Paid attendance of 452 in total plus 13 AFF staff. $1000 was donated to the Hamilton Out of the Cold Program from the proceeds.
300 submitted their ratings for Better Days.
5: Excellent - 101 (34%)
4: Very Good- 91 (30%)
3: Good - 77 (26%)
2: Poor - 22 ( 7%)
1: Very Poor - 9 ( 3%)
Better Days is a comedy-drama that explores starting over after a family tragedy, with a great cast led by Sonja Smits (Street Legal, Videodrome, Owning Mahoney) and Alix Sideris. Directed by Joan Carr-Wiggin (Getting to Know You, Happily Ever After), the film showcases her distinctive approach to film making and follows the story of a woman trying to figure out her new life, which while complicated by her adult children and friends, might benefit from the help of three teenagers. Better Days offers a refreshing blend of comedy and drama from an inspirational filmmaker. Better Days was filmed in Sault Ste. Marie.
All proceeds to Hamilton Out of the Cold.
Thanks to our Season Sponsor: Rastin's Wilson Street PharmaChoice Pharmacy
Time: 100 min
BUY TICKETS HERE: https://secure1.tixhub.com/memorialarts/Procurement/lindexfmk.asp?cboPerformances=332&cboEvent=163&iEvents_id=163
Reviews
Better Days sometimes seems headed into Hallmark Movie territory, only to be smartly snapped out of it by Carr-Wiggin’s writing. ... Weirdly, it’s tempting to imagine what Better Days would be with a big Hollywood budget, a sort of Nancy Meyers-esque frothy thing with A-list movie stars and fabulous production values. And maybe all the incisive writing toned down for a mainstream audience. .... Yeah, forget that idea. Liz Braun, Alliance of Women Film Journalists
Much of the success of Better Days is due to a remarkable performance by Smits as the grieving Kate. By handing the reins to the veteran Smits, Better Days is in the best of hands. By leaning into the madness of the moment, Smits is absolutely on fire from beginning to end. This is a film that delves into the chaos of grief and, as a result, requires a chaotic performance but she knows exactly when to hit the right notes. And Better Days’ unique tone gives Smits ample material with which to play. With moments ranging from comedy to gravitas, she offers a beautiful and complete performance. Steve Norton/Screen Fish
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/better_days_2023
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19315304/
260 plus 11 AFF staff in attendance
$1000 donated to the Ancaster Food Drive
Ratings for Rose (178 submissions)
5: Excellent 137 (77%)
4: Very Good 36 (20%)
3: Good 4 (2%)
2: Poor 1 (<1%)
ROSE is the story of two sisters, Inger and Ellen, and how their relationship is challenged on a highly anticipated coach trip from Denmark to Paris. When Inger announces her struggles with mental health to the group, the sisters are faced with pity from some and discrimination from others. ROSE is a film about love and care for each other, in spite of our differences, as much as it is a film about not judging a book by its cover. Written and directed by Niels Arden Oplev (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo).
106 min
Danish and French with English subtitles
Time: 106 min
BUY TICKETS HERE: https://www.memorialarts.ca/films/rose
Reviews
ROSE is the story of two sisters, Inger and Ellen, and how their relationship is challenged on a highly anticipated coach trip from Denmark to Paris. When Inger announces her struggles with mental health to the group, the sisters are faced with pity from some and discrimination from others. ROSE is a film about love and care for each other, in spite of our differences, as much as it is a film about not judging a book by its cover. Written and directed by Niels Arden Oplev (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo).
A good road movie is expected to do more than just cross distance; by film tradition, it also involves personal growth and revelations. Few films have fulfilled those expectations better than the recently released Danish comedy-drama Rose. Monica Reid/Far Out Magazine
The writer-director, Niels Arden Oplev, based the film in part on his own experiences, and the movie keenly illustrates how stigma surrounding mental illness hurts neurodivergent people and their families. Natalia Winkleman/The New York Times
ROSE is a Danish film certain to capture the hearts of any serious filmgoers --- anchored by the absolutely wonderful portrayal by Sofie Gråbøl as Inger. David Kaplan/Kaplan vs. Kaplan
Gråbøl is superb throughout, recognising Inger as a complicated individual who has a lot more going on than just her illness. JennieKermode/Eye For Film
All proceeds to Ancaster Community Food Drive.
Thanks to our Season Sponsor: Rastin's Wilson Street PharmaChoice Pharmacy
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13845652/
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rose_2022
213 plus 9 AFF staff in attendance
$1000 donated to Ancaster Food Drive from this screening and Rose
Ratings for The Teachers' Lounge (131 submissions)
5: Excellent 41 (31%)
4: Very Good 47 (36%)
3: Good 32 (24%)
2: Poor 6 ( 5%)
1: Very Poor 5 ( 4%)
Carla Nowak (Leonie Benesch) is a dedicated, idealistic young teacher in her first job at a German middle school. Her relaxed rapport with her seventh-grade students is put under stress when a series of thefts occur at the school, and a staff investigation leads to accusations and mistrust among outraged parents, opinionated colleagues, and angry students. Caught in the middle of these complex dynamics, Carla tries to mediate—but the more she tries to do everything right, the more desperate her position becomes.
98 min
German with English subtitles
Proceeds to the Ancaster Community Drive
Thanks to our Season SponsorL Rastin's Pharmacy
Time: 106 min
BUY TICKETS HERE: https://www.memorialarts.ca/films/rose
Awards
Nominated for an Academy Award: Best International Film
Berlin Film Festival: won Europa Cinemas award
German Film Awards: won Best Picture, Actress, Screenplay and Director
National U.S. Board Review: nominated one of top 5 International Films
Palm Springs Film Festival: won Director to Watch
Valladolid Film Festival: won Best Editing
Nominated for 17 other international awards
Reviews
A nail-biting thriller in which director İlker Çatak and sensational star Leonie Benesch turn a tale of petty theft at a German middle school into a battle between freedom of expression and institutional control all too easily recognizable as our own. Peter Travers ABC news
The Teachers’ Lounge is a pulse-pounding exploration of the ways we draw lines between enemies and friends, and the courage it takes to blur them. Sheri Linden/Hollywood Reporter
A gripping story of idealism battered by bruising reality, high-handed authority and arrogant, misguided students who organize themselves to achieve maximum chaos, “Lounge” is a cautionary slice of education in an “Every parent’s an expert” era. Roger Moore/Movie Nation
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26612950/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26612950/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
Attendance 359 plus 11 AFF Staff
Ratings (Harold Fry - 211 submitted)
5: Excellent - 171 (81%)
4: Very Good - 33 (16%)
3: Good - 7 ( 3%)
$1500 donated to Ancaster Community Services
A seemingly unremarkable man in his sixties named Harold (Jim Broadbent) one day learns that his old friend Queenie is dying. He goes to mail a letter, only to keep walking, much to the despair of his wife Maureen (Penelope Wilton). Adapted from the 2012 novel by Rachel Joyce. Cinematography by Kate McCullough (The Quiet Girl). This is the fifth AFF film featuring Jim Broadbent (The Lady in the Van, Another Year, The Damned United, The Young Victoria and Pride.
Thanks to our Season Sponsor Rastin's Pharmacy
Proceeds to Ancaster Community Services
Time: 108 min
BUY TICKETS HERE: will go online shortly
Reviews
It's a non-religious pilgrim story about the power of hope and faith. A movie that celebrates everyday joys and human connection. The perfect pick-me-up tonic for tough times. Larushka Ivan-Zadeh/Metro Newspaper (UK)
It is immediately one of the great movies about ageing and regret, up there with 45 Years and The Straight Story. Kevin Maher/Times (UK)
Here's Oscar winner Jim Broadbent giving arguably the performance of his illustrious career -- an actor made for the long road playing a man on that very route. Harry Guerin/RTÉ (Ireland)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14097206/
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_unlikely_pilgrimage_of_harold_fry
Attendance: 309 plus 8 AFF Staff
Ratings (Freud - 155 submitted)
5: Excellent - 33 (21%)
4: Very Good - 57 (37%)
3: Good - 46 (30%)
2: Poor - 15. (9.5%)
1: Very Poor - 3. (2.5%)
On the eve of the Second World War, two of the greatest minds on the twentieth century, C.S. Lewis (Matthew Goode) and Sigmund Freud (Anthony Hopkins) converge for their own personal battle over the existence of God. FREUD’S LAST SESSION interweaves the lives of Freud and Lewis, past, present, and through fantasy, bursting from the confines of Freud’s study on a dynamic journey. Directed by Matthew Brown (The Man Who Knew Infinity).
Proceeds to the Ancaster Community Services
Thanks to our Season SponsorL Rastin's Pharmacy
Time: 122 min
BUY TICKETS HERE: tickets for sale online shortly
Awards
Nomination: Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins) - Movies for Grownups Award
Reviews
Just when you think you know everything Hopkins can do, he digs down and comes up with something new. Mick LaSalle San Francisco Chronicle
Freud's Last Session is a film for those who enjoy acting at its finest. Richard Proeps/The Independent Critic
The script also tells us an enormous amount about these two men, both in what they say and what they don’t. By the conclusion, we have a good idea of what they believe, why they believe it, and how they feel about the other. Tim Brennan/About Boulder
Anthony Hopkins gives another mesmerizing performance as Sigmund Freud, during his (wholly conjectured) meeting with author and Christian convert C.S. Lewis. Christopher Lloyd/The Film Yap
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20420628/
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/freuds_last_session
173 plus 11 AFF staff in attendance
Origin (146 ratings)
5: Excellent 129 (88%)
4: Very Good 14 (10%)
3: Good. 3 ( 2%)
$900 donated to the Hamilton Food Share
Written and directed by Academy Award nominee Ava DuVernay, ORIGIN chronicles the tragedy and triumph of Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson as she investigates a global phenomenon of epic proportions. Portrayed by Academy Award nominee Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (“King Richard”), Isabel experiences unfathomable personal loss and love as she crosses continents and cultures to craft one of the defining American books of our time. Inspired by the New York Times best-seller “Caste,” ORIGIN explores the mystery of history, the wonders of romance and a fight for the future of us all.
Thanks to our Season SponsorL Rastin's Pharmacy
Thanks to our Film Day Sponsor: Ron Lancaster
Proceeds to Hamilton Food Share
Time: 121 min
BUY TICKETS HERE: off sale
Awards
Virginia Film Festival: won Visionary Award and Audience Award
African American Film Critics Association: won Best Drama, Best Director, Best Actress
Black Film Critics Circle Awards" Won Best Actress
Won 6 Awards and nominated for 29 others
Reviews
Origin, Ava DuVernay’s audacious, ambitious adaptation of the equally audacious and ambitious book “Caste,” operates on so many levels at once that the effect is often dizzyingly disorienting. But hang in there: Viewers who allow themselves to be taken on this wide-ranging, occasionally digressive journey will emerge not just edified but emotionally wrung out and, somehow, cleansed. Ann Hornaday/Washington Post
The film will get people thinking and talking. The way DuVernay directs it, Origin is a swirling tornado of ideas. Peter DeBruge/Variety
Led by a beautiful performance by Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, writer-director Ava DuVernay’s fact-based Origin is a profoundly moving and humanistic movie that explores a range of complex issues about race and culture through the lens of a woman coping with loss and grief. Karen Gordon/Original Cin
How do you make a movie about an intellectual argument? By putting a human face on it, which is what Ava DuVernay and acting force Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor do in this stunning provocation about race and class. Here's something rare: a movie that matters. Peter Travers/ABC News
The resulting docudrama is one of the most thought-provoking movies in recent years — the kind of film you’ll find impossible to forget, the kind of film you’ll want to discuss and debate with friends and colleagues. Richard Roeper/Chicago Sun Times
260 + 8 AFF staff in attendance
(212 submitted ratings)
5: Excellent - 205
4: Very Good - 7
3: Good - 5
$900 donated to Neighbour to Neighbour
Based on the book If It's Not Impossible...: The Life of Sir Nicholas Winton by Barbara Winton, ONE LIFE tells the incredible, emotional true story of Nicholas 'Nicky' Winton (Johnny Flynn), a young London broker who visits Prague in December 1938. In a race against time, Winton convinces Trevor Chadwick (Alex Sharp) and Doreen Warriner (Romola Garai) of the British Committee for Refugees in Czechoslovakia to rescue hundreds of predominantly Jewish children before Nazi occupation closes the borders. Fifty years later, Nicky (Anthony Hopkins) is haunted by the fate of the children he wasn't able to bring to safety in England. It's not until the BBC show "That's Life!" re-introduces him to some of those he helped rescue that he finally begins to come to terms with the guilt and grief he carried -- all the while skyrocketing from anonymity to a national hero.
Time: 109 min
Season Sponsor: Rastin's Pharmacy
Film Date Sponsor: Dundas Valley Sunrise Rotary Club
BUY TICKETS HERE: off sale
Reviews
As we continue to grapple with today’s issues of war, refugee crisis and growing antisemitism, the film’s relevance is so troubling that you cannot fail to be moved by it. Rex Reed/Observer
“One Life” tells a story that needed to be told and tells it impeccably. Mick L:aSalle/San Francisco Chronicle
[A] handsome and soberly stirring period piece... RobbieCollin/Daily Telegraph(UK)
The film does justice to this overwhelmingly moving event in British public life in a quietly affecting drama. Peter Bradshaw/The Guardian
Serves as an urgent reminder of the importance of individual action at a time when the world refugee crisis is at a scale not seen since the Second World War. Alissa Simon/Variety
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13097932/
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/one_life
137 +11 AFF staff in attendance
(110 submitted ratings)
5: Excellent - 86
4: Very Good - 16
3: Good - 8
$900 donated to Neighbour to Neighbour
When her only daughter leaves for college, Suze, a single mom who has lost her purpose, gets stuck taking care of her daughter's heartbroken ex-boyfriend who she can't stand. On her journey of self-discovery, Suze discovers what living purposefully really looks like, while making an unlikely bond along the way. Directed by Linsey Stewart and Dane Clark. Starring Michaela Watkins, Charlie Gillespie and Sarah Waisglass. Filmed in Hamilton.
Season Sponsor: Rastin's Pharmacy
Film Date Sponsor: Dundas Valley Sunrise Rotary Club
BUY TICKETS HERE: off sale
Reviews
What makes this film a rare gem, and worthy of Watkins's talents, is that it's consistently funny, doesn't reduce its leads to stereotypes or tropes and casts Suze as a woman we would actually want to hang out with rather than pity for going through a tough life stage. Teaghan Beaudette/CBC News
Suze, much like the lesson instilled upon Susan and Gage about faulty first perceptions, should not be judged by its cover; dig deep and viewers will discover a tale of the transformative power of unlikely relationships and connection, and how a shared experience can allow one to rediscover their purpose. Sarah Regan/Explain!
Suze is a funny, never-judge-a-book-by-its-cover dramedy, that succeeds because of its engaging lead performances and in the way it presents a platonic relationship based on mutual respect. Richard Crouse
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13097932/
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/one_life
210 +11 AFF staff in attendance
(172 submitted ratings)
5: Excellent - 149
4: Very Good - 22
3: Good - 1
$800 donated to Cancer Assistance Program
The Old Oak is the last pub standing in a once thriving mining village in northern England, a gathering space for a community that has fallen on hard times. There is growing anger, resentment, and a lack of hope among the residents, but the pub and its proprietor TJ are a fond presence to their customers. When a group of Syrian refugees move into the floundering village, a decisive rift fueled by prejudices develops between the community and its newest inhabitants. The formation of an unexpected friendship between TJ and a young Syrian woman named Yara opens up new possibilities for the divided village in this deeply moving drama about loss, fear, and the difficulty of finding hope. The release of The Old Oak reunites legendary British director Ken Loach with Zeitgeist Films and Kino Lorber following our 2020 release of his film Sorry We Missed You. Loach, who is 87 years old, has announced that The Old Oak will be his final film.
Thanks to our Season Sponsor Rastin's Pharmacy
Film Day Sponsor: Olive Tree Wealth Management (Matthew Moccio) and Famee Furlane (Peter Narduzzi)
Proceeds to Cancer Assistance Program
Time: 113 min
Awards
Ghent International Film Festival: won Best Film
Lucarno International Film Festival: won Audience Award
Palm Springs International Film Festival: on Bridging the Borders (Special Mention)
Valladolid International Film Festival: won Best Film and Best Actor
Cinefest Sudbury: won Audience Award
Palic Film Festival: won Audience Award
Calgary International Film Festival: won Audience Award (Special Presentations)
Reviews
It's as engrossing, thoughtful, heartfelt, angry, hopeful, and altogether valuable as his best work. If it is indeed Loach's farewell, it's one hell of a fine note to go out on. Matt Zolter Seitz/RogerEbert.com
An intimate but ambitiously mounted ensemble piece, The Old Oak ranks among Loach’s foremost state-of-the-nation dramas. Jonathan Romney/Screen Daily
The third part in a loose, geographically defined trilogy, as sensitively penned by Loach collaborator Paul Laverty, The Old Oak is a gentler film than the stark austerity painted by I, Daniel Blake or the chilling dissection of the gig economy in Sorry We Missed You. The film is, however, astute in its depiction of a disenfranchised community, Tara Braley/The Irish Times
[Loach] could hardly have delivered a more resonant, timely or indeed angry swan song than this feature which takes up arms against the decay of national compassion. Jonathan Romney/Screen International.
I hope that this isn’t Loach’s final film, but if it is, he has concluded with a ringing statement of faith in compassion for the oppressed. Peter Bradshaw/The Guardian
103 + 9 AFF staff in attendance
(90 submitted ratings)
5: Excellent - 7
4: Very Good - 13
3: Good - 21
2:Poor - 18
1: Very Poor - 31
$800 donated to Cancer Assistance Program
Everyone has their own Chimera, something they try to achieve but never manage to find. For the band of tombaroli, thieves of ancient grave goods and archaeological wonders, the Chimera means redemption from work and the dream of easy wealth. For Arthur, the Chimera looks like the woman he lost, Beniamina. To find her, Arthur challenges the invisible, searches everywhere, goes inside the earth - in search of the door to the afterlife of which myths speak.
In an adventurous journey between the living and the dead, between forests and cities, between celebrations and solitudes, the intertwined destinies of these characters unfold, all in search of the Chimera.
English and Italian with English subtitles
Thanks to our Season SponsorL Rastin's Pharmacy
Thanks to our Film Day Sponsor: Olive Tree Wealth Management (Matthew Moccio)
Proceeds to Cancer Assistance Program
Time: 130 min
Awards
Chicago International Film Festival: Won Best Cinematography, Best Cast Ensemble
European Film Awards: Won Production Design
National Board Review: Won one of top five international films
Sao Paolo International Film Festival: Won International fiction
Valladolid International Film Festival: Won Best Film
Festival Cinéma Méditerranéen de Bruxelles: Won Festival Jury Prize
Reviews
When we talk about “movie magic,” the first thing that comes to mind is often something like the bikes achieving liftoff in “E.T.” But it applies no less to Alice Rohrwacher’s wondrous “La Chimera,” a grubbily transcendent folk tale of a film that finds its enchantment buried in the ground. Jake Coyle/The Associated Press
The movie is so interested in archeology (the credits dedicate it "to all archeologists, custodians of every end") that it becomes an analogue for the viewing experience. Rohrwacher asks us to interpret La Chimera the way archaeologists interpret fragments of the past. The Screen Rant/Alexander Harrison.
Rohrwacher weaves this thread in and out of the more grounded storylines with the most exquisite even-handedness, evoking Greek mythology while creating her own legend. Sophie Monks Kaufman/Time Out
How can a movie be so nimbly poised between past and present, you can’t help but wonder. The stuff of fairy tales -- of a kind of storytelling magic -- is what Rohrwacher, herself, wants to unearth. Jake Coyle/associated Press
This film is clever, ambitious, and funny throughout, but it also works as an intelligent meditation on our attitudes toward life, love, and death. Peter Sobczynski/RogerEbert.com
Alice Rohrwacher’s new film is a beguiling fantasy-comedy of lost love: garrulous, uproarious and celebratory in her absolutely distinctive style. Peter Bradshaw/The Guardian
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14561712/
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/la_chimera
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