Sun 5 Apr • Woody Allen double bill

EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU (12A) 2.15

(US 1996) dir. Woody Allen 101m. Digital.
Alan Alda, Woody Allen, Drew Barrymore, Goldie Hawn, Edward Norton, Julia
Roberts, Tim Roth.

Woody Allen's homage to both the Golden Age of the Hollywood Musical and the glories of Venice. Boy (Norton) woos girl (Barrymore) and wedding plans unfold. As Hawn and Alda prepare to give their little girl away, further complications unfold with ex-husband Allen, who is experiencing his own kind of woman-trouble. A heartwarming and humorous tale that seamlessly mixes music and narrative.

+ VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA (12A) 4.25

(Spain/US 2008) dir. Woody Allen 96m.
Javier Bardem, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Penelope Cruz, Patricia Clarkson.

When two American girlfriends take a summer holiday to Spain, they find themselves romantically entwined with the same painter – but they are about to meet more than their match in his fiery ex-wife, played to Oscar-winning perfection by Cruz. He may be leaving Manhattan behind, but this laugh-out-loud romp is certainly a return to fine form for Allen.

£8/£6 Concessions/£5 Under 15’s

Sun 12 Apr • Film Noir double bill

OUT OF THE PAST (PG) 2.00

(US 1947) dir. Jacques Tourneur 97m.
Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas, Virginia Houston.

This definitive piece of film noir finds Mitchum as Jeff Bailey, laid-back cool persona laced with great dialogue, forced to confront his past and tangle with Greer's ultimate femme fatale as he's dragged down to the lower depths. Director Jacques Tourneur perfectly captures the moral murkiness of the love, greed and lies that make up the noir landscape.

+ GUN CRAZY (PG) 4.00

(US 1949) dir. Joseph H Lewis 87m.
John Dall, Peggy Cummins, Morris Carnovsky, Berry Kroeger, Russ Tamblyn.

If most 1940s film noir traces the anxieties of postwar America, GUN CRAZY goes straight to sheer madness, and with more cinematic gusto and sexual heat than almost any movie of its time. It's a variation on the Bonnie and Clyde story: firearms enthusiasts John Dall and Peggy Cummins meet as sharpshooters in a carnival, then turn to crime. Lewis's direction is like a spray of hot lead from a gun barrel, capped by an amazing sequence – shot in one long take – of a bank robbery seen from the backseat of the getaway car. Unmissable cinema.

£8/£6 Concessions/£5 Under 15’s

Sun 19 Apr • Kelly Reichardt double bill

OLD JOY (15) 2.30

(US 2006) dir. Kelly Reichardt 73m. Digital.
Will Oldham, Daniel London, Tanya Smith.

Beautifully understated tale of estranged old friends Mark and Kurt who embark on a weekend retreat in the Oregon wilderness to discover just how far apart they have drifted from each other, their old way of life, and the values that went with it. Subtle performances, played out against a striking backdrop, breathe life to this story of a dying friendship.

+ WENDY AND LUCY (15) 4.10

(US 2008) dir. Kelly Reichardt 80m. Digital.
Michelle Williams, Will Patton, Will Oldham, John Robinson.

Michelle Williams shines in this absorbing drama about outsider Wendy, headed for Alaska but stranded in Oregon after her car breaks down. When beloved dog Lucy goes missing, Wendy endeavours to find her, encountering the strange inhabitants of America's nowheresville in her search. Acclaimed at the Cannes, New York and London film festivals, this assures Reichardt's status as one of the U.S's leading indie auteurs.

£8/£6 Concessions

Sun 26 Apr • East End Film Festival Iain Sinclair Weekend:

Hackney, That Rose-Red Empire (15) 12.00

An afternoon of films and discussions illustrating the cinematic roots of Iain Sinclair's latest book, ‘Hackney, That Rose-Red Empire’, a personal record of the area of London in which he has lived for forty years. Sinclair will present a cinematic trawl through the borough, with a rich tapestry of classic cinema clips, documentary pieces and contemporary film, including Patrick Keiller's Stoke Newington expedition, Orson Welles’ visit to the Hackney Empire, plus work from John Smith, Simon Pummell, Rachel Lichtenstein, Miranda Pennell, Emily Richardson, Anja Kirschner, Winstan Whitter, Tony Grisoni, Javier Correa, and Sinclair himself. Many of these filmmakers will be in discussion throughout the afternoon.

£8/£6 Concessions

Sun 3 May • Che double bill

CHE: PART ONE (15) 1.00

(France/Spain/US 2008) dir. Steven Soderbergh 126m. Digital.
Benicio Del Toro, Demián Bichir, Santiago Cabrera, Elvira Mínguez, Jorge Perugorría.

On November 26, 1956, Fidel Castro sailed to Cuba with a rebel force determined to overthrow the corrupt dictatorship of President Batista. One of those rebels would become a symbol of struggle and hope, an iconic figure recognisable worldwide and a legend: Ernesto 'Che' Guevara. The first part of Steven Soderbergh's powerful and incisive chronicle interweaves narratives of the Argentinian doctor's early years, from his life-changing meeting with Fidel Castro in Mexico to the jungles and hills of Cuba as the fight approaches Havana. Winner of the Best Actor award at Cannes, Benicio Del Toro gives a truly spellbinding performance as the idealist who became a revolutionary hero and an inspiration.

+ CHE: PART TWO (15) 3.30

(Spain/France/US 2008) dir. Steven Soderbergh 131m. Digital.
Benicio Del Toro, Franka Potente, Joaquim de Almeida.

Benicio Del Toro masterfully reprises his role as revolutionary Guevara in this, the darker half of Soderbergh's superb biopic. Following the Cuban Revolution, Che disappears at the height of his fame and power, re-emerging in Bolivia as he attempts to bring his ideas of freedom to the rest of Latin America. But unable to drum up the levels of support that led to success in Cuba the attempt fails, bringing forth Che's downfall. This is a much more painful tale of determination and sacrifice, bringing Che's story and life to a close but offering an understanding of his legacy, and why he became, and remains, a symbol of idealism to millions around the world.

£8/£6 Concessions

Sun 10 May • Ingrid Bergman/Alfred Hitchcock double bill

SPELLBOUND (PG) 2.00

(US 1945) dir. Alfred Hitchcock 111m.
Gregory Peck, Michael Chekhov, Leo G. Carroll, John Emery.

Alfred Hitchcock meets Salvador Dali in this classic psychological thriller. Ingrid Bergman's psychiatrist falls for her new boss Gregory Peck, but he may not be who he appears to be.... Peck and Bergman play delightfully off each other and the dream sequence designed by Dali is a real treat.

+ NOTORIOUS (U) 4.15

(US 1946) dir. Alfred Hitchcock 101m.
Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, Louis Calhern, Reinhold Schunzel, Moroni Olsen.

The Master of Suspense at his multi-layered best with a clash of love and duty as Bergman, daughter of a convicted spy, is coerced into a little post-war espionage in South America by agent Cary Grant. With some classic set pieces, this is one of Hitchcock's greatest, and most delightful, pieces of pure cinema.

£8/£6 Concessions/£5 Under 15’s

Sun 17 May • Double bill

JAR CITY (15) 1.45

(Iceland/Germany/Denmark 2006) dir. Baltasar Kormákur 93m. Subtitles. Digital.
Ingvar E. Sigurdsson, Agusta Eva Erlendsdottir, Bjorn Hylnur Haraldsson, Atli Rafn Sigurdarson, Olafia Hronn Jonsdottir.

A fascinating mix of murder mystery thriller and family drama, intense, richly atmospheric and topped with slices of Icelandic culture. As a weary policeman struggles to link the mysterious 1974 death of a little girl to the recent murder of a local recluse, JAR CITY quietly explores deeper, darker themes. Beautifully acted and directed, it's as dark and brooding as the long winter nights with humour as sour as fermented shark.

+ FLAME AND CITRON (15) 3.45

(Denmark/Czech Republic/Germany 2008) dir. Ole Christian Madsen 130m. Subtitles.
Thure Lindhardt, Mads Mikkelsen, Stine Stengade, Peter Mygind.

Copenhagen 1944. The Danish resistance movement against Nazi occupation includes Bent Faurschou-Hviid, (Flame) and Jorgen Haagen Schmith (Citron), united by a common purpose but very different individuals. Flame relishes killing. Citron is a wounded, morose and completely unemployable alcoholic and addict. Neither are conventional heroic types, nor were their actions as clear-cut as the mythology that came to surround their exploits would suggest. FLAME AND CITRON goes beyond the myths to present a complex and gripping true story of deceit and betrayal.

£8/£6 Concessions

Sun 24 May • Double bill

LATE CHRYSANTHEMUMS (Bangiku) (PG) 1.45

(Japan 1954) dir. Mikio Naruse 101m. Subtitles

One of Naruse's greatest works, this bleak, compelling, poignant portrait of a quartet of ageing geishas focuses on Kin. Retired after some successful property transactions,she cynically lends money and advice to the others. Then an old lover (Ken Uehara) reappears.....It's sharp, funny and poignant and full of subtle touches that capture the flow of everyday life.

+ TOKYO SONATA (12A) 3.55

(Japan 2008) dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa 120m. Subtitles
Haruka Igawa, Inowaki Kai, Teruyuki Kagawa, Yu Koyanagi.

When Ryuhei Sasaki is unceremoniously dumped from his `safe' company job, his family's humdrum life is put at risk. Unwilling to accept the shame of unemployment, he decides not to tell anyone, but still leaves home each morning. This 2008 Cannes award winner boasts outstanding performances and serene, elegant direction, although Kurosawa's trademark chills are still evident as he focuses on everyday terrors and builds up the unsettling atmosphere of Sasaki's new life.

£8/£6 Concessions/£5 Under 15’s

Sun 31 May • Gus Van Sant double bill

MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO (18) 1.15

(US 1991) dir. Gus Van Sant 104m.
River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, James Russo, William Richert, Rodney Harvey, Chiara Caselli.

River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves star in Gus Van Sant’s haunting tale of two young street hustlers: Mike Waters, a sensitive narcoleptic who dreams of the mother who abandoned him, and Scott Favor, the wayward son of the mayor of Portland and object of Mike’s desire. Visually dazzling and groundbreaking, MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO is a deeply moving look at unrequited love and life at society’s margins.

+ MILK (15) 3.20

(US 2008) dir. Gus Van Sant 128m. Digital.
Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, Diego Luna, James Franco, Alison Pill.

Gus Van Sant's magnificent portrait of the life, death and legacy of Harvey Milk, ‘The Mayor of Castro Street’ and the first openly gay man voted into significant US public office. Ironically, the same election that brought Milk to the board of San Francisco supervisors also elected the man who would kill him, ex-police officer and fireman Dan White. MILK captures not only Milk himself, warts and all, but also the political and social landscape of America in the 1970s. Sean Penn gives the performance of his career and impeccable performances from the supporting cast help strike the delicate balance between a personal portrait and a political history that resonates strongly with more contemporary events and attitudes.

£8/£6 Concessions