Author: Roger Dodger
SELFIE
N/C 15+ SELFIE
2019 | Dir Tristan Aurouet, Thomas Bidegain | 108mins | 
France
These five darkly humorous, interlinking stories explore our increasing dependence upon digital media. Cyberstalking, social media, online shopping, swipe dating, vlogging – all come under its insightful gaze. Starring Fanny Sidney from Netflix hit Call My Agent, Selfie is much cleverer proposition than most anthology or portmanteau films, with characters and plot lines recurring throughout the different stories. As the web connections grow, the film builds towards a grande finale set at a wedding on an island with no mobile phone signal – until someone finds one, leading to an hilarious showdown. French with English subtitles.
As a thank you for supporting us, you will get 25% off each ticket purchase. Just enter DLYS at checkout. You will also be supporting the David Lean Cinema as we get a share of every ticket sold using this promo code.
Stream available for 48 hours after play started.
Distributor: YourScreen – create account or login.
Film run ends on 23 May 2021.
Leslie Sheldon (YourScreen) talks with Fanny Sidney here.
“The stories complement each other perfectly well and sometimes respond to each other thanks to ‘connections’ between the characters in the different acts. Selfie therefore manages to fulfill its double promise by giving viewers a good time, while opening up avenues for them to think about the importance, not always happy, taken by digital technology in today’s society. A great success!”
Antoine Corte, Bulles de Culture.
STRAY
STRAY
2020 | Dir Elizabeth Lo | 73mins | 
USA
Through the eyes of three stray dogs wandering the streets of Istanbul, STRAY explores what it means to live as a being without status or security. As they search for food and shelter, Zeytin, Nazar and Kartal embark on inconspicuous journeys through Turkish society that allow us an unvarnished portrait of human life — and their own canine culture. Zeytin, fiercely independent, embarks on solitary adventures through the city at night; Nazar, nurturing and protective, easily befriends the humans around her; while Kartal, a shy puppy living on the outskirts of a construction site, finds refuge with the security guards who care for her. The disparate lives of Zeytin, Nazar and Kartal intersect when they each form intimate bonds with a group of young Syrians who share the streets with them. Whether they lead us into bustling streets or decrepit ruins, the gaze of these strays act as windows into the overlooked corners of society: women in loveless marriages, protesters without arms, refugees without sanctuary. The film is a critical observation of human civilization through the unfamiliar gaze of dogs and a sensory voyage into new ways of seeing.
The David Lean Cinema shares a proportion of the £9.99 ticket price with the distributor.
“Elizabeth Lo’s sharp-eyed study of Istanbul strays is both the ultimate love letter to dogs and a multifaceted moral inquiry into humanity.” Tomris Laffly, Variety.
STRAY WATCH PARTY
STRAY (Watch Party)
2020 | Dir Elizabeth Lo | 73mins | USA
Until after the Easter weekend – STRAY Watch Party
From 26th March, dog owners and lovers are encouraged to take a photo of their dog watching STRAY, and to share a photo or short video on Instagram / Twitter tagging @Dogwoof using #StrayWatchParty.
The distributors (Dogwoof) will select three winners from all entries to receive a special Stray bundle with treats for themselves and their dog. Winners will be announced after the Easter weekend.
Through the eyes of three stray dogs wandering the streets of Istanbul, STRAY explores what it means to live as a being without status or security. As they search for food and shelter, Zeytin, Nazar and Kartal embark on inconspicuous journeys through Turkish society that allow us an unvarnished portrait of human life — and their own canine culture. Zeytin, fiercely independent, embarks on solitary adventures through the city at night; Nazar, nurturing and protective, easily befriends the humans around her; while Kartal, a shy puppy living on the outskirts of a construction site, finds refuge with the security guards who care for her. The disparate lives of Zeytin, Nazar and Kartal intersect when they each form intimate bonds with a group of young Syrians who share the streets with them. Whether they lead us into bustling streets or decrepit ruins, the gaze of these strays act as windows into the overlooked corners of society: women in loveless marriages, protesters without arms, refugees without sanctuary. The film is a critical observation of human civilization through the unfamiliar gaze of dogs and a sensory voyage into new ways of seeing.
A COACHS DAUGHTER
N/C 15+ A COACH’S DAUGHTER
2018 | Dir Lukasz Grzegorzek | 95mins | 
Poland
During a hot summer, Maciej Kornet and his beloved daughter Wiktoria set out on another journey across Poland. They are up for a long series of tennis tournaments. The two are inseparable; they have been training together for twelve years. Wiktoria meticulously follows her dad’s routine: a strict diet, exhausting workouts, 100% focus. She is growing tired of this and longs for some freedom. She thinks of quitting sports but is afraid to hurt her father’s feelings. This summer, Maciej’s new trainee Igor joins them on their way. Wiktoria will find the secretive boy much more interesting than tennis, and Maciej will have to watch his own dreams and his daughter’s plans go separate ways. Polish with English subtitles.
As a thank you for supporting us, you will get 25% off each ticket purchase. Just enter DLYS at checkout. You will also be supporting the David Lean Cinema as we get a share of every ticket sold using this promo code.
Watch at home now for £7.49 (using promo code DLYS). Stream available for 48 hours after play started.
Distributor: YourScreen – create account or login.
Film run ends on 18 April 2021.
“Suprisingly refreshing indie movie from Poland. Well played by all actors. It’s great that this movie is, at the same time, light and fresh and shows characters’ emotions very well and open (and doesn’t shove them down the throat).” – Daniel Figzat, Letterboxd
THE DRIFTERS
N/C 15+ THE DRIFTERS
2019 | Dir Ben Bond | 91mins | 
GB
Fanny (Lucie Bourdeu), a Parisienne waitress, and Koffee (Jonathan Ajayi), an African immigrant, meet at a London English class. Both are running from something – she from a dead-end existence, he from something far more life-threatening. Fleeing London after Koffee has botched a job for his boss, they fetch up in Teignmouth, where a brief respite allows them to get to know each other, enjoy life and ponder where they want to get to, before reality catches up. Breezily shot in vibrant colours and in a style joyfully recalling the French Nouvelle Vague, this entertaining film makes Teignmouth look like the French Riviera and is imbued with a free-wheeling ambience that is the perfect antidote for the pandemic blues.
As a thank you for supporting us, you will get 25% off each ticket purchase. Just enter DLYS at checkout. You will also be supporting the David Lean Cinema as we get a share of every ticket sold using this promo code.
Watch at home now for £7.49 (using promo code DLYS). Stream available for 48 hours after play started.
Distributor: YourScreen – create account or login.
Valencia Haynes (FilmBath) in conversation with director Ben Bond with Lucie Bordeu and Jonathan Ajayi can be viewed here.
Film run ends on 23 May 2021.
“This is highly articulate film making that takes time to build characters without breakneck visuals and rushed dialogue; an absolute treat.
– Brian Penn, UK Film Review
MOUTHPIECE EMBED
MOUTHPIECE
MOUTHPIECE
2018 | Dir Patricia Rozema | 91mins | 
Canada
A powerful, funny and highly original look into the conflicted psyche of Cassandra Haywood – a fiercely independent millennial woman. Cass is a single writer who lives by her own rules. She’s also a bit of a disaster.
Following the sudden death of her mother, Elaine (Maev Beaty) she finds herself in crisis, unable to think straight with a debate raging inside her head. This movie makes that invisible conflict visible: Cassandra (Amy Nostbakken & Norah Sadava) battles it out while figuring out what to say at her mother’s funeral.
What unfolds is a wild careening through grief, anger, sex and self-sabotage in an exploration of the messy lives of women from both generations. Raucous jokes, musical numbers and heart breaking memories add up to a deeply moving and political portrait of a mother and a daughter as seen through the eyes of one conflicted young woman.
The David Lean Cinema shares a proportion of the ticket price with the distributor when purchased through the link on this page.
Available to watch for 48 hours after purchase.
Distributor: Bulldog Film Distribution – no account required.
‘Blackly comic and terribly poignant’ – Sight and Sound
THE HUMORIST
N/C 15+ THE HUMORIST
2019 | Dir Michael Idov | 102mins | 
Russia 
Latvia 
Czechoslovakia
In the midst of the collapsing USSR, the favorite stand-up comedian of the regime begins challenging censorship.
In 1984 Soviet Union, Boris, a Russian-Jewish stand-up comedian, is tormented not only by external oppression and censorship but also by his own insecurities. Fame, combined with lack of personal freedom, is driving him crazy. Once the leaders who dictate what he can and can’t joke about summon him to their villa, the comedian snaps. Armed with the exotic American notion of insult humor, he takes his revenge. Russian with English subtitles.
As a thank you for supporting us, you will get 25% off each ticket purchase. Just enter DLYS at checkout. You will also be supporting the David Lean Cinema as we get a share of every ticket sold using this promo code.
Watch at home now for £7.49 (using promo code DLYS). Stream available for 48 hours after play started.
Distributor: YourScreen – create account or login.
Film run ends on 25 April 2021.
KILLING ESCOBAR
N/C 12+ KILLING ESCOBAR
2021 | Dir David Whitney | 88mins | GB
In 1989, Scottish mercenary and ex-SAS operative, Peter McAleese, was hired by a Colombian drug cartel to lead a small team of ex-special forces commandos on a mission to assassinate the world’s biggest drug baron, Pablo Escobar.
With heartstopping drama reconstruction, access to never-before-seen footage of the mission and first person accounts from both the mercenaries and the cartel, Killing Escobar is a documentary thriller that reveals how one man’s violent upbringing in Glasgow, training in the SAS and experience as a mercenary in Africa led him to the jungles of Colombia and the heart of the Medellín cocaine empire.
At 78 years old and returning to the Catholic faith of his youth, McAleese reflects on one of the most ambitious and perilous assignments of his career; the one that pushed him closer to death than any other, a mission to kill the most feared man in the world, Pablo Escobar.
The David Lean Cinema shares a proportion of the ticket price with the distributor when purchased through the link on this page.
Available to watch for 48 hours after purchase.
Distributor: Modern Films – no account required.
In 1989 a team of British mercenaries, led by Scotsman Peter McAleese, travelled to the criminal empire of the world’s most dangerous man in order to assassinate him. Steven Brocklehurst, BBC Scotland News