Mike Leigh and Gary Yershon’s ongoing discussion of the acclaimed director’s films continued at The Garden Cinema with a screening and Q&A of his Palme d’Or winning film Secrets & Lies (1996).
Secrets & Lies is an exploration of the deceptions that shape our relationships. Hortense (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), a black optometrist who was adopted as a child, begins the search for her birth mother, leading her to Cynthia (Brenda Blethyn), a lonely white factory worker.
In February 2023, LGBT Poet Laureate Trudy Howson hosted a panel discussion at The Garden Cinema following a screening of Blue Jean (2022) with Hélène Sifre (producer of Blue Jean), Sarah Drummond, Director of Don’t Say Gay- a feature documentary uncovering the story of Section 28), and Laïla El-Métoui (Founder of Pride in Education).
Blue Jean is a searing portrait of life under Section 28 in 1980’s England. The panel discuss Section 28, the importance of education and the arts, and took comments and questions from the audience.
This event took place as part of our A Taste of Queer Cinema season. Following on from this, we are continuing our exploration of contemporary and future Queer classics in April. The season Celebrating Queer Cinema will include expert introductions, panel discussions, networking, a fundraiser, a Burlesque performance, and more.
Continuing our exploration of Francophone West African Cinema, Dr. Sarah Jilani of City, University of London introduced Souleymane Cissé’s 1982 The Wind.
A vivid social satire with overtones of Romeo and Juliet, The Wind tackles the generation gap in post-colonial West Africa. Its heroine is the pot smoking daughter of a provincial military governor who falls in love with a fellow university student, the descendent of one of Mali’s chiefs of an earlier age. Both families object to the union and to the lovers’ growing involvement in student strikes against the corrupt government. A mix of politics, romance and social commentary, The Wind casts a critical eye on both the ancient and modern values.
In February, Terry Gilliam joined film critic, presenter and producer Jason Solomons on stage at The Garden Cinema after a screening of his film The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018) for a live discussion about the acclaimed director’s life and career as part of our season The Films of Terry Gilliam.
In partnership with AWAN, Mydylarama, MENA Arts UK and the Arab Film Club, our next season celebrates recent key feature films made by Arab women directors that, together, offer a rich and diverse introduction to filmmaking from the region. We picked films that tell everyday, very human stories, away from sensationalist and reductionist portrayals too often offered up by depictions of the Arab world. These films together will form our latest season: Mukhrijat: Arab Women Filmmakers. The films will be complemented by introductions, Q&As and events.
To launch our Francophone West African Cinema season, Estrella Sendra Fernandez of Kings College London introduced Ousmane Sembène’s seminal film Black Girl (1966).
Francophone West African Cinema continues with weekly screenings introduced by experts and followed by post-film discussion groups.
Our Mike Leigh in Conversation season continues with a screening of Life Is Sweet (1990). Following the screening, the acclaimed director was joined on stage by friend and collaborator Gary Yershon to discuss the film with the audience.