Behold, our brand new Spring 2022 programme is now out in all its glory!
With 43 films screening between July 25 and October 8 – including another 21 films featured across two film festivals – there’s bound to be something for everyone in this jam-packed season. We’ve got everything from the latest blockbusters (TOP GUN: MAVERICK, THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER) to foreign films (OFFICIAL COMPETITION, COMPARTMENT NO. 6), Australian fare (BLAZE, HOW TO PLEASE A WOMAN), beloved classics (STRICTLY BALLROOM, THE PRINCESS BRIDE) and even some films you won’t find elsewhere (WRITING WITH FIRE, WHERE THE WATER STARTS).
Check out the full line-up now either:
1. On our website with extended synopses and posters by CLICKING HERE
2. In a printer-friendly PDF flyer by CLICKING HERE
3. Imported directly into your calendar on your phone or computer by CLICKING HERE
4. Or you can pick up one of our new programme flyers at any screening from this week onwards.
Memberships for our next season are now available for purchase either in person at any screening or online at www.anufg.org.au/join. All Spring memberships purchased this week will also include entry into the remaining screenings of our current programme up to July 23.
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DO YOU NEED TO RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP?
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We’ve been receiving a number of enquiries lately about when memberships are due to expire. It may seem like a lifetime ago, but the majority of our current members first joined up or last renewed their membership in February 2020.
As a result of the free extensions granted due to the various COVID-19 related shutdowns over the past two years, those memberships are now due to expire this week at the end of our current season on July 23.
So if you’re in this cohort and would like to continue being a part of Australia’s biggest and best film society, be sure to renew your membership at your next screening. Renewing in person is a quick and simple process that takes mere minutes – just remember to bring your membership card with you and a credit or debit card for payment (no surcharges apply).
Alternatively, you can also renew your membership online at www.anufg.org.au/join but please note that online renewals may take 2-3 working days to be processed.
Not sure when your membership expires? Just send us an email to info@anufg.org.au with your membership number (located in the bottom right corner on the back of your card) and we’d be more than happy to let you know.
Where has the time gone? Even though the weather outside may disagree, this is the penultimate week of our Winter season – but fear not, we will be revealing our Spring 2022 programme next week!
Screening this week is the latest film from Oscar-wnning director Asghar Farhadi (A HERO), a French fantasy drama (PETITE MAMAN) and a British dramedy about refugees (LIMBO). Not to mention our 50th anniversary screening of one of the greatest films ever made, THE GODFATHER, which has regretfully taken on an added poignancy due to the passing of actor James Caan last week at age 82.
• THU 14 JULY @ 7:30 PM: A HERO (PG, 128 MINS)
A man is temporarily released from prison for two days in order to settle an unpaid debt, and uses this time to try to convince his creditor to withdraw his complaint against him, but things don't go as planned.
• FRI 15 JULY @ 7:30 PM: THE GODFATHER (MA, 175 MINS)
The ageing patriarch (Marlon Brando) of the Italian-American Corleone family makes preparations to cede control of his organised crime empire to his reluctant son (Al Pacino). The 50th anniversary of this Oscar-winning classic is an offer you can’t refuse!
• SAT 16 JULY @ **5 PM**: PETITE MAMAN (PG, 73 MINS)
An eight-year-old girl struggles to cope with the loss of her beloved maternal grandmother, until she forms a unique bond with a girl she meets in the nearby woods – who she soon discovers is a young version of her own mother.
• SAT 16 JULY @ 7:30 PM: LIMBO (M, 104 MINS)
Four asylum seekers staying on a remote island in Scotland undertake cultural awareness classes while awaiting the processing of their refugee claims, in this wry and poignant observation of the refugee experience.
There are only two films screening this week as we head into July and take a little break before the Kambri First Nations Film Festival kicks off next week. Don’t forget to check out the line-up – including THE DROVER’S WIFE, MY NAME IS GULPILIL and RABBIT-PROOF FENCE – and register ahead of time for your free tickets. More information can be found here: https://www.anufg.org.au/news/494
• THU 30 JUNE @ 7:30 PM: C’MON, C’MON (M, 100 MINS)
A radio journalist (Joaquin Phoenix) who travels the country interviewing children finds the tables turned when he is charged with looking after his obnoxious young nephew as they embark on a cross-country trip.
• FRI 1 JULY @ 7:30 PM: OPERATION MINCEMEAT (M, 127 MINS)
In 1943, two British intelligence officers (Colin Firth, Matthew Macfadyen) concoct a plan to drop a corpse carrying false papers off the coast of Spain to fool the Nazis into believing that Allied forces are planning to attack by way of Greece rather than Sicily.
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SEEKING NEW DOOR PERSON
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We are once again on the lookout for a door person to assist us at upcoming screenings. Door people are the smiling, friendly faces who greet you as you enter, scan your membership card as you enter the cinema.
If you're a current ANUFG member, are punctual, friendly, and would like to help us out with the fine art of scanning QR codes (something we’ve all had a lot of practice with over the past two years!), we would love to hear from you.
Please note that this is an unpaid volunteer position, but all door people receive a free ANUFG membership for the following season as a token of thanks upon completion of a required number of sessions.
Want to find out more? Please get in touch by emailing us at info@anufg.org.au
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WHAT’S ON THIS WEEK
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This week at the ANU Film Group, you can take a cinematic journey to Colombia, futuristic Japan, 1960s France as well as back in time for a celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s life.
• THU 23 JUNE @ 7:30 PM: HAPPENING (R, 99 MINS)
In 1963, a bright young French student faces an unwanted pregnancy and risks both her freedom and her future to fight for her right to have an abortion – despite the practice being outlawed in France at the time – in this award-winning drama.
• FRI 24 JUNE @ 7:30 PM: BELLE (PG, 121 MINS)
A high school student enters a virtual world and embarks on a quest to uncover the identity of a mysterious beast who's on the run from vigilantes, in this animated sci-fi take on Beauty and the Beast. Original Japanese version with English subtitles.
• SAT 25 JUNE @ **5 PM**: ELIZABETH: A PORTRAIT IN PART(S) (M, 89 MINS)
With unprecedented access to rare footage from the Royal Archives, this documentary is a truly cinematic celebration of the life of Queen Elizabeth II that reveals a unique glimpse of the woman behind the legend. Directed by Roger Michell.
• SAT 25 JUNE @ 7:30 PM: MEMORIA (PG, 136 MINS)
A Scottish orchid farmer (Tilda Swinton) is visiting her ill sister in Colombia when she awakens one night to a loud sound, and soon begins experiencing a mysterious sensory syndrome while traversing the country's jungles.
Over five nights this winter
– from Wednesday 6 to Sunday 10 July – Kambri at ANU will be hosting a free First Nations Film Festival, held in partnership with the ANU Film Group.
Timed to coincide with NAIDOC Week 2022, the Festival has been curated to celebrate and elevate the contributions and stories of First Nations creatives in the film industry. The screenings of these First Nations-focussed films, both old and new, form part of a wider Kambri First Nations Festival taking place across the precinct. Visit www.kambri.com.au for more information.
Entry to the festival is free and open to anyone to attend. No ANUFG membership is required, but registration is encouraged by CLICKING HERE
1. WEDNESDAY 6 JULY @ 7:30 PM – JEDDA (1955)
This landmark film was the first Australian feature to be shot in colour, and more importantly, the first to star Indigenous actors in leading roles. An Aboriginal orphan (Ngarla Kunoth) is adopted by a white family and finds herself trapped between two cultures.
2. THURSDAY 7 JULY @ 7:30 PM – RABBIT-PROOF FENCE (2002)
Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year is director Phillip Noyce’s powerful drama about the stolen generations. Based on the true story of three Aboriginal girls who, after being forcibly removed from their mothers in 1931, escaped from a mission settlement.
3. FRIDAY 8 JULY @ 7:30 PM – MY NAME IS GULPILIL (2021)
In 2017, David Gulpilil was diagnosed with lung cancer and given only six months to live. This intimate documentary charts his extraordinary life as he reminisces on a life bridging two cultures. It ultimately was his last performance before passing away in November 2021.
4. SATURDAY 9 JULY @ 7:30 PM – SWEET COUNTRY (2017)
In 1929 Alice Springs, when Aboriginal stockman Sam (Hamilton Morris) kills a white station owner in self-defence, he and his wife are forced to go on the run – pursued by a vengeance-fuelled posse intent on bringing Sam to justice one way or another.
5. SUNDAY 10 JULY @ 7:30 PM – THE DROVER’S WIFE: THE LEGEND OF MOLLY JOHNSON (2021)
In 1893, pregnant Molly Johnson (Leah Purcell) and her children struggle to survive in the absence of her drover husband. But that soon proves to be the least of her worries when unexpected visitors arrive, in this feminist reimagining of Henry Lawson’s classic Western.
It’s time to enter the multiverse this week at the ANU Film Group with one of the most acclaimed – and unexpected – films of the year, a return to Downton Abbey, a retro slasher and a 70th anniversary screening of a classic musical.
• THU 16 JUNE @ 7:30 PM: X (R, 106 MINS)
In 1979, a group of young filmmakers set out to make an adult film in a rural Texas farmhouse. But when their reclusive, elderly hosts catch them in the act, the cast quickly find themselves in a desperate fight for their lives.
• FRI 17 JUNE @ 7:30 PM: DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA (PG, 125 MINS)
In the 1930s, the residents of Downton Abbey – the Crawley family and their dedicated staff – embark on a grand new adventure to the South of France to uncover the mystery of the Dowager Countess' newly inherited villa.
• SAT 18 JUNE @ **5 PM**: SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN (G, 103 MINS)
What a glorious feeling to celebrate the 70th anniversary of this classic musical! In late 1920s Hollywood, three silent film stars find themselves caught up in the industry's monumental transition to "talking pictures".
• SAT 18 JUNE @ 7:30 PM: EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE (MA, 139 MINS)
A mild-mannered Chinese immigrant (Michelle Yeoh) being audited by the IRS must learn how to access the abilities of her alternate selves across infinite parallel universes in order to protect her family from a dangerous threat.
Speedy blue hedgehogs, romantic jungle adventures, the latest film from Paul Verhoeven (BASIC INSTINCT, ELLE) and an Oscar-nominated Bosnian drama all feature at the ANU Film Group this week!
• THU 9 JUNE @ 7:30 PM: QUO VADIS, AIDA? (M, 104 MINS)
In 1995, a schoolteacher working as a United Nations translator in a small Bosnian town is faced with an ethical dilemma when the Serbian army invades and takes over, displacing thousands of citizens including her own family. Presented in partnership with the Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• FRI 10 JUNE @ 7:30 PM: BENEDETTA (R, 131 MINS)
In the 17th century, a novice nun joins an Italian convent where she begins experiencing religious visions and becomes entangled in a forbidden lesbian affair with another nun, sending shockwaves throughout the church. Directed by Paul Verhoeven.
• SAT 11 JUNE @ **5 PM**: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 (PG, 122 MINS – NO GUESTS)
Sonic must team up with new allies and old friends on a globe-trotting
journey when the dastardly Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) returns accompanied by the evil Tails in search of a mysterious emerald that has the power to destroy entire civilisations.
• SAT 11 JUNE @ 7:30 PM: THE LOST CITY (M, 112 MINS)
A reclusive romance novelist (Sandra Bullock) stuck on a book tour with her handsome cover model (Channing Tatum) is kidnapped by an eccentric billionaire (Daniel Radcliffe) who believes she can lead him to an ancient city's lost treasure.
Winter has well and truly arrived as we enter the chilly month of June, but you can keep warm at the ANU Film Group with some terrific films on this week. Don’t miss Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren in a true-story caper, a classic Georgian film, and a pair of awe-inspiring documentaries including the latest from Canberra’s own Jennifer Peedom (MOUNTAIN).
• THU 2 JUNE @ 7:30 PM: REPENTANCE (PG, 153 MINS)
After the despotic mayor of a small Georgian town dies, his body is repeatedly unearthed and buried again in this critically acclaimed 1984 classic. Presented in partnership with the Embassy of Georgia in celebration of 30 years of Australian-Georgian diplomatic relations.
• FRI 3 JUNE @ 7:30 PM: THE DUKE (M, 95 MINS – NO GUESTS)
In 1961, a 60-year-old taxi driver (Jim Broadbent) steals Goya's portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London and holds it for ransom in return for more government care for the elderly. Based on the unbelievable true story.
• SAT 4 JUNE @ **5 PM**: RIVER (G, 75 MINS)
Willem Dafoe narrates this cinematic and musical odyssey that explores the remarkable relationship between humans and the rivers that have shaped our landscapes and our journeys throughout time. Directed by Jennifer Peedom (MOUNTAIN, SHERPA).
• SAT 4 JUNE @ 7:30 PM: BLIND AMBITION (M, 96 MINS)
Driven by relentless optimism and passion, four Zimbabwean refugees form their country's first-ever wine tasting team and set their sights on winning the coveted top prize at the international Wine Tasting Olympics in this crowd-pleasing, feel-good documentary.
Screening this week at the ANU Film Group is director Robert Eggers’ Viking epic (THE NORTHMAN), a tale of immigrant hardship (BLUE BAYOU), an action-packed Korean thriller (ESCAPE FROM MOGADISHU), a thought-provoking Hungarian romance (PREPARATIONS TO BE TOGETHER FOR AN UNKNOWN PERIOD OF TIME) and an intense British drama all played out in a single shot (BOILING POINT).
Plus, don’t forget to register to attend the National Reconciliation Week screenings being hosted by the ANU this long weekend, including GURRUMUL, MESSAGE FROM MUNGO and THE AUSTRALIAN DREAM.
• WED 25 MAY @ 7:30 PM: BOILING POINT (MA, 95 MINS)
On the busiest night of the year at London's hottest restaurant, a head chef (Stephen Graham) balances multiple personal and professional crises that threaten to destroy everything he's worked for – all playing out in one continuous shot.
• THU 26 MAY @ 7:30 PM: PREPARATIONS TO BE TOGETHER FOR AN UNKNOWN PERIOD OF TIME (M, 95 MINS)
A top neurosurgeon leaves her career behind in America and returns to Budapest to start a new life with the man she loves. But when she finally finds him, he claims that they have never met before. Presented in partnership with the Embassy of Hungary.
• FRI 27 MAY @ 7:30 PM: ESCAPE FROM MOGADISHU (MA, 121 MINS)
In 1991, after the outbreak of civil war leaves them stranded in Somalia, rival diplomats from the embassies of North Korea and South Korea must join forces to make a daring joint escape. Presented in partnership with the Embassy of the Republic of Korea.
• SAT 28 MAY @ **5 PM**: BLUE BAYOU (M, 117 MINS)
As a Korean-American man (writer-director Justin Chon) raised in the Louisiana bayou works hard to make a life for his family, he must face his past as he discovers that he could be deported from the only country he has ever called home.
• SAT 28 MAY @ 7:30 PM: THE NORTHMAN (MA, 137 MINS)
In Iceland at turn of the 10th century, a Viking prince-turned-warrior (Alexander Skarsgård) is guided by supernatural forces on a brutal mission of revenge against the man who murdered his father and kidnapped his mother (Nicole Kidman).
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‘DREYFUS DREI’ SCREENING ON JUNE 1
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The ANU School of Art and Design and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany are hosting a film screening of DREYFUS DREI on Wednesday 1 June at 7 pm in the Kambri Cinema.
Made by award-winning artist Dr Ella Dreyfus, who will also be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A, the film is a short documentary about family, identity, and the return of three generations of Jewish artists from Australia to Germany.
The screening will also be preceded by a reception at Badger & Co. in the Kambri precinct from 5:30 pm. More information, including a link to register for the event, can be found here:
https://www.anu.edu.au/events/dreyfus-drei-film-screening-reception-and-qa
This week’s ANU Film Group offerings include a sweeping musical romance (CYRANO), a buddy film about companionship and PTSD (DOG), a pulpy Polish western (MAGNESIUM), the Foo Fighters fighting supernatural forces (STUDIO 666) and an 80th anniversary screening of one of the best – and most quotable – films of all time (CASABLANCA).
We would also like to point out that STUDIO 666 is rated R18+ and we are legally only permitted to admit persons aged 18 or over to see the film. Photo ID may be required to verify your age, but please consider it a compliment if we ask you for it!
• TUE 17 MAY @ 7:30 PM: MAGNESIUM (120 MINS)
In the 1920s on the borderland between Poland and the USSR, two brothers plan to rob a rival crime family, which has recently been overtaken by a group of sisters following their father's death in this pulpy Polish Western. Presented in partnership with the Embassy of the Republic of Poland
• THU 19 MAY @ 7:30 PM: STUDIO 666 (R, 107 MINS)
After the Foo Fighters move into an old Californian mansion to record their new album, frontman Dave Grohl soon finds himself grappling with supernatural forces that threaten both the completion of the album and the lives of the band.
• FRI 20 MAY @ 7:30 PM: CYRANO (M, 123 MINS)
Joe Wright (ATONEMENT) directs this musical adaptation of Edmond Rostand's classic tale, in which a lovelorn poet (Peter Dinklage) is devastated when the beautiful Roxanne falls for another man, but decides to help his romantic rival win her heart.
• SAT 21 MAY @ **5 PM**: DOG (M, 101 MINS)
An army ranger (Channing Tatum) embarks on an impromptu road trip across the country in an attempt to make it to his fallen teammate's funeral on time – accompanied only by the late soldier's loyal but feral military working dog.
• SAT 21 MAY @ 7:30 PM: CASABLANCA (PG, 102 MINS)
Here’s looking at 80 years of this iconic, Oscar-winning 1942 classic in which an American expatriate (Humphrey Bogart) must decide whether to help his former lover (Ingrid Bergman) escape the Nazis during WWII.