Cinema Schedule Main Auditorium
Thursday 25 April 2024
OUR SECURE PAYMENT GATEWAY IS LIMITED TO ANY NUMBER OF TICKETS FOR ONE FILM PURCHASE PER TRANSACTION.
The Box Office, situated in the Arts Bar, is open 45 minutes before the start of each film.
The Arts bar is open for refreshments 45 minutes before each afternoon and evening screening.
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ALL OF US STRANGERS
2023 | Dir Andrew Haigh | 105m | 
UK
Saturday 27 April 2024 at 2.00pm
A ghost story set in Croydon. An orphaned writer begins a relationship with a troubled high-rise neighbour whilst searching for his childhood home in Sanderstead.
One night in his near-empty tower block in contemporary London, Adam (Andrew Scott) has a chance encounter with a mysterious neighbor Harry (Paul Mescal), which punctures the rhythm of his everyday life. As a relationship develops between them, Adam is preoccupied with memories of the past and finds himself drawn back to the suburban town where he grew up, and the childhood home where his parents (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell), appear to be living, just as they were on the day they died, 30 years before.
WICKED LITTLE LETTERS
2023 | Dir Thea Sharrock | 102m | UK
Tuesday 30 April 2024 at 2.30pm *HOH
*HOH – Descriptive subtitles for those with hearing loss.
Wednesday 29 May 2024 at 7.30pm – Go here
When people in Littlehampton–including conservative local Edith–begin to receive letters full of hilarious profanities, rowdy Irish migrant Rose is charged with the crime. Suspecting that something is amiss, the town’s women investigate.
A superb British cast shine in this comic dramatization of a real-life incident from 1920s Littlehampton. When exotically insulting poison-pen letters were sent to spinster Edith Swan (Olivia Colman), her fiery Irish neighbour Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley) was quickly accused of libel. Suspecting there was more to this than met the eye, Sussex’s first WPC (Anjana Vasan) set out to find the true culprit… “Hilariously creative swearing [and] Thea Sharrock’s confident direction” make this “a cheeky pleasure that never tires” (Metro).
PERFECT DAYS
2023 | Dir Wim Wenders | 124m | 
Japan | 
Germany
Tuesday 30 April 2024 at 7.30pm
Saturday 04 May 2024 at 2.00pm
Hirayama cleans public toilets in Tokyo, lives his life in simplicity and daily tranquility. Some encounters also lead him to reflect on himself.
Wim Wenders is back on form with this story of a Tokyo public toilet cleaner. Hirayama lives a simple life with few of the modern appliances we rely on today. Every day he has the same routine but seems at peace with his lot, taking pride in cleaning the most modern, stylised, public conveniences. Not much interferes with his routine except for the few people he interacts with, and who intrigue and sometimes frustrate him. This film harks back to the director’s masterpieces Paris, Texas and Wings of Desire, with a perfect soundtrack featuring classics from Lou Reed, Patti Smith and many more. Japanese with English subtitles.
EVIL DOES NOT EXIST
2023 | Dir Ryûsuke Hamaguchi | 106m | Japan
Wednesday 01 May 2024 at 7.30pm
Takumi and his daughter Hana live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. One day, the village inhabitants become aware of a plan to build a camping site near Takumi’s house offering city residents a comfortable “escape” to nature.
Director Ryusuke Hamaguchi broke out with 2021’s Drive My Car, winning an Academy Award as well as selling out at the David Lean Cinema. His follow-up to that global hit, Evil Does Not Exist, concerns a mountain village community thrown into discord by proposals to build a glamping site that may damage their pristine environment. Voted Best Film at the 2023 London Film Festival, it’s a beautiful, meditative yet sometimes unsettling reflection on the boundary between nature and civilization. Japanese with English subtitles.
MONSTER
2023 | Dir Kore-eda Hirokazu | 127m | Japan
Thursday 02 May 2024 at 2.30pm
Thursday 02 May 2024 at 7.30pm
A mother demands answers from her son’s teacher when her son begins acting strangely.
Young widow Saori runs into resistance when she complains that her son, Minato, has been struck by a teacher. As he always does, Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters, Broker, Our Little Sister) provides fascinating and moving insights on human bonds and social custom – here, exploring the lives of mother, teacher and son in turn, he shows us complex people navigating public etiquette and private troubles. Japanese with English subtitles.
TOKYO STORY
1953 | Dir Yasujirō Ozu | 136m | Japan
Yasujirō Ozu’s masterpiece concerns the visits paid to their children in Osaka and Tokyo by an elderly couple, and how they are received by each.
Regarded as Yasujirō Ozu’s masterpiece, and voted the greatest film of all time by a poll of film directors in Sight and Sound magazine in 2012, Tokyo Story follows a retired couple who journey to the capital and Osaka to visit their offspring and their widowed daughter-in-law. How they are treated by each shows the generational divide between parents and children. “This remains one of the most approachable and moving of all cinema’s masterpieces” (Time Out).
A 35mm presentation in association with The Cinema Museum. Japanese with English subtitles.
ROBOT DREAMS
2023 | Pablo Bergher | 102m | 
Spain | 
France
Saturday 27 April 2024 at 11.00am (relaxed)
Wednesday 08 May 2024 at 7.30pm
The adventures and misfortunes of Dog and Robot in New York City during the 1980s.
In this beautiful “silent” movie (sounds and music, but no dialogue) about the joy and fragility of friendship, we meet Dog, who lives in Manhattan and is tired of being alone. One day he decides to build himself a robot companion. Their friendship grows until they become inseparable. One summer night, Dog, with great sadness, is forced to abandon Robot at the beach. Will they ever meet again? Despite some sad moments, (which may upset younger children), this film has a happy ending. Nominated for Best Animated Feature at this year’s Oscars.
MOTHERS’ INSTINCT
2024 | Dir Benoît Delhomme | 94m | 
USA
Thursday 09 May 2024 at 2.30pm
Thursday 09 May 2024 at 7.30pm *HOH
*HOH – Descriptive subtitles for those with hearing loss.
Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain lead as friends and neighbours in this thriller from cinematographer turned debut director Benoît Delhomme.
Award-winning cinematographer Benoît Delhomme makes his director debut with this remake of a French film. Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain play Alice and Celine, friends and neighbours living a seemingly idyllic lifestyle. But their perfect relationship is suddenly shattered after a tragic accident kills one of their sons. The two leads give impressive performances in this fraught psychological thriller.
ALL OF US STRANGERS (Babes In Arms screening)
2023 | Dir Andrew Haigh | 105m | UK
A ghost story set in Croydon. An orphaned writer begins a relationship with a troubled high-rise neighbour whilst searching for his childhood home in Sanderstead.
One night in his near-empty tower block in contemporary London, Adam (Andrew Scott) has a chance encounter with a mysterious neighbor Harry (Paul Mescal), which punctures the rhythm of his everyday life. As a relationship develops between them, Adam is preoccupied with memories of the past and finds himself drawn back to the suburban town where he grew up, and the childhood home where his parents (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell), appear to be living, just as they were on the day they died, 30 years before.
THE BOOK OF CLARENCE (Relaxed screening)
2023 | Dir Jeymes Samuel | 129m | USA
Saturday 11 May 2024 at 11.00am – relaxed screening for young people living with autism or other neurodiversity.
Tuesday 28 May 2024 at 7.30pm – Go here
LaKeith Stanfield stars as Clarence, the twin brother of Apostle ‘Doubting’ Thomas, who like Brian before him, gets mistaken for someone much more important!
Jeymes Samuel’s take on the ‘mistaken Messiah’ idea pays its’ dues to Monty Python before taking its own hero, Clarence, the dope-dealing twin of the Apostle Thomas, through a parallel Holy Land at the time of the Crucifixion. On the way he runs up an enormous debt with the local Mr Big while falling for his sister, trying – and failing – to join the Apostles and get baptised by David Oyelowo’s John, and performing bogus miracles. LaKeith Stanfield makes a genial comic hero, and there are cameo roles from the likes of Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Benedict Cumberbatch.
THE MIRACLE CLUB (Dementia Friendly Screening)
2023 | Dir Thaddeus O’Sullivan | 90m | 
Ireland | UK
Tuesday 14 May 2024 at 11.00am – Dementia friendly
Dublin, 1967. Four women dream of escaping the drudgery of their domestic life by winning the local talent contest. The prize – a pilgrimage to Lourdes.
In the aftermath of the loss of a much beloved friend and mother, four women embark on a religious pilgrimage to Lourdes, each with their own hopes for a miracle in their lives. Starring a host of acclaimed and talented famous faces, The Miracle Club follows a recent spate of female-led buddy movies including The Book Club and its sequel, and 80 for Brady, and promises a wealth of humorous moments alongside moving drama. A heartwarming story, the film carries ‘a sincerity that is hard to resist’ (Screen Daily).
ENOUGH SAID
2013 | Dir Nicole Holofcener | 93m | USA
Tuesday 14 May 2024 at 2.30pm *HOH
Tuesday 14 May 2024 at 7.30pm
*HOH – Descriptive subtitles for those with hearing loss.
When divorced singletons Eva and Albert meet, a romance quickly ensues, but when Eva discovers Albert is the much-maligned ex of her client Marianne, she begins to doubt her feelings.
Divorced masseuse Eva meets divorcee Albert at a party and they are attracted to each other. Meanwhile, Eva has become friends with Marianne, a client who is constantly complaining about her ex. Then Eva discovers that the ex is… Albert. Louis-Dreyfus and James Gandolfini (in this penultimate screen performance) are perfect as Eva and Albert, and with director Nicole Holofcener deliver an “astute and funny reading of the foibles of human relationships” – Mark Kermode in The Guardian
WALKING AND TALKING
1996 | Dir Nicole Holofcener | 86m | USA
Wednesday 15 May 2024 at 7.30pm
Two women, friends from childhood, react in wildly different ways when one decides to marry her long-time live-in lover, in Nicole Holofcener’s debut feature.
Nicola Holofcener’s debut feature centres on two life-long friends, Amelia and Lorna, who both develop anxiety issues when Lorna becomes engaged to her live-in lover Frank. Amelia feels abandoned and her self-confidence is not helped by an ill-advised date with a weirdo video-store worker. Laura, meanwhile, starts finding fault with Frank and fantasising about other men. Snappy dialogue and perceptive characterisations make for a very satisfying New York-based comedy-drama. “Great cast, immense fun” (Time Out).
YOU HURT MY FEELINGS
2023 | Dir Nicole Holofcener | 93m | USA
Thursday 16 May 2024 at 2.30pm
Thursday 16 May 2024 at 7.00pm *
* The 7.00pm screening is followed by a Q&A hosted by our patron, Joanna Scanlan, with Tobias Menzies and Nicole Holofcener (in New York)
Novelist Beth falls out with her husband when she overhears him criticising her new novel, which she is having trouble finishing.
Beth, a successful author and writer, has sent the draft of her new novel to her agent, who has returned it requesting multiple revisions. She begins to doubt her abilities, a feeling not helped when she overhears her husband, who has read the draft, telling his brother-in-law that he does not like the story. This begins to affect their relationship. “Holofcener finds both humor and wisdom within the complexity of her cringe comedy” (RogerEbert.com).
ORDINARY ANGELS
2024 | Dir Jon Gunn | 118m | USA
Saturday 18 May 2024 at 2.00pm * – In association with Croydon u3a Film Group, there will be an informal discussion following the Saturday screening.
Wednesday 22 May 2024 at 7.30pm
A hard-drinking Louisville hairdresser becomes the unlikely guardian angel to a gravely ill young girl and her family.
Based on a true story. Sharon (Hilary Swank) is the part owner of a hairdressing salon, and a hardened drinker who is attracted to the story of a local 5-year old girl who is desperately ill. Sharon organises a fundraising event at the salon, and approaches the family with the money collected, but the girl’s recently widowed father is wary of her, especially when she offers more help, but feels powerless to stop her. Swank’s performance anchors what could have been an exercise in schmaltz, and the film has been praised by critics and enthusiastically embraced by audiences in the States.
DRIVING MUM
2022 | Dir Hilmar Oddsson | 112m | 
Iceland | 
Estonia
Icelandic farmer Jon dresses up the corpse of his dead mother and drives her across Iceland to be buried in this happy-sad comedy-drama.
The latest Icelandic film to hit the David Lean will delight those who warm to that country’s dramatic landscape and droll sense of humour. Farmer Jon and his widowed mother live with their dog in a very remote part of the country, where they knit sweaters to sell. When his mother dies, he obeys her wishes, dresses her in her finest clothes, and takes her (and the dog) on the long journey to the other side of Iceland for burial. But although she’s dead, she’s still talking to him, criticising his past romantic choices. Icelandic with English subtitles.
THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE
2023 | Dir Ilker Çatak | 98m | Germany
Thursday 23 May 2024 at 2.30pm
Thursday 23 May 2024 at 7.30pm
Young teacher Carla tries to find out who has been stealing in her school, but her investigations cause far more damage than she could have imagined.
Carla is an idealistic young woman who has recently started at a sixth-grade teacher at a large school. When she begins to investigate incidents of stealing amongst her students and in the staffroom, her good intentions backfire with drastic results for her and the school as a whole. This drama grips like a thriller while acting as a metaphor for wider society, and like next week’s Io Capitano was nominated for the Best International Feature Film Oscar. “This is really worth your time” (Kermode and Mayo). German with English subtitles.
THE BOOK OF CLARENCE
2023 | Dir Jeymes Samuel | 129m | USA
LaKeith Stanfield stars as Clarence, the twin brother of Apostle ‘Doubting’ Thomas, who like Brian before him, gets mistaken for someone much more important!
Jeymes Samuel’s take on the ‘mistaken Messiah’ idea pays its’ dues to Monty Python before taking its own hero, Clarence, the dope-dealing twin of the Apostle Thomas, through a parallel Holy Land at the time of the Crucifixion. On the way he runs up an enormous debt with the local Mr Big while falling for his sister, trying – and failing – to join the Apostles and get baptised by David Oyelowo’s John, and performing bogus miracles. LaKeith Stanfield makes a genial comic hero, and there are cameo roles from the likes of Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Benedict Cumberbatch.
WICKED LITTLE LETTERS
2023 | Dir Thea Sharrock | 102m | UK
Wednesday 29 May 2024 at 7.30pm
When people in Littlehampton–including conservative local Edith–begin to receive letters full of hilarious profanities, rowdy Irish migrant Rose is charged with the crime. Suspecting that something is amiss, the town’s women investigate.
A superb British cast shine in this comic dramatization of a real-life incident from 1920s Littlehampton. When exotically insulting poison-pen letters were sent to spinster Edith Swan (Olivia Colman), her fiery Irish neighbour Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley) was quickly accused of libel. Suspecting there was more to this than met the eye, Sussex’s first WPC (Anjana Vasan) set out to find the true culprit… “Hilariously creative swearing [and] Thea Sharrock’s confident direction” make this “a cheeky pleasure that never tires” (Metro).
IO CAPITANO
2023 | Dir Matteo Garrone | 121 mins | 
Italy | 
Belgium
Thursday 30 May 2024 at 2.30pm
Thursday 30 May 2024 at 7.30pm
Matteo Garrone delivers a picture both beautiful and brutal of the migrant trail from Senegal to Italy as seen through the eyes of two young men looking for a better life in Europe.
“I’m the captain” repeatedly shouts Seydou, who has steered a ship full of similar refugees, including his injured cousin Moussa to the Italian shore, the last leg of a brutal journey from Senegal. Director Matteo Garrone’s filmography includes the violent realism of Gomorrah and the magic of Tale of Tales, and his new film has elements of both – a magic realist scene of a floating woman in the Sahara desert and a gruelling passage of torture in a Libyan prison. Through it all, actor Seydou Sarr holds the screen with a portrait of a young man looking for a better life and seeing humanity at its worst – and best. Wolof with English subtitles.