Screen Argyll are excited to host a new programme of Watch Along Wednesdays. Join us, wherever you are, on Zoom every Wednesday at 8.30pm for a post film discussion, to meet new people and share ideas.
Every week a different film will be chosen from our collection on Stream Argyll (www.stream.screenargyll.co.uk) and a different host will lead the online discussion. You could watch along with us at 6.30pm (or whenever suits you!) then grab a brew and join us to discuss the film on Zoom at 8.30pm.
Ali & Ava
Wednesday 18th January, 8.30pm-9.30pm
Led by Natalie Gavin
In Ali & Ava, Ali (Adeel Akhtar) and Ava (Claire Rushbrook) – both lonely for different reasons – meet through their shared affection for Sofia, the child of Ali’s Slovakian tenants, whom Ava teaches. Ali finds comfort in Ava’s warmth and kindness and Ava finds Ali’s complexity and humour irresistible. Over a lunar month, sparks fly and a deep connection begins to grow.
We will be joined by Natalie Gavin, who plays the role of Dawn in the film. Natalie is an actor, writer and director who has worked in television, theatre and film for 14 years. Her television credits include Shameless, Prisoner’s Wives, The Syndicate, Jericho, Gentleman Jack and Line of Duty.
The Perfect Candidate
Wednesday 25th January, 8.30pm-9.30pm
Led by Sharon Hooper
In The Perfect Candidate, a determined young Saudi doctor’s surprise run for office in the local city elections sweeps up her family and community as they struggle to accept their town’s first female candidate.
We will be joined by Sharon Hooper. Sharon is a Senior Lecturer at Leeds Arts University. She is also a filmmaker working largely with the community, third and voluntary sectors. Before education, she worked in television and as an independent filmmaker. Sharon has an MA in Feminism and Visual Arts from University of Leeds, specialising in representations of women in film.
Beyond the Visible: Hilma af Klint
Wednesday 1st February, 8.30pm-9.30pm
Led by Lucy Bergman
Hilma af Klint was an abstract artist before the term existed, a visionary, trailblazing figure who, inspired by spiritualism, modern science, and the riches of the natural world around her, began in 1906 to reel out a series of huge, colourful, sensual, strange works without precedent in painting.
This week’s discussion will be led by Lucy Bergman. Lucy is a Senior Lecturer of Visual Communication at Leeds Arts University, a Super 8 film maker and cinema e
El Último País / The Last Country
Wednesday 2nd November, 8.30pm-9.30pm
Led by Eirene Houston
A young filmmaker reveals her conflicting feelings about returning to Cuba after an absence. A moving and beautifully realised film by this talented new director.
“Living away from Cuba didn’t look dramatic for me, until I began to understand that the country would change and I wouldn’t be there to watch. I knew that we had to open ourselves to the world and renew us, but I was afraid that with this renovation the best system with lots of contradictions and utopias would also fade away. I wanted to film that change, wanted to meet with Cubans, talk with them, return to belong. From the outside, things are seen in another way from other points of view. But coming back to Cuba, worried with the changes, made me feel more apart and weird, instead of restore the sense of belonging.” – Gretel Marín Palacio
We will be joined by Eirene Houston. Eirene is the co-director of the Havana Glasgow Film Festival, as well as a screenwriter and director. El Último País / The Last Country is screening as part of the Havana Glasgow Film Festival 2022.
Rebel Dykes
Wednesday 9th November, 8.30pm-9.30pm
Led by Siobhan Fahey, producer of Rebel Dykes
Rebel Dykes is a rabble-rousing documentary set in 1980s post-punk London. The film follows a tight-knit group of friends who met at Greenham Common peace camp and went on to become artists, performers, musicians and activists in London. A heady mash-up of animation, archive footage and interviews tells the story of a radical scene: squatters, BDSM nightclubs, anti-Thatcher rallies, protests demanding action around AIDS and the fierce ties of chosen family. This is an extraordinarily privileged glimpse into a bygone world by those who not only lived out their politics with heartfelt conviction but lived to tell the tale.
We will be joined by Siobhan Fahey – the producer of the Rebel Dykes and the director of the production company, Riot Productions Ltd. Prior to filmmaking, Siobhan was an activist and a promoter. She worked on anti-austerity, minority healthcare and queer freedom campaigns, and ran club nights and festivals.
Luxor
Wednesday 16th November, 8.30pm-9.30pm
Led by Zeina Durra, writer and director of Luxor
When Hana runs into an ex-lover, Sultan an archaeologist working a dig nearby, the two revive their old friendship and maybe a bit more. But the tentative romance isn’t really the point of this thoughtful study. Through a very studied use of posture, expression, Riseborough outlines the contours of Hana’s low-key midlife crisis, the contemplation of roads not taken and lives not led. Beautifully shot, a chance to escape to Egypt, to feel the sunshine and taste the history, to be an observer to the undercurrents in everyday conversations between Hana and the people she meets.
We will be joined by Zeina Durra, the writer and director of Luxor.
Queen of Glory
Wednesday 23rd November, 8.30pm-9.30pm
Led by Delphine Lievens
‘Queen of Glory’ is the story of Sarah Obeng, the brilliant child of Ghanaian immigrants, who is quitting her Ivy League PhD program to follow her married lover to Ohio. When her mother dies suddenly, she bequeaths her daughter a Christian bookstore in the Pelham Parkway section of the Bronx where Sarah was raised. A follow-up on the classic immigrant’s tale, Queen of Glory provokes laughter and empathy, as its heroine is reborn through her inheritance.
We will be joined this week by Delphine Lievens. Delphine is a freelancer in UK independent film distribution and exhibition. She has worked on the UK releases of a number of critically acclaimed independent films including QUEEN OF GLORY, REBEL DYKES, and Academy Award winner MOONLIGHT. She enjoys discussing current trends in the screen industries and the urgent need for more diversity in film, both on and off screen.
Tove
Wednesday 30th November, 8.30pm-9.30pm
Led by producer Andrea Reuter and Nat Jansz, co-publisher of Sort Of Books
Painter Tove Jansson (Alma Pöysti), although focusing on her painting career, soon finds the enchanting tales of the Moomin creatures she told to children in bomb shelters rapidly take on a life of their own, bringing international fame and what she feels is freedom. But her desire for liberty is put to the test, when she meets theatre director Vivica Bandler (Krista Kosonen) who ignites an electric and all-consuming love in her. While she begins to find her artistic identity, she discovers that true love is far more complex.
We will be joined by Andrea Reuter – the producer of Tove – and Nat Jansz, who has published Tove Jansson’s novels and short stories in the UK
Travels with Tove
Wednesday 7th December
Led by director Kanerva Cederström and author on Tove, Paul Gravett
A rare screening of Tuulikki Pietilä and her partner Tove Jansson’s collaborative “home-movies”, documenting their round-the-world trip to Japan, Hawaii, Mexico and the United States between 1971-1972. Shot on a Konica cine-camera purchased by Pietilä on arrival in Japan, the footage provides a unique insight into couple’s shared life, humour and artistic expression. Narrated with quick-witted observations, the pair take turns operating the camera, turning a lens on the other and the cities and towns they visit.
We will be joined by the director of Travels with Tove, Kanerva Cederström, as well as Paul Gravett, who has recently published a new book on Tove Jansson
Quick Dips: short films from the filmmakers who attended this year’s Sea Change
Wednesday 15th December, 8.30pm-9.30pm
To sign up email info@screenargyll.co.uk