Passages
Celebrated filmmaker Ira Sachs (Love is Strange) makes a breathtaking return with
Passages
(2023), a fresh, honest and brutally funny take on messy, modern
relationships starring Franz Rogowski, Ben Whishaw and
Adèle Exarchopoulos. Set in Paris, this seductive drama tells the
story of Tomas (Rogowski) and Martin (Whishaw), a gay couple whose
marriage is thrown into crisis when Tomas begins a passionate affair with
Agathe (Exarchopoulos), a younger woman he meets after completing his
latest film.
Perceptive, intimate and unashamedly sexy, Passages (2023)
sees Sachs bridge his usually tender style with a uniquely European
sensibility, providing an insightful and authentic take on the
complexities, contradictions and cruelties of love and desire.
Split Scream: Meta-Horrors
Playing with the idea of what is natural, meta-horrors go beyond
traditional horror storytelling, using self-reflexivity to comment on the
nature of horror narratives, audience expectations, and the conventions of
the genre itself. Drew Goddard's
The Cabin in The Woods (2011) plays true to this and
deconstructs horror movie conventions with its satirical take on the genre,
blending comedy, horror and self-awareness as five college friends arrive in
a remote forest and fall victim to backwoods zombies. Also arriving this
October is Hideo Nakata's
Ring
(1998), which sounded the arrival of one of the most fertile scenes in
modern horror cinema, and Joe Dante's comedy-horror
Matinee (1993), which sees John Goodman star as a
horror director who finds the thrills of his monster-populated film
competing with the chills of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Do You Like Scary Movies?
Teenage friends vacationing at an isolated house in the woods. Characters
driving past police investigating a blatantly foreshadowing crime scene. A
wailing cat jumping from the shadows. A loving parody of teen horror,
Rolfe Kanefsky's There's Nothing Out There (1991) was
arguably the blueprint for the 1990s' wave of self-aware, darkly comic
genre films.
Decades later, Charlie Shackleton's Copycat (2015)
sees director Kanefsky reflect on what happened with his indie debut's
brush with Hollywood revisiting the story of the cult classic that never
was.
Cut to Black: Celebrating Black Cinema
A celebration of Black talent in cinema, both in front of and behind the
camera, the titles in this series bear witness to the incredible wealth of
Black artistry, vibrantly present in an eclectic range of works. From
acclaimed classics to hidden treasures, social critiques to genre pleasures,
these films powerfully articulate the struggles, resilience, and joy
experienced by the Black community around the world. They speak to the lived
realities and the significance of representation in the arts. Honoring the
inimitable artists who have enriched our screens, this selection of
distinctive achievements in film looks to the past, reflects the present,
and gestures to the future of cinema.
Nerves of Steel: Jamie Lee Curtis
Who better to spotlight this October than the ultimate scream queen,
Jamie Lee Curtis. Known for her iconic roles in horror films, Curtis
has left an indelible mark on the genre ever since her breakout role as
Laurie Strode in John Carpenter's
Halloween
(1978). The film follows Laurie as she becomes the target of the relentless
and seemingly unstoppable killer Michael Myers, who escapes from a mental
institution and returns to his hometown on Halloween night. Also streaming
as part of this special double bill is Kathryn Bigelow's
psychological thriller Blue Steel (1990), which turns a
male-oriented genre upside down in this gripping policier by putting a
female cop in the lead.
Neo-Westerns: A New Frontier
Turning conventions on their heads, neo-westerns venture into fresh
landscapes, delve into darker themes and introduce us to intricately
crafted characters. By seamlessly blending modern with old, coupled with
stunning visuals and distinct narratives, the films in this special offer
unique perspectives on a classic genre.
From the adrenaline-fueled chase of
The Good, The Bad, The Weird (Kim Jee-woon, 2008), to
the intimate tale of frontier survival in
First Cow
(Kelly Reichardt, 2019) and the surreal battle for a Brazilian
village in
Bacurau
(Kleber Mendonça Filho, Juliano Dornelles, 2019), each film is
powerfully resonating and offers audiences an immersive journey into the
heart of these Neo-Western worlds.
