Film

Our last season (December 2018) FILM FEAST program:

Friday 7 Dec 7PM - The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran: Animated drama based on the book by Kahlil Gibran. With the voices of Liam Neeson, Salma Hayek, John Krasinski, Frank Langella, Alfred Molina, Quvenzhané Wallis. Directed by Roger Allers 2014. Run time 1 hr 25 mins. PG. R40

The Prophet, by celebrated Lebanese-American author Kahlil Gibran, is among the most popular volumes of poetry ever written. Gibran’s timeless verses have been given enchanting new form in this painterly cinematic adventure about freedom and the power of human expression. This breathtaking animated feature, produced and spearheaded by Salma Hayek, was an official selection at Cannes and made its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. Written and directed by Roger Allers (The Lion King), the film intersperses Gibran’s elegant poetry within stunning animated sequences by a host of award-winning animators and filmmakers from around the world. 

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Tuesday 11 Dec 7PM - Ashes and Snow: Documentary by Gregory Colbert 2005. Narrated by Laurence Fishburne. Run time 1 hr 3 mins. All ages. R40

Ashes and Snow is a film that uses both still and movie cameras to explore the shared poetic sensibilities of human beings and animals. The 60-minute feature is a poetic narrative rather than a documentary. It aims to lift the natural and artificial barriers between humans and other species, dissolving the distance that exists between them.

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Saturday 15 Dec 7PM - I Am Not Your Negro: Documentary narrated by Samuel L. Jackson; with James Baldwin, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Medger Evers, Robert F. Kennedy, Harry Belafonte. Directed by Raoul Peck 2017. Run time 1 hr 35 mins. PG13. R40

Writer James Baldwin tells the story of race in modern America: in 1979, he wrote a letter to his literary agent describing his next project, "Remember This House." The book was to be a revolutionary, personal account of the lives and assassinations of three of his close friends: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. At the time of his death in 1987, he left behind only 30 completed pages of this manuscript. Filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book Baldwin never finished.

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Tuesday 18 Dec 7PM - The Animal Communicator: The Animal Communicator 7PM - documentary with Anna Breytenbach and various non-human animals. Directed by Craig Foster, Swati Thiyagarajan 2012. Run time 52 mins. PG13. R40

The Animal Communicator  Anna Breytenbach is a South African interspecies communicator, animal activist, conservationist, and public speaker. Breytenbach has dedicated her life to what she calls interspecies communication. She sends detailed messages to animals through pictures and thoughts. She then receives messages of remarkable clarity back from the animals. This documentary was nominated for Best Long Documentary and Best Director of the “Jade Kunlun” Awards of 2012 World Mountain Documentary Festival of Qinghai China.

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Saturday 22 Dec 7PM - The Fantastic Mr. Fox: stop-motion animated adaptation of Roald Dahl’s book. With the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Willem Dafoe, Adrien Brody. Directed by Wes Anderson 2009. Run time 1 hr 27 mins. All ages. R40

The Fantastic Mr. Fox is a stop-motion animated comedy directed by Wes Anderson, based on Roald Dahl's 1970 children's novel of the same name. The story is about a fox who steals food each night from three mean and wealthy farmers. They are fed up with Mr. Fox's theft and try to kill him, so they dig their way into the foxes' home, but the animals are able to outwit the farmers and live underground.

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Saturday 29 Dec 7PM - The Triplets of Belleville: animated song/pantomime comedy written and directed by Sylvain Chomet 2003; French w. English subtitles. Run time 1 hr 20 mins. PG13. R40

The Triplets of Belleville has little dialogue; much of the narrative is conveyed through song and pantomime. It tells the story of Madame Souza, an elderly woman who goes on a quest to rescue her grandson Champion, a Tour de France cyclist, who has been kidnapped by the French mafia for gambling purposes and taken to the city of Belleville (an amalgam of New York City, Montreal and Quebec City). She is accompanied by Champion's loyal but obese hound, Bruno, and joined by the Triplets of Belleville, music hall singers from the 1930s, whom she meets in the city.

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Friday 4 Jan 7PM - The Animatrix: animated science fiction anthology film shorts, various directors 2003; run time 1 hr 41 mins. PG13. R40

The Animatrix is a compilation of nine animated short films based on The Matrix trilogy, which was written and directed by the Wachowskis. Four of the shorts were also written by the Wachowskis. The film details the backstory of the Matrix universe, including the original war between man and machines which led to the creation of the titular Matrix. Development of The Animatrix project began when the film series' writers and directors, the Wachowskis, were in Japan promoting the first Matrix film. While in the country, they visited some of the creators of the anime films that had been a strong influence on their work, and decided to collaborate with them.

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Past screenings