Welcome to Season 89
Welcome to our 89th Season, presenting an eclectic mix of films both classic and new for your enjoyment. Our titles include award winners from around the world.
Our aim is to share a special film experience with you.
Film notes are available for each show, together with occasional introductions by guest speakers. We also like to emphasise the social side of the society for those who enjoy friendly discussions in the cosy Little Theatre bar. Members can also provide feedback after shows, and vote for films for the next season.
Other social events include the annual dinner, the end of season party, and our optional annual film quiz.
We are a not-for-profit organisation, run entirely by dedicated volunteers who have a wide variety of interests in film. We have the longest continuous history in the film society movement in the UK, so you are in reliable hands. We are also committed to the future and to giving you a warm welcome and a different but special night out.
It’s easy to join us as a member or guest. We look forward to meeting you soon at our next show at the Little Theatre in Altrincham.
Carol Moores
Chair
Current Season
21
September
15
COLD WAR
Pawel Pawlikowski POL/UK 2018 88m 7.30pm
During the Cold War of the 1950s, a music director tries to persuade a beautiful singer to flee communist Poland. Filmed in black and white, this romantic epic is a passionate story of the impossibility of their love.
19
October
15
A FANTASTIC WOMAN
Sebastián Lelio CHIL/GER/SP 2017 104m 7.30pm
Marina, a transgender waitress and nightclub singer is left devastated by her boyfriends's death. Mourning her lover, she has to deal with relentless bigotry.
Introduced by Dr Carmen Herrero
9
November
15
LOVELESS
Andrey Zvyagintsev RUS/FR/GER 2017 127m 7.30pm
A divorcing couple must reunite to find their missing son, who fled their bitter row. The director is utterly unforgiving in his portrait of Russia's grasping middle class and of the son's neglectful parents.
14
December
12
LOVING VINCENT
Daniela Kobiela, Hugh Welchman UK/POL 2017 94m 7.30pm
Produced entirely by hand in oil paint, Loving Vincent presents Van Gogh's life and death, through his paintings and the vivid characters that inhabit them.
Followed by refreshments & optional film quiz
About Us
OUR PRESIDENT
Marjorie Ainsworth, our president, has been a member of our society for eight decades. On first joining at seventeen she comments:
'I was completely hooked from the first film I saw. I think it was being with a crowd of people. It's a communal thing'.
Marjorie (pictured above) is here interviewed by Abi and Ellie for Cinema for All. In their session they discussed a variety of film topics with Marjorie. As they noted:
'Ellie and I spent the whole journey home marvelling at her commitment, both watching and screening, and her spirited and active mind'.
Here is an article by Matthew Turner from I Love Manchester about the fascinating 89-year long history of Manchester & Salford Film Society, and Marjorie's place in it. In this interview Marjorie gives some well-earned advice:
'If you go on watching good films it will keep you in touch with the zeitgeist, and guarantees you wont have a mouldy old age'.
OUR MEMBERS AND GUESTS
We like to think that a visit to us is much more than a trip to a soul-less multiplex. We encourage our members and guests to enjoy the whole night out with a drink in the bar and maybe discuss the film or just meet their friends.
A recent independent reviewer summed this up very well:
Here are some comments from our audience:
'We felt so welcome as guests and really enjoyed the film and the warm atmosphere'
'To watch... in such a lovely setting and in such lovely company, was an utterly thrilling experience'
'Old timey (but well upholstered) seating, with a lovely proscenium framing the screen, a mini Cinema Paradiso all of its own'
'The society’s post-screening drinks are a must.
A complete night out'
We show a wide range of films and genres from different eras. Here is some feedback from the audience for films shown last season.
Germany Year Zero: 'Very moving and thought-provoking', 'A beautiful evocation of life after the war'
Shiraz: 'Wonderfully effective musical score – absolutely hypnotic'
La Cérémonie: 'Excellent how the air of menace built gradually throughout the film until the shocking
ending'
Throne of Blood: 'The atmosphere which Kurosawa created in every scene was wondrous', 'Superb, as Kurosawa always is – there’s nobody like him'
Manchester by the Sea: 'A wonderfully emotive and uplifting portrait of human spirit and grief, 'Wonderfully evocative music to inextricably link with the almost
Seurat-like canvas'
Jean de Florette: 'Wonderful film, all impeccable', 'Wonderful use of colour, all the shades of Provence'
The Film Society
Manchester & Salford Film Society was established in 1930 and is the longest running film society in Britain, and a founder member of the British Federation of Film Societies (now Cinema for All). The society screens the best of contemporary world cinema and classic movies, on Saturday evenings throughout the year, at the Altrincham Little Theatre.
We have excellent facilities, now updated to 21C Digital Standard with a large projection screen. But the Film Society is more than somewhere to watch movies. It's a friendly, welcoming club where members socialise and meet friends. All the films are chosen by our members.
We also welcome members to social events such as the annual dinner, annual buffet, film quiz and theatre visit.
As a not-for-profit organisation, the society is entirely run by a team of dedicated volunteers whose love for film is the life-blood of the society.
Outreach
In addition to the film screenings and social events, we also run the annual Tom Ainsworth Short Film Competition, where the North-West's most talented student film-makers are invited to compete for the prizes.
Equality and Diversity
Manchester & Salford Film Society is very keen to support all aspects of equality and diversity.
Our Equality and Diversity Statement can be
Roots
Way back in 1930 the Film Society's manifesto stated that their purpose was...
"to cater for those who are dissatisfied with the average productions of the commercial cinema, with their shallowness and divorce from reality, and to offer in their stead films more closely in sympathy with the life and thought of this age."
Some 88 years later, we hold to their words, showing thought-provoking cinema, seldom shown at the multiplex.
To learn more about the history of Manchester & Salford Film Society, click here
*Please note that all our shows start at 7:30pm,
except Apostasy on 9 May which starts at 8pm,
at the Little Theatre, Altrincham, which has
plays and other events throughout the year.
For further details click here.
Doors for the Manchester and Salford Film Society events open 30 minutes before the screening.
The bar is open before and after the film.
Find Us
Join Us
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP
GUESTS (CASH ONLY)
£40
£5
Our annual membership fee covers entry to all 13 films shown during the season.
ALTRINCHAM LITTLE THEATRE
Our high-quality digital screenings take place in the pleasant surroundings of Altrincham Little Theatre (formerly the Club Theatre) WA14 2ED on Oxford Rd. close to the centre of Altrincham. It has a friendly lounge bar where members can meet before and after each show.
Transport Links
Metrolink & Train
Both trams and trains arrive at Altrincham Interchange station. Trains come from either Manchester, Chester or Stockport. On exiting the Interchange turn left and walk down Stamford New Rd leading to Railway Street, then Oxford Road, followed by Ashley Rd. Turn immediately left onto Oxford Rd.
Altrincham Little Theatre is the first tall building on the left, just beyond Peter Street.
Car
There are some parking spaces on Oxford Road. Parking in Regent Road Car Park is free after 6pm, but please check the parking charges to confirm.
Bus
The 263 bus, travels from Manchester Piccadilly Gardens, via Stretford and Sale to Altrincham Interchange.
MAILING LIST
BECOME A MEMBER
Simply enter your details below and receive our monthly newsletter straight to your inbox.
For more information about becoming a member, contact us by phone or email (details below). You can also join us on your first film visit by paying by cash or cheque at the box office at the Little Theatre in Altrincham, WA14 2ED.
Further enquiries & correspondence:
secretary@mandsfilmsociety.org.uk
Mobile: 07948 793734
We look forward to hearing from you soon.
© This website and all content remains the copyright of Manchester and Salford Film Society
with the exception of all images and video provided by Cinema for All and the film makers themselves.
