T H U R S D A Y 2 8 S E P T E M B E R -
W E D N E S D A Y 0 4 O C T O B E R 2 0 2 3
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The Wellington Film Society Embassy, 6.15pm Monday 2 October:
THE GRAVEDIGGER'S WIFE Khadar Ayderus Ahmed | Djibouti | 2021.
Somali-born film-maker Khadar Ayderus Ahmed (who lives and works in Finland, the country he came to as a refugee in his teen years) has had a deserved festival success with this debut feature, set in Djibouti. It's a gentle, humorous film in Africa's quietist cinema tradition with grace notes of irony and wit. Guled, a gravedigger, lives with his wife Nasra and young son... But when his wife is diagnosed with a serious kidney illness, needing an emergency operation costing $5,000, Guled is struck with a sickening realisation, never explicitly spelled out, as to whose grave he might be digging next...
- Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian.
Anyone can join the Film Society at any time on line.
Film Festivals to note:
Show Me Shorts Film Festival 2023 12 - 18 October. Opening night at the Embassy, balance at Lighthouse Cuba. Programmes out now, available from the venues - or check the website.
British and Irish Film Festival 2023 19 October - 1 November. Embassy, all Lighthouse and Penthouse. Programes out now. Bookings open.
Italian Film Festival 2023 24 October - 12 November. Embassy, with some screenings at the Roxy. Programmes out now, available from the venues - or check the website. A couple of retrospective films included: La Strada and Blow Up.
If you have a festival due to run in Wellington and it's not listed here, contact the Cinemaster.
This site relies on the various cinemas having their own websites up to date to access their screening times.
The paragraphs describing the films starting this week are in most cases adapted from the linked reviews.
For comments and movie news, contact the Cinemaster at
filmster@gmail.com.
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s t a r t s t h i s w e e k!
THE CREATOR -
This colossal sci-fi thriller from Gareth Edwards is an old-fashioned science-fiction actioner with some ideas to match the state-of-the-art digital effects. It's an intriguing, stimulating, exhilarating movie, which really does address - with both head and heart - the great issue of our age, AI.There's a tremendous boldness here and a readiness to conjure up an entire created universe.
Also Penthouse, Roxy, Lighthouse, Queensgate, Monterey, Reading and Coastlands.
STYLEBENDER -
Director Zoe McIntosh's take on the fighting icon that is Israel Adesanya purports to be an intimate look at the UFC champion, but early on nearly wobbles in the ring before going on to be something that's more about the need for companionship and brotherhood.
Also Queensgate, Monterey, Reading and Coastlands.
THE TASTING -
This full-bodied rom-com tells the tale of bear-with-a-sorehead Jacques who, despite numerous obstacles, finds true love in unexpected quarters thanks to Hortense, a woman with her own set of issues. From the French Film Festival.
Also Lighthouse and Shoreline.
UPROAR -
A young Maori teen, Josh (Julian Dennison) is trying to find his place both in his studies and his heritage, constantly caught between two worlds.The push and pull between the arts and sports world mirrors the conflict Josh feels in not having a connection to his Maori roots. This becomes so much more than a 'teen' film. It's a complex search for self on both an individual and a national scale. Advance screenings this weekend.
Also Lighthouse, Queensgate, Monterey and Coastlands.
SAW X -
No reviews yet. The film aims to capture the gritty feel of the early movies in the franchise, with the director and cinematographer working hard to recapture the "scuzzy and gritty" aesthetic. The movie was made as a thank you to the fans who have supported the franchise.
Also Monterey, Reading and Coastlands.
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