Hull Independent Cinema: Blue Moon

Dir Richard Linklater | USA, Ireland | 2025 | 100 mins | Rated 15 | English, Hebrew
Set on the night of the 1943 premiere of Oklahoma!, the film follows lyricist Lorenz Hart, once famed as part of the songwriting duo Rodgers-Hart. At a party in Manhattan’s legendary Sardi’s restaurant, Hart watches with bitter jealousy as his former partner celebrates success with a new collaborator. Haunted by alcoholism, unresolved love, and professional rejection, Hart drifts through the night, trying to flirt with a younger woman, reminiscing about past glories, and wrestling with his fading relevance and the painful truth that the world — and Broadway — has moved on without him.
Starring Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, Andrew Scott

AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
Berlin Int’l FF: Winner, Best Supporting Performance; Nominee, Best Film
Gotham Awards: Nominee, Best Lead Performance, Best Supporting Performance
Lisbon FF: Nominee, Best Film
Gijón Int’l FF: Nominee, Best Film

REVIEWS
“A deceptively modest project, but it’s beautifully executed and fascinatingly nuanced.” David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
“Like a backstage pass for Broadway buffs, it’s one hell of a show for those in the know, and a sparkling introduction for the uninitiated.” Peter Debruge, Variety
“Hawke’s ability to convey flashes of self-awareness elevates his performance from a brilliant impression to a fully realized tragic portrait.” ★★★★ Keith Phipps, The Reveal
“With Hawke’s exceptional performance at its center, the film earns its place as a poignant, quietly powerful character study. ” ★★★★ Linda Marric, HeyUGuys”

Hull Independent Cinema: It Was Just An Accident

Dir Jafar Panahi | Iran, France, Luxembourg, USA | 2025 | 103 mins | Rated 12A | Persian
After a minor accident, Eghbal takes his car to a nearby garage, where former political prisoner Vahid hears the distinctive sound of Eghbal’s prosthetic leg and believes him to be ‘Peg-Leg’, a notorious torturer from Vahid’s past. With a group of fellow ex-prisoners, Vahid kidnaps Eghbal and they embark on a tense journey into the desert in an attempt to verify if he really is their former tormentor. As suspicion, guilt, and conflicting memories swirl, the group grapples with a wrenching moral question: should they avenge the horrors of the past, or risk repeating them?
Starring Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi

AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
Cannes; Winner, Palme d’Or
Montclair FF: Winner, World Cinema Audience Award
Sydney FF: Winner, Best Film
Gotham Awards: Nominee, Best Int’l Feature, Best Screenplay, Best Director
European Film Awards: Nominee, Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay

REVIEWS
“Plays like an ideal melding of the filmmaker Panahi was and the filmmaker he’s been forced to become. It’s an endlessly fascinating and extraordinarily powerful work.” Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine
“”It is just so intelligent; so blisteringly powerful; so light of touch. It is also one of those rare movies that manages to mix an unlikely trinity of shaggy-dog comedy, revenge thriller and seriously heavy political shit.” ★★★★★ Nick Howells, London Standard
“It’s another very impressive serio-comic film from one of the most distinctive and courageous figures in world cinema.” ★★★★ Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
“Cinema still has its uses, and Panahi summons all the medium’s expressive powers to deliver a fierce, unambiguous denunciation of authoritarian regimes the world over.” Justin Chang, The New Yorker “

Hull Independent Cinema: Still Pushing Pineapples (12A) + Live Q&A

Director: Kim Hopkins | 2025 | 12A

Former pop star Dene Michael clings to the remnants of fame he once had as a member of 1980s novelty pop group Black Lace.
Now, performing for a dwindling audience in some of the UK’s most deprived seaside towns, he’s eager to press on with his music career and get out from under the legacy of Agadoo.

Follow Dene, his spirited 89-year-old mum Anne, and his sassy girlfriend Hayley across Britain and the Costa del Sol in this unmistakably British road movie. En route they navigate love, family duty, and the relentless pursuit of one last chart success.

The film will be followed by a live Q&A with director Kim Hopkins and producer Margareta Szabo.

Sheffield Int’l Doc Fest: Nominee; Grand Jury Award, Audience Award.

Hull Independent Cinema: Palestine 36

Director: Annmarie Jacir | 2025 | 12A

Yusuf is a Palestinian from a rural village who drifts between home and the charged atmosphere of mid-1930s Jerusalem as opposition to British colonial rule begins to come to the surface.

Amid mounting repression, Yusuf can’t avoid becoming more aware of the forces shaping his homeland and how his own identity fits into the events around him.

As the revolt against British rule gathers pace, Yusuf and the people he encounters – fellow rural Palestinians, journalists, intellectuals, British officials – and becomes swept up in the tide of an historic struggle that resonates to this day.

Tokyo Int’l FF: Winner, Best Film; Nominee, Best Director
Asia Pacific Screen Awards: Nominee, Best Screenplay

Hull Independent Cinema – The Mastermind

Dir Kelly Reichardt | USA, UK | 2025 | 110 mins | Rated 12A | English, French
In a sedate Massachusetts suburb in 1970, unemployed family man, failed architect and amateur art thief James Blaine Mooney comes up with a bold plan to steal from a local art museum. With the museum cased and accomplices recruited, everything is in place, But stealing four paintings in broad daylight turns out to be easier than holding on to them and, Mooney is forced into a life on the run as the Police and FBI close in. A piercing portrait of a life collapsing under the weight of greed and ambition, powered by a superb central performance from Josh O’Connor.
Starring Josh O’Connor, Alana Haim, Bill Camp

AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
Cannes: Nominee, Palme d’Or
Valladolid Int’l FF: Winner, Best Film, Best Cinematography
Gotham Awards: Nominee, Best Film, Best Lead Performance
Ghent Int’l FF: Nominee, Best Film

REVIEWS
“This is magnetic, compulsively watchable work from O’Connor, who is shaping up to be one of the finest actors of his generation.” Wendy Ide, The Observer
“This is O’Connor at his finest yet, and The Mastermind is the slinkiest, most satisfying piece of “mood cinema” you’re likely to have seen for a long while.” ★★★★★ Nick Howells, London Standard
“The steal is managed with fine-tuned suspense: coolly, precisely edited by Reichardt herself and set to Rob Mazurek’s taut, urbane jazz score.” ★★★★★ Jonathan Romney, Financial Times
“Reichardt, with her regular cinematographer Christopher Blauvelt, has a wonderful way of staging scenes that feel sparse and warm at the very same time.” ★★★★ Clarisse Loughrey, The Independent

NT Live: The Playboy of The Western World (Encore Screening)

Please note that this is a recording and not a live, on stage performance.

Nicola Coughlan (Bridgerton) joins Éanna Hardwicke (The Sixth Commandment) and Siobhán McSweeney (Derry Girls) in John Millington Synge’s riveting play of youth and self-discovery.

Pegeen Flaherty’s life is turned upside down when a young man walks into her pub claiming that he’s killed his father. Instead of being shunned, the killer becomes a local hero and begins to win hearts, that is until a second man unexpectedly arrives on the scene…

Filmed live on stage at the National Theatre, Caitríona McLaughlin directs this darkly funny tale full to the brim with secrets.

NT Live: Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Encore Screening)

Please note that this is a recording and not a live, on stage performance.

BAFTA Award-winner Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread) joins Aidan Turner (Rivals) in a striking new staging of Christopher Hampton’s celebrated adaptation of the classic novel, where among the glittering salons of the super-rich, one misstep can mean ruin.

Marquise de Merteuil is a master in the art of survival. Alongside the magnetic Vicomte de Valmont, they turn seduction into strategy and weaponise desire. But when their alliance collapses into rivalry, the battle between them threatens to destroy everyone in their path.

Filmed live on stage at the National Theatre, Marianne Elliott (Angels in America) directs this thrilling game of love, lies, and social warfare.

Based on the novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos.
Directed by Marianne Elliott.

Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials / Livestream

A special livestream event with the cast of the new Netflix adaptation, including Helena Bonham Carter and Mia McKenna Bruce.

One of Agatha Christie’s finest novels, The Seven Dials Mystery from 1929 is coming to the screen in a new three episode series from Netflix on 15 January.

At this unique event, cast members Mia McKenna Bruce, Helena Bonham Carter, Martin Freeman and writer Chris Chibnall talk about the making of this hotly anticipated release.

Come and watch the livestream with us at Hull Central Library on Monday 12 January at 5pm.

Hull Noir & Hull Libraries: The Odessa File

Hull Noir and Hull Libraries present…

THE ODESSA FILE

Saturday 10 January
6.30pm for a 7pm start
Hull Central Library
Tickets: £5

THE ODESSA FILE (1974) A classic post-war spy thriller. Hamburg, 1963. Freelance journalist Peter Miller finds himself in possession of a diary detailing the war crimes perpetrated by former SS captain Eduard Roschmann, now a top industrialist. When Miller sets out to bring Roschmann to justice, he comes up against the ODESSA, a secret organisation dedicated to protecting former SS officers and advancing their position in the post-war world.

For this special screening, novelist Tony Kent joins writer, Nick Triplow, to talk about the film, the original novel and its journey to the screen, as well as his collaboration with Frederick Forsyth on REVENGE OF ODESSA, the acclaimed sequel to THE ODESSA FILE.

Exhibition on Screen: Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo is a phenomenon. She is arguably the world’s favourite female artist – beloved by young and old. Exhibition on Screen’s award-winning film – first released during covid to a restricted audience – is back by popular demand with an exciting new addition from the blockbuster transatlantic exhibition from Tate Britain and MFA Houston ‘Frida Kahlo: the Making of an Icon’. Back in the cinemas in May 2026, one month before the Tate exhibition opens, allowing audiences to watch both the film and see the show.

Who was Frida Kahlo? Everyone knows her face but who was the woman behind the bright colours, the big brows and the floral crowns? Take a journey through the life of a true icon, discover her art, and uncover the true story of her rebellious, passionate and turbulent life.

Making use of the latest technology to deliver previously unimaginable quality, we take an in-depth look at key works throughout her career. Using letters Kahlo wrote to guide us, this definitive film reveals her deepest emotions and unlocks the secrets and symbolism contained within her art.

Exhibition on Screen’s trademark combination of interviews with those who knew her and world experts, commentary and a detailed exploration of her art, combined with new special bonus footage from the 2026 Tate exhibition, delivers a treasure trove of colour and emotion. This personal and intimate film offers privileged access to her works, her home, her studio and highlights the source of her feverish creativity, her resilience and her unmatched lust for life, beauty and revolution.

Created in close collaboration with world experts and those who knew her.

Additional new material from the curators of the groundbreaking new Tate Britain and MFA Houston exhibition.

Exhibition on Screen: Turner & Constable

Celebrating the 250th anniversary of their births, this unmissable new documentary explores Turner and Constable’s intertwined lives and legacies alongside the groundbreaking Tate exhibition.

Two of Britain’s greatest painters, J.M.W. Turner and John Constable were also the greatest of rivals. Born within a year of each other, both used landscape painting to reflect the changing world around them. Tate Britain is bringing these two greats together for a groundbreaking exhibition, in London from November 2025 to April 2026, and Exhibition on Screen once again has exclusive and privileged access to bring their extraordinary art and remarkable stories to the big screen in February so that you can enjoy both film and exhibition together. Discover unexpected sides to both artists with intimate views of sketchbooks and personal items and insights from leading experts.

Turner’s blazing sunsets and sublime scenes from his travels and Constable’s idealised depictions of beloved places from home whipped the public of the time into a frenzy of enthusiasm. Constable represents the very best of the old school of realism and pastoral nostalgia; Turner, an exciting new way of depicting emotion and dreamlike impressions. Critics compared their starkly different styles to a clash of ‘fire and water’. Don’t miss this opportunity to see these greats side-by-side, as they so often were in life, on the big screen for the first time.

Oscar Wilde: The Legacy of a Scandal

Oscar Wilde: the Legacy of a Scandal

The extraordinary story of Wilde’s reputation after his death. With Merlin Holland, Gyles Brandreth and Rupert Everett.

Thursday 16 October
7 – 8:30pm
Hull Central Library

Oscar Wilde died in November 1900, exiled in Paris and exhausted by scandal and prison life. The details of his life in the limelight are well known; what has regularly been ignored are the reverberations of the scandal for decades after his death: the challenges his descendants faced, the myths and legends, the quarrels between his friends and enemies and the court cases.

Following an introduction by Gyles Brandreth, Wilde’s only grandson, Merlin Holland talks to actor and writer Rupert Everett about his new book After Oscar: the Legacy of a Scandal, which details the remarkable posthumous life of one of our most celebrated literary and cultural figures.

Livestream from the British Library.

Hull Independent Cinema: Audience Choice – Willem Dafoe

Watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogp0znSUWAM

Our popular Audience Choice Screening this season is a celebration of the work of Willem Dafoe. From his uncredited debut in the 1980 financial and critical disaster Heaven’s Gate to his recent starring role in the remake of Nosferatu, Dafoe has carved out a career playing a diverse range of characters in mainstream and indie films, working with directors such as Oliver Stone, Lars von Trier, Robert Eggers, Wes Anderson, Hayao Miyazaki and Yorgos Lanthimos. As ever, you made your suggestions and cast your votes on the shortlist – and you’ve chosen Robert Eggers’ 2019 folk-horror THE LIGHTHOUSE.

Starring Willem Dafoe, Robert Pattinson, Valeriia Karaman

AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
Nominated, Best Cinematography – 2020 Academy Awards
Winner, Best Supporting Actor Willem Dafoe – 2020 Independent Spirit Awards
Nominee, Best Director & Best Male Lead – 2020 Independent Spirit Awards

REVIEWS
“Two primal performances from Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson carry Robert Eggers’ second film to glory. Stunningly shot in black and white in the boxy format common in the silent era, The Lighthouse seeps into your bones with a power that won’t let go.” – Rolling Stone

“a rich and strange sea yarn in monochrome that overflows with Beckettian absurdity, as these men, perhaps both liars (literal gaslighters), look, while waiting for ‘relief’, into the abyss of both their elemental isolation & their infernal companionship” – Little White Lies

“Conjuring menace and mystery from solitude and seagulls, The Lighthouse is a folk tale, a black comedy, a horror, a mystery, a (platonic?) romance – and something more still, something unspeakable. Something like a masterpiece, perhaps.” – Empire

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
THE LIGHTHOUSE is rated 15. Under 15s will not be admitted. For more information, please see the film’s page on the BBFC website: https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-lighthouse-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00otg3mdm

Programme Details
The café 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

Hull Independent Cinema: The Librarians

Hull Independent Cinema presents…

THE LIBRARIANS
Dir Kim A. Snyder | USA | 2025 | 88 mins | Rating TBC | English
Librarians emerge as first responders in the fight for American democracy and free speech in this powerful documentary. As they well know, controlling the flow of ideas means control over communities. In Texas, the Krause List targets 850 books focused on race and LGBTQ+ stories, triggering sweeping book bans across the US at an unprecedented rate. As tensions escalate, librarians connect the dots from heated school and library board meetings nationwide to lay bare the underpinnings of White Christian Nationalism fuelling the censorship efforts. Despite facing harassment, threats, and laws aimed at criminalising their work, librarians across the US support one another in the pushback against authoritarianism.
AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
Sarasota Film Festival: Winner, Best Documentary Feature
Dallas International Film Festival: Winner, Documentary Feature
Frameline San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival: Winner, Outstanding Documentary
SXSW Film Festival: Nominee, Audience Award
REVIEWS
“… offers a rattling look at coordinated efforts to ban books. More importantly, it introduces viewers to the everyday and increasingly vital heroes pushing back.” Lisa Kennedy, Variety
“What Snyder does so effectively is affirming the dignity of this vocation by showing how the work of librarians goes beyond just saving books.” Zachary Lee, RogerEbert.com
“… the aching musical bed by contemporary composer Nico Muhly adds just the right tone of plangent despair tinged with hope.” Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter
“There’s never been a movie more vital this year than The Librarians. If you prize literature, intelligence, independent thought, safe spaces for children, it’s a necessary watch.” Kristen Lopez, The Film Maven
ACCESSIBILITY
Subtitles
Descriptive Subtitles are not available for this title.
AGE RATING
THE LIBRARIANS has not yet been rated by the BBFC. We will update with more information closer to the screening date.
Programme Details
The café 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

Hull Independent Cinema: Souleymane’s Story

SOULEYMANE’S STORY
Dir Boris Lojkine | France | 2024 | 93 mins | Rating TBC | French, Fulah, Malinka
In Paris, Guinean immigrant Souleymane works all hours as a food delivery rider, trying to make ends meet while applying for asylum. While he’s surrounded by a seemingly supportive community of fellow Africans, everyone’s help comes at a price. Unable to work legally he must pay someone else half his delivery earnings to use their account, while another acquaintance gives him questionable advice on getting through his upcoming immigration interview – for a price. And so we follow Souleymane through the night as he rehearses his story. The interview is in just two days, but will he be ready?
Abou Sangare, Alpha Oumar Sow, Nina Meurisse

AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
Cannes Film Festival: Winner, 2 awards including Best Actor (Un Certain Regard); Nominee, Un Certain Regard Award
César Awards: Winner, 4 awards inc Best Supporting Actress; Nominee, 4 awards including Best Director
European Film Awards: Winner, 2 awards inc European Actor
Seattle International Film Festival: Winner, Best Performance; Nominee, 2 awards including Best Film
Lumiere Awards: Winner, Best Actor; Nominee, 4 awards inc Best Film

REVIEWS
“Abou Sangaré is magnificent as Souleymane…He is on screen for virtually every second, and he holds your attention without fail.” ★★★★.5 Karl Quinn, Sydney Morning Herald
“… is the rare character study that does not only build empathy with its hero’s pain but channels its sensation.” Natalia Winkelman, New York Times
“If the hero’s dire situation is a ticking clock, Lojkine’s intelligent and empathetic film places us right alongside him, with each cog of circumstance and each gear of good fortune grinding against him at every turn.”
Jessica Kiang, Variety
“Lojkine’s narrative is pacy and moves like an edge-of-the-seat thriller.” Namrata Joshi, The New Indian Express
ACCESSIBILITY
Flashing Images
Information on flashing images for this film is TBC.

Subtitles
Information on Descriptive Subtitles for this film is TBC.
AGE RATING
SOULEYMANE’S STORY has not yet been rated by the BBFC. We will update with more information closer to the date.
Programme Details
The café 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.

Hull Independent Cinema: From Hilde, With Love

FROM HILDE, WITH LOVE
Dir Andreas Dresen| Germany | 2024 | 125 mins | Rated 15 | German
In 1942 Berlin, Hilde is a member of the Communist Rote Kapelle resistance group. As the work of printing and distributing anti-Nazi posters and leaflets and keeping in radio contact with Russian agents becomes more and more dangerous, the group nevertheless manages to find moments of peace and joy. With their lives in constant danger, Hilde gradually falls in love with another member of the group, Hans, as they spend an unforgettable summer together. But as they embark on their most audacious mission yet, they are discovered by the Gestapo and Hilde, eight months pregnant, is imprisoned. Based on real events and people.
Starring Liv Lisa Fries, Johannes Hegemann, Lisa Wagner

AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
Berlin International Film Festival: Nominee, Best Film
German Film Awards: Winner, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role; Nominee, 6 awards inc Best Screenplay

REVIEWS
“Liv Lisa Fries gives an outstanding performance in this heartwrenchingly powerful true story from the German home front in the second world war..” ★★★★ Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
“The guttural connection between Hilde and Hans takes precedence over their revolutionary acts in a film that tacitly acknowledges the symbolic, rather than practical, achievements of Red Orchestra.” ★★★★ Kevin Maher, The Times
“…this works as an evocative and affecting portrait of love in a time of genocide.” Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter
“Hilde Coppi, played with fragile depth by Liv Lisa Fries, is a cinematic portrait for the ages.” ★★★★.5 Tara Brady, Irish Times”
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
FROM HILDE, WITH LOVE is rated 15. Under 15s will not be admitted. For more information, please see the film’s page on the BBFC website.
https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/from-hilde-with-love-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdi4ote3

Programme Details
The café 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.