​FILM CLUB SCREENS “THE GRAPES OF WRATH”
​Barossa Film Club’s screening for May is the classic 1940’s film “The Grapes of Wrath”, which is director John Ford's most famous black and white epic drama - the classic adaptation of John Steinbeck's 1940 Pulitzer Prize-winning, widely-read 1939 novel.  This film was the most popular left-leaning, socialistic-themed film of pre-World War II Hollywood.
The title of the film was taken from the Battle Hymn of the Republic, by Julia Ward. On the screen, the film honestly and realistically recreates the socio-economic impact of the Great Depression and a mid-30s drought upon one representative family - the Joads. Its theme of an oppressed people's epic move to a new home parallels the Biblical story of Exodus. Their family name, Joad, also evokes the Biblical character of Job.  There was a total of seven Academy Award nominations for the film - with two wins: Best Supporting Actress (Jane Darwell) for her role as the archetypal mother figure, and Best Director (John Ford).  Jane Darwell is marvelous as the strong center and backbone of the migratory family that must leave its ancestral land, and Henry Fonda is magnificent as an unmercifully-harassed Okie who refuses to be beaten and crushed by misfortune.

​​“The Grapes of Wrath” will screen at Faith College Wine Centre on Friday 17th May commencing at 7.30 pm with a short film, then a break for refreshments before the main feature.  Admission is free to Barossa Film Club Members and membership is obtainable at the door.  Inquiries to President Imelda Carson on 8564 8225.

​Friday 12th April: “Tanna
Tanna is an incredible window on to a traditional tribal way of life as it persists in the modern era. The Yakel people of the island of Vanuatu enact their own true story of events that occurred in 1987, with help from some non-indigenous filmmakers. This is not a documentary. The movie is gorgeously photographed on the island of Tanna (with its rainforests and active volcano), and the tribespeople give magnetic performances. The film examines a forbidden love affair and the resulting clash between the old ways and the new. At the Venice Film Festival, Bentley Dean was awarded Best Director of Photography, and the film also received the audience award for the best feature film of International Film Critics’ Week.

​Venue: The Wine Education Centre, near Brenton Langbein Theatre, Faith School, Magnolia Road, Tanunda.
Starting time: 7.30pm, except in February & November which start at 7.00pm with wine & cheese.
Membership: $35.00 per person per year, although a short season membership costing just $10 covers attendance at 3 screenings. We obtain our films at very reasonable cost compared to commercial rates, provided that they are shown to members only, so members only can attend film screenings. Applications for membership are obtainable at the door and payment of subscriptions can be made at the door.
​For more information, please phone Imelda Carson: 08 8564 8225 (South Australia)

Friday 15th March: “My Sweet Pepper Land”.
After the fall of Saddam Hussein, Baran, a Kurdish independence war hero, resolves to accept a position in a godforsaken village at the borders of Iran and Turkey, an illegal trafficking Eldorado .  There he meets Govend, a beautiful young woman who has come to work as the teacher in the newly-opened school despite her twelve brothers’ hostility to the idea. The result is a film of great cultural interest plus suspense and humour. (David Stratton)
​

​"The Lunchbox" Screening Friday 15th February 2019 is a bittersweet love story about two strangers in Mumbai, who have never met and communicate only through notes. A strikingly original, idiosyncratic and charming love story told with subtlety and with superb acting by the three central characters. The film was an amazing directorial debut for Ritesh Bara.

Venue: The Wine Education Centre, near Brenton Langbein Theatre, Faith School, Magnolia Road, Tanunda.
Starting time: 7.30pm, except in February & November which start at 7.00pm with wine & cheese.
Membership: $35.00 per person per year, although a short season membership costing just $10 covers attendance at 3 screenings. We obtain our films at very reasonable cost compared to commercial rates, provided that they are shown to members only, so members only can attend film screenings. Applications for membership are obtainable at the door and payment of subscriptions can be made at the door.
​For more information, please phone Imelda Carson: 08 8564 8225 (South Australia)

Barossa Film Club will show its last film for the 2018 season, with the screening of the British drama “Amazing Grace”. One man’s role in the long battle to outlaw slavery in the United Kingdom sets the stage for this historical drama from director Michael Apted. In 1784, 21-year-old William Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffudd) was elected to the British House of Commons, and soon established himself as a politician with a conscience. Several years later, his close friend William Pitt (Benedict Cumberbatch) became prime minister, and together they made a bold plan to introduce a bill banning slavery before the English legislature. Wilberforce was aided by anti-slavery activists Olaudah Equiano (Youssou N’Dour) and Thomas Clarkson (Rufus Sewell); however, pro-slavery hard-liners Lord Tarleton (Ciarán Hinds) and the Duke of Clarence (Toby Jones) spearheaded a hard-fought opposition to the legislation, and despite Wilberforce’s best efforts, his bill went down in defeat. In 1797, Wilberforce left politics due to poor health and a battered spirit; staying at the country home of his friends Henry and Marianne Thornton (Nicholas Farrell and Sylvestra Le Touzel), he became acquainted with Barbara Spooner (Romola Garai), a beautiful woman with progressive views. Spooner became deeply infatuated with Wilberforce, and she encouraged him not to give up on his noble goals; with her help, Wilberforce launched a second campaign to persuade England’s lawmakers to end the slave trade.
A great cast and beautiful cinematography capture the look and sound of a sumptuous age, and an important period in history. “Amazing Grace” will screen at Faith College Wine Centre from 7.30 pm on Friday 9th November. Admission is free for Club members and membership is obtainable at the door. A trailer is viewable on the Barossa Film Club website. Enquiries 8564 8225.

​​CANADIAN COMEDY “CLOUDBURST” SCREENING
Barossa Film Club presents 2011 Canadian romantic comedy “Cloudburst”, directed by Thom Fitzgerald.  This hilarious road movie co-stars Oscar-winning actresses Brenda Fricker and Olympia Dukakis as Dot and Stella, a crackerjack lesbian couple on the run from a nursing home. You'll laugh so hard you'll cry. Stella and Dot have been together for 31 years and have faithfully accompanied one another through life's ups and downs. Now in their seventies, Stella is hard of hearing and Dot is legally blind. Dotty's prudish granddaughter, Molly (played by Genie Award-winner Kristin Booth), decides the best place for Dot is a nursing home that will provide all the necessities. This forces Stella and Dot to make a bold decision: they will leave their hometown and make their way to Canada, where same-sex marriage is legal. It's a last-gap bid to stay together. En route to Canada, they pick up a young hitchhiker, Prentice, played by newcomer Ryan Doucette. A small-town boy turned modern dancer, he is returning to Nova Scotia to visit his dying mother. Despite his bravado, Prentice is a confused and wounded soul who has much to learn from Stella and Dot as they wage their own unexpected battle - after three decades, can they keep their family together?
Winner of 30 best-picture awards, “Cloudburst” will be shown at the Faith College Wine Centre on Friday 19th October, with a short film at 7.30 pm, a break for refreshments and then the main feature.  Entry is free for Barossa Film Club members, and membership is obtainable at the door.   A trailer of the film can be viewed on the Film Club website and further details from Imelda Carson n 8564 8225.