Cinema Rediscovered, the Bristol festival that highlights restorations of classic films, returns for its 10th anniversary edition. Here’s a glimpse of what’s on: Wednesday 22nd July sees the start of the 10th anniversary edition of Cinema Rediscovered, a five-day festival dedicated to newly-restored, “unfairly forgotten and revival-worthy films”. This year’s line-up is wider than ever, ... Aardman, Taxi Driver and more feature in Bristol’s Cinema Rediscovered festival
Cinema Rediscovered, the Bristol festival that highlights restorations of classic films, returns for its 10th anniversary edition. Here’s a glimpse of what’s on:
Wednesday 22nd July sees the start of the 10th anniversary edition of Cinema Rediscovered, a five-day festival dedicated to newly-restored, “unfairly forgotten and revival-worthy films”.
This year’s line-up is wider than ever, and with the five-day event encompassing multiple decades, continents and genres. It boasts more than 70 different events, including over 50 screenings spread across different venues. Much of the festival is based around the city’s Watershed and Megascreen cinemas, with other events being held at 20th Century Flicks’ screening room, The Cube Microplex and beyond.
This year also sees Bristol-based animation house Aardman celebrate its 50th anniversary. Cinema Rediscovered is set to mark the occasion with a series of events – including a look at some of the studio’s earliest works, with screenings devoted to Peter Gabriel’s groundbreaking Sledgehammer pop promo and early Aardman creation Morph.
Independent boutique label Powerhouse is also celebrating its 10th birthday, airing a number of its restored titles, Obsession and Pastor Hall, with introductory talks to mark the occasion.
In an event seemingly full of anniversaries, Artificial Eye, now known as Curzon, marks 50 years as a foreign language and arthouse distributor this year by staging a special talk at the Watershed on the 23rd July.
As well as a raft of films, some of them never seen before, Cinema Rediscovered offers plenty more besides, including special guests and introductions from film history experts. As festival founder and director Mark Cosgrove says, “The 10th anniversary Cinema Rediscovered will be our most ambitious to date, featuring more than 50 screenings, many of them new restorations never shown before in a UK cinema.
“There’s also an unprecedented range of activity beyond the films; among them talks, walks, craft and improv workshops, projection box tours, a BFI National Archive pop-up exhibition, a murder mystery game and many other starting points for lively conversations. All in all, Bristol is the place to be this week for fans of any genre of classic film.”
Other noteworthy screenings include Edgar Wright on video introducing the 1968 cult action thriller Danger Diabolik, directed by Mario Bava. It’s the first in the Comics Come Alive strand, which, as it sounds, celebrates a batch of movies that originated in the pages of comic books. Others in this section include Modesty Blaise, Wright’s own Scott Pilgrim Vs The World and Josie And The Pussycats.
There’s Taxi Driver on the Megascreen, which is screening as part of the Rogue Hollywood – a strand that also includes the UK premiere of a newly-restored Mikey And Nicky, Elaine May’s classic starring John Cassavetes and Peter Falk.
A showing of the 1978 murder mystery Closed Circuit will be prefaced by a live, interactive whodunit. It’s part of the Vive Le Cinema strand, which includes a Megascreen airing for another celebration of film, Joe Dante’s Matinee.
Other premieres of restored classics and rarely seen outings include Andrei Tarkovsky’s Nostalgia and The Sacrifice, Claude Chabrol’s La Femme Infidele and The Butcher, South African milestone African Jim, Erich Von Stroheim’s Queen Kelly, British classics Whistle Down The Wind and Billy Liar, the latter a world premiere. It all winds up on Sunday evening with a quiz with some special prizes on offer.
The full Cinema Rediscovered programme can be found on Watershed’s website.
