In the original short story on which this frontier movie is based the wife isn’t even named. She’s a remote figure waiting for the return of her sheep drover-husband in 1893 Australia. Reconceptualized by Aussie playwright Leah Purcell the saga now has a feminist bent. Adapting her popular play to the screen, the wife has stepped out of the shadow, her name emblazoned in the title. Purcell appears as Molly, a heavily pregnant frontier wife struggling in the Snowy Mountain ranges, a gaggle of kids at her heels and no husband in sight.

The drama intensifies when an indigenous man wanders onto her property and is revealed to be wanted for murder. A vibrant addition to the history of the Australian western.

Australia 2021 (109 minutes)

Sponsor: Austrialian Consulate General San Francisco

This is a complex and tender debut feature from Scottish writerdirector Charlotte Wells. Eleven-year-old Sophie (Frankie Corio) and her father, Calum (Paul Mescal)) are on vacation in a Turkish resort, lazing by the pool, playing games, eating in the hotel buffet and enjoying being together. Terrific performances from them both! Slowly, a shadow emerges conveying that this is time remembered: it is 20 years ago before smart phones and camcorders, before grief and loss become inscribed in Sophie’s memories of her father through haunting, fragmented flashbacks that never offer a complete picture. Aftersun fascinates in its exploration of memory, with feelings of loss and love resurfacing over and again. It resonates with us all. Winner of seven British Independent Film awards including Best Picture, Winner Best First Film from New York Film Critics.

Paul Mescal nominated for Best Actor Academy Award for Aftersun   

UK 2022 (96 minutes)

When Brian ( Paul Mescal, Normal People) suddenly returns
home to a small Irish fishing village after unexplained years
away, a happy reunion with his mother Aileen (Emily Watson,
Breaking the Waves; Gosford Park) quickly spirals into chaos,
as he is accused of a terrible crime committed years past.
Directors Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer open their film
with an exploration into the relationship between mother and
son. But a tense crime drama unfurls, as Aileen lies for her
son, before slowly embarking on a journey to uncover the
truth. Viewing her son in a new light, she ultimately tests her
own sense of right and wrong. Is he the innocent child she
once raised?

Ireland/UK/US 2022 (100 minutes)

Like a fine wine, this is a well-balanced documentary that goes down smoothly. It follows four young Zimbabwe men who escape to South Africa in the hope of starting new lives. Strangers when they meet, they discover a shared brilliant talent for identifying wine even though they’ve never so much as sipped the stuff in their native country. The film follows them as they become all-knowing sommeliers. With charm and admirable chutzpah they infiltrate a white world by competing as a team at the World Wine Tasting Championship in Burgundy, France.

South Africa 2022 (96 minutes)

For the Irish-born, Pulitzer prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon, music matters almost as much as poetry. He sees little difference between poetry and song lyrics. In this unique musical documentary from director Alan Gilsenan, Muldoon tours us through key moments in his creative life, as his language and literary influence are explored by many of the artists and musicians he has worked with: a stellar lineup including Paul Simon, Liam Neeson, Van Morrison and Bono. Illuminating Muldoon’s allusive and playful poetry as both dramatic and lyrical, this innovative documentary will inspire fans of music, poetry and literature alike. In English and Irish Gaelic with English subtitles.

Ireland 2022 (75 minutes)

Co-Presented With Irish Culture Bay Area

Remember mini-skirts and PVC macs, colored tights and make-up — all prune-colored and putty? This was the legacy of Mary Quant, who Sadie Frost celebrates in her vibrant documentary about the fashion icon of the swinging 60s, with her Vidal Sassoon bob and clothing designs that liberated young women from the staid, form-fitting 1950s look. Frost invites Quant’s celebrity friends, Kinks guitarist Dave Davies, Kate Moss, Vivienne Westwood and more to weigh in on this fabulous story of a seemingly reticent person who transformed the world of fashion. Interested in fashion or not, you will love this film.

UK 2021 (86 minutes)

Directed by Anthony Simmons, this drama stars the young Judi Dench who won the 1965 BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer. The film employs some stylish noir camera work and kitchen sink realism to track the stories of two couples in crisis. Set against a mysterious backdrop involving a drowned woman found in the Thames, Dench plays a distraught young wife abandoned by her drunken husband while she cares for their child. Haunting score by John Barry and atmospheric riverside shots of London play a starring role. A fine performance from a young Judi just embarking on a great career.

UK 1965 (94 minutes)

A young Maggie Smith, fresh off her Oscar for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, gives a performance infused with subtle introspection and tender sexuality, bringing her star presence to bare in this bittersweet unlikely love story of a lonely British woman in her late 30s on a bus tour of Spain and an 18-year-old privileged American (played by Timothy Bottoms) wandering the country – and his life – aimlessly. These seemingly mismatched lovers journey through emotionally rocky terrain as they travel through the lush Spanish countryside; two strangers, poles apart, both seeking the same thing – the happy ending that life can never guarantee. Our Valentine’s Day offering. 

USA 1973 (110 minutes)