Ballarat Film Society

Italy, 1954, b/w, 94 min.  Directed by Federico Fellini Fellini Classic Neo-Realism ​Starring Giulietta Masina, Anthony Quinn and Richard Basehart, and produced by Dino De Laurentiis and Carlo Ponti, La Strada was Fellini’s 4th film and ensured his international reputation. Told in a fabulist style with a focus on love and jealousies, it is set […]

Ireland/UK/Canada, 2015, 112 min. Directed by John Crowley Nostalgic Irish Émigré Romance ​ Receiving a standing ovation at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and faithfully adapted from the novel by Colm Toibin, Brooklyn tells the story of Eilis (Saoirse Ronan), a young woman from Enniscorthy, County Wexford who finds herself in the new world of […]

Iran, 2021, 127 min. Directed by Asghar Farhadi Modern Iranian Morality Tale Note - this is the 3rd, not the 2nd, Thursday in May. The AGM will commence at 7.00 pm, followed by the film at 7.30 ​ A-lister auteur Farhadi sets his latest film in the Iranian city of Shiraz. Ramin (Amir Jadidi) is in […]

USA, 2021, 92 min.  Directed by Michael Sarnoski Indi Revenge Drama The centre of this film is a subtle and nuanced performance from Nicolas Cage, playing a truffle hunter living alone in the Oregonian wilderness with his foraging pig, who must confront his past when he goes to the city in search of his pig […]

Australia, 2022, 95 min. Directed by Bill Code Indigenous Australian Documentary This film by former Guardian and Al Jazeera journalist Bill Code takes us to a corner of Victoria which is a place of great beauty, environmental significance, and rare archaeological wonder. As the clock ticks, an unlikely partnership forms that could see positive cultural […]

Spain/Argentina, 2019, 107 min. Directed by Alejandro Amenabar Spanish Civil War Film Historical dramas have been very popular at Ballarat Film Society, so this year we are screening an intriguing Spanish political and military film set in 1936, during the first few months of the Spanish Civil War. The film recreates, in a surprisingly measured […]

Chile, 2019, 107 min. Directed by Pablo Larraín Chilean Musical Drama In his first film since the 2016 double bill of Neruda and Jackie, Pablo Larraín returns to present-day Chile for an incendiary portrait of a young woman in rebellion. Set in Valparaíso, the film concerns married couple Ema, a platinum-blonde reggaeton dancer (played brilliantly […]

USA, 2016, 98 min. Directed by Werner Herzog Digital Revolution Documentary Elon Musk, Lawrence Krauss and Lucianne Walkowicz, stars of the digital revolution, feature in Werner Herzog’s documentary about the internet, which he calls one of the “greatest revolutions of humanity.” Herzog asks pertinent questions, and patiently listens, allowing his subjects to reveal all the […]

Spain, 2021, 120 min. Directed and written by Fernando León de Aranoa Spanish comedy-drama Blanco (Javier Bardem), the charismatic owner of a family-run factory, is under pressure as he covets a local award for business excellence. Everything needs to be perfect! But the veneer of his perfect company cracks as Blanco has to deal with […]

Ireland, 2020, 95 min. Written and Directed by Philip Doherty Deadpan Dark Irish Comedy To see out the year 2023, we turn to a pitch-black, irreverent comedy about a troubled young man returning to his fictional Irish hometown of Ballylough, in the real County Cavan. A despairing prodigal son seeking redemption for his sins, he […]