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.

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

NT Live: Dr Strangelove (Encore Screening)

Please note that this is a recorded screening and not a live, on-stage performance.

Seven-time BAFTA Award-winner Steve Coogan plays four roles in the world premiere stage adaptation of Stanley Kubrick’s comedy masterpiece Dr. Strangelove.

This explosively funny satire, about a rogue U.S General who triggers a nuclear attack, is led by a world-renowned creative team including Emmy Award-winner Armando Iannucci and Olivier Award-winner Sean Foley.

Kinoteka: Under The Volcano

Hull Independent Cinema and Kinoteka present…

UNDER THE VOLCANO

A Ukrainian family of four on vacation in the Canary Islands become refugees overnight when Russia’s ongoing occupation of Ukraine turns into a full-scale invasion, in Damian
Kocur’s tense and timely sophomore feature.

At the foot of Mount Teide on the Spanish island of Tenerife, a Ukrainian family of four including father Roman, stepmother Anastasiia, teenage daughter Sofiia and young are on vacation. Enjoying their final beach day, they are blissfully unaware that, soon, their return flight to Kyiv will be cancelled and Russian bombs and rockets will fall on their country.

On February 24, 2022, Russia’s ongoing occupation of their peaceful neighbour escalated into a full-scale invasion and, overnight, these tourists have become refugees. While frantically awaiting news from home they, the lucky ones as some
might say, are left wondering what to do and where to go.

Meanwhile, the world keeps spinning; the sun is bright, the sea is blue, and they are surrounded by happy-go-lucky families enjoying the idyllic Canary Islands. We gain insight about the dynamics through Sofia’s Generation-Z perspective, sinking into the group’s inner guilt and their paradoxical issues with the safe place in which they — for now — have refuge. Quickly, the most fraught aspects of the clan bubble to the surface and, like the nearby volcano, dormant conflicts threaten to explode anew.

KINOTEKA on TOUR is Part of the UK – Poland Season of Cultural Exchange organized by the British Council, Polish Cultural Institute and Adam Mickiewicz Institute in partnership with Klassiki.

Starring Sofia Berezovska, Roman Lutskyi, Anastasiya Karpenko

AWARDS AND FESTIVALS

Polish Film Festival: Winner, Best Debut Actor; Nominee, Best Film
London Film Festival: Nominee, Best Film
Toronto International Film Festival: Nominee, People’s Choice Award
Cork International Film Festival: Nominee, Best Film
Marrakech International Film Festival: Nominee, Best Feature Film

REVIEWS
“Even as a tense exploration of difficult family relationships… this would be gripping, but Kocur continually nudges at the bigger picture.” Amber Wilkinson, Screen International

“A superb film that goes beyond the usual limits of war stories to show how strong people can be.” Arash Nahandian, Gazettely

Kinoteka: The Saragossa Manuscript

Hull Independent Cinema and Kinoteka present…

THE SARAGOSSA MANUSCRIPT

During Napoleon’s invasion of Spain, two soldiers discover a strange manuscript at an inn. The book chronicles the adventures of Alfonso van Worden. Alfonso’s passage through the dangerous Sierra Morena mountains is repeatedly interrupted by seemingly random encounters with an assortment of larger than life figures. As the soldiers immerse themselves in the script they become immersed in its endlessly interconnected narrative.

Wojciech Has’ adaptation of Polish novelist Jan Potocki’s magnum opus became a major countercultural favourite during the 1960s, largely due to the patronage of the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia, who regarded the film’s narrative waywardness as a kind of cinematic trip. Luis Buñuel, Neil Gaiman and David Lynch were also admirers, while Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppolla assisted in the film’s restoration and re-release.

Despite its length and the slippery challenge of its storytelling, The Saragossa Manuscript is largely a lighthearted work, laden with warm comedy, ribald drama, Gothic atmospherics and unforgettable imagery.

KINOTEKA on TOUR is Part of the UK – Poland Season of Cultural Exchange organized by the British Council, Polish Cultural Institute and Adam Mickiewicz Institute in partnership with Klassiki.

Starring Zbigniew Cybulsk, Iga Cembrzynska, Elzbieta Czyzewska

AWARDS AND FESTIVALS

Cinema Writers Circle Awards: Winner, Special Award

REVIEWS
“…an epic piece of japery; it celebrates visions and magic by means of labyrinthine storytelling.” Michael Sragow, The New Yorker

“The director’s eye for baroque black-and-white imagery puts him behind only Bava and Welles, while the film’s sharp social satire gives heft to its ambition.” David Fear, Time Out

“A master of digressive technique, Has is never afraid of losing himself or the audience in his mould-breaking visual poems.” Giuseppe Sedia, Kino Mania

“A wonderful, surreal assault on narrative; it’s funny, intelligent, and a ridiculously sly good time.” Jake Euker, F5

Kinoteka: It Is Not My Film

Hull Independent Cinema and Kinoteka present…

IT IS NOT MY FILM

“This relationship resembles a phone charger cable that has been chewed by a dog… It supposedly charges, but there’s no way it can work.” is how Wanda succinctly captures the essence of her long-term relationship with Janek. Despite the challenges, they embark on a final attempt to salvage their love, journeying along the wintry coast of the Baltic Sea.

A woman and a man walk down a beach dragging a sled filled with luggage looking like polar explorers. After another row and an attempt to divorce, Janek and his wife give themselves an ultimatum and decide to go on a 400-kilometer hike along the Baltic Sea in the middle of winter.

If they can overcome the challenge, they will stay together forever, if not, they will break up. During their journey, they must overcome bad weather conditions and once again learn how to be together.

KINOTEKA on TOUR is Part of the UK – Poland Season of Cultural Exchange organized by the British Council, Polish Cultural Institute and Adam Mickiewicz Institute in partnership with Klassiki.

Starring Zofia Chabiera, Marcin Sztabinski, Mariusz Saniternik

AWARDS AND FESTIVALS

Polish Film Festival: Winner, Golden Claw Award; Nominee, Sapphire Lions Award
CinEast: Winner, Young Talents Award