The Courtyard Film Guide May 2024

welcome!

5 months in and we’re showing no signs of slowing down! This month we’ve got 23 features screening as we take you from Mongolia to the distant planet of Naboo (it’s in a galaxy far far away...). May marks our first Hereford Film Club screening with Late Night with the Devil, come along and meet other film lovers and stay for a drink and chat after the film!

For the Amy Whinehouse fans we’re screening the latest musical biopic Back to Black, plus the energizing and twisted romances of Challengers and Love Lies Bleeding (Cover). We’ve also got retrospectives of Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, The Lavender Hill Mob and Roberto Rossellini’s Rome, Open City including a special introduction by The Courtyard’s Cinema Programming Assistant, Ethan.

Film Prices

Tickets £8/£7.50 Concession

Under 16’s £6

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Audio Description Available

Check at Box Office or online for the latest available Audio Described films.

Subtitles

Films which have either a HOH captioned screening or are in a foreign language with English subtitles.

wicked little letters (15) UK, 1hr 40min

April Mon 29 2pm (Subs), Tue 30 11am

May Wed 1 2.30pm, Thu 2 11am

Well, it turns out you hadn’t had enough of Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley. The hit comedy-drama is back for one last effing and blinding run!

Member Prices

Courtyard Club & Card £3

Friends & Patrons 10% off courtyard.org.uk/membership

Breakfast Movies

11am films Monday to Friday include a pre-film pastry & tea or coffee.

Relaxed Screening

Screenings with raised lighting, lowered volume and a relaxed area.

Film Fanatics

Book for 2 films with this symbol and get 20% off, book for 3 or more to get 30% off.

Mothers' Instinct (15) USA, 1hr 34min

April

Fri 26 2.30pm (Subs), Sat 27 7.45pm, Mon 29 11am, Tue 30 2pm

May Wed 1 11am, Thu 2 2.30pm

Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway join forces for this suburban thriller filled with guilt, paranoia and suspicion as a sisterly bond unravels.

If Only I could hibernate [Baavagai Bolohson] (Cert TBC) Mongolia, 1hr 36min

May

Fri 3 11am, Thu 9 5.15pm, Fri 10 11am

Director: Zoljargal Purevdash

Stars: Taivanbat Alexander, Batmandakh Batchuluun, Battsooj Uurtsaikh

Returning to our big screen following rave audience responses in Borderlines. A poor but prideful teenage boy Ulzii determines to win a Physics competition for a scholarship, but his illiterate mother finds a job in the countryside and leaves him with his siblings in the middle of the winter. Foreign language with English subtitles.

May

Fri 3 7.45pm, Sat 4 7.30pm, Tue 7 2.30pm & 7.30pm (Subs), Wed 8 11am, Thu 9 7.30pm, Fri 10 5pm, Mon 13 11am, Tue 14 2.30pm (Subs), Wed 15 11am, Thu 16 2pm, Mon 20 2.30pm

Back to Black (15)

UK, 2h 2min

Director: Sam Taylor-Johnson

Stars: Marisa Abela, Eddie Marsan, Lesley Manville, Jack O’Connell, Juliet Cowan

The life and music of Amy Winehouse, through the journey of adolescence to adulthood and the creation of one of the best-selling albums of our time.

“an urgent, warm, heartfelt dramatisation, scripted by Matt Greenhalgh of the brilliant London soul singer... there’s a thoroughly engaging and sweet-natured performance by Marisa Abela as Amy... and Jack O’Connell is a coolly charismatic and muscular presence.”

- Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

Copa 71' (PG)

UK, 1hr 30min

May

Sat 4 2.30pm

Director: James Erskine, Rachel Ramsay

This is the extraordinary story of the 1971 Women’s Football World Cup, a tournament witnessed by record crowds that has been written out of history, until now.

“A revolutionary political parable that goes beyond football. A di erent world is possible; not only that, a di erent world was not just possible but did in fact exist.”

- Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

Star Wars: Episode I

The Phantom Menace (1999, pg) USA, 2hr 20min

May Fri 3 5pm, Sat 4 11am

Director: George Lucas

Stars: Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, Natalie Portman, Samuel L. Jackson

Episode I is returning to the big screen for its 25th anniversary! Two Jedi Knights escape a hostile blockade to find allies and come across a young boy who may bring balance to the Force, but the long dormant Sith resurface to reclaim their old glory. Enjoy a free pre-activity before our family saturday screening.

Swede

Caroline (15) UK, 1hr 38min

May Thu 9 11am, Fri 10 2.30pm

Director: Brook Driver, Finn Bruce

Stars: Jo Hartley, Aisling Bea, Fay Ripley, Ray Fearon, Alice Lowe, Richard Lumsden

In this British Mockumentary, the competitive giant vegetable growing world is rocked by scandal when up-and-coming prospect Caroline has her prized marrow plants stolen.

“

The sort of movie where you need a notebook to write down quote after quote” - Barney Nuttall, Strand Magazine

Challengers (Cert TBC)

USA, 2h 11min

Director: Luca Guadagnino (Call Me by Your Name)

Stars: Zendaya, Mike Faist, Josh O’Connor

Tashi, a former tennis prodigy turned coach is married to a champion on a losing streak. Her strategy for her husband’s redemption takes a surprising turn when he must face off against his former best friend and Tashi’s former boyfriend.

“Winning isn’t half as fun as playing the game. Zendaya, Faist & O’Connor all deliver in a tense match of desire, competition, and control. You’ll come for the stars but leave talking about the score. In a nutshell — good game” - Kit Stone, HueWatchedIt

All the best things come in threes... just like our £3 cinema tickets for under 30s or full-time students!

May

Mon 13 6.30pm

Radix film club presents:

Late night with the devil (15) USA, 1h 33min

Director: Cameron Cairnes, Colin Cairnes

Stars: David Dastmalchian, Laura Gordon

Radix Film Club starts right here! Once a month enjoy a one-off screening at 6.30pm on a Monday - we’ll have a mixture of genres and eras, but you can let us know what you’d like to see! Join us for a drink after the screening to chat about the film.

Jack Delroy hosts the struggling late night talk show Night Owls in 1977. With ratings dropping and producers on his back, Jack decides to go all out for his Halloween special. Filled with psychic mediums, sceptics and a live exorcism this episode of Night Owls is one to remember.

This film features artwork generated by AI. We will be encouraging conversation about the usage of AI within the film after the screening.

May

Tue 14 11am, Wed 15 5.15pm, Mon 20 11am

THe New Boy (12A) Australia, 1h 36min

Director: Warwick Thornton

Stars: Cate Blanchett, Aswan Reid, Deborah Mailman, Wayne Blair

Set in 1940s Australia, The New Boy is the story of a nine-year-old Aboriginal orphan boy who arrives in the dead of night at a remote monastery run by a renegade nun, where his presence disturbs the delicately balanced world in this story of spiritual struggle and the cost of survival. The New Boy is returning following sold out screenings in March.

Merry Christmas

Mr. Lawrence (1983, 15)

UK/Japan, 2hr 3min

May

Tue 14 5pm, Wed 15 2.30pm, Fri 17 11am

UK, 2h 1min

Director: Michael Winterbottom

Stars: Douglas Booth, Irina Starshenbaum, Harry Melling Shoshana (15)

From the director of Greed comes the story of two Brit police officers, Thomas Wilkin and Geoffrey Morton, in their hunt for charismatic poet and Zionist freedom fighter Avraham Stern, who was plotting to evict British authorities from Israel. Some foreign language with English subtitles.

May

Fri 17 2.30pm, Sat 18 5.15pm

Director: Nagisa Ôshima

Cast: David Bowie, Tom Conti, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Jack Thompson

Following his passing in 2023 and our screenings of his final work, Monster in Borderlines Film Festival, we wanted to revisit one of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s most beloved works.

During WWII, a British colonel tries to bridge the cultural divides between a British POW and the Japanese camp commander to avoid bloodshed.

- Ellen E Jones, The Guardian

Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus (U)

Japan, 1hr 43min

May

Mon 20 7.30pm, Thu 23 11am

Director: Neo Sora

Ryuichi Sakamoto’s last performance, a concert film featuring just him and his piano playing for the last time before passing away.

Some foreign language with English subtitles.

He conjured emotions we don’t yet have names for”

- Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire

“The austerity of the film-making a ords a rare chance to meditate on his range and the variety of his work as well as the consistency of his voice as a composer.”

- Leslie Felperin, The Guardian

May

Fri 17 7.30pm, Mon 20 5.15pm

Monkey Man (18)

USA/Canada/India, 2h 1min

Director: Dev Patel

May

Fri 17 5pm, Sat 18 7.45pm

Civil War (15)

USA, 1h 49min

Director: Alex Garland (Ex Machina)

Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Nick Offerman, Cailee Spaeny

From the writer of 28 Days Later, Ex Machina and Annihilation comes an American political epic. A journey across a dystopian future America, following a team of military-embedded journalists as they race against time to reach DC before rebel factions descend upon the White House.

Stars: Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Pitobash

May

- Matt Zoller Seitx, RogerEbert.com

An anonymous young man unleashes a campaign of vengeance against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother and continue to systemically victimize the poor and powerless. From producer Jordan Peele and debut director Dev Patel.

Tue 28 2.30pm, Wed 29 7.30pm

Rome, Open City (1945, 12A)

Italy, 1h 43min

Director: Roberto Rossellini

Stars: Anna Magnani, Aldo Fabrizi, Marcello Pagliero

This May we wanted to take a dive into one of cinema’s most influential movements, Italian Neorealism. Our screenings will feature an introduction by Ethan Hargreaves (Cinema Programming Assistant) on the key facets of Italian Neorealism.

During the Nazi occupation of Rome in 1944, the Resistance leader, Giorgio Manfredi, is chased by the Nazis as he seeks refuge and a way to escape. Foreign language with English subtitles.

May

May Fri 24 11am, Tue 28 5.15pm, Thu 30 11am

Much ado about dying (15)

UK, 1h 24min

Director: Simon Chambers

Looking after his madcap gay actor uncle, filmmaker Simon is engulfed in a whirl of Shakespeare and clutter, as Uncle David lends his credit card to neighbors, greets visitors in the nude and teaches Simon a profound lesson on dying happy.

“Though its focus remains unwaveringly intimate, the film’s perspective quietly takes in a world of systemic inadequacies in the British care and welfare systems”

- Guy Lodge, Variety

Fri 24 2.30pm, Sat 25 7.45pm, Tue 28 7.30pm (Subs), Wed 29 5.15pm, Thu 30 2.30pm

Love Lies Bleeding (15)

USA/UK, 1h 44min

Director: Rose Glass (Saint Maud)

Stars: Kristen Stewart, Katy O’Brian, Ed Harris

Gym manager Lou falls for Jackie, a bodybuilder who is passing through town en route to a competition in Las Vegas. From British director Rose Glass, whose debut film Saint Maud brought UK cinema audiences to its knees.

“At first, Love Lies Bleeding feels like a relatively straightforward noir... but it swerves left when you expect it to swerve right, unpredictable in ways that can be invigorating.”

- Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com

“The most fun I’ve had in the cinema in 2024! If you step out of your comfort zone for any film in May, make it this.”

- Ethan, Cinema Programming Assistant

May

Sat 25 5.15pm

Drift (15)

USA/UK/Greece, 1h 33min

Director: Anthony Chen

Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Alia Shawkat

May

Sat 25 11am, Tue 28 11.15am, Wed 29 2.30pm (Relaxed)

Robot dreams (pg)

Spain/France, 1h 42min

Director: Pablo Berger

DOG lives in Manhattan and he’s tired of being alone. One day he decides to build himself a robot, a companion. Their friendship blossoms, until they become inseparable, to the rhythm of 80’s NYC. One summer night, DOG, with great sadness, is forced to abandon ROBOT at the beach.

Our Family Saturday screening includes a free pre-activity from 10.30am!

A young Liberian refugee named Jacqueline offers massages to tourists in exchange for one or two euros to battle her hunger, while her daily struggle for survival keeps the memories that haunt her at bay. She meets an unmoored tour guide and the two become close as they each find hope in the other. Some foreign language with English subtitles.

May

Wed 29 11am

Lavender Hill Mob (1951, U)

UK, 1h 21min

Director: Charles Crichton

Stars: Alec Guiness, Stanley Holloway, Sidney James

Our classic breakfast movies continue with Charles Crichton’s 1950s comedy. A meek bank clerk who oversees the shipment of bullion joins with an eccentric neighbour to steal gold bars and smuggle them out of the country as miniature Eiffel Towers.

Take this chance to celebrate the wonderful work of Ealing Studios.

blackbird blackbird blackberry (15)

Switzerland/Georgia, 1h 50min

Director: Elene Naveriani

Stars: Eka Chavleishvili, Temiko Chichinadze

“Of all the classic summer berries - straw, blue, goose, rasp - blackberries ripen latest. That makes them an appropriate fruit for sturdy loner Etero to be reaching for at the beginning of Elene Naveriani‘s slyly delightful Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry” - Jessica Kiang, Variety

Etero, a 48-year-old woman living in a small village in Georgia, never wanted a husband. She cherishes her freedom as much as her cakes. But her choice to live alone is the cause of much gossip among her fellow villagers. Unexpectedly, she finds herself passionately falling for a man, and is suddenly faced with the decision to pursue a relationship or continue a life of independence. Foreign language with English subtitles.

The Fall Guy (12A) June

USA, 2h 6min

Director: David Leitch (Bullet Train) May Fri 31 7.45pm

Stars: Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham, Stephanie Hsu

2023’s ‘Barbenheimer’ phenomenon leaves behind the year’s most action packed romantic-comedy in its wake as the films’ stars collide. Colt Seavers is a stuntman who left the business a year earlier to focus on both his physical and mental health. He’s drafted back into service when the star of a mega-budget studio movie, which is being directed by his ex, goes missing.

Saturday 1 June, 2pm

Celebrating the ‘missing’ episodes of vintage television recovered by the Film is Fabulous! team. In the 1960s and 1970s large quantities of videotape and film were wiped or junked by the major television production and broadcasting companies. A significant number of culturally important television programmes from the period were believed to have been lost forever. Fortunately, many of the original film prints (referred to as telerecordings) earmarked for destruction found their way into the hands of private collectors. These television programmes, which were listed as ‘missing’ by the official film archives, were lovingly preserved by their new owners.

Film is Fabulous! are delighted to present four black and white episodes of British television that have been recovered, and a discussion with special guests about the preservation of vulnerable film treasures. Each episode will have a short introduction and be followed by a brief break.

Mogul – Is That Tiger, Man? (Broadcast: 30 April 1966)

This high-stakes BBC drama series was later renamed ‘The Troubleshooters’. It recounted events at the international oil company: MOGUL. This episode featured Robert Hardy, Geoffrey Keen, Ray Barrett, and Justine Lord.

The Basil Brush Show (Broadcast: 25 September 1970)

Glove puppet fox, Basil Brush, was immensely popular with adults and children. This episode was presented by Derek Fowlds (Mr. Derek), with special guest Peter Cowap.

Sykes and a Marriage (Broadcast: 1 February 1961)

This classic BBC comedy episode from the early 1960s was discovered amongst the films of a deceased private collector. The programme starred Eric Sykes, Hattie Jacques, and stalwart British actor, Richard Wattis.

Tom Jones! - Work (Broadcast: 3 April 1967)

ATV (and ITC Entertainment) produced a host of music programmes, many of which are missing from the ITV Archive. The series starred Tom Jones, together with guests. This episode featured soul singer, Maxine Brown.

Carmen

Wednesday 1 May, 6.45pm

Damiano Michieletto’s sizzling new production evokes all the passion and heat of Bizet’s score, which features Carmen’s sultry Habanera and the rousing Toreador song. Antonello Manacorda conducts an exciting international cast, with Aigul Akhmetshina performing the title role.

Tickets: £18, Conc £15

Macbeth (12A)

Thursday 2 May, 7pm

Saturday 25 May, 2.30pm

Tony and BAFTA Award winner Ralph Fiennes and Olivier Award winner Indira Varma star in a brand-new ‘full-voltage visceral’ (Daily Telegraph) production of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Directed by Simon Godwin with set and costume design by Frankie Bradshaw.

Tickets: £16

john singer sargent

Saturday 4 May, 5.15pm

John Singer Sargent is known as the greatest portrait artist of his era. What made his ‘swagger’ portraits remarkable was his power over his sitters, what they wore and how they were presented to the audience. Featuring interviews with curators, contemporary fashionistas and style influencers.

Tickets: £15

NYE (15) - Encore

Tuesday 14 May 7.15pm

Back by popular demand after a sold out screening in April! Michael Sheen plays Nye Bevan in a surreal and spectacular journey through the life and legacy of the man who transformed Britain’s welfare state and created the NHS.

Tickets: £16

Madama Butterfly

Saturday 11 May, 5.55pm

Three extraordinary sopranos, Aleksandra Kurzak, Eleonora Buratto, and Asmik Grigorian, tackle the demanding role of Cio-Cio-San, the loyal geisha at the heart of Puccini’s devastating tragedy. Tenors Matthew Polenzani and Jonathan Tetelman co-star as the callous American naval officer Pinkerton, whose betrayal destroys her. Mezzo-sopranos Elizabeth DeShong and Eve Gigliotti share the role of the steadfast maid Suzuki, and baritone Davide Luciano and Lucas Meachem are the American consul.

Tickets: £18, Conc £15

Vanya - Encore

Wednesday 15 May, 7.15pm

Andrew Scott (Fleabag) brings multiple characters to life in this radical new version of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya. Hopes, dreams, and regrets are thrust into sharp focus in this one-man adaptation which explores the complexities of human emotions.

Tickets: £16

Coming Soon

Twister (1996, 35mm, PG)

Monday 17 June, 6.30pm

In June, the Radix Film Club is already hard at work to bring you a 35mm screening of Jan De Bont’s classic Twister!

Tornado warnings aren’t all that reliable but we expect the sequel Twisters to hit this Summer! What better time to revisit the original on actual film.

May Family Saturdays!

All with a free pre-activity from 10.30am

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (PG)

Sat 4 May, 11am

Shrek 2 (2004, PG)

Sat 11 May, 11am

Grooving with pirates (Live)

Sat 18 May, 11am

Robot Dreams (PG)

Sat 25 May, 11am

Thursday 9 May, 7.30pm

Tickets: £34-£32

Thursday 30 May - Saturday 1 June

Tickets: £21-£19