Forest Row Film Society

We are delighted to announce the provisional programme for next season. The first two screenings will be using the existing 16mm equipment; all other screenings will be using the new projector.

Some of these films are yet to be confirmed by the distributor, and there may well be additional dates, but the titles below are the ones that have been booked to date. The full programme will be posted on the website in the next two weeks.

19th September: Ginger and Fred (Federico Fellini, Italy, 1986)
3rd October: Uncle Vanya (Andrei Konchalovsky, USSR, 1971)
17th October: Persepolis (Vincent Paronnaud, France, 2007)
7th November: Son of Man (Mark Dornford-May, South Africa, 2005)
14th November: Ashes and Diamonds (Andrzej Wajda, Poland, 1958)
28th November: Andrei Rublev (Andrei Tarkovsky, USSR, 1978)
13th December: Muppets Take Manhattan (Frank Oz, USA, 1984)
9th January: Son of Rambow (Garth Jennings, UK, 2007)
23rd January: Lancelot du Lac (Robert Bresson, France, 1971)
13th February: Under the Bombs (Philippe Aractingi, Lebanon, 2007)
27th February: Caravaggio (Derek Jarman, UK, 1986)
13th March: Blackboards (Samira Makhmalbaf, Iran, 2000)
27th March: TBC
1st May: After the Wedding (Susanne Bier, Denmark, 2006)
15th May: Caramel (Nadine Labaki, Lebanon, 2007)

If anyone is interested in attending this conference, please let us know. It is organised by the British Federation of Film Societies and includes film screenings and the Film Society of the Year awards. Some members of the Forest Row Film Society will be attending; we have entered for the Best Website and Best Programming awards this year.

The conference will take place on the weekend of Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 September at the Showroom Cinema and the Cutlers’ Hall, Sheffield. It is the only national event exclusively dedicated to the needs of Film Societies and Community Cinemas.

This is a summary of the events over the weekend:

• Facilitated Networking
• Training and Information Sessions
• Q&As with Expert Speakers
• Introduced Film Screenings
• Director Q&As
• Seminars and workshops
• BFFS AGM

And there is a special programme of evening events on Saturday 27 September:

• Welcome Reception
• Film Society of the Year Awards Ceremony
• Special Guest Presenter
• Annual Dinner

The following information about the event is available:

• Provisional list of film screenings
• List of seminars and other events
• Details of the awards and the dinner
• General information
• Booking Form

This Sunday (24th August) will be the village picnic that the Sports Ground Association are organising and the Film Society will have a stand. We will be launching our provisional programme for the new season, so please drop by to find out what we will be screening. More information is on forestrow.org. Printed programmes will be in the village in the next few weeks.

We have also updated the news component of our website. You can now comment on all news items and let us know your ideas for the future. You may also enjoy the article in today’s Guardian about the new film festival in Nairn in Scotland. Organised by Tilda Swinton, it looks delightfully comfortable, with bean bags and cake, and feels like where we could be going.

With our latest grant we have reached our target of £13,000 for our new equipment. Consequently, we have had a couple of pieces in the local papers this week, most notably in the East Grinstead Observer, but also in the East Grinstead Courier.

Forest Row Film Society has reached its fundraising target for new digital equipment with the grant of £6605 from Awards for All, the lottery provider.

The lottery award adds to those from the Gatwick Area Community Trust, Screen South, Wealden District Council and the East Grinstead Courier/Axa PPP Heart of the Community awards that the organisation has received over the last year.

Film Society president Robert Evans said “This is fantastic news. Together with our reserves and donations from members we know we can now plan our future.

“We will be acquiring our new equipment in the next few weeks. It will include a high-powered digital projector, a large screen and new sound system, which, together with the new chairs in the village hall will make for a vastly improved cinema experience in Forest Row.”

Treasurer Marie-Claire Thomson said “The new equipment will mean we can choose from a much wider range of films; in the future we will be able to devise more diverse and exciting programmes including very recent releases.”

The new season begins with a screening of Fellini’s Ginger and Fred on Friday 19th September at 8pm in the village hall.