Waitati Film Society

Little Waitati even has a Film Society.

Half year memberships now available at $30. Drama, comedy, history or just plain entertainment in a warm, pleasant environment with convivial company. Membership allows you free entry to screenings of Film Society as well as discounts at Film Festivals and some Dunedin cinemas.

Ring: Leonie 482-2508 for more info or check out our website.

Programme, Aug-Dec 2008
Tuesday Aug 12
 * BOYS DON'T CRY USA 1999

A youthful Brandon Teena arrives in a hick Nebraskan town and soon joins the local rough necks who do nothing much, as there's nothing much to do, just hang out. But after a sexual encounter with Lana, Brandon, in reality Teena Brandon, is treated very differently; after all it's a town where men are men. Unlike the documentary, The Brandon Teena Story, this version adds a little fiction, but is very powerful all the same. 114m

Tuesday Aug 19
 * CIRCLE OF FRIENDS Ireland/USA 1995

Three close girlfriends are in their first year at university in Dublin. As very different personalities, each has their own romantic experiences, but, as chance has it, their relationships with their boyfriends overlap, with complicated consequences. 85m

Tuesday Aug 26
 * BACKBEAT UK 1993

Before being swamped by fame, the Beatles built up a screaming teenage following in the cellars of Liverpool and Hamburg. This story centres on John Lennon's friendship with the fifth Beatle, Stuart Sutcliffe, whose affair with bohemian Astrid Kirchherr, the creator of the mop top image of the band, tested their friendship and outlook on life. 100m

Presenting three films by Ross McElwee
Tuesday Sept 2
 * CHARLEEN USA 1978

Charleen Swansea had been McElwee's charismatic high school teacher. This film is a character portrait, revealing a wise, flamboyant educationalist, equally effective in a classroom of wary Afro-American poetry students as in a Bible class of genteel southern white women. 59m


 * BACKYARD USA 1984

The title refers to McElwee's own backyard - a microcosm of southern society - surgeon father, medical student brother and their domestic staff who, as Afro-Americans, barely contain their anger at the casual racism they have to cope with every day. Also casting a shadow over this film is the personal tragedy that struck the family. 40m

Tuesday Sept 9
 * SHERMAN'S MARCH USA 1986

Described as McElwee's most celebrated film, it recounts what supposedly started as a personal journey retracing General Sherman's murderous sweep through the secessionist Southern States during the American Civil War. But, oddly, the film transforms into "a broken-hearted filmmaker's clumsy chivalrous quest to find love". 155m

Tuesday Sept 16
 * REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES USA 2001

The conflicts of curvaceous Latino Ana's coming of age include resolving her restrictive conservative upbringing with the exciting possibilities opening up if she followed a college education to develop her burgeoning writing skills. The story fortunately does not get bogged down with the complexities of teenagidity, because humour is added to the mix in layers. 93m

Tuesday Sept 23
 * OMAGH Ireland/UK 2004

For all we know, the town of Omagh could be charming, but unfortunately its name is synonymous with the violence of a massive car bomb that exploded there in 1998. This gripping film covers the aftermath, the survivors, both Catholic and Protestant, and the hunt for the perpetrators. Michael Gallagher, a bereaved father, battles the supposedly impartial and sympathetic authorities, trying to find answers. You may find a resonance here with the political exploitation of 9/11 victims and survivors. 106m

Tuesday Sept 30
 * COSI Australia 1995

People with psychiatric disorders will often respond to emotional sentiments with heightened passion. Lewis, a hospital drama therapist, decides to put on a production of Mozart's Cosi fan Tutti with a cast of, amongst others, a drug addict, nymphomaniac, introverted neat-freak and arsonist. The somewhat chaotic result, both on and off the stage, is made up of resolving various troubled relationships. 100m

Tuesday Oct 14
 * IN SPRING ONE PLANTS ALONE NZ 1980

Vincent Ward's short but moving story of an 84-year-old Maori mother trying, as best she can, to look after her handicapped 40-year-old son. 45m


 * A STATE OF SIEGE NZ 1978

The first film by Vincent Ward and based on a novel by Janet Frame. Her new, anticipated, independent lifestyle is in reality not exactly what this retired teacher expected. 52m

Tuesday Oct 28
 * EVIL ANGELS Australia 1988

Meryl Streep and Sam Neill play Lindy and Michael Chamberlain, whose explanation that their child was dragged from their tent by a dingo was not believed by the authorities. So started an incredibly long drawn out and tortuous police investigation and prosecution, Lindy indicted for the murder of her daughter and Michael as an accessory. This film is based on a story written by a barrister who was critical of the prosecution's handling of the case. 121m

Tuesday Nov 11
 * THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL Mexico 1962

As with surrealistic works of art, this film can be searched for meaning or just enjoyed for what it is. Bourgeois diners inexplicitly have a compulsion not to leave after the party. Over subsequent days they reduce the magnificently appointed salon to a sordid rubbish heap. One guest dies and is stuffed in a cupboard - but that's nothing compared with other bizarre happenings. 93m

Tuesday Nov 25
 * THE MOON OVER THE ALLEY UK 1975

A focussed look at a small community of boarders in a rooming house off Portobello Road, Notting Hill. It is saved from kitchen-sinkism by the diverse, multi-racial, multi-national, more than ordinary, quirky characters. It is a drama with musical colouring, revealing a mixed working class existence in a decaying urban environment. 100m

Tuesday Dec 9
 * MURIEL'S WEDDING Australia 1994

A less than attractive, ABBA-obsessed Muriel Heslop decides to jump the rails and move from her comfortable hometown to the big city. The story is the celebration of an odd ball; it projects a cheeky, benevolent satirical spirit, celebrating the dreams of losers and outcasts. Undoubtedly the success of this film was largely due to Toni Colette as the emotionally flamboyant Muriel. 105m