<img src='' title='Event Category: Film' alt='' id='templ_icon_' width='' height='' /> Event Category: Film

A love letter to Britain from our friends in Europe, Jens Meurer’s funny, bittersweet and loving Seaside Special visits the town of Cromer, Norfolk as it prepares for its annual end-of-pier variety show during the summer of 2019.

With the show due to be performed twice a day for three months, we meet the performers, the team pulling it together, and the townsfolk who will flock to each show day after day. In the background Brexit is hitting its stride, and as we see the talent and the passion driving the show, we also witness a microcosm of a Britain in flux. All shot beautifully on 16mm film, Seaside Special is affectionate and funny filmmaking reflecting the eccentricities of classic English entertainment while the country sets out to leave its European neighbours.

“Vivid and richly affectionate” Guardian ★★★★

Read what our Film Programmer Jeremy had to say here…

“A humorous, melancholic time-capsule of a rather unique moment in time — the dying days of the UK’s decades old relationship with Europe. Yet there’s little anger or divisiveness here. For want of a better term, it’s keep calm and carry on. ” Filmhounds ★★★★

Directed by Jens Meurer
1hr 33 mins // GER 2023

Set in 1967, The Miracle Club is a heart-warming film that follows the story of three generations of close friends, Lily (Maggie Smith), Eileen (Kathy Bates), and Dolly (Agnes O’Casey) of Ballygar, a hard-knocks community in Dublin, who have one tantalizing dream: to win a pilgrimage to the sacred French town of Lourdes, that place of miracles that draws millions of visitors each year. When the chance to win presents itself, the women seize it.

However, just before their trip, their old friend Chrissie (Laura Linney) arrives in Ballygar for her Mother’s funeral, dampening their good mood and well-laid plans. The women secure tickets and set out on the journey that they hope will change their lives, with Chrissie joining in place of her mother. The glamor and sophistication of Chrissie, who has just returned from a nearly 40-year exile in the United States, are not her only difficult traits. Old wounds are reopened along the way, forcing the women to confront their pasts even as they travel in search of a miracle. Deep wounds from the past can only be healed by the curative power of love and friendship.

Telegraph ★★★

Directed by Thaddeus O’Sullivan
With Laura Linney, Kathy Bates, Maggie Smith
1hr 30 mins // UK 2022

With the introduction of the National Security Law in 2020, underground artists and creatives in Hong Kong find themselves targets, with their works disappearing. As their freedom of expression comes under attack, what was once ‘normal’ becomes forbidden.

Narrating us through this time, director San San F Young weaves together her own personal story with works by artists, musicians, dancers, illustrators and performers, highlighting the power of using art as a form of activism. Navigating this new authoritarian normal, they race to preserve Hong Kong’s creative uprising.

Hong Kong Mixtape is a love letter to the region and its people, celebrating the passion and talent of its creatives, and honouring the resilience of those who make their voices heard even when silenced.

1hr 26 mins

It is the summer of 1957. Behind the spectacle of Formula 1, ex-racer Enzo Ferrari is in crisis. Bankruptcy threatens the factory he and his wife, Laura built from nothing ten years earlier. Their volatile marriage has been battered by the loss of their son, Dino a year earlier. Ferrari struggles to acknowledge his son Piero with Lina Lardi. Meanwhile, his drivers’ passion to win pushes them to the edge as they launch into the treacherous 1,000-mile race across Italy, the Mille Miglia.

“Adam Driver’s racing drama is an electrifying ride” Telegraph ★★★★

Directed by Michael Mann
With Adam Driver, Penelope Cruz
2hrs 10 mins // US 2023

Have you ever wondered how chocolate is made? Based in Nottingham, Deli-Cious Chocolate offer bespoke chocolate making sessions. They’ll be joining us in celebration of the release of Wonka, for two special chocolate making classes in our bar.

Tickets are £16. This ticket covers a booking for two people (1 chocolate maker + an accompanying adult) Included with this ticket, are two seats for the following screening of Wonka

9.30am – Chocolate making class + 10.30am screening of Wonka

12.30pm – Chocolate making class + 1.30pm screening of Wonka

You do not need to book additional tickets for the screening. Classes will take place in the bar prior to the screening. Seats for the screening will be reserved for you. Please ask a member of staff if you require any assistance.

Based on the extraordinary character at the centre of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl’s most iconic children’s book and one of the best-selling children’s books of all time, Wonka tells the wondrous story of how the world’s greatest inventor, magician and chocolate-maker became the beloved Willy Wonka we know today.

“Timothée Chalamet’s Chocolate Factory prequel is a superbly sweet treat” Guardian ★★★★★

“The most fun you’ll have in a cinema all year” Telegraph ★★★★★

Independent ★★★★ Empire ★★★★

Directed by Paul King
With Timothée Chalamet
Run-time TBC // US 2023

One Christmas Eve a long time ago, a baby crawled into Santa’s bag of toys… Raised as an elf, Buddy grows into an adult three times larger than the biggest elf–and realizes that he will never truly fit in at the North Pole. Buddy goes looking for his true place in the world — in New York City and finds his workaholic father –who’s on Santa’s “naughty” list, a new mother and a 10-year-old brother who doesn’t believe in Santa Claus or elves. Here, now, Buddy discovers his destiny–to save Christmas for New York and the world!… A modern Christmas classic!

“Ferrell brings manic energy to this tale of an oversized elf called Buddy and it’s still a charmer after 20 years!” Guardian ★★★★

Directed by Jon Favreau
With Will Ferrell, Zooey Deschanel, James Caan, Mary Steenburgen
1hr 37 mins // US 2003

Academy Award winning filmmaker Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman) brings us a beautifully wicked tale of privilege and desire. Struggling to find his place at Oxford University, student Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) finds himself drawn into the world of the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), who invites him to Saltburn, his eccentric family’s sprawling estate, for a summer never to be forgotten.

“Outrageously watchable” Telegraph ★★★★★

Directed by Emerald Fennell
With Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi
2hrs 7 mins // US 2023

In the summer of 2014, Bernard Jordan (Michael Caine) made global headlines. He had staged a “great escape” from his care home to join fellow war veterans on a beach in Normandy, commemorating their fallen comrades at the D-Day Landings 70th anniversary. It was a story that captured the imagination of the world as Bernie embodied the defiant, “can-do” spirit of a generation that was fast disappearing. But of course, it wasn’t the whole story.

It was an inspirational but sanitised retelling of one man’s need to come to terms with the lasting trauma of war. Bernie’s adventure, spanning a mere 48 hours, also marked the culmination of his 60-year marriage to Rene (Glenda Jackson) – The Great Escaper celebrates their enduring love but always with an eye to the lessons we might learn from the Greatest Generation.

“Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson exude ineffable class” Guardian ★★★★

Total Film ★★★★  Metro ★★★★  Mirror ★★★★

Directed by Oliver Parker
With Michael Caine, Genda Jackson
1hr 36 mins // UK 2023

When her husband is mysteriously found dead in the snow below their secluded chalet, Sandra becomes the main suspect when the police begin to question whether he fell or was pushed. 

The trial soon becomes not just an investigation, but a gripping psychological journey into the depths of their complicated marriage. With conflicting evidence and inconsistent testimony, words are wielded like weapons and shocking truths come to light in this thrilling Cannes Palme d’Or winner.

“A sparkling, intellectual thriller” Telegraph ★★★★★

“A stroke of courtroom genius” Filmhounds ★★★★★

“A murder-mystery that touches on marital tensions” Empire ★★★★

Independent ★★★★  Guardian ★★★★

Directed by Justine Triet
With Sandra Hüller
2HRS 30 MINS | FRA 2023