All of us Londoners remember Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club. It was the place to be and be seen. Oliver Murray’s documentary pays homage to the famous hot spot and its founder, Ronnie Scott, which opened in 1959 and is still swinging. The film includes vintage clips of Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix and more – everyone was there. Opening with Oscar Peterson on the piano, Ronnie’s features vintage clips of the greats: Sarah Vaughan, Cleo Laine, Nina Simone, Eric Burdon and even Van Morrison singing Send in the Clowns. Come on down to sleazy Soho! UK 2020 (103 minutes)

“The best Aussie sheep movie since Babe,” enthuses one film critic from Down Under. But Rams offers far more through the touching recreation of a contentious relationship between brothers. Many families may find familiar elements in the rivalry between the two. A grizzled-looking Sam Neill and Michael Caton play the alienated siblings who haven’t spoken in 40 years although their sheep farms are a mere 328 feet apart. A threat to their beloved flocks forces them to work together with tumultuous if life-affirming results. As a nod to the award-winning film from Iceland of which Rams is a remake, the co-stars are seen wearing Icelandic sweaters. Australia 2020 (118 minutes)

Sponsor: Australian Consulate General San Francisco

A Dublin-set drama from director Phyllida Lloyd (Mama Mia!, The Iron Lady), Herself is the empowering story of a battered wife (actor/screenwriter Claire Dunne) who finds the grit to leave her husband, navigate the realities of homelessness and reclaim a stable life for herself and her children. An inspiring portrait of a determined survivor who, against the odds, literally builds her own house, finding a true home among the decent folks who come to her aid along the way. Ireland/UK 2020 (97 minutes)

Presented in partnership with Consulate General of Ireland, San Francisco and SF Irish Film

A wayward young man and his estranged father rebuild their bond as they journey to Ireland to scatter the ashes of their mother and wife. Frank (Oscar and Golden Globe nominee John Hawkes) isn’t the father he should have been. Sean (Logan Lerman) isn’t the son he should have been. With plenty of unresolved issues, the journey becomes a lot more than father and son had bargained for. A beautifully observed story from director Elfar Adalsteins; emotionally raw and rich with deeply affecting moments. End of Sentence is much more than a traditional road film. Ireland/Iceland/USA. 2019 (96 minutes)

Presented in partnership with Consulate General of Ireland, San Francisco and SF Irish Film

A Belgian farmhand (Bouli Lanners) exiles himself to a remote Scottish island where he suffers a stroke causing loss of memory. Local islanders call him their Jason Bourne.  One native, a farmer’s daughter (Game of Thrones’ Michelle Fairley), falsely describes to him their torrid affair preceding his amnesia.  These unusual circumstances make for an odd but beguiling romance—sure to captivate with its tale of guilty secrets, regrets and longing, challenging the very roots of sexuality and love. Lanners (who also directs) and Fairley play off each other with a quietness belying their intense feelings. Little wonder they both took top acting honors at the Chicago International Film Festival. UK 2021 (99 minutes) 

Alzheimer’s disease was memorably portrayed by Anthony Hopkins in The Father, for which he won an Oscar. This new poignant drama explores the bewildering fact that sufferers can experience momentary reprieves. In a deeply-felt performance, Noni Hazlehurst (the matriarch on the sophisticated Australian soap opera A Place to Call Home) plays June Wilton, a victim of dementia who was once the formidable mother of two adult children but now can no longer remember them. Family ties are explored when she unexpectedly inserts herself back into the lives of her estranged loved ones and attempts to make improvements. Australia 2019 (99 minutes)

Sponsor: Australian Consulate General San Francisco

The name of this touching documentary derives from the anguished cry of refugees in a war-torn world. It makes an apt title for this immigrant success story of Sir Frank Lowy, a Czech Jew who became co-founder of the Westfield Corporation and one of Australia’s wealthiest men. At 80 he must decide whether to sell the global shopping company built with his three sons. The decision is especially emotional because his father’s death in a concentration camp forced Lowy to live as a refugee. Settling in Australia and becoming hugely successful was for him more about feeling safe than simply making money. US/Australia 2019 (96 minutes)

Sponsor: Gerry and Fran Schall

Sponsor: Australian Consulate General San Francisco

Academy Award nominated director Stephen Daldry’s (The Hours, Billy Elliot) unique comedy is a hilarious and heartbreaking story that intimately shows two partners forced to reevaluate themselves and their relationship through the reality of the 2020 lockdown, while finding a way to survive as a family. A dream showcase for stars James McAvoy (X-Men, The Last King of Scotland) and Sharon Horgan (TV’s Catastrophe and This Way Up), each delivering performances that rank among their very best.

“A tour de force of writing and acting” -The Guardian

“Unflinching and very funny” – The Independent

UK, 2021 (92 minutes)

It’s hard to believe that Fisherman’s Friends is based on a true story, but yes, a group of rough and ready, cheery fishermen in Cornwall are spotted by a London music manager on a stag weekend and signed up to record their sea shanties. Originally the music exec’s snobbish friends are joking, goading him on to see the potential of folk music but the fishermen, the village and a fisherman’s daughter win him over for real. Beautifully shot in Port Isaac, a picturesque fishing village in Dorset, and around iconic scenes in London. In 2010 the ten singers did hit the charts in the UK!
UK 2019 (112 minutes)