Bandon Film Society

How i Ended the Summer

2011-11-09T04:35:00.000-08:00

Wednesday 9th November, 8.15pm, Brogans Inn, Bandon

How the ended the summer is everything you want from a tense psychological drama set against a chilling backdrop of the spectacular artic wilderness. Popogrebsky manages to create a masterpiece of slow-building tension, spiked with the unpredictability of the elements and of human nature itself.

Pavel (Grigoriy Dobrygin) is a young student out of his depth, Sergei (Sergei Puskepalis) a grizzled veteran cut off from his wife and child. They’re wary with each other, distant colleagues with no one else for miles around. Then Pavel receives a terrible piece of information over the radio and sits on it, afraid of Sergei’s shoot-the-messenger reaction.

It’s a film about trust, fraying communication, wilderness survival tactics and what the light does at sunrise. A beautifully shot, gripping and superbly acted Russian drama, this is a film that will have you at the edge of your seat. It was a much deserving winner at the Berlin Film Festival.

Welcome to Season 2011/2012

2011-11-03T12:23:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our fourth year of the Bandon Film Society. It is said that if one can survive the first three years it will determine ultimately if your venture will be successful! I am delighted therefore that Bandon Film Society is now entering its fourth year even if we are in the midst of a major economic recession. Hopefully and with your help this year will prove to be even better than before.

For the coming season Bandon Film Society once more offer a truly amazing programme bringing the best of international film to Bandon and West Cork. This year we have expanded the programme to twelve film screenings that include Irish-made as well as UK, Russian, Swedish, USA, Spanish, French, Australian and Iraqi films that will thrill, entertain, shock, inform and educate.

Four years ago when we started Bandon Film Society we sought to bring film to our local community, in a town with no cinema, and in doing so help build within our community a social outlet for film enthusiasts where we could meet and watch world cinema as well as classic and independent films selected by members.

In the process there have been many milestones along the way; we have screened films to raise funds for emergency relief both locally in Bandon, after the floods of 2009 and for Afghanistan in 2010 while also raising funds for the St.Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal. Bandon Film Society has also been an active partner in the Engage Bandon Arts Festival, screening classic films from the age of silent films to critically acclaimed Irish films in animation and drama. Bandon film Society has also supported the Bandon Gothic Broadway Festival and the nationwide Bealtaine Festival celebrating creativity in older age in both 2010 and 2011.

The success of the club is due entirely to its members who support our society and attend film screenings throughout the year. Without your membership fees we would not be able to operate the club or without your participation select a programme of films each year. Bandon Film Society is a not-for-profit society affiliated to Access Cinema, which aims to provide patrons with an exciting world cinema programme.

Membership for this year’s season is now available and includes a fantastic selection of films as picked by our members. To begin our season and to coincide with the Engage Arts Festival we will be screening the award-winning feature film ‘The Wind that Shakes the Barley’, part of which was shot in Bandon town. This will be the first time the film is to be screened in Bandon and the venue will be the Town Hall. Aside from this, all films will be screened at Brogan’s Inn, Kilbrogan Hill, Bandon.

Membership of Bandon Film Society provides you with an opportunity to see a fantastic selection of world cinema without having to travel outside the town; come join our society and see for yourself what an entertaining club we are. We offer high quality feature films in a social venue where you can have a drink or lively discussion afterwards. Annual membership is outstanding value at €70.

This year’s selection of films should have something to appeal to all tastes and is guaranteed to entertain audiences during the long winter months. The film society is run by volunteers and we hope you can join us during the season, where we look forward to welcoming familiar and new faces alike in a friendly and social setting. As always new members are especially welcome.

We wish to thank everyone at Brogan’s Inn for their support in providing such an excellent venue and their assistance in screening films throughout the year.

Declan Waugh

Chairman, Bandon Film Society

How I Ended This Summer

2011-11-03T11:35:00.000-07:00

Screening:

Wednesday 9th November 2011

Brogans Inn, Bandon 8.15pm

How I Ended This Summer is everything you could want from a tense thriller set at an isolated Siberian weather station. It’s about trust, fraying communication, wilderness survival tactics and what the light does at sunrise. A beautifully shot, gripping and superbly acted Russian drama, this is a film that will have you at the edge of your seat. It was a much deserving winner at the Berlin Film Festival.

My Afternoons with Marguerite

2011-11-03T11:33:00.000-07:00

Screening Wednesday 26th November

My Afternoons with Marguerite is the story of life's random encounters. In a small French town, Germain, played by Gérard Depardieu, a nearly illiterate man in his 50’s and considered to be the village idiot by his friends at the local bistro, takes a walk to the park one day and happens to sit beside Marguerite, a little old lady, who changes his life forever. It’s been a while since we’ve encountered such a feel-good movie. This is just the ticket; we need such things in gloomy times.

Inside Job

2011-10-11T05:50:00.001-07:00

Wednesday 12th October 2011 at 8.15pm

Brogans Inn

To show their support to the protestors against Wall Street in New York Bandon Film Society will be screening the critically acclaimed film Inside Job.

This film won an Oscar for Best Documentary- in addition to winning the New York Film Critics Award, Writers Guild of America- Best Documentary Screenplay.

The film is about the very things you need to know about Wall Street and how the economy and politics work to ensure that the rich stay wealthy.

This film is about inequality, corrupt financial markets and the how the economic and political power of banks is driving the middle class into poverty and economic despair.

This film will explain why we may be left with not just a lost decade but a lost generation, unless the public fight back, educate themselves and demand that our politicians legislate to defend the public good nothing will change.

This film will explain why a peaceful anti wall street movement has erupted across the United States in the past fortnight.

If you missed the news you can find out all about it on the links provided below.

TIME MagazineWall Street Protest 12 Days and Little Sign of Slowing Down article here

Living History Through Film

2011-09-19T10:14:00.000-07:00

The Skibbereen Eagle may have been famous for declaring ‘it was keeping an eye on the Czar of Russia’ in the 19^th century but it can definitely be said that Russia is now keeping its eye on West Cork based on the experience of noted historian Gabriel Doherty, lecturer in Irish revolutionary history at University College Cork. Mr.Doherty recently presented a lecture in St.Petersburg, Russia, on the Irish War of Independence and Civil War period, incorporating in part the much acclaimed and award-winning Irish independent film The Wind that Shakes the Barley, which won the Palme d'Or for best film in Cannes 2006.

The film as many will recall was largely shot on location in West Cork, most notably in Timoleague, Coolea and Bandon town where Bandon Town Hall, Hamilton Highschool, the Allen Institute and North Main Street were used as key backdrops for the film. Many of the extras for the film came from the local community in the Bandon and Macroom areas.

The Wind that Shakes the Barley is an Irish war drama film directed by Ken Loach and set during the Irish War of Independence (1919–1921) and the Irish Civil War (1922–1923). Written by Paul Laverty, this drama tells the story of two County Cork brothers who join the Irish Republican Army to fight for Irish independence from the United Kingdom. Many of the events represented in the film are associated with real historical figures based in and around Bandon Town during this historic period. Bandon remained largely at the centre of events that occurred during this period, with noted rebel leaders such as Sean Hales and Tom Barry of the West Cork Brigade and Anna Hurley, the leader of the Bandon branch of Cummann na mBan, all residing in the area. Within Bandon town, the British Army were present in force with two factions stationed in separate army barracks, the Essex regiment commanded by the notorious Major Percival and the Black and Tans who were stationed in the Devonshire Hotel. According to Tom Barry, no Black and Tan atrocity in Cork came close to what the Essex Regiment did; he personally attempted to assassinate Major Percival on at least one occasion for his role in what Tom Barry regarded as war crimes. There is no doubt that the Essex regiment were despised for the atrocities that they committed, on one occasion capturing two close friends of Tom Barry’s ; Tom Harte and Patrick Hales and mercilessly torturing them. The torture itself of Hales and Harte is believed to have influenced a scene in the film The Wind that Shakes the Barley.

Many may not realise that during the period of the War of Independence, Bandon town and its hinterland remained one of the most active regions nationally for republican activity. The West Cork Brigade was involved in successful military engagements at Toureen and Kilmichael just one month preceding and after the tumultuous event of Bloody Sunday in Dublin. Within months of it, the West Cork IRA, led by Tom Barry, carried out a large-scale ambush at Crossbarry. They were nearly surrounded but manage to escape. This was one of the largest military encounters of the War of Independence.

Not shortly afterwards, in the summer of 1921 rebel activity reached a high point with the British garrisons at Bantry, Skibbereen, Drimoleague, Clonakilty, Bandon, Innishannon and Kilbrittain all under attack. The period was one of high anxiety with the countryside griped by violence and suspicion. Reprisals by the British forces involved the destruction of property and arrest, murder or harming of civilians; this in turn led to further reprisals by republican forces who commenced a campaign against Irish country houses. Some 16 country houses were destroyed around Bandon town and Commandant Sean Hales, leader of the Bandon Battalion of the IRA kidnapped James Francis Bernard the 4^th Earl of Bandon and Lord Lieutenant of County Cork.

During the final four weeks of the War of Independence, armed parties of the IRA engaged in military activity in Bandon on eight occasions, the Innishannon Post was fired at on four occasions and Kilbrittain Barracks sniped at five times. British soldiers were wounded at Ballylickey as was a Black and Tan sergeant and an enemy agent in Bandon. Yet another Essex soldier was shot dead within sight of his Bandon barracks and one more Black and Tan was killed in Skibbereen. The successes in West Cork were not without sacrifice as many local volunteers and patriots from Bandon, Kilbrittain, Timoleague, Ballinadee, Courtmacsherry, Dunmanway and Rossmore were killed in the struggle for independence. Not long afterwards, two of West Corks most famous leaders suffered a similar fate. On August 22^nd 1922 Michael Collins, Commander-in-Chief of the National Army, was shot dead at an ambush at Béal na mBláth and four months later his friend and comrade Sean Hales T.D. was gunned down outside Leinster House in Dublin. His brother Tom Hales fought on the opposing side and commanded the Flying Column, which attacked the Free State Army convoy at Béal na mBálth resulting in the death of his friend, Michael Collins.

All of this sets the scene for the first screening in Bandon of the award-winning historical film The Wind that Shakes the Barley on Sunday 25th September in the Town Hall by Bandon Film Society in conjunction with the Engage Arts Festival. Of particular interest to many in West Cork and beyond will be the historical talk to be given prior to the film by Gabriel Doherty, lecturer in Irish revolutionary history at University College Cork. Gabriel has edited several volumes on this topic, including studies of Michael Collins, Eamonn De Valera and the 1916 Rising. He has also written and lectured numerous times on the subject. His lecture will no doubt be interesting and insightful with its focus on the historical themes, personalities and episodes alluded to in the film and the extent to which its depiction of the War of Independence and Civil War is faithful to the historical record.

Additionally, to mark the participation of Bandon and its community in this award-winning film a commemorative plaque will be unveiled at the Town Hall on the night at 7.20pm by the Town Mayor.

Booking for the event is highly recommended as places are strictly limited. Tickets for the double bill historical talk and film screening are €10. To avoid disappointment, please call 086-3689939 or 087-1205022 to book tickets. Tickets are also available at the following outlets in Bandon town: An Tobairín, Bandon Books, URRU and Hickeys Newsagents.

Nowhere Boy: 8th June 2011

2011-09-19T10:03:00.001-07:00

A biopic based on the early and informative years of John Lennon. It is the story of a troubled childhood and a determined and strong-minded young man who uses his love of music to overcome a bitter and uncomfortable domestic past. ‘Nowhere Boy’ is a joyful journey into the power of personality, the finding of friends and the start of an amazing life. Moving and emotional with outstanding individual performances. Hugely entertaining.

The White Ribbon: 11th May 2011

2011-09-19T10:01:00.002-07:00

The White Ribbon is a stark, contemplative and hauntingly brilliant film set in a rural farming community in 1913. The film effectively utilizes tension and a bleak atmosphere to deliver a thought-provoking examination of nascent fascism. Unlike conventional thrillers, this film does not restore a moral order to the universe. Rather, it questions it. It must be seen.

Tulpan: 13th April 2011

2011-09-19T10:01:00.001-07:00

The traditional lifestyle of nomadic sheep herders on the harsh Kazakh steppe provides quietly sensational drama in ‘Tulpan’. This engrossing tale of a 20-ish youth who can't achieve a long-cherished dream of tending his own flock without first acquiring a wife is both a lovely and unsentimental story. It's easy to see why Tulpan has been so well-received at film festivals. Superlatives are hard to avoid: original, raw, authentic, genuine, funny, joyous, honest. A must see.

Mugabe and The White African: 9th March 2011

2011-09-19T10:00:00.001-07:00

An intimate and moving account of one family's extraordinary courage in the face of overwhelming injustice and brutality. This is a true story based on the experiences of Michael Campbell who faced with intimidation and aggression, chose to put up a fight for his land, taking the unprecedented step of challenging Mugabe before the South African Development Community's international court. Filmed covertly in a country where a press ban exists, Mugabe and the White African provides a valuable, unsettling insight into the reality of life under Mugabe's dictatorship.

Machan: 9th February 2011

2011-09-19T09:59:00.001-07:00

This is a truly excellent Sri Lankan movie based on the true story of the not-so-real Sri Lankan National Handball Team. A group of troubled slum dwellers living on the margins of society under impossible pressures think their prayers have been answered in the form of an invitation to travel to Bavaria for the 2004 International Handball Championships but they find that the invitation was not intended as a one-way ticket into the Golden West. While Machan handles some delicate social issues, it is never overly-sentimental and never melodramatic, but brims with charm, compassion and ultimately hope.

Departures

2011-09-19T09:57:00.001-07:00

Winner of the 2009 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, Departures tells the story of a concert cellist named Daigo who undergoes a transformation following the death of his father and the dissolution of his Tokyo orchestra. Daigo retreats to his picturesque hometown in northern Japan to look for work and responds to an ad for a company called “Departures,” thinking it’s a travel agency. ‘Departures’ is a tonally eccentric, lushly-scored, moving and funny drama that uses the rituals of death to foster a greater appreciation of life. Excellent film, really enjoyed by all members.

I am Love/ Lo Son L'Amore'.

2010-12-07T10:19:00.000-08:00

Wednesday 8th December 2010 at 8pm Brogans Inn Bandon.

The next screening of the Bandon Film Society on the 8th December is the Italian Film 'I am Love / Lo Sono L’Amore'.

An melodrama about power, family, trust and self-discovery. Its a story about repression in relationships and breaking free. Set in Milan’s upper classes, in the Art Deco villa of a family of great wealth. A wonderfully absorbing film in the true classic Italian style offering magnificent cinematography, production design, costumes and score – by American opera composer John Adams.

The cast is led by the British Academy award winning actress Tilda Swinton as Emma Recchi. Co-producers Swinton and Guadagnino developed the movie together over an 11-year period. The film premiered in the United States at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, and premiered in both the Venice Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival. Date 8th December, 8.15pm.

New members always welcome.

HELP MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Flood and Humanitarian Relief for Pakistan

2010-10-05T07:17:00.000-07:00

Time: 9pm

Venue: St Peters Church, Bandon

Tickets: €10

Note: Tickets are limited and Eric's performance last year was a sold out event, so book early to avoid disappointment.

Next Friday the 15^th October Bandon Film Society in association with Partnership for Change a not for profit climate change initiative will be screening the acclaimed 1931 film Dracula in St Peters Church Bandon with the renowned composer Dr Eric Sweeney to raise funds for flood and humanitarian relief in Pakistan. All proceeds from the event are being donated to the Karachi Relief Trust.

According to the UN the number of people suffering in Pakistan is double the combined total of the 2004 Indian ocean tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The total number affected by the recent floods is 20 million.

Two years ago I met Ayesha Siddiqi, a young Pakistan graduate at a climate change conference. Little did I know that within two years both our countries would be hit by natural disasters as a result of extreme weather events. Our towns and cities have largely been rebuilt, nobody perished in the floods, we have survived one catastrophe to witness another economic crisis. But this pails into insignificance to what the people of Pakistan are currently experiencing. The earthquake that hit northern Pakistan in 2005 killed 85,000 people, made more than 3million homeless with more than 1000 hospitals destroyed. Now less than five years later they are suffering the worst humanitarian crisis to befall a nation in modern times. The floods devastated the already flimsy public health system destroying hundreds of clinics and inundated an area more than twice the size of Ireland, crippling Pakistan’s agriculture and its economy.

Ayesha is currently working with Karachi Relief, a Pakistan Disaster Management Voluntary Organization (www.karachirelief.org) supported by civic minded volunteers. She contacted me recently appealing for help. They have set up camps in some of the worst affected areas and are providing food sanitation, shelter, medical supplies and clean drinking water. The organisation is entirely run and managed by unpaid professionals like Ayesha, volunteering their time and resources in an attempt to make a difference.

Dracula: 15th October 2010 9pm St Peters Church, Bandon

2010-09-16T14:40:00.001-07:00

This is a 1931 film adaptation of the 1897 novel of Dracula by Irish author Bram Stoker.Dracula is one of the earliest classic American horror films, an acclaimed masterpiece directed by Tod Browning. This version of the film is still regarded by many as the best film adaptation of the orginal book. A motion picture for people who love cinema the opening scenes set in Dracula’s castle are magnificient. Dr Eric Sweeneys simultaneous masterful performance of the film score on organ uses melodic and dissonant themes to heighten the macabre atmosphere without upstaging the film, itself. Experience the savory melodrama, absorbing spectacle and horror that so startled and amazed audiences nearly eighty years ago. This screening of Dracula as with Last years Phantom of the Opera should be a night to remember.

Note: This is an extraodinary screening and live musical performance. Tickets €10.

Proceeds with be donated to Karachi Relief in Pakistan

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: 13th Oct 2010

2010-09-16T14:00:00.000-07:00

An engrossing and sometimes disturbing mystery based on Stieg Larsson's best selling crime novel The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is a classically suspenseful story. An intriguing and intelligent thriller boasting outstanding performances and relentless pace. This is a mind-bending and mesmerizing thriller that takes its time unlocking one mystery only to uncover another, all to chilling and immensely satisfying effect.

His and Hers: 25th Sept 2010

2010-09-16T13:57:00.000-07:00

No other film this year has told such a strong story with such touching conviction. The movie is an enchanting portrait of Irish women as they share in a frank, funny and gracious manner, the story of their relationships with men from childhood to dating and marriage to old age. The story is told by a 90 year old woman and is represented by seventy different women throughout the film. It’s a unique style of story telling and a unique story finding comedy in the mundane, tragedy in the profound and providing an original insight into life.

Lemon Tree: 9th June 2010

2010-09-16T13:55:00.000-07:00

A Palestinian widow tries to protect her lemon grove when an Israeli government minister moves in next door. Her trees are seen as a potential threat to his security, a hiding place for terrorists and she is issued orders to have it uprooted. However, the security forces have not reckoned on the grit and determination of the widow, who engages young Palestinian lawyer in her attempt to try and save her trees. This is a film based on a true story.

Flame and Citron: 12th May 2010

2010-09-16T13:54:00.000-07:00

Danish drama set in Copenhagen during World War II, based on real events and eyewitness acounts. The film tells the tale of two fighters in the Danish resistance who put everything on the line in their fight against the Nazis. As they get closer to attacking the head of the Gestapo, the men realize that they can only trust each other.

Conversations With My Gardener: 14th April 2010

2010-09-16T13:50:00.000-07:00

French drama starring Daniel Auteuil as a successful artist, weary of Parisian life and on the verge of divorce, returns to the country to live in his childhood house. When he hires a gardener who happens to be a former school friend, a warm, fruitful conversation starts between the two men. As they see everything through each other's eyes, they find a beauty they have never seen before.

Gomorrah

2010-03-16T04:09:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 16th March

Starting at 8pm sharp

Brogans Inn Kilbrogan

Nominated for the Palme d'Or and won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008 Gomorrah is an award winning film involving a multi-plotted story encompassing two Neapolitan 'families' hell bent on wiping each other out.

Dodging the bullets and police are Don Cico (Imparato), an elderly, soft-spoken man whose job it is to pay the families whose relatives are in jail; Scarface fan Marco (Marco Micur) and Ciro (Ciro Petrone) are two teenagers looking to break into a life of crime; 13-year-old Toto (Albruzzese) hopes that being a drug carrier will provide for his family; Pasquale (Salvatore Cantalupo) works for a Gomorrah-run haute couture business but defies the rules and breaks out on his own; and Roberto (Paternoster) does his best to steer clear of the troubles but his clean job is dirtier than first realised.

The film was chosen by the National Association of Cinemagraphic Industries to represent Italy in contention for Best Foreign Language Film at the 81st Academy Awards.

Gomorrah is a violent but realistic look at the 'other mafia,' but if you're thinking The Godfather think again, as this group aren't as elegant and their businesses not as structured as The Corleones. It's a vicious and cruel jungle these characters inhabit and director Garrone doesn't allow the viewer escape from the horror of the world; we never get a glimpse of the real world outside the rundown flats the families own.

The performances are flawless and the characters well drawn, but cutting back and forth between the various stories, of which there are too many, Gomorrah can lose any momentum it attempts to build up. Saying that, crime fans will love this fresh take on their favourite genre.

Rachel Getting Married Wednesday 10th February 2010

2010-02-09T12:22:00.000-08:00

Brogans Inn

Date: Wednesday 10th February 2010

Time: 8.15 pm

This is a heartfelt, perceptive and sometimes hilarious family portrait in which Anne Hathaway stars as a young woman who, all but estranged from her family and struggling with various personal crises, has been in and out of rehab for the past decade. When her sister Rachel gets married, she returns to her family home for the wedding party and her reappearance forces long-simmering tensions to surface - causing hilarity and heartbreak in equal measures.

The North Face Wednesday 3rd February 2010

2010-02-04T03:27:00.000-08:00

Set in 1936, the film centers around four mountain climbers who attempt to climb the north face of the Eiger Mountain in Switzerland. Nazi newsreels of the 1930s called it 'the last problem of the Alps'. Hesitant climbers called it the 'Death Wall'. Towering above the Swiss ski resort of Grindelwald, the Eiger presented a sheer face of rock which had long made it one of the most treacherous Alpine peaks, with a long list of fatalities to prove it.

The fact that the near-vertical route to the summit remained unclimbed produced hysteria in Germany during the Nazi era, where the ethos of Aryan physical attainment became a cultural mission-statement prior to the 1936 Berlin Olympics. This political background plays a significant part in the vivid recreation of a famous story, adding weight to a viscerally effective portrayal of man against nature.

Setting their sights on the north face are two young Germans, Toni Kurz (Benno Fürmann) and Andi Hinterstoisser (Florian Lukas), who prove their anti-authoritarian credentials by leaving their posts as uniformed mountain rangers to take a crack at the peak. A romance angle enters when Luise (Johanna Wokalek), the young photographer covering the story for the Hitler-supporting newspaper 'Berliner Zeitung', just happens to be Kurz's old flame.

The film is truly intense, providing breathtaking mountaineering scenes, tension-fraught, high-altitude rappelling and cliffhanging, razor-edged suspense – as good as any such scenes ever put on film.

Audience reaction and response on the night were that this was one powerful film, one of the best we have screened.

A Christmas Tale January 13th 2010

2010-01-12T10:56:00.000-08:00

Our first film screening of 2010 promises to be a great film. The movie received an excellent 86% approval rating from film critics on the website Rotten Tomatoes.

This comic, ultimately touching family melodrama, starring Catherine Deneuve is a holiday movie in which death, disease and mental illness cozily share the table with music, religious pageantry, and romantic and familial love. For some, Christmas means the joy of spending time with loved ones but not for the Vuillard family in Arnaud Despechin's black comedy.

Christmas Charity Screening for Bandon Flood Appeal

2009-12-15T12:06:00.000-08:00

Bandon Film Society in association with Partnership for Change are organising a Special Christmas Charity Screening for Bandon Flood Appeal on Wednesday 30th December 2009 in St Peters Church, Bandon at 8pm

The movie will be The Princess Bride, arguable one of the funniest and most entertaining films of all times, a classic fairy tale with comedy, drama, hero's, villains and much more, all welcome.

Minimum contribution requested €5.00. Monies raised will go to Irish Red Cross and St Vincent De Paul

Further Information Contact:
Declan Waugh Tel: 023-8841933 M: 086-3853363

The Baader-Meinhof Complex

2009-12-09T04:27:00.000-08:00

The Baader-Meinhof Complex: 16^th December 2009

Germany in the 1970s: Murderous bomb attacks & the threat of terrorism are rocking the very foundations of the yet fragile German democracy. The radicalized children of the NAZI generation are fighting a violent war against what they perceive as the new face of fascism. An ambitious, sprawling epic of social revolution.

A must see for the politically alert of any age. Nominated for both a Golden Globe and Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

The Visitor: 11th November 2009

2009-11-09T11:29:00.000-08:00

Screening Date: 11th Nov 2009
Screening Time: 20:15hrs
Venue: Brogans Inn, Kilbrogan Hill

A recently widowed lonely and bitter college professor keeps an apartment in NYC that he has not been to for a time. Traveling there he is suddenly confronted with a Syrian musician and his Senegalese girlfriend living in it; apparently victims of a real estate scam. He decides to share the apartment with them and an unlikely friendship develops. This is a story torn from today’s events, wonderfully heartfelt–a tale of growth, change and renewal.

I saw this film in Christchurch NZ earlier this year when I was visiting my brother down under. I really liked the movie, some great character performances and excellent casting. A relatively low budget film that will warm your heart.

Genova Date: 21st Oct 2009

2009-11-09T11:27:00.000-08:00

Haunting, suspenseful and powerfully emotional, this is a brilliantly directed drama with terrific performances from Colin Firth as Joe, a university lecturer who moves with his two American-bred daughters to Genova, Italy after his wife is killed in a car crash. There, the three surviving members of the family adjust to their loss and adapt to their new life in very different, and often conflicting, ways.

Phantom of the Opera: 25th September 2009

2009-09-22T15:00:00.000-07:00

The Phantom of the Opera is one of the most celebrated of all American silent films and one which is still regularly screened today to enthusiastic audiences. The version of the story that you will see tonight is the first cinema adaptation, and was made in 1925. The key role of the Phantom himself was played by Lon Chaney, one of the silent cinema’s most successful and highly paid actors.

Dr Eric Sweeneys simultaneous masterful performance of the film score on organ uses melodic and dissonant themes to heighten the macabre atmosphere without upstaging the film, itself. Experience the savory melodrama, absorbing spectacle and horror that so startled and amazed audiences nearly eight-five years ago This screening of Phantom of the Opera should be a night to remember.

Booking essential: Limited tickets available.

Tel:086-3853363

or 087-1205022

Welcome to our film season 2009/2010

2009-09-22T05:11:00.000-07:00

The nights are drawing in which means that it’s time to get the Autumn programme of the Bandon Film Society off to a start. Our opening film is the classic 1925 silent film Phantom of the Opera with organ accompaniment by Dr Eric Sweeney at St Peters Church on Friday on 25^th September with many more great films to see in the coming year.

The Bandon Film Society is a not for profit society affiliated to Access Cinema which aims to provide patrons with a comprehensive cinema programme of world class movies that includes foreign, classic and independent films. This season’s films should have something to appeal to all tastes with films selected by film society members.

Membership for this years season (September 2009- July 2010) is available now. For our new season, starting on Wednesday 21st October we shall be screening films at Brogans Inn, Killbrogan Hill, Bandon.

We operate on an annual subscription basis. Full membership 'season tickets' for 2009/10 are outstanding value at €70 which guarantee a seat at all films. The film society is run by a committee of volunteers from the general membership. We hope you can join us during the season, where we look forward to welcoming familiar and new faces alike in a friendly and social setting. Films shown locally provide a social event for the community and encourage people to come out and meet up, without having to make a big journey. We welcome new members.

Finally, we confess to being hopelessly biased: we believe a strong programme of films can provoke discussion, offer insight, escape, inspiration, a mental and visual feast and — not least — a really good night out! In these challenging and difficult times popping out to see a film is a relatively inexpensive way to enjoy a few hours of escapism and meet new friends.

Bandon Film Society

How i Ended the Summer

Welcome to Season 2011/2012

How I Ended This Summer

My Afternoons with Marguerite

Inside Job

Living History Through Film

Nowhere Boy: 8th June 2011

The White Ribbon: 11th May 2011

Tulpan: 13th April 2011

Mugabe and The White African: 9th March 2011

Machan: 9th February 2011

Departures

I am Love/ Lo Son L'Amore'.

HELP MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Flood and Humanitarian Relief for Pakistan

Dracula: 15th October 2010 9pm St Peters Church, Bandon

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: 13th Oct 2010

His and Hers: 25th Sept 2010

Lemon Tree: 9th June 2010

Flame and Citron: 12th May 2010

Conversations With My Gardener: 14th April 2010

Gomorrah

Rachel Getting Married Wednesday 10th February 2010

Brogans Inn

Time: 8.15 pm

The North Face Wednesday 3rd February 2010

A Christmas Tale January 13th 2010

Christmas Charity Screening for Bandon Flood Appeal

The Baader-Meinhof Complex

The Baader-Meinhof Complex: 16th December 2009

A must see for the politically alert of any age. Nominated for both a Golden Globe and Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

The Visitor: 11th November 2009

Genova Date: 21st Oct 2009

Phantom of the Opera: 25th September 2009

Welcome to our film season 2009/2010

The Baader-Meinhof Complex: 16^th December 2009