Previous Films

City businessman Luo Yusheng returns to his home village in North China for the funeral of his father, the village teacher. He finds his elderly mother insisting that all the traditional burial customs be observed, despite the fact that times have changed so much, and that it involves many people carrying his father’s body back to the village – “the road home“. As Yusheng debates the complications involved in organising such a big feat, he remembers the magical story of how his father and mother met and got together in the first place.

In 2001, a temporary ceasefire gives a much-needed break to a small war-torn village in Northern Nepal, bringing much joy among the residents. Prakash and Kiran, two young close friends, are also starting to feel the change in the air. Though they are divided by caste and social creed, they remain inseparable, and start raising a hen given to Prakash by his sister, with hopes to save money by selling her eggs. However, the hen goes missing. To find it, they embark on a journey, innocently unaware of the tyranny brought by the fragile ceasefire.

In Hollywood, struggling writer Joe Gillis (William Holden) cannot sell his work to the studios, is beset by debts and is thinking of escaping back to his hometown. While trying to avoid his creditors, he gets a flat tyre and hides his car at a seemingly derelict mansion on Sunset Boulevard. There he meets the owner, former silent-movie star Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), who lives alone with her butler Max (Erich von Stroheim). Norma proposes that Joe moves to the mansion and help her in writing a screenplay for her triumphant comeback to the cinema. The small-time writer becomes her lover and gigolo. When Joe falls in love with young writer Betty Schaefer, Norma becomes jealously insane and her madness leads to a tragic end. Cameo appearances by Cecil B. DeMille, Hedda Hopper and Buster Keaton as themselves. Nominated for Best Picture, Director, Actress and Actor at 1951 Academy Awards.

When Babette, a beautiful and mysterious French refugee (Stéphane Audran), arrives in a remote Danish town, the tight-knit, puritanical community begrudgingly lets her in, providing her with shelter and work. But, after the town patriarch passes away and Babette insists on preparing a feast in his honour, a magical world of sensory revelations is thrown open to the villagers, changing their lives forever. This tale of everyday passion – of the human capacity to create and to love – is a mouthwatering ode to the glory of life from one of cinema’s true originals.

A small-town drama of culinary redemption, which opened the prestigious Un Certain Regard section of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. Struggling street food vendor Sentaro finds himself confronted with Tokue, an odd but sympathetic elderly lady looking for work. When he reluctantly accepts, it’s not long before Tokue proves to have an extraordinary gift when it comes to making “an” – the sweet red bean paste filling used in his dorayaki pancakes – which starts a relationship that is about much more than just street food. Director Naomi Kawase focuses on people at the periphery of Japanese society and investigates their place in the flow of life itself.

A star-studded extravaganza (Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, John Gielgud, Vanessa Redgrave, Maggie Smith, John Mills, Dirk Bogarde etc etc) about World War I based on the stage musical of the same name, portraying the “Game of War”, and focusing mainly on the members of the Smith family who enlist to fight at the front. Much of the action in the movie revolves around the words of the marching songs of the soldiers, and many scenes portray some of the more famous (and infamous) incidents of the war, including the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and the Christmas meeting between British and German soldiers in no-man’s-land. Prescient, timeless and still relevant today.

Ibrahim, Manar, Suleiman and Altayeb, four veteran members of the Sudanese Film Club, embark on a journey in which they aim to revive an old cinema in the city of Omdurman to bring cinema-going culture back to their country. In the crisis-ridden country, the four friends encounter insurmountable resistance in the face of decades of Islamist censorship and inefficient bureaucracy. Following its premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, Talking about Trees received numerous awards at film festivals worldwide including the Variety MENA Talent Award at the El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt. On ‘Rotten Tomatoes’ (the review-aggregation website) the film has an approval rating of 100%.

In Frank Capra’s acclaimed romantic comedy, spoiled heiress Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert) impetuously marries the scheming King Westley, leading her tycoon father (Walter Connolly) to spirit her away on his yacht. After jumping ship, Ellie falls in with cynical newspaper reporter Peter Warne (Clark Gable), who offers to help her reunite with her new husband in exchange for an exclusive story. But during their travels, the reporter finds himself falling for the feisty young heiress. Capturing its stars and director at their finest, It Happened One Night remains unsurpassed by the countless romantic comedies it has inspired.

Eve, a young chambermaid working long, laborious shifts in one of the most luxurious hotels in Mexico City enrolls in the hotel’s adult education program to help improve her life. When things don’t result as planned, Eve transforms her lonely existence and newfound courage into the necessary strength to face a life outside the shimmering hotel. Avilés’ impressive debut profits from a spare script and nuanced direction, while Gabriela Cartol’s breakout performance brings charisma and warmth to Eve. With its dry humour and sly observations about class, privilege and exploitation, The Chambermaid is a confident, compelling and deeply resonant piece of film-making.

A charming and intimate portrait of a single-class primary school in rural France and its inspirational teacher. Ranging in age from four to ten, the small handful of pupils are taught by the remarkable and wise Georges Lopez, whose patient and enlightened methods highlight a genuine affection for his young charges. Offering a touching and absorbing look at the heart of a village community, director Nicolas Philibert’s film was a surprise cinema hit which was warmly received by critics and won numerous awards including a BAFTA and a European Film Award.