<img src='' title='Event Category: Film' alt='' id='templ_icon_' width='' height='' /> Event Category: Film

We would love you to join us for this once a month opportunity for adult members of the community to come together for fun, camaraderie, learning, sharing food and film.

Each month in the Bonington Theatre, we will meet at 10.30am for a 2-hour exploration workshop (discussions, exercises, some role play and improvisation for those brave enough!) examining the themes, context, characters, ideas and plot of a particular film. There will be a light buffet style lunch, teas and coffees before watching the film at 1.30pm. The event should finish 3.00pm – 3.30pm depending on the length of the film.

Tuesday 17^th December – Wicked (PG)

Wicked, the untold story of the witches of Oz, stars Emmy, Grammy and Tony winning powerhouse Cynthia Erivo (Harriet, Broadway’s The Color Purple) as Elphaba, a young woman, misunderstood because of her unusual green skin, who has yet to discover her true power, and Grammy-winning, multi-platinum recording artist and global superstar Ariana Grande as Glinda, a popular young woman, gilded by privilege and ambition, who has yet to discover her true heart.

The two meet as students at Shiz University in the fantastical Land of Oz and forge an unlikely but profound friendship. Following an encounter with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads and their lives take very different paths. Glinda’s unflinching desire for popularity sees her seduced by power, while Elphaba’s determination to remain true to herself, and to those around her, will have unexpected and shocking consequences on her future. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfil their destinies as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.

Directed by Jon M. Chu
With Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande
N.B. The film is 160 mins (TBC) so will finish at 4.10pm

Singers Bob Wallace (Bing Crosby) and Phil Davis (Danny Kaye) join sister act Betty (Rosemary Clooney) and Judy Haynes (Vera-Ellen) to perform a Christmas show in rural Vermont. There, they run into Gen. Waverly (Dean Jagger), the boys’ commander in World War II, who, they learn, is having financial difficulties; his quaint country inn is failing. So what’s the foursome to do but plan a yuletide miracle: a fun-filled musical extravaganza that’s sure to put Waverly and his business in the black.

Directed by Michael Curtiz
With Bing Crosby
2hrs | US 1954

Conclave follows one of the world’s most secretive and ancient events – selecting the new Pope. Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with running this covert process after the unexpected death of the beloved Pope. Once the Catholic Church’s most powerful leaders have gathered from around the world and are locked together in the Vatican halls, Lawrence uncovers a trail of deep secrets left in the dead Pope’s wake, secrets which could shake the foundations of the Church.

Guardian ★★★★ Times ★★★★ Metro ★★★★

Nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor (Ralph Fiennes) and Best Supporting Actress (Isabella Rossellini)

Directed by Edward Berger
With Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini
2hrs // US 2024

Despite a November released in the US, we had to wait until January 2024 for The Holdovers, robbing this instant Christmas classic of its rightful place. So we’re bringing it back for a festive screening, with a complimentary gourmet Christmas cob! Vegan and vegetarian options will be available

From acclaimed director Alexander Payne, The Holdovers follows a curmudgeonly instructor (Paul Giamatti) at a New England prep school who is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker (newcomer Dominic Sessa) — and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam (Da’Vine Joy Randolph).

“Hilarious and heartfelt, it’s a tale to be treasured” Empire ★★★★★

Guardian ★★★★ Times ★★★★ Telegraph ★★★★

Nominated for 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor (Paul Giamatti) and Best Supporting Actress (Da’Vine Joy Randolph)

Winner of 1 Academy Award – Best Supporting Actress (Da’Vine Joy Randolph)

Directed by Alexander Payne
With Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa, Da’Vine Joy Randolph
2hrs 10 mins // US 2023

*Food will be served from 6.30pm. The film will start at 7.30pm

After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she’s ever faced. Walt Disney Animation Studios’ epic animated musical Moana 2 reunites Moana (Auli‘i Cravalho) and Maui (Dwayne Johnson) for an expansive new voyage alongside a crew of unlikely seafarers.

“An exhilarating, romping sequel with songs that put Wicked to shame” Telegraph ★★★★

Directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller
Voiced by Auli‘i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson
1hr 40 mins // US 2024

Acclaimed Academy-award winning filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar (Parallel Mothers, Pain & Glory, Volver, Bad Education) returns with his first ever English language film, The Room Next Door.

Ingrid (Julianne Moore) and Martha (Tilda Swinton) were close friends in their youth, when they worked together at the same magazine. Ingrid went on to become an autofiction novelist while Martha became a war reporter, and they were separated by the circumstances of life. After years of being out of touch, they meet again in an extreme but strangely sweet situation.

Guardian ★★★★ Times ★★★★ Total Film ★★★★ BBC ★★★★

Directed by Pedro Almodóvar
With Julianne Moore, Tilda Swinton
1hr 47 mins // SPA 2024

In 1960, sixteen newly independent African countries enter the United Nations. Congo becomes the arena in which the battle over the UN is fought. As Nikita Khrushchev pounds his shoe at the UN-top in reaction to the neo-colonial grab of the resources of newly independent Congo, UN delegates from African Countries are blackmailed. In an incredulous twist Patrice Lumumba’s assassination unites the Afro-Asian block, demanding the UN General Assembly to vote for immediate worldwide decolonisation. In this highly explosive context, the United States government dispatches Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, and Nina Simone as Jazz Ambassadors around the world – as a diversion from CIA-backed coups.

“Superb study of how jazz got caught between the cold war and the CIA” ★★★★★ Observer

“Johan Grimonprez’s fascinating documentary suggests that the US used jazz legend Louis Armstrong in a ‘cool war’ offensive to assassinate Patrice Lumumba” ★★★★ Guardian

Soundtrack to a Coup d’État review: coup for cats | Sight and Sound (bfi.org.uk)

Directed by Johan Grimonprez
2hr 30 mins // BEL / FRA / NLD

This event has been cancelled due to the weather. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. Please get in touch with the box office on 0115 901 3640 for more information

Wicked, the untold story of the witches of Oz, stars Emmy, Grammy and Tony winning powerhouse Cynthia Erivo (Harriet, Broadway’s The Color Purple) as Elphaba, a young woman, misunderstood because of her unusual green skin, who has yet to discover her true power, and Grammy-winning, multi-platinum recording artist and global superstar Ariana Grande as Glinda, a popular young woman, gilded by privilege and ambition, who has yet to discover her true heart.

The two meet as students at Shiz University in the fantastical Land of Oz and forge an unlikely but profound friendship. Following an encounter with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads and their lives take very different paths. Glinda’s unflinching desire for popularity sees her seduced by power, while Elphaba’s determination to remain true to herself, and to those around her, will have unexpected and shocking consequences on her future. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfil their destinies as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.

“A thrillifying film adaptation” ★★★★★ Total Film

“Wicked’s phenomenal film adaptation is miles better than the stage musical” ★★★★★ Metro

★★★★ Guardian ★★★★ Empire ★★★★ Times

Directed by Jon M. Chu
With Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande
Run-time TBC | US 2024

Oscar winner Cillian Murphy delivers a stunning performance as devoted father Bill Furlong in this film based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Claire Keegan. While working as a coal merchant to support his family, he discovers disturbing secrets kept by the local convent — and uncovers truths of his own — forcing him to confront his past and the complicit silence of a small Irish town controlled by the Catholic Church.

“Cillian Murphy is astounding” The i ★★★★★

★★★★ Guardian ★★★★ Telegraph ★★★★ Times

Directed by Tim Mielants
With Cillian Murphy, Emily Watson
1hr 38 mins // UK 2024