home  I  exhibitions  I  education  I  digital media  I  festivals  I film  I music  I contact  I  lovely weather

  what's on
  film club
  kids-flix
  booking

THE BEST IN INTERNATIONAL FILM
It’s film night, every Thursday at 8pm with a jam packed programme of the most acclaimed new international films, right here in Letterkenny.

SRPING PROGRAMME 2009

TICKETS €8 / €5   I   SEASON MEMBERSHIP €2    I   18 YEARS +

Tickets may be booked in person at reception or on 074 9129186 during opening hours: Tuesday - Friday 11am - 5pm, Saturday 1pm - 5pm. We accept cash and cheque, but unfortunately we cannot take LASER or credit cards at this time.

Thursday 29th January @ 8pm·FREE
SPECIAL FILM CLUB PREVIEW SCREENING
In a new addition to the Film Club, RCC film-maker in Residence, David Chernick*, will introduce a special preview evening for film club members (and new members alike). Screening trailers of the forthcoming season of films and a selection of shorts, Dave will also lead an informal discussion on the films after each screening throughout the season. Stay, enjoy some refreshments and have your say!

*David Chernick received his Master’s degree in Motion Pictures & Television from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.  For the next five years, Dave was the Manager of the University’s 16mm Film Lab, taught classes in editing; Film History and theory, sat on the motion picture graduate review committee and wrote, produced and acted in various national TV commercials. Concentrating recently on writing and teaching various Online versions of his film classes, Dave has been able to relocate to Ireland where he’s taught filmmaking for the Gaiety School of Acting, Youthreach and most recently here at the RCC. (Dave dreams of a day when there is broadband up in the Creeslough hills).

Thursday 5th February @ 8pm·
I SERVED THE KING OF ENGLAND (obsluhoval jsem anglického Krále)
Czech Republic·2008·116 mins
Dir: Jírí Menzel
Starring: Ivan Barnev, Oldrich Kaiser, Julia Jentsch, Martin Huba, Marian Labuda, Milan Lasica
I SERVED THE KING OF ENGLAND is another welcome invitation to witness Czech director Jírí Menzel's singular vision, which is liberally sprinkled with homage to silent features, vaudeville, and slapstick. The film tells the story of Jan Dite (Kaiser), an ordinary Czech citizen who reflects on life after being released from jail. Much of the film is told in flashback, with Menzel transporting his audience back to Dite's younger days in Prague, both before and during World War II, where the young restaurant worker does whatever it takes to fulfil his dreams of becoming a millionaire. His reckless and frequently hilarious path to achieving his goal becomes the backbone of the movie, and Menzel deftly edits back and forth between the older and younger versions of Dite as his history is revealed. This feature is a hugely entertaining and utterly peerless piece of work from an inspired director.
‘Funny, vivacious and profound without being earnest, this is an utter delight.’ Empire *****

Thursday 12th February @ 8pm
CSNY Déjà Vu
USA·2008·96 mins
Dir: Bernard Shakey (AKA Neil Young)
This exceptional rockumentary chronicles the 2006 reunion of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, troubadours who, despite boasting a name like a law firm, provided anthems of dissent for the Vietnam generation. It’s no nostalgia trip, but a riveting political debate with great tunes. When the impassioned Young backed up his LIVING WITH WAR album by rounding up the hippy grandpas, he brought war-reporting veteran Mike Cerre along to record the heated reactions to Bush, Iraq, and the band among inspired, aroused and furious audiences across the USA.
‘An exceptional rockumentary, which features riveting political debate and good tunes.’
Empire ****

Thursday 19th February·8pm·€8/€5
GOMORRAH (gomorra)
Italy·2008·137 mins
Dir: Matteo Garrone
Starring: Salvatore Abruzzese, Marco Macor, Ciro Petrone, Gianfelice Imparato, Toni Servillo, Carmine Paternoster
Matteo Garrone's GOMORRAH is a dense, sprawling exposé of the corruption plaguing the communities of Naples and Caserta in modern-day Italy, where the all-powerful Camorra syndicate influences the lives of even the most innocent citizens. Garrone tells his story from many different angles, to witness the syndicate's impact from the top down and from the inside out; following a cavalcade of characters who are all trying in their own ways to escape the deadly world in which they live. Based on the book by Roberto Saviano, Garrone's crime epic is a powerful indictment of the corruption that is running rampant in Italy. GOMORRAH succeeds as both visceral entertainment and thoughtful social commentary.
Winner – Jury Grand Prize, Cannes Film Festival 2008
‘The best gangster saga since City Of God.’
Total film ***** 

Thursday 26th February·8pm·€8/€5
I’VE LOVED YOU SO LONG (II y a longtemps que j’aime)
France·2008·mins
Dir: Philippe Claudel
Starring: Kristin Scott Thomas, Elsa Zylberstein, Serge Hazanavicius, Laurent Grevill, Frederic Perrot, Jean-Claude Arnaud
Léa (Zylberstein) and Juliette (Scott Thomas) are sisters, but the two are almost complete strangers to each other. Juliette, a doctor, has just been released from prison after serving a long sentence for the murder of her six-year-old son. The sisters’ life together isn’t easy to begin with, but gradually, the real Juliette emerges as she opens up to the world once more. Yet huge questions hang over her. Why did she do such a terrible thing fifteen years ago? For all the others, it’s a recurrent thought that they dare not ask. And for Juliette, it’s a burden to bear, which holds her back from believing that she too has the right to be happy.
‘Want a master class in film acting? Check out Kristin Scott Thomas as Juliette, a doctor just out of prison in this spellbinder from writer-director Philippe Claudel.’
Rolling Stone

Thursday 5th March·8pm·€8/€5
OF TIME AND THE CITY
UK·2008·73 mins
Dir: Terrence Davies
Lovely vintage footage graces this arresting documentary from director Terence Davies (DISTANT VOICES, STILL LIVES), who crafts an ode to Liverpool, the city of his birth. OF TIME AND THE CITY chronicles the transformation of Liverpool and its people during the middle of the 20th century, resulting in a fluidly ever-changing, yet always dead-on, portrayal of an entire city. Touching and oftentimes savagely funny, OF TIME AND THE CITY is equal parts poem. history, and autobiography. It has also made its way onto the several best-of-the-year lists of some of the most revered international critics.
‘A welcome comeback for one of Britain’s greatest film-makers.’
Guardian *****

Thursday 12th March·8pm·€8/€5
THE BAADER MEINHOFF COMPLEX (der baader meinhof complex)
Germany/France/Czech Republic·2008·150 mins
Dir: Uli Edel
Starring: Martina Gedeck, Moritz Bleibtreu, Johanna Wokalek, Bruno Ganz
Director Uli Edel assembles an impressive cast - including Moritz Bleibtreu, Martina Gedeck, and Bruno Ganz - for this adaptation of Stefan Aust's nonfiction book. In Berlin in 1967, a horrific riot inspires a woman named Ulrike Meinhof to join forces with Andreas Baader to battle their government. The pair move from activism into terrorism, as they lead the group known as the Red Army Faction, aka the Baader-Meinhof Group.
‘Fascinating history, very good movie — but demanding, and its lack of easy answers will frustrate some. Lessons about 21st century terrorism are implicit, but not overly stressed.’
Empire ****

Thursday 19th March·8pm·€8/€5
YOUNG@HEART
UK·2007·110 mins
Dir: Stephen Walker
British film-maker Stephen Walker has created a sweet-natured documentary about the YOUNG@HEARTChorus, a singing ensemble from Massachusetts, whose members' ages range from 75 to 93, and who specialise in full-blooded versions of rock standards. Their showstopper is a cover of the Clash's, Should I Stay Or Should I Go? as performed by 90-something Eileen Hall, who asks the question as if pondering whether to remain at home or head off to the garden centre. The movie is valuable in that it tackles head-on subjects that are verboten in our fastidious pop culture: old age and death. Two of the chorus die (uncontroversially) of old age in the course of the film and their passing is greeted sadly but without inordinate fuss by the others, who are, quite visibly, being kept alive by the thrill of touring and performing.
‘If this film were any more heart-warming, your chest would melt.’
Total Film ****

Thursday 26th March·8pm·€8/€5
THE SILENCE OF LORNA (le silence de lorna)
Belgium·2008·105 mins
Dir: Jean - Pierre / Luc Dardenne
Starring: Arta Dobroshi, Olivier Gourmet, Morgan Marinne, Jérémie Renier, Fabrizio Rongione           
Described by critics as nuanced, surprising and deeply moving, THE SILENCE OF LORNA is a beautifully observed study of immigrants in the new Europe attempting to eke out a living, often through rather dubious means. Lorna, (Arta Dobroshi), a young Albanian woman living in Belgium, has her sights set on opening a snack bar with her boyfriend, Sokol (Alban Ukaj). In order to do so, she becomes an accomplice in a diabolical plan devised by mobster Fabio (Fabrizio Rongione). Fabio has set up a false marriage between Lorna and Claudy (Jérémie Renier) allowing Lorna to get her Belgian citizenship. However, she is then asked to marry a Russian Mafioso who's ready to pay hard cash to also get his hands on those vital Belgian identity papers. Fabio intends to kill Claudy in order to speed up the second marriage. But will Lorna remain silent? This is a story of redemption, which maintains the Dardenne brothers’ reputation for creating low-key realist drama matched
to an intensely gripping narrative.
Winner - Best Screenplay, Cannes Film Festival 2008

Thursday 2nd April·8pm·€8/€5
WALTZ WITH BASHIR
France/Germany/Israel·2008·90 mins
Dir: Ari Folman
One night at a bar, an old friend tells director Ari about a recurring nightmare in which he is chased by 26 vicious dogs - every night, the same number of beasts. The two men conclude that there’s a connection to their Israeli Army mission in the first Lebanon War of the early eighties. Ari is surprised that he can’t remember anything about that period of his life. Intrigued by this riddle, he decides to meet and interview old friends and comrades around the world. He needs to discover the truth about that time and about himself. As Ari delves deeper and deeper into the mystery, his memory begins to creep up as surreal images, in this brilliant animated film.
‘An extraordinary film - a military sortie into the past in which both we and Folman are embedded like traumatised reporters.’
The Guardian ****

ACCESS>CINEMA VIEWING:SESSIONS 09
access>CINEMA, the resource organisation for regional cultural cinema exhibition in Ireland, and the Regional Cultural Centre will co-host VIEWING:SESSIONS, access>CINEMA’s annual conference, on March 27-29. The conference invites film society and arts venue programmers from all over Ireland to come together to see films, network and establish contacts.
For more information see www.accesscinema.ie
Please note that this event is not open to the general public, but to access>CINEMA members only.