Author Archives: filmonsundayadmin

One Way to Denmark

Showing: 18th December 2022

An unemployed, unskilled and bored Welshman has one goal – to travel to Denmark, get himself arrested and sent to prison where, according to a YouTube video he has seen, the beds are warm and the water is hot. This heart-warming comedy comes from the award-winning team behind Hinterland.

Year: UK 2020
Director: Adrian Shergold
Cast: Rafe Spall, Simone Lykke, Thomas Gabrielsson
Language: English
Duration: 91 Minutes
Cert: 15

Olga

Showing: 8th January 2023

A moving drama about Olga, a young Ukrainian gymnast in Switzerland, working to secure a place at the country’s National Sports Centre. When the Euromaiden civil unrest begins in Ukraine with large protests in Kyiv, anxieties rise as her family gets involved.

Year: Switzerland 2022
Director: Elie Grappe
Cast: Anastasiia Budiashkina, Sabrina Rubtsova
Language: Ukranian
Duration: 87 Minutes
Cert: 15

Summer of Soul

Showing: 22nd January 2023

A powerful and transporting documentary celebrating Black history, culture and fashion. The Harlem Cultural Festival was filmed over the course of six weeks in the summer of 1969, but the footage was mostly unused for 50 years. Includes never-before-seen performances by Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly & the Family Stone, Gladys Knight & the Pips and more.

Year: US 2021
Director: Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
Cast: performances by Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone & more
Language: English
Duration: 118 Minutes
Cert: 12

Parallel Mothers

Showing: 5th February 2023

Janis and Ana are both single and became pregnant by accident. They bond in hospital, waiting to give birth, and due to a chance occurrence some time later, their relationship is rekindled. This moving film celebrates the courage of the new mothers, set against a background of fallout from the Spanish Civil War.

Year: Spain 2021
Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Cast: Penélope Cruz, Milena Smit
Language: Spanish
Duration: 123 Minutes
Cert: 12

Shiva Baby

Showing: 19th February 2023

Danielle is an ex-college student who attends a Jewish funeral service with her parents, where she is horrified to find not only her sugar Daddy, but an ex-girlfriend with whom she might still be in love. The black comedy is the debut feature from 25-year-old writer-director Emma Seligman.

Year: US 2021
Director: Emma Seligman
Cast: Rachel Sennott, Molly Gordon, Polly Draper
Language: English
Duration: 77 Minutes
Cert: 15

Hive

Showing: 5th March 2023

Based on a true story, this feminist drama follows single mother Fahrije, whose husband is still missing seven years after the war. To make ends meet, she starts a business making ajvar, a condiment of roasted red peppers, but has to confront the strictly patriarchal views of the men. The village women come together to work through their loss, healing and journey to freedom.

Year: Kosovo 2021
Director: Blerta Basholli
Cast: Yllka Gashi, Çun Lajçi and Aurita Agushi
Language: Albanian
Duration: 86 Minutes
Cert: 15

Playground

Showing: 19th March 2023

When seven year old Nora witnesses her older brother Abel being bullied by children at school, she rushes to protect him. But Abel forces her to remain silent. She tells their father and soon finds herself the victim of bullying as well. An empathetic portrait of the cruelty of children, and the failure of adults to protect them.

Year: Belgium 2021
Director: Laura Wandel
Cast: Maya Vanderbeque, Günter Duret, Lena Girard Voss
Language: French
Duration: 72 Minutes
Cert: 15

First Cow

Showing: Showing: 9th January 2022

Two travellers, running from a group of fur trappers in Oregon in 1820s Northwest USA, dream of striking it rich. However, their fragile plan to make their fortune on the frontier relies on somebody else’s dairy cow.

Year: USA 2019
Director: Kelly Reichardt
Cast: Alia Shawkat, John Magaro, Toby Jones
Language: English
Duration: 122 Minutes
Cert: 12

Faces Places

Showing: Showing: 23rd January 2022

Nominated for an Oscar, this film follows
Agnes Varda and street artist JR as they travel through rural France taking photographic portraits of local people and pasting them to buildings. Their unlikely friendship and collaboration produces surprisingly moving results.

Year: France 2017
Director: Agnes Varda, JR
Cast: Amaury Bossy, Yves Boulen
Language: French, Spanish
Duration: 90 Minutes
Cert: 12

The Chambermaid

Showing: Showing: 6th February 2022

Eve is good at her job, attends adult education classes and leaves her son with a neighbour while she works. This debut film by former actor Lila Avilés is a beautifully quiet exploration of a hotel chambermaid in one of Mexico City’s most luxurious hotels.

Year: Mexico 2019
Director: Lila Avilés
Cast: Gabriela Cartol, Teresa Sanchez
Language: French, Spanish
Duration: 98 Minutes
Cert: 15