All films are shown at 7.30pm, at Abbey Fields Community Centre, Back Lane, Winchcombe GL54 5QH, usually on the last Friday of the month, with refreshments served from 7.00pm.
All these films, and many more, are now available for free loan from the WFS library (see menu). Click on any titles in red to go straight to more information and a trailer for the film, eg for Blackkklansman.
Thursday 3 January 2019: Lion (1hr 58m)
In 1986, Saroo was a five-year-old child in India of a poor but happy rural family. On a trip with his brother, Saroo soon finds himself alone and trapped in a moving decommissioned passenger train that takes him to Calcutta, 1000 miles away from home. He survives many challenges before being adopted by an Australian family. 25 years later he sets off to find his lost family. The film is based on true events. Starring Dev Patel as the older Saroo, and Nicole Kidman as his Australian foster mother.
Friday 25 January: The Fencer (1hr 39m)
Fleeing from the Russian secret police, a young Estonian fencer is forced to return to his homeland where he becomes a physical education teacher at a local school. The past, however, catches up with him and he has to choose between letting his students down or putting his life in danger. The movie is partially based on the real life story of an Estonian fencer Endel Nelis (1925-1993). The film was the official Finnish entry for the 2016 Best Foreign Film Oscars.
Friday 22 February: Loving Vincent (1hr 34m)
Depicted in an animation of 65,000 oil-painted canvases, a young man comes to the last hometown of Vincent van Gogh to deliver the troubled artist’s final letter. However, as Armand digs further, he comes to realize that Vincent’s troubled life is as much a matter of interpretation as his paintings and there are no easy answers for a man whose work and tragedy would only be truly appreciated in the future. The film, Best Animation winner (Berlin Festival 2017), includes many scenes familiar from Vincent’s pictures.
Friday 29 March: Hidden Figures (2hrs 7m)
As the United States raced Russia to put a man in space three female African-American mathematicians, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson and Katherine Gobels Johnson overcame prejudice, crossing gender, race, and professional lines to play a vital role in the work of NASA and establish themselves as heroes.
Friday 26 April: Julieta (1hr 39m)
After a casual encounter in the street, a broken-hearted mother, Julieta (Emma Suarez), confronts the truth behind her estrangement from her daughter. She cancels a planned trip in the hope that Antia someday communicates with her sending a letter and starts to write her memories. The film, directed by Pedro Almodóvar is based on three short stories from the book Runaway by Alice Munro
Friday 31 May: Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool (1hr 45m)
Romance sparks between a young actor from a working-class background and a Hollywood leading lady, based on the true story of the aging Oscar-winning American actress Gloria Grahame. Ultimately, they find that they must each come to terms with whatever fate they face in the future whether they are together or apart. Starring Annette Bening and Jamie Bell.
Friday 28 June: Fargo (1hr 38m)
The Coen Brothers’ classic black comedy thriller: Car dealer Jerry (William H. Macey) hires two hapless criminals to kidnap his wife for ransom from her wealthy father. From the moment of the kidnapping, things go wrong and what was supposed to be a non-violent affair turns bloody. eEnter Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand), the pregnant sheriff from Brainerd, who is tenacious in attempting to solve three murders in her jurisdiction.
Friday 26 July: Bonus film Rebels (1hr 49m):
A retromovie set in the Prague spring of 1968 with lovers, student Tereza and army deserter Simon, and a planned escape to the West. It’s about romance, politics and Top-of-the-Pops Eastern European style, and what it means to be young. After success of the movie, Rebels (Rebelové in Czech) made it to stage as musical.
Friday 23 August: Bonus film Run Lola, Run (1hr 17m):
Lola (played by Franka Potente in her first major role) has 20 minutes to save the life of her lover by stealing 100kDM to replace the gangland loot he lost. The film shows three versions of her desperate bid. Can she succeed? This 1998 German experimental film won no less than 28 awards and was nominated for a Bafta.
Friday 27 September: The Light Between Oceans (2hrs 13m)
A childless lighthouse keeper and his wife living off the coast of Western Australia rescue a baby from a drifting rowing boat whose other occupant has died, and decide to raise her rather than have her go to an orphanage. Years later, they find her real mother. It’s one of those gripping films that will leave you debating what you would have done in the circumstances.
Friday 25 October: Blackkklansman (2hrs 15m) Cert 15
Ron Stallworth (played by John David Washington), the first black police officer in Colorado Springs, is assigned to work in the records room, where he faces racial slurs from colleagues. He requests a transfer to go undercover, and manages to infiltrate the local Ku Klux Klan branch with the help of a Jewish surrogate who eventually becomes its leader. Based on actual events. Spike Lee’s film won an Oscar in 2018 for its screenplay.
Friday 29 November: Land of Mine (1hr 40m) Cert 15
(Winchcombe Film Society AGM at 7.15pm)
In post World War II Denmark, a group of young German POWs are forced to clear a beach of thousands of land mines by hand under the supervision of a tough Danish sergeant whose hate for Germans gradually subsides as he begins to care about the horrific fate of these child soldiers.
MONDAY 16 December: The man who invented Christmas (1hr 44m, cert PG)
In 1843 Charles Dickens is at a low point in his career with three flops behind him and his family expenses piling up at home. Determined to recover, he decides to write a Christmas story and self-publish it in less than two months. The story became ‘A Christmas Carol,’ a timeless tale that would redefine Christmas. Starring Dan Stevens as Dickens and Christopher Plummer as Scrooge.
Winchcombe Film Society 