Ainda Estou Aqui

A mother is forced to reinvent herself when her family's life is shattered by an act of arbitrary violence during the tightening grip of a military dictatorship in Brazil.

Rio de Janeiro, 1970. The Paiva family lives in a rented house near the beach which is always full of friends. They are comfortable rather than rich, but they enjoy a different kind of wealth: an intellectual freedom and curiosity that feels increasingly precious as the Brazilian military dictatorship flexes its muscle on the streets outside. One day, men with guns come to take the father, Rubens (Selton Mello), in for questioning. In his absence, his wife Eunice (Fernanda Torres) must find a way to protect her five children and reinvent herself. Walter Salles’ (‘The Motorcycle Diaries’) superb factually-based film – he was a real-life friend of the Paiva family as a teenager – is an engrossing, affecting tribute to a formidable woman and her family. Nominated for best foreign film at the Baftas and Oscars. (Subtitles)

Brazil/France 2024 Walter Salles 136m

A widower from Japan travels with his estranged son to England in order to fulfil his late wife’s dying wish.

After the death of his wife, Kenzaburo (Lily Franky) and his son Toshi (Ryô Nishikido) receive an unexpected letter from beyond the grave. Akiko (Yuri Tsunematsu), their wife and mother, asks them to scatter her ashes at the place she loved most as a child - Lake Windermere in England. Surprised by this unexpected request, the two men, along with Toshi's wife Satsuki (Rin Takanashi) and young daughter Emi, travel together to England from Tokyo to fulfil Akiko's final wish. With little knowledge of where he is going and barely any English, Kenzaburo abandons his family in London and heads to the Lake District on his own with Akiko's ashes, where he stumbles onto the doorstep of a farmer, John (Ciarán Hinds), and his daughter Mary (Aoife Hinds). With their help, Kenzaburo is finally able to set course once again toward Lake Windemere. But his true journey toward forgiveness and reconciliation will prove the hardest of all. Some beautiful cinematography and a great lead performance from Franky make this a very satisfying watch. (Some subtitles)

UK/Japan 2023 Patrick Dickinson 94m

From renegade auteur Jacques Audiard (‘A Prophet,’ ‘The sisters Brothers’) comes this audacious fever dream that defies genres and expectations.

In Mexico, a lawyer receives an unexpected offer to help a feared cartel boss retire from his business and disappear forever by becoming the woman he's always dreamed of being. Through liberating song and dance and bold visuals, this odyssey follows the journey of four remarkable women in Mexico, each pursuing their own happiness. The fearsome cartel leader Emilia (Karla Sofía Gascón) enlists Rita (Zoe Saldaña), an unappreciated lawyer stuck in a dead-end job, to help fake her death so that Emilia can finally live authentically as her true self. ‘Emilia Peréz; is art, theatre, narco-thriller and social commentary, all wrapped up into one. It's an award-worthy masterpiece and easily one of the best films of the year. Paul Guilhaume’s cinematography is masterful. (Subtitles)

France 2024 Jacques Audiard 130m

A beautifully made drama exploring the complex dynamics of a sprawling family near the wartime border with Germany.

The lush and breathtaking beauty of the Alps, filmed with painterly grace under natural light from frigid winter to redemptive spring, provides the physical and emotional backdrop for Maura Delpero’s visionary film. In the last days of WWII, we see a series of dramatic, consequential events after the arrival of deserting Sicilian soldier (Giuseppe De Domenico). Including a romance with Lucia (Martina Scrinzi). This was a richly deserving winner of the 2024 Grand Jury prize at the Venice film festival. It is a richly compassionate, emotional and detailed drama of family secrets in wartime Italian countryside, in the manner of Ermanno Olmi or the Taviani brothers. It is wonderfully acted with unaffected naturalism by its cast of professionals and newcomers and plays an extravagant pizzicato on the audience’s heartstrings. (Subtitles)

Italy 2024 Maura Delpero 119m

To complement ‘The Brutalist’ we present this King Vidor classic based on the bestseller by Ayn Rand about a visionary architect struggling to maintain his integrity despite personal, professional and economic pressures.

Unconventional and arrogant architect Howard Roark (Gary Cooper) sees himself as misunderstood, having been openly criticized by writer Ellsworth Toohey (Robert Douglas). Taking a job at a quarry in lieu of compromising his vision, Roark becomes involved with rich, married socialite Dominique Francon (Patricia Neal). As he struggles to preserve his ideals and projects while competing for the heart of a married woman, Roark's reactions become increasingly complex and dramatic. This is a dazzling film, shot in a fascinating German Expressionist style, and rarely screened in cinemas.

USA 1949 King Vidor 114m

The Musical

This multi award-winning show captured recently at the Sadler’s Wells Peacock Theatre is an extraordinary musical journey paying homage to Janis Joplin and her biggest musical influences.

Thu 13 Mar 20:00

Sat 15 Mar 15:00

Met Opera

Beethoven’s only opera tells a powerful story of love, courage and justice. Leonore, disguised as prison guard Fidelio, risks everything to rescue her husband Florestan from tyranny.

Sun 16 Mar 14:30

Nozomi

What would be worse - your son being a murderer or the murdered? This tense drama skilfully navigates a family through this very dilemma.

Architect Ishikawa Kazuto (Tsutsumi Shinichi) and his proofreader wife Kiyomi (Ishida Yuriko) live peacefully in a stylish luxury home with their high school son Tadashi (Okada Kenshi) and daughter Miyabi (Kiyohara Kaya). One day, Tadashi leaves home and doesn’t return, news breaks that one of Tadashi’s classmates has been murdered and the police suspect Tadashi’s involvement. The family dynamic is placed under intense strain – Kazuto desperately wants to believe in his son’s innocence, while Kiyomi is determined to protect him at any cost, even if he’s guilty. This suspenseful drama meticulously dissects and reassembles the thought processes of an ordinary family torn to shreds by juvenile crime and the ensuing ruthless media frenzy that purports to represent social justice. (Subtitles)

Japan 2020 Tsutsumi Yukihiko 108m

Royal Ballet & Opera

The greatest love story ever told – through ballet. An ancient family feud casts a long shadow over the town of Verona.

Sun 23 Mar 14:45