Stalls All tickets may be purchased or reserved in advance and specific seats requested. Reserved tickets must be claimed at least 15 mins before the performance or they will be sold £4.50 / £4 concessions, £2.50 for under 12's.
Balcony Tickets may be purchased in advance & specific seats allocated, payment required when booking. Under 16's must be accompanied by an adult. £5 / £ 4.50 concessions, £3.50 for under 12’s.
Oscars Ticket prices £3 / £2.50 concessions
All tickets are non-refundable.
Film Information Did you know that we send out extra information about upcoming films by e-mail? For many films we give you general background, info about the director and comments from critics. It's completely free, all you have to do is e-mail films@ludlowassemblyrooms .co.uk and ask to join our film e-mail group.
Please Note that films commence at the stated start time (the ads and trailers are shown before the start time).
May
Tues 6 & Wed 7 May, 7.30pm
Garage (18)
Dir: Leonard Abrahamson, Ireland, 2007, 85 mins
‘Superb, you must go and see it’Independent on Sunday
‘Beautifully acted...Pat Shortt is a revelation’ The Times
Josie (Pat Shortt) is the caretaker of a crumbling petrol station in small-town Ireland. Despite loneliness and the fact that his neighbours treat him as figure of fun, he is always good natured, absurdly optimistic and, in his own peculiar way, happy. Garage is the story of Josie’s hapless search for intimacy over the course of a summer which sees his little niche threatened and his life changed forever.
Thurs 8, Sat 10 & Sun 11 May, 7.30pm
Love in the Time of Cholera (15)
Dir: Mike Newell, USA, 2007, 138 mins
‘The best film I’ve seen all year’Entertainment Tonight
Based on the best-selling book by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and set in Cartagena, Colombia, this is the story of two young lovers (Javier Bardem and Giovanna Mezzogiorno) who are forced apart by parental disapproval, but whose love survives over five decades. Will they finally be re-united in old age?
Tues 13 May, 7.30pm
Manon des Sources (PG)
Dir: Claude Berri, Italy/France/Switzerland, 1986, 113 mins, subtitled
‘one of the most powerful, emotionally complex tales ever translated from the written page to the silver screen. It is a tragedy of epic proportions, but on a very personal scale.’ James Berardinelli
This epic tale of revenge concludes the story started in Jean de Florette. The two farmers have got their hands on Jean’s farm, but are about to reap a very bitter harvest. Starring Yves Montand, Daniel Auteuil and Emmanuelle Béart who is spellbinding as Manon, Jean’s beautiful grown-up daughter.
Sun 18, Mon 19 & Tues 20 May, 7.30pm
Son of Rambow (12A)
Dir: Garth Jennings, France/UK, 2007, 96 mins
A funny and touching story about friendship, isolation and growing up. Two young boys, both outsiders at school, are brought together when Lee (the wild one) casts Will (the quiet one) in his home movie inspired by Rambo: First Blood. All goes well (in spite of the hair-raisingly dangerous stunts that Will performs) until a bunch of French exchange students arrive and decide to take control of the filming.
Thurs 22 & Fri 23 May, 7.30pm
Lars and the Real Girl (12A)
Dir: Craig Gillespie, USA, 2007, some subtitles, 106 mins
‘There are so many ways this could have gone wrong that one of the film's fascinations is how adroitly it sidesteps them. Its weapon is absolute sincerity’Chicago Sun Times
'A strangely affecting love story with real heart' Empire
'Quirky and brilliant' (5 stars)Arena
Lars Lindstrom is a painfully shy young man whose inability to deal with people condemns him to numbing loneliness - until Bianca, a life-size vinyl doll, comes into his life. The undemanding Bianca is the perfect companion for Lars, he treats her courteously and expects everyone in the small town where he lives to do the same - and the miracle is that they do.
Sat 24 May, 6.30pm, Sun 25 May, 2pm & 7.30pm
The Water Horse (PG)
Dir: Jay Russell, USA/UK, 2007, 111 mins
Fantasy movie based on the book by Dick King-Smith, set in Scotland. A lonely boy discovers a large egg which hatches a strange but friendly creature. Trouble is, it just keeps growing until it’s so huge that they have to release it into a nearby Loch (can you guess which one?)
Mon 26, Tues 27 & Wed 28 May, 7.30pm
Fri 30 May, 2pm & 7.30pm
The Spiderwick Chronicles (PG)
Dir: Mark Waters, USA, 2008, 96 mins
‘A must-see thrilling adventure for the whole family - it’s spectacular’WWOR-TV
Based on a well-known series of imaginative books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. Three children and their mother inherit and move into Spiderwick, a cobwebby gothic mansion which turns out to be inhabited by goblins, spirits, ogres, trolls and griffins, visible only with the aid of a Seeing Stone which the children find. The stage is set for a series of enthralling adventures.
Wed 28 May, 8pm
Black Gold (U)
Dir: Marc & Nick Francis, UK/USA/ 2006, some subtitles, 78 mins
‘remarkable - a moving but scandalous story’Daily Telegraph
‘rivetting and jaw-dropping’LA Times
As westerners revel in designer lattes and cappuccinos, impoverished Ethiopian coffee growers suffer the bitter taste of injustice. In this eye-opening expose of the multi-billion dollar industry, Black Gold traces one man's fight for a fair price.
This is a DVD screening in Oscars
June
Sun 1, Mon 2, Tues 3 & Wed 4 June, 7.30pm
Happy Go Lucky (15)
Dir: Mike Leigh, UK, 2008, 118 mins
‘Mike Leigh’s light-as-air new film is as surprising as it is delicious with an indelible performance by new star Sally Hawkins...audiences everywhere will flock to enjoy a certified good time.’Hollywood Reporter
Wonderfully warm and up-beat portrait of a young teacher, her life at work and at play, and the influence she has on the people around her. At Berlin the film captivated Festival audiences and was nominated for the Golden Bear, and Sally Hawkins won the Silver Bear for Best Actress.
Thurs 5 June, 7.30pm
The Lady Vanishes (PG)
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock, UK, 1938, 97 mins
‘Nothing could make me happier than seeing (this) back on the big screen...It's the greatest-ever comedy-thriller, the greatest film set on a train, a faultlessly cast mirror held up to the nation in the year of Munich.’The Observer
Hitchcock mixes mystery, comedy and suspense to terrific effect in this story set just before WW2. Margaret Lockwood is young debutante Iris Henderson, returning home to London from her Alpine finishing school. On board a train Iris befriends Mrs Froy, a gentle old lady who later unaccountably vanishes. Is Iris going crazy? Or is there some fiendish plot afoot?
Fri 6 June, 7.30pm
Water Lilies (Naissance des pieuvres) (15)
Dir: Céline Sciamma, France, 2007, subtitled, 85 mins
'a delightful insight into the exquisite agony of first love'Empire
It's summer and the vast municipal swimming pool is one of the main social centres in the Paris suburb of Cergy, as well as home to a successful synchronised swimming team. Friendship, boyfriends and crushes are the chief preoccupations of the teenage girls on the team, and the film perceptively explores their hopes, fears and anxieties.
Sun 8, Mon 9 & Tues 10 June, 7.30pm
Honeydripper (PG)
Dir: John Sayles, USA, 2007, 124 mins
‘rich with characters and flowing with music...all the pieces are in place for an unwinding of local race, personal and financial issues and some very, very good music, poised just at that point when the blues were turning into rhythm and blues’Chicago Sun Times
It’s 1950 in Harmony, Alabama and The Honeydripper Lounge is in deep trouble. In a last-ditch rescue bid proprietor Pine Top Purvis (Danny Glover) books the legendary Guitar Sam from New Orleans, and when he doesn’t show up desperation sets in. But what about the new kid in town who hangs around with a strange-looking home-made guitar - could he substitute for Guitar Sam? Stand by for a night to remember at The Honeydripper.
Wed 11 & Thurs 12 June, 7.30pm
Persepolis (12A)
Dir: Vincent Paronnaud/Marjane Satrapi, France/USA, 2007, some subtitles, 95 mins
‘Persepolis tells her story carefully, lovingly and with great style...while so many such films involve manufactured dilemmas, here is one about a woman who indeed does come of age, and magnificently.’ Chicago Sun Times
Marjane Satrapi’s best-selling graphic autobiography becomes a ‘wondrous’ animated film. Marjane enjoys a happy childhood in Iran, encouraged by her liberal family, but when the political climate changes drastically she finds that many of her innocent teenage pleasures (make-up, Western pop music, even unveiled faces) are not acceptable. The society she grew up in has disappeared - how can she survive in this new regime?
Sat 14 & Sun 15 June, 7.30pm
Oxford Murders (15)
Dir: Alex de la Inglesia, Spain, 2008, 108 mins
Martin (Elijah Wood) is a fresher at Oxford University whose dream is to study with Arthur Seldom (John Hurt), a celebrated professor of maths and logic. They meet accidentally when they discover the body of a murdered woman. But it’s not an isolated case - more murders follow, all accompanied by mysterious mathematical symbols, and Martin and the professor find themselves working together to assemble the pieces of a puzzle....
Mon 16 & Tues 17 June, 7.30pm
The Edge of Heaven (Auf der anderen Seite) (15)
Dir: Fatih Akin, Germany/Turkey, 2007, some subtitles, 122 mins
‘Akin is a director who has found a real voice. He tackles big ideas, big themes, in the service of which he creates believable human beings and elicits tremendous performances from his actors. It is bold and exhilarating film-making.’ The Guardian
‘Passionate, ambitious and charismatically performed... its energy and urgency are captivating’ Daily Telegraph
The story centres on Nejat, a second-generation Turk who is a university professor in Germany, his father, and various relationships that radiate out from them. The film shifts between Germany and Turkey, and explores the tensions between the two countries, and the gulf between first and second generation Turkish-Germans.
Wed 18 June, 7.30pm
Annie Leibovitz - Life through a Lens (12A)
Dir: Barbara Leibovitz, USA, 2006, 83 mins
Documentary of the celebrated 58-year-old photographer with an unrivalled eye for startling imagery, whose portfolio stretches all the way back to the 1960s. This portrait is directed by her sister, with contributions from friends, relatives and subjects ranging from Hillary Clinton to Mick Jagger.
Thurs 19 & Fri 20 June, 7.30pm
Shotgun Stories (tbc)
Dir: Jeff Nichols, USA, 2007, 92 mins
‘For me, the great discovery of this year’s festival..a film that never steps wrong and holds us in a vice of tightening revenge’Chicago Sun Times
Set in the Deep South of sprawling farms, tractors and trailer homes. Three brothers, who live together, are the product of a marriage by an alcoholic father who deserted them. The same man sobers up, becomes successful and fathers four more children in a good Christian home. His funeral leads to a feud between the two families and before long they are locked into a tragic spiral of revenge.
Sun 22 June, 7pm
The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn (PG)
Dir: Brian Parker, UK/USA, 1987, 101 mins
Morse and Lewis investigate the death, apparently a suicide, of Nicholas Quinn, a hard of hearing Oxford examiner. Morse is convinced that this is a case of murder, and when a second examiner is killed, Morse decides to investigate the examiners’ syndicate - what he finds is a maze of deceit and office adultery.
This film will be introduced by Colin Dexter, author of the Morse books. You can also see him in a Ludlow Festival event 'An Afternoon with Colin Dexter and Gabriel Woolf' on Sunday 22 June, 3pm
This is a DVD screening in Oscars.
Mon 23 June, 7.30pm
Half Moon (Niwemang) (15)
Dir: Bahman Ghobadi, Austria/Fr/Iran/Iraq, 2006, subtitled, 114 mins
‘Wholly captivating’Total Film
‘this is another masterwork by Bahman Ghobadi.’The Observer
A great Kurdish musician, living in Iran, plans to put on one last concert in Iraqui Kurdistan. He gathers his ten sons (all musicians) and a female singer and heads for the border in a minibus. What could possibly go wrong? Absolutely everything - but then a little magic intervenes...
Tues 24 & Wed 25 June, 7.30pm
Caramel (Sukkar Banat) (PG)
Dir: Nadine Labaki, France/Lebanon, 2007, subtitled, 95 mins
‘fresh, relaxed comedy...warm-hearted and accessible’ Hollywood Reporter
In Beirut, five women meet regularly in a beauty salon, a colourful microcosm of the city where several generations come into contact, talk and confide in each other. In the salon, their intimate and liberated conversations revolve around men, sex and motherhood, between haircuts and sugar waxing.
Sat 28 & Sun 29 June, 7.30pm
The Orphanage (El Orfanato) (15)
Dir: Juan Antonio Bayona, Mexico/Spain, 2007, subtitled, 100 mins
Classy supernatural thriller set in Spain. Laura returns to her childhood home with her husband and young son, intending to turn it into a children's refuge. Pretty soon things get spooky - but is what Laura sees real or imagined? And who is her son's invisible new friend?
