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Welcome

The Friends of the Hyde Park Picture House is a registered charity made up of a group of people who enjoy cinema and feel some way connected to the Hyde Park Picture House. We want as many, and as wide a range of people as possible to be able to experience the same enjoyment through it that we do.

We are now accepting renewals and new members for our 2023 ‘Pay What You Decide’ membership scheme. To find out more follow these links to How To Join, Changes To Memberships and Frequently Asked Questions.

The Picture House have also launched their own membership schemes.

Latest Posts

Indian Food & Films At Heart: Bride & Prejudice

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Friday 24th May – Headingley Enterprise and Arts Centre

A movie poster for "Bride & Prejudice" featuring a couple standing back-to-back in the foreground, with a festive crowd and a cityscape in the background.
1hr 51min//Certificate 12A/2004

The next film and food session at Heart is Bride and Prejudice directed by the award winning Gurinder Kaur Chadha.

An update of Jane Austen’s classic tale, in which Mrs. Bakshi is eager to find suitable husbands for her four unmarried daughters. When the rich single gentlemen Balraj and Darcy come to visit, the Bakshis have high hopes, though circumstance and boorish opinions threaten to get in the way of romance…

  • 6.30pm: Food: delicious vegan Indian food from the HEART Assembly Bar and Kitchen
  • 7.15pm: Introduction: Gurj Kang
  • 7.30pm: Film: BRIDE and PREJUDICE

Tickets £12 available from HEART reception and online (includes food and film).

The Afterlight (UK 2021)

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This is a compilation film of film fragments on a 35mm black and white and academy ratio print. There are hundreds of brief sequences: some repeated: some silent: some with sound: in fourteen or so different languages: mostly with English subtitles: and featuring stars and actors from nearly all the substantive cinemas. It runs 82 minutes. This is the only 35mm print, so it will gradually acquire the scars of projection; there are no other prints or alternative versions.

This is the idea of Charlie Shackleton, who researched, produced, directed and edited the film. His earlier titles include Beyond Clueless (2014) which features over 200 extracts from ‘teen movies’ and the extremely unusual Paint Drying (2023), a ten hour salvo at the BBFC. Robbie Ryan contributed on cinematography and Jeremy Warmsley provided a musical accompaniment. To date there have been 44 screenings. Nitrate and safety film stock have a shelf life of over a hundred years; far longer than more recent moving image formats. But the screenings have taken place in numerous and different venues. So the screening may have acquired some of the familiar features of older 35mm prints, such as scratches and other marks. But the print will retain the characteristics of the original format of the films featured.

The extracts in the film range across nearly all the territories of world cinema. They include familiar faces and rather rarer characters. All the extracts are from earlier than 1960, so all the visible participants are dead. The extracts are arranged by genres, themes and tropes.

Viewing the film is rather like a visit to a museum, perhaps a set of ghostly encounters, or an elegiac journey through cinema. Many of the extracts are recognisable but some will likely only be recognised by cinephiles with a extensive range of international film viewing. One can puzzle over the extracts, their order and their sources. One can watch the changing palettes with some extracts in pretty good condition and some showing the wear and tear of long screening journeys.

Whichever response this is a welcome and impressive selection. It is constantly of interest and pleasure and occasional mystery. Since the print will gradually  succumb to age and running through various projectors it is worth seeing at the earliest opportunity. Happily it screens at the Hyde Park Picture House on May 12th, with the director present.

La Chimera (2024)

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Arthur (Josh O'Conner) in a beige suit examining a classical sculpture

Screening daily from Friday 10th May

Get ready for a mesmerizing journey into the heart of Italy’s enchanting landscapes and buried secrets with Alice Rohrwacher’s captivating film, “La Chimera.”

Set in 1980s Tuscany, “La Chimera” follows the lovelorn Englishman Arthur, portrayed with tremendous depth by Josh O’Connor. A former archaeological scholar turned tomb raider, Arthur’s quest to reunite with his lost love, Beniamina, takes viewers on an adventurous journey between the living and the dead.

As Arthur explores Italy’s ancient culture, viewers are treated to a charming fantasy-comedy filled with lively characters, funny moments, and a heartfelt look at love and longing. Rohrwacher’s unique style brings Italy’s past to life, blending ancient greatness with modern-day desires.

With its vibrant setting and compelling storyline, “La Chimera” promises to be a film teeming with life. From the bustling streets of Riparbella to the squalid shantytowns hidden in the hills, audiences will be drawn into a world of eccentric characters and playful chaos.

Featuring stellar performances from a talented cast, including Isabella Rossellini and Carol Duarte, “La Chimera” is a testament to Rohrwacher’s skill as a filmmaker. With its whimsical, fable-like sense of enchantment, this film invites viewers to explore the depths of love, loss, and the timeless pursuit of buried treasures.

Don’t miss your chance to embark on this unforgettable cinematic journey. Screening from 10th May at Hyde Park Picture House, “La Chimera” is a film you won’t want to miss.

Chifae Maouelainine

Love Lies Bleeding (2024)

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A Steamy, Brutal Thriller Bringing us Back to 1989 America

Two women (Katy O'Brian and Kristen Steward) in athletic gear talking intently in a gym with motivational banners in the background.

Screening daily from Friday 3rd May
Limited seats for a preview screening Wednesday 1st May

Rose Glass, the mastermind behind the socially in-depth thriller Saint Maud (also screening in Screen 2 at 6pm on Wednesday 1st and Thursday 2nd May), returns with her second feature film, Love Lies Bleeding. The film, which had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, promises to be a thrilling and nostalgic journey taking us back to 1989 America.

Set in a remote desert town in New Mexico, the film follows the tumultuous relationship between Lou, a reclusive gym manager with ties to a crime family, and Jackie, an ambitious bodybuilder with dreams of making it big in Las Vegas. Played by Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian, respectively, the two women find themselves drawn into a world of violence and deception as they navigate the dangerous web of Lou’s criminal family.

Directed by Rose Glass and co-written with Weronika Tofilska (director on Netflix’s Baby Reindeer), it promises to be a steamy and brutal thriller that explores the dark side of love and ambition. With an ensemble cast that includes Jena Malone, Anna Baryshnikov, Dave Franco, and Ed Harris, the film is sure to keep audiences on the edge of their seats.

Love Lies Bleeding has already gained strong reviews, with critics praising Glass’s uncompromising vision and the film’s electrifying performances. While some may find the frenetic final act to be a bit overwhelming, there’s no denying that this is a bold and ambitious piece of filmmaking that confirms Glass as a major talent to watch.

Chifae Maouelainine

Io Capitano (2023)

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Multiple screenings until Thursday 18th April

This is a joint co-production from Italy, France and Belgium. Starting in Africa it follows the trail taken by African migrants attempting to reach Europe and the ‘better life’ it seems to offer. It was written and directed by Matteo Garrone. His previous movies include Gomorrah (2008) and Dogman (2018). Both these dramas were set in Italy and presented powerful but often violent stories. For this new project Garrone worked with several scriptwriters: utilised stories by African writers: and accounts of Africans who had made the journey across the Mediterranean.

The movie opens in Dakar in Senegal where two teenage boys, Seydou (Seydou Sarr) and Moussa (Moustapha Fall), still officially at school, secretly plan to attempt this odyssey. More than one critic has described the cinematic journey as ‘Homeric’. Obtaining forged passports they travel though Mali, Niger, across the Sahara and into Libya. They are exploited by the smugglers and border military. They are violently abused both by criminal gangs and the soldiers. What little help they receive comes from fellow travelers on the illegal trail.

Once in Libya they have to find a way across the Mediterranean sea. This is is an old dilapidated vessel, crammed with would-be migrants: with no proper crew or engineers: and the sole aid a mobile device with GPS and a telephone number to ring: the latter apparently that of some refugee or migrant aid organisation. The Italian title translates literally as ‘Me Captain’.

The movie is well served by the locations [mainly in Morocco]: the cinematography: the editing: and a fine music track. Whilst predominately realist it also contains two sequences more like magical realism. The cast, including actual migrants, and the two leads who are non-professional, are excellent. The movie is in standard widescreen and colour and the dialogue is in Wolof / French / Arabic / English and with English subtitles. The only characters we see are Africans. Europeans are absent apart from a voice on the telephone; otherwise they only appear on the small screen of a mobile device with the images of the ‘better life’: behind the exteriors of oil rigs: inside an overhead helicopter.

This dramatic movie has received widespread critical acclaim and a standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival. It presents that part of the migrant experience that is little seen on the European screens. There are still several opportunities to catch screenings at the Picture House. At times harrowing it is still impressive drama to view; running just over two hours.

Another movie worth watching is Michael Winterbottom’s In this World (2005) which follows the journey of two even younger Afghan boys attempting to travel from their home territory to Britain. This is currently available on the BBC iPlayer.

The Damned (1969)

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A Pervert Pictures Presentation on Sunday March 17th, 2pm

A man in a suit holds the hand of a reclining woman on a chaise longue,

As author Sara Shepard observed “Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it”.

In “The Damned” director Luchino Visconti takes us back in his portrayal of Nazi Germany in the 1930s. This is a disturbing film of beauty and decay, a heady mixture of sex, violence and intrigue, with a dysfunctional family enriched by arms sales at its core. Something for everyone!

We are so fortunate that the Hyde Park Picture House has worked with Pervert Pictures to bring this powerful tale of decadence to the big screen which will being with a short introduction.

Pervert Pictures is a Leeds-based film club for lovers of the erotic, the disturbing and the provocative, which aims to create a safe and social environment for the viewing of explicit and challenging films.

Herbert Thaliman (Umberto Orsini) says in the film “It does no good to raise one’s voice when it’s too late, not even to save your soul”. A vital lesson for our times? Agree? Disagree? Loved it? Hated it? Let us know. Leave a comment below, contact us with a review or join us in the cafe area after the film for a chat.

Romanian Food and Films at HEART

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R.M.N

If you missed seeing R.M.N. (2022) when it was screened at the Hyde Park Picture House, you now have a second chance to see this film for our troubled times! There is a going to be a special screening at the HEART Centre in Headingley this Friday February 23rd. The ticket price of £12 includes vegan goulash to celebrate its Romanian/Transylvanian setting.

The food starts at 6:30pm with the film an hour later at 7:30pm.

Tickets are £12 (including food and screening) and available at HEART reception or online here.

From the director of 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days, R.M.N. is Cristian Mungiu’s patient & disturbing examination of rising tensions & anxieties in a xenophobic Transylvanian village, focusing on a multi-ethnic community in Transylvania who turn on a group of Sri Lankan immigrants. The film has bleak cinematography and many unforgettable shots, leaving the audience with a wave of different emotions.

‘In its furious disputes over immigration, vanishing jobs, nationalism and enlightenment values, R.M.N. depicts a reality that, like it or not, hits very close to home.’

John Powers

Dir: Cristian Mungiu | 2h 8mins | Subtitles | Certificate 15 | 2022

Two Scandinavian Films on 35mm

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Sunday 10th December at 12 & 5pm

Girl with Hyacinths / Flicka och hyacinter
(Sweden, 1950, black and white, 99 minutes)

The film is an investigation of the suicide of a young woman, she of the title. The investigation is pursued by a neighbour played by Ulf Palme, who later appeared in the very fine Miss Julie (1951). The film relies on an interesting use of flashbacks. The cinematographer, Göran Strindberg, also worked on Miss Julie, directed by director Alf Sjöberg. Dialogue in Swedish.

The director Hasse Ekman worked as a writer and film-maker from the 1940s to the start of the 1960s; he was a contemporary and overshadowed by Ingmar Bergman. However, he was a successful and popular film-maker in Sweden.

Cross of Love / Rakkauden risti
(Finland, 1946, black and white, 89 minutes)

The film is based on a story by Alexander Pushkin. A young woman runs away to the city where she suffers exploitation before becoming a painter’s model., There are some relatively explicit scenes which, apparently, were censored in a Swedish language version.

Teuvo Tulio was a director who worked from the late 1930s through to the 1960s. His films are both very melodramatic and have an intensity of emotion that can sometime seem over the top. He often uses expressionist techniques. He is also reckoned to be an influence of the contemporary director Aki Kaurismaki. The leading player Regina Linnanheimo was a popular actress who worked on a number of occasions with Tulio and at times contributed to the script. The film dialogue includes Finnish, English and Russian.

Both films are screening from 35 mm archive prints, in the academy ratio and with English subtitles. So two ‘reel’ films on the same day is a treat. Unfortunately there is a three hours break between the screenings. Maybe visit the Hyde Park Book Club or Oxfam book shop?

Alam (France / Saudi Arabia / Tunisia / Qatar / Occupied Palestinian Territory, 2022)

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This is the next title being screened at the Picture House as part of the Leeds Palestinian Film Festival. It is a drama set among the Palestinian Arabs who live in the part of occupied Palestine known as Israel. The drama centres round the celebration of the founding day of Israel, usually in early May. Dispossessed Palestinians mourn their lost country on Land Day, later in May.

For Palestinians who stayed on the land that became Israel, Israel’s day of founding is also the Palestinian’s day of Catastrophe [Al-Nakba]. For their exams, high school students have to learn Israel’s version of history, with the stories of dispossessed former Palestinians being suppressed.

Tamer (Mahmood Bakri) is drawn to a new high school student Maysaá (Sereen Khass) and through her becomes involved in an act of defiance of the occupiers’ celebrations. These centre on the Israeli flag; one meaning of ‘Alam’ is ‘flag’. Tamer ‘s family already have the experience of Israeli repression which leads to tensions within his family.

This feature is written and directed by Firas Khoury; he has already made some short movies. He is also involved in organising screenings and cinematic events throughout Palestine. This feature is a multi-territory production involving both European and Arab funding. It is shot in colour and anamorphic wide screen, 2.39:1. The running time is 109 minutes. The dialogue is in Arabic and Hebrew with English sub-titles.

This feature won the Golden Pyramid Award and the Audience Award at the Cairo International Film Festival. The experience of Palestinians living in Israel is often overlooked in the media. Given the repression taking place in Israel of Palestinian expression and opposition to the war, this is a welcome opportunity to get a sense of this Palestinian world.

Showing in Screen 1 on Wednesday 29th November at 6pm

Bill’s Review of #LIFF2023

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What I love about the Leeds International Film Festival is the sheer variety of the films on offer, with insights into different cultures, times, and ways of seeing the world. Here is a selection of this year’s highlights for me:

There were thrills from the Sahel (Sira 2023) and melodrama involving Dutch imperialists in Indonesia (Sweet Dreams 2023).

I was taken into the future where to save resources citizens at the age of 50 are turned into life-giving trees (White Plastic Sky 2023), and into the past with a frantic search for a winning lottery ticket (Le Million 1931).

There was the craziness of Hundreds of Beavers (2023), and a moving Question and Answer with the director of the Celluloid Underground documentary about how Iranian fundamentalists used censorship and torture in their quest to destroy collections of ‘ideologically unsound’ 35mm films, including by setting them on fire – a fanatical counterpart to book burning.

I wouldn’t be surprised if The Holdovers (2023) becomes a cult Christmas classic.

The Festival was rounded off at the Hyde Park Picture House with Slow (2023) a touching study of sexuality, intimacy and communication between a dancer and a sign language interpreter.

So many films I didn’t get to see of course. I hope to catch some of them at the wonderfully refurbished Hyde Park Picture House in the coming months.

What were the highlights for you? Do let us know.

Huge congratulations to all the staff and volunteers who brought it all together.

Bill Walton