The Garden Cinema Film Talk

...OR, THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE RISE AND FALL OF THE WORLD'S WILDEST CINEMA AND HOW IT INFLUENCED A MIXED-UP GENERATION OF WEIRDOS AND MISFITS  
 
A feature-length big screen documentary telling the riotous inside story of the infamous sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll repertory cinema which inspired a generation during Britain's turbulent Thatcher years.
Journalist Saskia Baron discusses the history of the iconic venue and the filmmaking process with its two directors here at the Garden Cinema, with input and comments from our audience!

We discuss new forms of storytelling, genre, Afrofuturism and conversations around storytelling amongst the Black diaspora with writer Irenosen Okojie who curated the Black To The Future festival. We are very pleased to be showing two of the programme's films here at the Garden Cinema. We strive to expand the reach of the films we show and look forward to introducing new and original work to our members and visitors. You can find the listings, and book here. 

Ken Loach’s The Old Oak, tells the story of Syrian refugees relocated in a old mining village in the Northeast of England, amidst poverty, resentfulness and anger. As ever, Loach’s message is one of compassion and hope. Dave Turner who plays the lead character of TJ Ballantyne, the pub landlord, joined us at the Garden Cinema for a chat with journalist Steve Topple (whose voice you might recognise from the Bella Ciao discussion, which can also be found in this podcast series). 
 
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Alborada teamed up with the Garden Cinema to show the documentary Chicago Boys, which explores the  The film tells the story of the Chicago Boys, a group of Chilean economists who studied at the University of Chicago, under Milton Friedman returned to their country after Augusto Pinochet's coup to become the main architects of the neoliberal economic model in Chile, which also served as a template for other countries around the world. 
 
We discuss the film with scientist and ex-political prisoner Roberto Navarrete, journalist John McEvoy (Declassified UK) who explores the role of Britain in the coup and the policies that resulted from it, and our audience. 

Every winter Mikma and her family travel by foot from their village deep in the Himalayas of Nepal to sell local medicinal plants in urban markets. This year, construction of a new highway to China has begun in their roadless valley, and things are never going to be the same.
 
The documentary film Baato, distributed by Tull Stories is at once a sensitive portrait of a family that has thus far existed largely apart from the trappings of modernity, a fascinating chronicle of the epic journey they embark on each year, and a penetrating depiction of the culture and politics of Nepal.
 
The Garden Cinema's Joe Bond talks to co-director Lucas Millard during a satellite Q&A following a screening of the film.

We were joined by director Dionne Edwards, producer Georgia Goggin and editor Andonis Trattos, the team behind Pretty Red Dress, a BFI-distributed gem of a film currently on here at the Garden Cinema for a post-screening chat with our audience. 
Join us to delve behind the scenes of this wonderfully nuanced and upbeat film, as we chat about filming in South London, Natey Jones' gracefulness on screen, casting Alexandra Burke, the tussle between masculinity and femininity and the script development process. 
We welcome all comments, input and recommendations!

Writer-director Carolina Cavalli’s darkly comic feature debut, which received its world premiere at the 2022 Venice Film Festival, is a deliciously satirical character study of a twentysomething looking for purpose… and maybe also a friend.
We had the opportunity to chat with  Carolina over zoom about the film, her previous work, her time studying in Paris, audience expectations and the particular role of childhood friends in the lives of expat children!
Amanda will be screened from 9 June at the Garden Cinema. 

We chat to a panel of producers, actors and directors about the current film scene in the Arab world, what is means to be an "Arab film", what the sources of funding tend to be, the topics and genres that appeal most internationally, the intricacies of subtitling and other issues our audience asked about. The event was held as a launch night for the Arab women filmmakers season at the cinema and involved producer and curator Elhum Shakerifar, actress and programmer Sarah Agha and filmmaker Soudade Kaadan.

To mark Italy's Liberation Day, we screened documentary Bella Ciao - Song Of Rebellion. The documentary traces the origins of the revolutionary song, the myths around it, its international appeal and use, its potential commercialisation. Directors Paul Russell and Andrea Vogt joined us to chat about making indie films, Bella Ciao and the deeply moving meanings behind it with Mydylarama journalist Steve Topple.

Teenage rebel Mick Travis (Malcolm McDowell) returns to his upper-crust English public school, caught between the sadistic older boys known as the Whips and the first-year students, known as Scum, who are forced to do their bidding. The petty thefts and anti-social behavior of Travis and his two henchmen, Johnny (David Wood) and Wallace (Richard Warwick), soon attract the attention of both the Whips and the school's out-of-touch administration, and lead to an unexpected showdown.
This British classic was screened at the Garden Cinema with a Q&A with David Wood. David co-starred as one of the three rebel schoolboys in a public school, alongside Malcolm McDowell (Mick) and Richard Warwick (Wallace), and they led the revolution against authority – which was regarded by many as a metaphor for the social and political situation in the UK.
Join us for this podcast to hear David sharing behind the scenes stories and other anecdotes. 
This film was proposed by our member Paddy Cooper. To propose your own screening, log into your members’ account to visit the Members’ Area. We also show members’ choice selections as regular ticketed screenings.
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