The first films of our Autumn Season 2024 are some of the best arthouse films on the circuit this year. These seven films from seven countries range from the highly acclaimed adaptation of John McGahern’s novel That They May Face the Rising Sun to the very entertaining French movie The Crime is Mine, a story of murder, romance, blackmail and girl power, with a nod to the #metoo movement. In between we have Germany’s nomination for the 2024 Oscars The Teacher’s Lounge, where the school becomes a proxy for the cultural and ethical clashes of modern-day society. Rose is an absolute gem of a movie. Ellen brings her sister Inger, who is schizophrenic, on a holiday. The result is endearing, funny, sad, shocking, and feel good. I like Movies is for all of us who like movies – a charming coming-of-age story. Io Capitano is a film of deep compassion, capturing the tragedy, turmoil and overriding sense of hope that so many migrants experience. And Here is a film rooted in the practice of what it simply means to be present, finding connection as an immigrant with other people and places.
Check out the listings for the first seven screenings below.
Sligo Film Society, Sep - Oct 2024
19th September
That They May Face the Rising Sun
Director: Pat Collins
Cast: Barry Ward, Anna Bederke, Lalor Roddy, Sean McGinley.
Film info: 111 minutes, Ireland / UK, 2023, Cert: 12
Ireland, the 1970s. Joe and Kate Ruttledge return from London to live in a small rural community. They quickly become close friends with many of the older men and women living in the area. Over the course of a year, Joe and Kate grapple with major life decisions, while also witnessing their neighbours’ moments of joy, disappointment, conflict and loss. Based on John McGahern’s final novel and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Pat Collins (Song of Granite), That They May Face The Rising Sun is a beautifully bittersweet portrait of a very particular time and place. It’s a perfectly-observed slice of life – full of humour and warmth, while also tenderly reflecting on the people and traditions that Ireland has lost.
26th September
The Teacher’s Lounge
Director: İlker Çatak.
Cast: Leonie Benesch, Anne-Kathrin Gummich, Rafael Stachowiak.
Film info: 98 minutes, Germany, 2023, Cert: 12A
Carla Nowak (Leonie Benesch) is a newly appointed, very dedicated high school teacher. When one of her students is accused of theft, Carla decides to take the matter into her own hands, setting a trap for the ‘real’ thief. But her actions backfire and things begin to spiral out of control, pushing Carla to her limits. Forced to face the consequences of her own actions, her relationship with her students and colleagues begin to disintegrate. İlker Çatak misses nothing in his brilliantly observed drama. In this unsparing film, the school becomes a proxy for the cultural and ethical clashes of modern-day society, a microcosm in which the outside world no longer exists and nothing remains private
3rd October
Rose
Director: Niels Arden Oplev
Cast: Sofie Gråbøl, Lene Maria Christensen, Anders W
Berthelsen, Soren Malling
Film info: 106 minutes, Denmark, 2022, Cert: Club
Set in the late 90s, Ellen and her new husband Van decide to take Ellen’s older sister Inger on a bus trip to Paris where Inger once lived. Inger is schizophrenic, and lives in a care home coddled by her overprotective mother. Ellen sees their holiday as an opportunity to reconnect, and to find out if Inger might be able to live more independently. Inger herself has a hidden agenda for the trip: she hopes to track down a lost love. Rose is based on director Niels Arden Oplev’s own family history and is full of feeling. Sofie Gråbøl’s performance is the film’s highlight. She inhabits Inger, bringing her to life and presenting all her complications, impulses and anxiety with grace.
10th October
I Like Movies
Director: Chandler Levack
Cast: Isaiah Lehtinen, Romina D’Ugo, Krista Bridges, Percy Hynes White
Film info: 99 minutes, Canada, 2022, Cert: Club.
Burlington, Ontario, 2003. Socially inept 17-year-old cinephile Lawrence Kweller dreams of attending film school in New York City. To contribute to the hefty tuition fees, he gets a job at a video store, where he forms a complicated friendship with his older female manager. This warm, funny coming-of-age debut feature is based on director Chandler Levack’s own formative experiences.
17th October
Io Capitano
Director: Matteo Garrone
Cast: Seydou Sarr, Moustapha Fall, Issaka Sawagodo, Hichem Yacoubi
Film info: 121 mins. Italy / Belgium / France. 2023, Cert: 15A.
Seydou and Moussa – teenage cousins from Senegal – dream of a life as professional musicians in Europe. They disobey their parents’ wishes and run away from home, aiming for Italy. But their journey towards the Mediterranean Ocean proves more arduous and tragic than they could possibly have imagined – a journey of unscrupulous human traffickers, perilous desert crossings and devastating obstacles. Matteo Garrone directs this humanistic portrait of the migrant experience. In portraying the two boys’ dangerous journey in such detail, he asks the audience to directly confront a reality all too often relegated to impersonal headlines and political rhetoric. This is a film of deep compassion, capturing the tragedy, turmoil and overriding sense of hope that so many migrants experience.
24th October
Here
Director: Bas Devos
Cast: Stefan Gota, Liyo Gong, Cedric Luvuezo, Teodor Corban, Saadia Bentaïeb
Film Info: 82 minutes, Belgium, 2023, Cert: Club.
Stefan, a Romanian construction worker living in Brussels, is on the verge of moving back home. From the left overs in his fridge, he cooks up a big pot of soup as a goodbye gift to friends and family. Just as he is ready to go, he meets a young Belgian-Chinese woman who helps her aunt in a little restaurant while preparing for a doctorate on mosses, and a tentative friendship emerges. Bas Devos has crafted a film rooted in the practice of what it simply means to be present, finding connection as an immigrant with people and places. It is a film that blurs the boundaries between dreams and reality, creating a work of uncommon warmth, delicacy, and true wonder.
31st October
The Crime is Mine
Director: François Ozon
Cast: Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Rebecca Marder, Isabelle Hubbert,
Fabrice Luchini, Dany Boon
Film Info: 102 minutes, France, 2023, Cert: TBC.
In 1930s Paris, aspiring actress Madeleine is accused of murdering a lecherous producer. Seeing an opportunity for her to finally find fame, she and her lawyer friend Pauline come up with a scheme – she will plead guilty! All goes to plan: Madeleine is acquitted on the grounds of self-defence, and she and Pauline start a new life filled with celebrity and wealth. But then the real murderer comes forward. Featuring well-known French stars Isabelle Huppert, Fabrice Luchini and Dany Boon, alongside relative newcomers Nadia Tereszkiewicz and Rebecca Marder, all of whom are clearly enjoying themselves, this latest from François Ozon (Frantz, Potiche, 8 Women) is a fun, period caper, but with a sly feminist bite.
