Arts cinema back with autumn season

Coming to the big screen at the John Clare Theatre

After a long, pandemic-enforced break Peterborough Arts Cinema is to return this month. The group, which currently operates out of the John Clare theatre in Broadway, screens recently released films from the UK and around the world – many of which will have had a limited release and not featured in the big screen cinemas.

It has been doing so for more than 70 years.

The films for each season are chosen by a members’ vote based on a selection of the best, most innovative or most inspiring of the recent releases. The selections include films by highly regarded directors or featuring outstanding actors.

All films during the autumn season cost £5 and audience numbers will be limited.

“We have attempted to compile a programme of films which include some released during the period we have been which we believe will be of interest to you,” said a spokesperson. “Prior to our shutdown, we were experimenting with including a classic film within our regular programme.

“We have continued this into our forthcoming season, this time using a film from 1971 which will be celebrating its 50th anniversary (The Last Picture Show).

“In addition to our autumn season and the John Clare theatre, we will hopefully be running a couple of matinee films at the Key Theatre during the programme. The Key Theatre has been extremely supportive of the Peterborough Arts Cinema and these screenings will allow us to explore new opportunities with them.”

Films showing this season include:

September 23: Ammonite (UK 2020, 2h)

In 1800s England, acclaimed but unrecognized fossil hunter Mary Anning (Kate Winslet) works alone on the rugged Southern coastline. With the days of her famed discoveries behind her, she now searches for common fossils to sell to tourists to support herself and her ailing mother.

October 7: Another Round (Danish, 1h 57mins)

Martin is a high school teacher. He feels old and tired. His students and their parents want him terminated to increase their average. Encouraged by the per mille theory, Martin and his three colleagues throw themselves into an experiment to maintain a constant alcohol impact in everyday life. If Churchill won World War II in a dense fog of spirits, what could the strong drops do for them and their students? The result is positive in the beginning. Martin’s class is in a different way now, and the project is being promoted to a real academic study with the collection of results

November 18: In the Earth (UK 2020, 1h 47mins)

As the world searches for a cure to a disastrous virus, a scientist and park scout venture deep in the forest for a routine equipment run.

September 30: Limbo (Hong Kong 2021, 1h 58mins)

Limbo follows seasoned cop Jin and a rookie partner (Mason Lee) as they track down an elusive serial killer through the dark alleys of stormy Hong Kong

November 4: Deerskin (France 2019, 1hr 17 mins)

A middle-aged drifter becomes obsessed with a fringed deerskin jacket that seems to hold mystical powers.

A Common Crime (Argentina 2020, 1hr 36mins)

A sociology professor is haunted by the ghost of her maid’s murdered son.

Directed with stylistic canniness and empathetic insight, the film features a superb, elusive, genuinely unnerving performance by Elisa Carricajo, and it should cause ripples with outlets that follow new Latin American cinema at its most searching

November 14: Minari (US 2020, 1hr 55mins)

A tender and sweeping story about what roots us, Minari follows a Korean-American family that moves to a tiny Arkansas farm in search of their own American Dream. The family home changes completely with the arrival of their sly, foulmouthed, but incredibly loving grandmother.

December 2: The Last Picture Show

A 1971 American coming-ofage drama film directed and cowritten by Peter Bogdanovich.

The film stars an ensemble cast that includes: Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Ellen Burstyn, Ben Johnson, Cloris Leachman, and Cybill Shepherd.

● For the full list of films showing, dates, times and bookings go to www.peterboroughartscinema.co.uk