As part of the LIGHT AND SHADE film series, the chosen series of films reflect a deliberate balance between emotional intensity and moments of levity, highlighting the spectrum of human experience.
This curated selection explores deeply moving narratives that confront themes such as loss, identity, and resilience, while also incorporating films and moments which offer lighter, more hopeful perspectives without sacrificing depth or significance.
By juxtaposing heavy, emotionally charged stories with films that bring warmth, humor, or subtle insight, the festival invites audiences to engage with cinema as both a mirror and cathartic release — challenging, comforting, and ultimately illuminating the complexity of life.
Thursday October 23rd (MATINEE) -
WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?
Director - Mike Nichols
1966
2hr 11
Doors open 1pm
Film Introduction followed by screening at 1:30pm
A bitter aging couple with the help of alcohol, use a young couple to fuel anguish and emotional pain towards each other.
"...Mike Nichols' Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is an emotionally volcanic adaptation of Edward Albee’s play, diving deep into the toxic, booze-soaked marriage of George and Martha — a middle-aged couple who invite a younger pair over for drinks, only to subject them (and each other) to a brutal evening of psychological warfare..."
Roger Ebert - ♦♦♦♦♦
Roger Ebert - ♦♦♦♦♦
Thursday October 23rd (EVENING) -
MARTY
Director - Delbert Mann
1955
1hr 30
Doors open 6pm
Film Introduction followed by screening at 6:30pm
Two lonely people, a butcher and a school teacher, have given up on the idea of love. A chance encounter at a dance.... Ernest Borgnine won a Best Actor Oscar for his role alongside a total of four Oscars including Best Picture.
"An extraordinary film about ordinary people. It's a quiet, deeply moving drama, marked by a remarkable honesty and tenderness toward its characters, who, for all their everyday flaws, are presented with great compassion and understanding."
New York Times - ♦♦♦♦♦
"An extraordinary film about ordinary people. It's a quiet, deeply moving drama, marked by a remarkable honesty and tenderness toward its characters, who, for all their everyday flaws, are presented with great compassion and understanding."
New York Times - ♦♦♦♦♦
Friday October 24th (MATINEE) - -
THE PRODUCERS
Director - Mel Brooks
1969
1hr 28
Doors open 1pm
Film Introduction followed by screening at 1:30pm
When timid accountant Leo is brought in to do his books, he inadvertently reveals to Max that under the right circumstances, a producer could make more money with a flop than a hit.
"Like a parody of Brexit Britain, never has the 1967 comedy been more horribly pertinent than it is now"
"Like a parody of Brexit Britain, never has the 1967 comedy been more horribly pertinent than it is now"
The Gaurdian - ♦♦♦♦♦
Friday October 24th (EVENING) -
ROME OPEN CITY
Director - Roberto Rossellini
1945
1hr 45
Doors open 6pm
Film Introduction followed by screening at 6:30pm
Rome, 1944. Giorgio Manfredi, one of the leaders of the Resistance, is tracked down by the Nazis. He goes to his friend Francesco's, and asks Pina, Francesco's fiancée, for help. Pina must warn a priest, Don Pietro Pellegrini, that Giorgio needs to leave the town as soon as possible...
"This is a film with such immediacy that it almost collapses the distinction between “wartime and “postwar”. Marina memorably says: “La vita è brutta e porca!” — “Life is mean and dirty!”, and the film doesn’t flinch from this. But there is also passion, and a determination to survive."
The Gaurdian - ♦♦♦♦♦
The Gaurdian - ♦♦♦♦♦
Saturday October 25th (MATINEE) -
HANNAH AND HER SISTERS
Director - Woody Allen
1986
1hr 38mins
Doors open 1pm
Film Introduction followed by screening at 1:30pm
Hannah is almost the perfect TV housewife, giving up a promising acting career to raise a family. Even after she begins to suspect her husband of philandering with one of her sisters, she continues to be the perfect wife and mother.
“Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters,” the best movie he has ever made, is organized like an episodic novel, with acute little self-contained vignettes adding up to the big picture."
Roger Ebert - ♦♦♦♦♦
Saturday October 25th (EVENING) -
THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER
Director - Charles Laughton
1955
1hr 32
Doors open 6pm
Each of these films will have a guest speaker to introduce them (TBA), with accompanying literature and a complimentary drink.
The ticket options are variable, with the choice of purchasing tickets to individual screenings as well as Festival Passes which offer discounts on attending more than one film. (See below)
Film Introduction followed by screening at 6:30pm
A criminal disguises himself as a preacher and marries a widow to get his hands on the treasure looted by her late husband. The woman's son gets suspicious and refuses to share the details...
"I know films can induce deja vu, but is it just an illusion or can we find a narrative familiar because it is so skilfully portrayed, so fundamental to our psyche, and so profoundly scares and comforts us? The Night of the Hunter still haunts me, and to this day I am not sure if I pursued it in the normal way, or if on some deeper, unknown level – like the forces of good and evil it evokes – it has been stalking me all along."
The Gaurdian - ♦♦♦♦♦
Each of these films will have a guest speaker to introduce them (TBA), with accompanying literature and a complimentary drink.
The ticket options are variable, with the choice of purchasing tickets to individual screenings as well as Festival Passes which offer discounts on attending more than one film. (See below)
(Important Notice to Ticket Holders - Tickets are non-refundable/exchangable)
Purchase tickets
Premium Festival Pass - (All Six Films) - £62
FILM SERIES VI - Light & Shade
Gold Festival Pass - (Five Films) - £52
FILM SERIES VI - Light & Shade
Ruby Festival Pass - (Four Films) - £42
FILM SERIES VI - Light & Shade
Silver Festival Pass - (Three Films) - £32
FILM SERIES VI - Light & Shade
Bronze Festival Pass - (Two Films) - £22
FILM SERIES VI - Light & Shade
WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? - Admit 1 - £12
FILM SERIES VI - Light & Shade
MARTY - Admit 1 - £12
FILM SERIES VI - Light & Shade
THE PRODUCERS - Admit 1 - £12
FILM SERIES VI - Light & Shade
ROME OPEN CITY - Admit 1 - £12
FILM SERIES VI - Light & Shade
HANNAH AND HER SISTERS - Admit 1 - £12
FILM SERIES VI - Light & Shade
THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER - Admit 1 - £12
FILM SERIES VI - Light & Shade