13, 15 & 16 August
USA | 2020 | 115 mins | 12A (TBC) | Lee Isaac Chung | Korean with English subtitles
Steven Yeun, Yuh-jung Youn
A Korean American family move to rural Arkansas in search of their own American Dream. Novice farmers, Jacob and Monica Yi are determined to grow a minari crop and root their family more fully in the culture of an occasionally hostile land. Aided by an eccentric neighbour and Monica’s sly, foul-mouthed mother, amidst the instability and challenges of this new life, the family learns how to be resilient and make a home. A tender story, inspired by filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung’s father and featuring an Oscar-winning performance from Yuh-jung Youn.
“An enchanting drama of faith and farming… boosted by terrific performances, glowing visuals and a wonderful musical score.”
Mark Kermode, Observer
20, 22 & 23 August
Cornwall | 2022 | 96’ | 15 | Mark Jenkin | Mary Woodvine, Edward Rowe
On an uninhabited island off the Cornish coast in 1973, a wildlife volunteer’s daily observations of a rare flower take a dark turn into the strange and metaphysical, forcing her to question what is real and what is nightmare. Is the landscape not only alive but sentient? Shot on grainy 16mm film stock, this is a mind-bending follow up to Bait.
27, 29 & 30 August
UK | 2019 | 105’ | 12A | Jessica Hausner
Emily Beecham, Ben Whishaw
Single mother and scientist Alice is a dedicated plant breeder developing a new species. She has engineered a very special flower, remarkable not only for its beauty but also for its therapeutic value: if well looked after, the plant exudes happiness. Excited by her discovery, Alice brings the plant home to her teenage son, Joe. As it grows, so does Alice’s suspicion that her new creation is not as harmless as its nickname suggests. An unsettling modern fairytale.
3, 4 & 7 September
UK | 2013 | 87’ | 15 | Ben Wheatley
Reece Shearsmith, Michael Smiley, Julian Barratt, Ryan Pope
In the 17th century, amid the English Civil War, a group of deserters flee from battle through an overgrown field. Captured by an alchemist, the men fall victim to the powerful energies in the earth. Celebrating its 10-year anniversary, this exploration of the land beneath our feet and its murky history within, is shot by Laurie Rose in glorious black and white.
“Breathtakingly lovely and genuinely unsettling… early 70s folk-horror is a key influence. But so are the experimental films of Maya Deren and Stan Brakhage”
Tom Huddleston, Time Out
+ The Miracle on George Green
UK | 2022 | 12’ | Onyeka Igwe
Fascinated as a child by the English Civil War, the Levellers and the Diggers, Onyeka Igwe created this beautiful short film. Borne of walking through Hackney Marshes in 2020, this is an exploration of political defeat, the romanticism of nature and nostalgia for the concept of Common Land.
10, 12 & 14 September
Colombia | 2015 | 119’ | 12 | Ciro Guerra | Spanish, Portuguese with English subtitles
Nilbio Torres, Antonio Bolívar
In the early 1900s, Karamakate, a young shaman in the Colombian Amazon and the last of his people, helps a sick German explorer and his local guide search for a rare healing plant. Inspired by the journals of two real-life explorers, Guerra constructs a fictional knit of their experiences as the travellers experience the horrific aftermath of the rubber boom in the South American jungle.
“I was utterly mesmerised, captivated and transported.”
Mark Kermode, Observer
17, 19 & 20 September
USA | 1972 | 89’ | PG | Douglas Trumbull, Bruce Dern
After the end of all botanical life on Earth, ecologist Freeman Lowell maintains a greenhouse on a space station in order to preserve various plants for future generations. Assisted by three robots and a small human crew, Lowell rebels when he’s ordered to destroy the greenhouse in favour of carrying cargo, a decision that puts him at odds with everyone but his mechanical companions. Lowell and his robots are forced to do anything necessary to keep their invaluable greenery alive.
“Delivers its ecological message with humour and imagination… deeply moving”
Phillip French, The Guardian
24, 26 & 27 September
France | 2000 | 79’ | PG | Agnès Varda | French with English subtitles
Taking inspiration from the 1867 painting by Jean-François Millet, Agnès Varda speaks to people who scavenge. A practice enshrined in the French constitution, from surplus in the fields, fish washed up after a storm, to rubbish in dustbins; these ‘gleaners’ unknowingly recreate the community activities of centuries past. A meditative documentary with the brightly inquisitive narration and the carefully curious eye of innovative filmmaker Varda.
“In its frames, we see [Varda's] empathy, skill, curiosity, wit, poetry and passion for life: everything she has gleaned from a lifetime of love and movies.”
Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
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