Great films planned

for when we re-open

We cannot say when we will re-open, but in the meantime your jury has been busy reviewing dozens of films we think you will enjoy when eventually it is absolutely safe to do so.

They include heart-felt dramas, thrillers and comedies. Many are Oscar winners or came top of film fans’ polls, but the choice came down to what we think you will enjoy, based on past experience. We’ve mixed those in English and foreign languages, and sought out many you are unlikely to see elsewhere. See the full list by clicking on 2021 and beyond above.

In addition, for 2021, there will a Nostalgia Night. See next item.

We were able to show only two of the 12 films planned for 2020 – plus the January bonus film – so members will carry forward £20 of their £24 annual membership fee into 2021. And for every month we are unable to meet from April onwards, we will allow an extra £2 credit for the following year.

Meanwhile, many more titles have been added to the WFS free borrowing library, taking the total number of titles up to nearly 150. See WFS Library in the menu or above for details.

We look forward to seeing you after the intermission.

And in normal times ..

A welcome awaits you at Winchcombe Film Society. Membership costs just £24 pp for a full year of films, (or pro rata) normally on the last Friday of the month, with no further admission charge.

We meet at Abbey Fields, Back Lane, Winchcombe GL54 5QH. Members can enjoy a glass of wine at just £1.50 from 7pm before the 7.30 screening, or free tea, coffee and biscuits. Please come early. Limited parking is available.

After a short introduction, all films, even those in English, are shown with sub-titles if available. For a list of those shown over the past six years, click on Past films and ratings in the menu.

We try to make it easy to make friends, and socialise later at the nearby Corner Cupboard. For more details, click this link: Contact us .

New for next season

Nostalgia Night

Date to be decided

For the first time, Winchcombe Film Society will hold a Nostalgia Night on one of the Friday evenings during the coming season, whenever that might be.

We already have a short list of classic films to offer, and as soon as we have a re-opening date for screenings, we will provide you the members with a list of four, and ask you to choose just one of these Golden Oldies to be included in the programme, among the 12 other main films for the months ahead.

And to match the occasion, we’ll be offering drinks before the film at 1950s prices (but normal prices will apply at The Corner Cupboard later!) Extraverts may treat the occasion in suitable fashion.

We will contact everyone by email as soon as we can, and also update the website.

Coup 53

Film earns praise after

WFS world premiere

Winchcombe Film Society was one of only 20 venues in England to participate in the world premiere of Coup 53, about the CIA and MI6 overthrowing democracy in Iran in 1953, which was later chosen by the Washington Post as one of its five best documentaries of 2020.

The film, featuring Ralph Fiennes as a British spy, was released in the UK and US on 19 August, later featured on Channel 4 and positively reviewed by The Guardian and New York Times. Click on the titles to read the articles. It has also scored a remarkable 100% rating on the Rotten Tomatoes film fans’ website.

More than 30 watched the Winchcombe premiere, eliciting WFS’s greatest-ever number of comments. These included one from Jean C, who once lunched with the editor’s wife. ‘Gripping’, ‘fascinating’, ‘shocking’, ‘sobering’, ‘significant’ and ‘poignant’ were among the descriptions. ‘We’ve managed to interfere in just about every trouble-spot on the planet,’ wrote one member.

The last film shown at Abbey Fields was Cold war (Poland, 2018) in February 2020. Shot in black-and-white, and with a range of folk, classical and jazz music, its depiction of a love affair across the Iron Curtain won a 94% audience approval. For all past film ratings, click on the menu link.

Interview with director Paweł Pawlikowski on Poland’s film industry today: click here.

Love it? Loathe it? You can always email winchcombefilmsociety@gmail.com to have your views reported here after every film.