Richmond Film Society
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Capacity: 290 (which can be expanded to 310)
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Screening Frequency: Once a month
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Facilities: Bar, Toilets, Accessible Toilets, Public Transport Nearby
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Shared Equipment:
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Films Screened: British, Foreign, Independent
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Ticket options: At the door, Online, Other
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Description
Richmond Film Society was formed in 1963 and has since screened over 860 films. Our objective was, and remains, to bring our community the very best in World Cinema. Our seasons run from September to June and attract an aggregate audience approaching 4,500 attendees. Season 60 will comprise 19 films of international repute from 18 countries in Europe, Africa, North and South America, Asia and the Middle East.
Films are shown on alternate Tuesdays at 8:00 pm sharp, with no ads or trailers. On screening nights, the bar opens at 7:00 p.m. and drinks can be brought into the auditorium. Film notes are available online for each screening and audience scores and feedback are collated.
See http://www.richmondfilmsoc.org.uk for further information and full details of our Season 59 programme.
Our Venue
We screen all our films at The Exchange, the community facility opposite Twickenham Station at 75 London Road, Twickenham, TW1 1BE. Its facilities include a very comfortable, tiered 290-seat theatre (whose capacity can be increased to 310), lifts, disabled access, a bar and a café.
The Exchange is directly opposite Twickenham station, which is served by trains to and from Waterloo, Vauxhall, Clapham Junction, Kingston and Reading. Bus routes 267 and 281 stop outside The Exchange, the 290 stops in Arragon Road and the 33, 490, H22, R68 and R70 all stop in central Twickenham, which is a 5 minute walk away.
There is no onsite parking at The Exchange and no public parking on the Brewery Wharf Estate. There is, however, free car parking nearby at:
• Waitrose Arragon Road multi-storey car park from 6pm to midnight
• Holly Road car park from 6:30pm
• Local streets from 6:30pm
Season 60 Membership is Closed
Having reached capacity, membership for Season 60 (2023-2024) is now closed. If you are a non-member and would like to be added to the membership waiting list for next season (2024-2025), please email us at admin@richmondfilmsoc.org.uk with your name, address and telephone number; alternatively, email us via the Contact Us section of the website.
Seasonal membership has been held at £40 for the 19 films (the 1999 price), an equivalent of £2.11 per film. For full-time students, membership was offered at the concessionary rate of £25.
Non-Member Tickets:
60 non-member tickets will be available to purchase for all individual screenings in Season 60. Non-member tickets are £5 (full-time students £3) and can be purchased in advance from The Exchange’s Box Office: online at http://exchangetwickenham.co.uk/events, by telephone 020 8240 2399 or in person. To ensure that you secure a ticket and avoid disappointment, we strongly recommend early pre-booking via The Exchange once tickets become available for sale.
Should any non-member tickets remain available on the night of screenings, these can be now be purchased solely from The Exchange’s box office on the ground floor. Purchases are now by contactless payments only - cash payments are no longer accepted.
Further Information
For further information about RFS and our current season of films, please see our website at http://www.richmondfilmsoc.org.uk
You can also follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RichmondFilmSociety/, on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Richmond_Film and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/richmondfilmsociety/
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Address:
- The Exchange
- 75 London Road
- Twickenham
- Middlesex
- TW1 1BE
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Screenings
Additional info
20:00 - 22:15 -
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Synopsis
A husband and wife run a small, traditional shop selling beautiful, handmade caftans in one of Morocco’s oldest medinas. She turns a blind eye to his repressed homosexuality but complications arise when a strong, mutual attraction develops between him and the shop’s new young apprentice. The Blue Caftan is not a film about being gay in Morocco - although that is illegal and punishable with 3 year’s imprisonment; it is a film about love and understanding. All three of the main protagonists are deeply sympathetic characters and although the husband and wife are sexually incompatible, there is an extremely deep and powerful bond between them. The result is a tender, compassionate and understated drama with outstanding performances, particularly from Lubna Azabal, who plays the wife, Mina. The husband, Halim, is played by Saleh Bakri, who starred in two earlier RFS screenings, The Band’s Visit and Wajib, in Seasons 47 and 57 respectively. The film was a big hit on the festival circuit, garnered numerous awards (including three at Cannes) and, as Morocco’s entry, was shortlisted for the 2023 Best International Feature Film Oscar.
Additional info
20:00 - 22:05 -
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Synopsis
The film is set in December 2006, three years after the US led invasion of Iraq and shortly after the removal of Saddam Hussein. The city is in chaos, amidst Sunni and Shia mistrust, the activities of local warlords and widespread racketeering. The film follows the lives of a group of individuals in a small, mixed Baghdad community as they try to find some semblance of normality against a backdrop of endless sectarian violence, nightly curfews and the ongoing occupation of their country. The film alludes to the horrors of war and sectarian violence in subtle and non-explicit terms and, despite the unpredictable violence, turmoil, and loss, there is also hope, humour and the ability and desire to move forward. Our River… Our Sky tells the story of the Iraq War by those who lived through it.
Additional info
20:00 - 22:00 -
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Synopsis
A gently moving drama in which Hansen-Løve showcases her delicate touch, exploring significantly autobiographical topics with an unapologetically honest lens. Léa Seydoux is Sandra, a young widow single-handedly caring for her adorable young daughter whilst dealing with both the practical problems and the sense of loss brought about by her once-brilliant father Georg’s unforgiving neurodegenerative illness. When she meets and falls for an old acquaintance, Clément (Melvil Poupaud), we are soon treated to the possibility of romance – but his situation is not as simple as it may seem… We watch Sandra navigating a broad range of emotions as she goes from sadness to joy several times a day. Seydoux is better than ever here, and her chemistry with Poupaud is electrifying. The script is lucid and touching, and they deliver it with aplomb. Nicole García, as the supportively pragmatic Françoise (Sandra’s mother and Georg’s ex-wife) provides some welcome tonal changes. Exploring both lightness and depth, the film manages to compel without clichés or low blows; indeed, this is an ultimately uplifting story. The film will be introduced by Jon Davies, a leading expert in French Cinema. Jon is an Associate of the British Film Institute and a tutor in French Cinema at Morley College, London. He has been presenting Watermans’ popular French cinema club, French Impressions, for over 20 years.
Additional info
20:00 - 21:45 -
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Synopsis
Cristi, a corrupt Bucharest cop on the payroll of the local mafia, has become embroiled in the very drug-money-laundering operation which he has been tasked with investigating. He has discovered that his superiors (themselves hardly impervious to bribes) suspect him and have placed secret surveillance cameras in his apartment. He knows exactly where those cameras are but must carry on as normal to avoid detection. A crooked businessman, who knows where 30 million euros of the mobsters’ money is hidden, has been imprisoned and an elaborate plan is formulated to free him. In order to play his part in the operation and communicate with his co-conspirators in a code the police cannot crack, Cristi is required to learn Silbo, the ancestral (and quite genuine) whistling language on the Spanish Canary island of Gomera. What ensues is a fast-paced and intricate gangster noir, replete with a tangle of double-crossings, multiple plot twists, money in mattresses and a beguiling femme fatale. The film represents a major stylistic departure for its director, Corneliu Porumboiu, whose previous films have been austere, rigorously linear and understated in the manner of the ‘Romanian New Wave’. What we have in The Whistlers is a cleverly structured, very stylish and highly entertaining crime thriller, suffused with bone-dry black comedy. The film also benefits from a fine lead performance from Vlad Ivanov (last seen at RFS in 2018 in Graduation) and an eclectic soundtrack, which includes the judicious use of Iggy Pop’s 1977 track, The Passenger.
Additional info
20:00 - 22:00 -
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Synopsis
RFS’ British Classic for Season 61 is Kind Hearts and Coronets, the 1949 British crime black comedy film directed by Robert Hamer and starring, amongst others, Dennis Price and Alec Guinness (who plays no less than eight characters). A distant poor relative of the Duke D'Ascoyne plots to inherit the title by murdering the eight other heirs who stand ahead of him in the line of succession. The film is number 6 in the British Film Institute's ranking of the Top 100 British films and is also in Time magazine’s list of the top 100 films since 1923.
Additional info
20:00 - 22:00 -
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Synopsis
Adapted from Judy Blume’s controversial 1970 novel - for its candid study of then-taboo subjects, including teen sexuality and interfaith marriage - Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret explores teenage girlhood with insight, humour and empathy through the character of Margaret when her family moves from New York to New Jersey. The film captures an 11-year-old marching toward puberty with grace and dignity, as Margaret navigates new friends, feelings and the beginning of adolescence. It features a fine lead performance from Abby Ryder Fortson, alongside Rachel McAdams and Kathy Bates, as her mother and grandmother respectively. The coming-of-age comedy-drama - which the author, Judy Blume, considers better than her novel - was critically acclaimed and went on to win 23 awards.
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The Exchange -
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The Exchange
