on the road

Heritage Open Days

/ fohpph / Leave a comment

Hyde Park Picture House normally opens its doors every year as part of Heritage Open Days but this year, they have decided to use the On the Road programme to take the love of all things heritage out and about across the city through a range of events. Wendy has written about this on the Leeds Heritage Theatre website and there is an overview of some more events happening this September below.

You can find out more about the Heritage Open Days on their website which includes a search to find events all over the country. There is also a booklet of Leeds events available from LCC Libraries, Museums and Galleries or as a PDF download.

The Lost Films of Louis Le Prince

Friday 9th September 2pm – Leeds Becket University

This illustrated lecture from historian Irfan Shah will investigate the work of Leeds-based film pioneer, Louis Le Prince. It will take place in the exciting new cinema space of Leeds School of Arts at Leeds Beckett University.

In the years 1888-89, Louis Le Prince shot at least six continuous motion picture sequences in the city of Leeds, of which only a few seconds of three remain. Researcher, Irfan Shah, tells the story of the lost films of Le Prince and shows how Leeds itself was not merely a location for them but an essential ingredient of the inventor’s work.

You can read more about Louis Le Prince in our blog post “Louis Le Prince – moving image pioneer – 1841 to 1890” from earlier this year.

More Details

Screenings at Palace Picture House

Saturday 10th & Sunday 11th September – Leeds Industrial Museum

Nestled amongst the Kalee Projectors and Louis Le Prince’s early cameras, there will be a mixed programme in celebration of our favourite astounding invention: film.

Featuring:

  • Shorts programme: Cinema Memory (30min) – 12.30pm and 1.15pm
  • Hyde & Seek Screening: A Grand Day Out (1994, U, 24min) and The Wrong Trousers (1994, U, 30min) – 2.00pm
  • Minute Bodies: The Intimate Works of F. Percy Smith (2017, U, 53min) – 3.10pm

More Details

Continue reading →

The Father

/ fohpph / Leave a comment

Showing daily at City Varieties from Friday 18th June

UK poster for The Father featuring Olivia Coleman and Anthony Hopkins

Film has power, film can put you in the shoes of someone else and will make you see the world through their eyes. Florian Zeller’s The Father is an excellent example of this. The film centres on Anthony, played by Anthony Hopkins, who is dealing with his ever deteriorating mind and his descent into dementia. We see the strain it puts on his relationships, particularly the relationship with his daughter Anne, played by Olivia Colman.

Florian Zeller who adapted it from his own play Le Père, beautifully walks the line between both the tragedy and heartbreak that comes with dementia, and the rare comedy that also can be found in those sad situations. If you can’t laugh at yourself, who can?

The story is told almost entirely from Anthony’s perspective, meaning that the audience is confused nearly as much as him for the majority of the film. Although it is intentional and gives a glimpse into his world, at points the non-linear approach can feel overly abstract and detracts from the overall message.

The acting is superb with Anthony Hopkins deservingly walking away with the Oscar, making him the oldest winner for best leading actor. However, it is worth mentioning Olivia Colman who delivers a measured and understated performance as the loyal and grief-stricken Anne who we see trying to balance her own needs and her father’s. The supporting cast members such as Mark Gatiss, Imogen Poots and Rufus Sewell also give equally rich performances.

The artificial style does betray its conception in the theatre which sometimes makes it feel quite unapproachable, and unreal. However, it does at other points add an operatic nature and poignancy which you won’t necessarily get if it was more true to life.

Quite rarely do you see a film that deals with subject matter such as this, that takes such an experimental approach. However, what’s noteworthy is the incredible insight into what dementia patients must be going through. It is something quite unique and will make you think twice.

Sam Judd

Films at Heart

/ fohpph / Leave a comment

Bill Walton has been checking out some of the films at the Headingley Enterprise and Arts centre.

During Lockdown I’ve watched a lot of films on the small screen (though I draw the line at watching on a phone!), mostly on DVD or streamed from MUBI. But recently I’ve ventured out to events screened at the Heart centre in Headingley … a big screen, indoors, socially distanced, friendly, with flexible seating, refreshments and a friendly welcome.

First was Kurosawa’s Rashomon (1950). This was a tasty Food and Film evening. I hadn’t seen Rashomon before but it lived up to its reputation. The term “Rashomon Effect” has become a byword for situations which demonstrate relative truth and subjectivity of memory. In the film we have conflicting accounts by a woodcutter, a thief, a woman and the spirit of her husband about a violent incident in the forest. Flashbacks highlight the disagreements. What particularly surprised me was the vitality of the cast. Definitely worth more than one watch.

My second visit to Heart was to see Purple Rain (1984) which was arranged by a Prince enthusiast. The soundtrack produced 4 top 40 hits. The rock musical drama draws to some extent on Prince’s early difficult childhood and backstage life at the legendary First Avenue nightclub in Minneapolis. Certainly a charismatic performance.

I’ve already booked for the next Heart Food and Film event on June 18th: a celebration of Mexico with fabulous food and Ariel Award winning film – THE GOLDEN DREAM.

Heart Food & Film Present: Mexican Food and Language Film - The Golden Dream 18 June 2021

Three teenagers, Juan, Sara and Samuel from the slums of Guatemala, travelling together on freight trains and walking railroad tracks through Mexico, meet Chauk from Chiapas who doesn’t speak Spanish. Together they face a journey that will change their lives forever.

For more information and tickets visit the HEART website

The Picture House’s own family friendly Hyde & Seek screenings will be starting again at Heart later this month. These screenings are ‘Pay What You Can’, which means you’re free to pay as much or as little as you can afford but must be booked in advanced via the Picture House website.

The first film is the Disney animated Robin Hood (1973) on Saturday 26th June at 10:30am.

You know, there’s been a heap of legends and tall tales about Robin Hood. All different too. Well, we folks of the animal kingdom have our own version. It’s the story of what really happened in Sherwood Forest

Alan-A-Dale


Bring your family along on the 26th to find out for yourselves.

On The Road: New Indies

/ fohpph / Leave a comment

From this weekend, the first official On the Road screenings are set to begin – with the first films showing at Leeds University Union’s Pyramid Theatre. The NEW INDIES strand, kicks off with two screenings of the gripping new documentary Midnight Traveller. Winner of Sheffield DocFest’s Grand Jury Award, this remarkable film follows a family’s epic flight from persecution.

Also playing at the Union this Sunday is the brilliant coming-of-age drama The Miseducation of Cameron Post, showing as part of LGBTQ History Month. And animation fans are in for a treat on Monday, with Makoto Shinkai’s romantic, visually dazzling follow-up to Your Name – Weathering With You.

The NEW INDIES screenings at Leeds University Union are open to absolutely everyone, and are only a 10min walk from the cinema. There’s a 2-4-1 ticket offer for both screenings of Midnight Traveller – this Sunday (3.30pm) & Monday (6.30pm). Simply enter the promo code MIDNIGHT2020 when selecting your tickets on the website to receive the offer – or let staff know when buying on the door.

SUNDAY 16
3.30pm: NEW INDIES at LUU | Midnight Traveller (15)
6.00pm: NEW INDIES at LUU | The Miseducation of Cameron Post (15)

MONDAY 17
6.30pm: NEW INDIES at LUU | Midnight Traveller (15)
8.30pm: NEW INDIES at LUU | Weathering With You (12A)