome boat sailing through mystical inundated landscapes, they navigate the challenges and dangers of adapting to this new world.
AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
Academy Awards: Winner, Best Animated Feature Film; Nominee, Best International Feature Film
Bafta Awards: Nominee, Best Children’s & Family Film & Best Animated Feature Film
Golden Globes: Winner, Best Motion Picture, Animated
Critics Choice Awards: Nominee, Best Animated Feature & Best Foreign Language Film
Cannes Film Festival, Nominee, Un Certain Regard Award
REVIEWS
“Might be a digital confection, but it’s also open, alive, elemental. In every sense, it’s a breath of fresh air.” ★★★★ Robbie Collin, The Daily Telegraph
“A joy to experience but also a deeply affecting story, the work of a unique talent who deserves to be ranked among the world’s great animation artists.” David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
“Zilbalodis largely avoids the sort of whimsy and sentimentality that might plague, say, a Disney movie with the same premise.” Calum Marsh, New York Times
“A heartwarming animal adventure tale that half mourns, half celebrates the extinction of humankind.” Noah Berlatsky, Chicago Reader

Hull Independent Cinema: The Last Showgirl

THE LAST SHOWGIRL
Dir Gia Coppola | USA | 2024 | 88 mins | Rated 15 | English
Shelly is a performer in Le Razzle Dazzle, the last remaining topless revue in Vegas. Years ago she was its star; thirty years on she works hard to support her younger colleagues while continuing to live out her dreams on stage when she can. Off stage she struggles to make ends meet and attempts to repair her broken relationship with her daughter, while maintaining an on-off relationship with a world-weary theatre manager. She manages to maintain her optimistic view of life, until she has to deal with the news that Le Razzle Dazzle is to be closed.
Starring Pamela Anderson, Jamie Leigh Curtis, Brenda Song, Kiernan Shipka
AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
Golden Globes: Nominee, Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama & Best Original Song Motion Picture
Bafta Awards: Nominee, Best Supporting Actress
Critics Choice Awards: Nominee, Best Song
Screen Actor’s Guild Awards: Nominee, Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role & Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
REVIEWS
“As a relative newcomer to the big screen at 57, it feels poignant that Anderson plays a character the same age who is facing up to the end of a 30-year long career.” ★★★★ Hayley Spencer, London Evening Standard
“Pamela Anderson has put her heart and soul into her performance and the result is exceptional.” ★★★★ Kat Hughes, THN
“[Coppola] crafts an elegy to a Vegas of a different era and the tarnished reality of once sparkling dreams.” Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly
“With stunning performances, perfect needle drops, and thoughtful, loving direction… is a stylish, emotional, and visually striking work…” Shaina Weatherhead, Collider

Hull Independent Cinema: The Seed of the Sacred Fig

THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG
Dir Mohammad Rasoulof | France, Germany | 2024 | 167 mins | Rated 15 | Persian
Shot entirely in secret and deemed illegal by the Iranian regime, this film tells the story of a family thrust into the public eye. When civil servant Iman is appointed as an investigating judge in Tehran. As political unrest erupts in the streets, Iman realises that his job is even more dangerous than expected, making him increasingly paranoid and distrustful, even of his own wife Najmeh and daughters Sana and Rezvan. When Rezvan’s friend Sadaf is shot at a political rally, the tensions within Iman’s family erupt with devastating consequences.
Starring Soheila Golestani, Missagh Zareh, Setareh Maleki
AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
Academy Awards: Nominee, Best International Feature Film
Chicago Int’l FF: Winner, Best Screenplay; Nominee, Best Film
US National Board of Review: Winner, Best Int’l Film
Bafta Awards: Nominee, Best Film Not in the English Language
Golden Globes: Nominee, Best Motion Picture, Non-English Language
Cannes Film Festival: Winner, 5 awards including Jury Special Prize; Nominee, Palme d’Or
REVIEWS
“There are hints of Hitchcock and Kubrick as this story inexorably unravels beyond the control of its players…” ★★★★★ Nick Howells, London Evening Standard
“Given the stakes, The Seed of the Sacred Fig would be admirable even if it weren’t such a very fine film. But it is.” ★★★★ Danny Leigh, Financial Times
“… without doubt Rasoulof’s most important film to date.” ★★★★ Wendy Ide, The Observer
“Understated performances and unflashy filmmaking coalesce into an absorbing mixture of the personal and the political…” ★★★★ Ian Freer, Empire Magazine”

Hull Independent Cinema: I’m Still Here

I’M STILL HERE
Dir Walter Salles | Brazil, France | 2024 | 137 mins | Rated 15 | Portuguese
One afternoon in 1971, Rubens Paiva, a former congressman and outspoken critic of Brazil’s newly instituted military dictatorship, was taken from his home by government officials, told nothing more than that he must give a “deposition” to authorities, and disappeared. His wife, Eunice, embarks on an indefatigable search for the truth about her husband that would stretch out for decades. A devastating true story, adapted from Rubens’s son’s memoir, this is an exhilarating portrayal of human tenacity in the face of injustice.
Starring Fernanda Torres, Fernanda Montenegro, Selton Mello

AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
Academy Awards: Winner, Best International Film; Nominee, 3 Awards including Best Picture
Golden Globes: Winner: Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama; Nominee: Best Motion Picture, Non-English Language
Bafta awards: Nominee, Best Film Not in the English Language
Venice Film Festival: Winner, 3 awards including Best Screenplay; Nominee, Best Film

REVIEWS
“You feel this film in the pit of your stomach.” ★★★★★ Kevin Maher, The Times
“In the face of inhumanity, Salles’s film simply radiates love.” ★★★★★ Nick Howells, London Evening Standard
“It is a tremendously controlled and inward performance by Torres… Her face holds the whole film.” David Sexton, New Statesman
“Torres gives a forceful, powerful performance.” Adam Graham, Detroit News

Hull Independent Cinema: Holy Cow

After the tragic death of his father, 18 year old Totone’s carefree life of drinking and partying is upended as he is thrust into the unexpected and very adult role of looking after his younger sister and their failing family farm in the beautiful Jura region of France. Struggling for income, he hears about the cash that can be won from competitions for making the local Comté cheese. Unable to afford good quality milk, he embarks on a scheme to steal some from a neighbouring farm, pitching him into a rollercoaster relationship with the young woman who owns it.

Starring Clément Faveau, Maïwene Barthelemy

AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
Cannes: Winner, Un Certain Regard Youth Prize; Nominee, Un Certain Regard, Golden Camera
French Academy Awards (Césars): Nominee, Best First Film, Best Screenplay, Best Music, Most Promising Actress
Lumiere Awards: Winner, Best First Film, Most Promising Actor; Nominee, Most Promising Actress
India Int’l Film Fest: Winner, Best Actor; Nominee, Best Film

REVIEWS
“Lovingly shot in warm natural light, and accompanied by a gentle, lilting soundtrack, Holy Cow is shot through with compassion for its rascally yet vulnerable protagonist.” Lee Marshall, Screen International

“The action is pacy but that doesn’t mean it skims the surface. All the characters have depth … An earthy mix of adventure romp and coming of age experiences, Courvoisier’s film is ripe with feeling.” ★★★★ Amber Wilkinson, Eye for Film

“With her refusal to overdramatize conflicts and constant focus on the movie’s central character, Courvoisier delivers such mature work that it’s astonishing to think that this is her feature debut.” Serena Seghedoni, Loud and Clear Reviews

“The instincts on display [from Courvoisier] are excellent. For a feature debut, Holy Cow is quite the statement.” Alan French, Sunshine State Cineplex

Hull Independent Cinema: Four Mothers

In Dublin, Edward is an aspiring novelist saddled with caring for his elderly mother. When he finally finds himself on the brink of literary success, with pressure to go on a US book tour mounting, the last thing Edward needs is his friends jetting off to Spain for an impromptu Pride holiday, leaving their own mothers on his doorstep! Over a chaotic weekend, he has to juggle his burgeoning career with the care of four eccentric, combative, and wildly different ladies.

Starring James McArdle, Fionnula Flanagan, Dearbhla Molloy

AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
London Film Festival: Winner, Narrative Feature; Nominee, Best Film
Chicago International Film Festival: Winner, 2 Awards including Silver Hugo; Nominee, Gold Hugo

REVIEWS
“… it is the enigmatic mothers driving this heartwarming and witty caper.” ★★★★ Katie Smith-Wong, Flick Feast

“Its deep emotional landscape and careful direction make it an important addition to Irish film, and its themes of loss and connection are global.” Naser Nahandian, Gazettely

“Feels like classic Sunday afternoon viewing, a warm hug of a film about community, friendship and appreciating your relationship with your parents while you’ve still got them.” Danielle Measor, We Talk Film

“… the characters and the actors behind it are what truly elevate the final product into a funny and heartwarming comedy.” Clotilde Chinnici, Loud and Clear Reviews

Hull Independent Cinema: Santosh

Newly widowed Santosh inherits her husband’s job as a police constable in the rural badlands of Northern India. What passes for work on the “women’s desk” is mostly an excuse to collect bribes from local people. An illiterate labourer reports his daughter missing and is ignored, but when the girl’s body is found media pressure forces an investigation led by seasoned investigator Inspector Sharma. Sharma takes Santosh under her wing but it soon becomes clear that the senior officer has an ulterior motive, while the case forces Santosh to examine her own class prejudices.

Starring Shahana Goswami, Sunita Rajwar, Nawal Shukla

AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
Bafta Awards: Nominee, Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer
BIFA: Winner, 2 Awards including Best Screenplay; Nominee, 2 Awards including Best British Independent Film
Cannes Film Festival: Nominee, Un Certain Regard Award
London Film Festival: Nominee, First Feature Competition
Jerusalem Film Festival: Winner, Best International Debut
National Board of Review: Winner, Top 5 International Films

REVIEWS
“If ‘Training Day with more grey areas’ sounds dull, it’s anything but.” ★★★★ Philip De Semlyen, Time Out

“About the methods by which the poor and oppressed are kept in their place, and about what it means to be woman among men who aren’t at all interested in sharing their power.” Alissa Wilkinson, The New York Times

“Full of non-actors who excel at being themselves in front of the camera, the result so eminently watchable because it feels so remarkably like the real India.” Proma Khosla, indieWire

“There’s a knotty complexity to the relationship between the two women, something that Rajwar mines superbly with her charismatic but unreadable performance.” Wendy Ide, Screen International

Hull Independent Cinema: Sister Midnight

An arranged marriage sees an oddball couple shoved together in a small Mumbai shack. Cranky Uma does her best to cope with the heat and the nosy neighbours even though her expectations of life in the big city don’t match up to reality. Gopal is a nervous wreck who doesn’t even have the confidence to undress in the same room as his wife. Things soon change when Uma is bitten by an insect and finds herself dealing with a need to satisfy strange new feral, even bloodthirsty, cravings.

Starring Radhika Apte, Ashok Pathak, Chhaya Kadam

AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
Bafta Awards: Nominee, Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer
BIFA: Nominee, 4 Awards including Best Lead Performance
Cannes Film Festival: Nominee, Golden Camera & SACD Prize
Austin Fantastic Fest: Winner, Best Picture

REVIEWS
“Breaks free from the shackles of submissive feminine stereotypes and raucously leans into a woman behaving very, very badly.” Hanna Flint, Time Out

“Quietly rebels against the arbitrary rules of filmmaking to create something supremely self-assured in voice and style.” Proma Khosla, indieWire

“The film’s main asset is Apte, a gifted physical comedian who puts the dead into deadpan, and loads every gesture with an aggressive, almost demented slap-stick infused humour.” Wendy Ide, Screen International

“A surreal Mumbai fable with an aggressive comedic rhythm….” Siddhant Adlakha, Variety

Hull Independent Cinema: Oh My Goodness! (Juste Ciel!)

When the local nursing home finds itself in dire straits and in danger of falling to pieces, it’s down to Mother Veronique and the five eccentric sisters of the convent of St. Benedict to find a way to help. Spotting a poster for a bike race with a €25,000 cash prize, the sisters might just have their answer. The only drawback is that they are terrible cyclists, and their rival convent, led by Mother Veronique’s childhood rival Mother Josephine, have their own plans for the prize money.

Starring Valérie Bonneton, Camille Chamoux, Claire Nadeau

REVIEWS
“It is fun, and it made me laugh.” CinePhil: A Berliner Film Blog

“The camera embraces the magnificent landscapes of the Jura [in this] devilishly crazy comedy.” Maxime Maynard, Cineman

Hull Independent Cinema: Vermiglio

This singular portrait of a sprawling family, set in the small, mountainous village of Vermiglio during the waning days of WWII, follows a series of dramatic, consequential events after the arrival of Pietro, a taciturn Sicilian soldier, who hides out in town after deserting the army. Lucia is the eldest daughter of the local schoolmaster. When she and Pietro meet, a romance blossoms between them. Their relationship deepens but when they get married it upsets the family’s equilibrium and changes everyone’s lives.

Starring Tommaso Ragno, Roberta Rovelli, Martina Scrinzi

AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
Golden Globes: Nominee, Best Motion Picture, Non-English Language
London Film Festival: Nominee, Best Film
Venice Film Festival: Winner, 5 Awards inc Best Italian Film; Nominee, Best Film

REVIEWS
“Vermiglio is exquisite.” ★★★★★ Wendy Ide, The Observer

“… makes us feel that we’re really inhabiting this small universe, with all its harshness and its comforts, as much at home in it as the family.” ★★★★★
Jonathan Romney, Financial Times

“It is wonderfully acted with unaffected naturalism by its cast of professionals and newcomers…” ★★★★ Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

“Pulsates with harsh, anguished emotion, thanks in no small part to splendid visuals that make it the most beautiful film of the year.” Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

Hull Independent Cinema: The Girl with The Needle

Young factory worker Karoline struggles to survive in post-WWI Copenhagen. When she loses her job just after discovering she is pregnant, she takes on a position as a wet nurse for an older woman named Dagmar to help support herself. Dagmar operates a clandestine adoption agency under the guise of a sweet shop, assisting disadvantaged mothers place their unwanted newborns in foster homes. The two women form an unexpected bond, until a sudden revelation about the nature of their work changes everything.

Starring Vic Carmen Sonne, Trine Dyrholm, Besir Zeciri

AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
Academy Awards: Nominee, Best International Feature Film
Golden Globes: Nominee, Best Motion Picture, Non-English Language
Cannes Film Festival: Nominee, Palme d’Or
Polish Film Festival: Winner, 11 awards including Best Film & Best Supporting Actress

REVIEWS
“It’s a remarkable film: bleak, but horribly compelling.” ★★★★ Wendy Ide, The Observer

“This period piece offers a very different kind of female odyssey through a lonely and forbidding world.” ★★★★ Philip De Semlyen, Time Out

“Horribly effective grand guignol, made with enormous technical flair, like Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd without the bleak humour.” ★★★★ Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

“Is most intriguing when it lingers in its disturbing fictions, which come to life with exceptional style.” Natalia Winkelman, New York Times

Hull Independent Cinema: Hard Truths

HARD TRUTHS

Legendary filmmaker Mike Leigh returns to the contemporary world with a fierce, compassionate, and often darkly humorous study of family and the thorny ties that bind us. Reunited with Leigh for the first time since multiple Oscar-nominated Secrets and Lies, the astonishing Marianne Jean-Baptiste plays Pansy, a woman wracked by fear, tormented by afflictions, and prone to raging tirades against her husband, son, and anyone who looks her way. Meanwhile, her easygoing younger sister, played by Michele Austin (Another Year), is a single mother with a life as different from Pansy’s as their clashing temperaments – brimming with communal warmth from her salon clients and daughters alike. This expansive film from a master dramatist takes us into the intensities of kinship, duty, and the most enduring of human mysteries: that even through lifetimes of hurt and hardship, we still find ways to love those we call family.

Starring Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Michele Austin, David Webber

AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
Bafta Awards: Nominee, Outstanding British Film of the Year & Best Actress
BIFA: Winner, Best Lead Performance; Nominee, Best Supporting Performance
Critics Choice Awards: Nominee, Best Actress
New York Film Critics Circle Awards: Winner, Best Actress
National Society of Film Critics Awards: Winner, Best Actress & Best Supporting Actress

REVIEWS
“Baptiste is toweringly real: formidable and heartbreaking in her performance.” ★★★★★ Christina Newland, iNews

“[Jean-Baptiste’s] great achievement is to generate sympathy for a woman who allows those around her not a moment of consideration.” ★★★★★ Donald Clarke, Irish Times

“A deeply sober, sombre, compassionate drama about a black British family.” ★★★★ Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

“A gruelling but ultimately rewarding experience, this is Leigh at his most confrontational, devastating
and humane, aided by the unadulterated power of Jean-Baptiste’s career-redefining performance.” ★★★★ Laura Venning, Empire Magazine

ACCESSIBILITY
Subtitles
This film will be presented with Descriptive Subtitles. In addition to reproducing dialogue, these subtitles include additional non-dialogue sounds available to a hearing audience, e.g. “(sighs)” or “(door creaks)” and song lyrics. In our experience, guests do not find the subtitles distracting, especially as the majority of our films are subtitled foreign language films.

Hull Independent Cinema is working towards making our films more accessible. We have decided to present all our films with Descriptive Subtitles where available.

AGE RATING
HARD TRUTHS is rated 15. Under 15s will not be admitted.

Programme Details
The cafe will be open before the show, so why not come along early to grab a drink and a snack? The programme run time includes an allowance for introductions and up to three trailers. While we will endeavour to accommodate latecomers, this may not always be possible. Please note that we reserve the right to refuse entry, without a refund, to anyone arriving after the advertised start time.

Contact Us
If you have any questions or suggestions, please drop us a line at hello@hullindependentcinema.com or on social media.

Tickets available from Thurs 13 Mar @ 12:00PM.

Wicked Sing-Along

Get ready for the ultimate ‘Wicked’ Sing-Along experience, coming to the Connexin Live, Hull! Gather your friends and join us in the enchanting world of ‘Wicked’ at this unforgettable screening event.

Equipped with your exclusive Sing-Along gift bag, you’ll be singing along with the film in a packed-out theatre, like never before. This really will be a truly magical and spellbinding experience for all!

Tickets go on sale Thursday, 6th March at 10am

SCREENING ROOMS #3 Wayfinder & short film

Wayfinder is Larry Achiampong’s first feature and most ambitious film to date.

Set during a pandemic, the film tracks the movements of its central protagonist – a young girl known only as The Wanderer (played by Perside Rodrigues) – on an intrepid journey across England. Travelling from North to South, The Wanderer passes through different regions, towns and landscapes, this epic film builds a dialogue around the themes of class and economic exclusion, belonging and displacement, cultural heritage and the meaning of home. A road movie of sorts, Larry Achiampong’s accomplished debut feature draws on British traditions of travel and exploration of the sublime landscape and the sea – reflecting on division and crisis in the nation today. Addressing an unreconciled history of empire and inequality, Wayfinder asks: who is allowed to feel that they belong?

Drawing on his Ghanaian roots, Larry Achiampong’s projects employ imagery, aural and visual archives, live performance and sound to explore ideas surrounding class, cross-cultural and post-digital identity. With the expansion and sharing of information via the Internet, the idea of a one- size-fits-all version of history, as previously dictated, continues to be eradicated. Achiampong crate-digs the vaults of history and splices audible and visual qualities of the personal and interpersonal archives offering multiple positions revealing the socio-political contradictions in contemporary society. Achiampong’s works examine his communal and personal heritage – in particular, the intersection between pop culture and the postcolonial position, using performance to investigate ‘the self’ as a fiction, devising alter-egos to point at divided selves.
PG certificate.

Running time: 84 minutes.

To support access to our screenings, tickets to SCREENING ROOMS will be offered at two levels.

£5 Access tickets support operational costs, such as electricity, staffing, and film programming.

£10 Supporter tickets support all the above and supports future SCREENING ROOMS programming.

Kinoteka Film Festival On Tour

Klassiki, the world’s only streaming service dedicated to great cinema from Eastern Europe, is proud to bring exceptional Polish cinema to audiences across the UK. Across seven cities, audiences can experience the very best of contemporary and classic Polish filmmaking on the big screen.

This year’s lineup features Damian Kocur’s gripping drama UNDER THE VOLCANO (2024), Agnieszka Zwiefka’s powerful documentary SILENT TREES (2024), and a restored masterpiece from the legendary Wojciech Has: THE SARAGOSSA MANUSCRIPT (1965), alongside more unmissable titles.

Join us at Hull Independent Cinema from 11th March for this extraordinary celebration of Polish cinema on the big screen!

Find out more about each individual film below:

» Kinoteka: Under The Grey Sky on 11 Mar @ 7:00PM

» Kinoteka: The Silent Trees on 18 Mar @ 7:00PM

» Kinoteka: It Is Not My Film on 20 Mar @ 7:00PM

» Kinoteka: The Saragossa Manuscript on 25 Mar @ 6:30PM

» Kinoteka: Under The Volcano on 27 Mar @ 7:00PM