2024/25 Program Details
Our Appreciation
The Williamstown Film Society would like to acknowledge the financial support of the Hobsons Bay City Council through their Small Group Operating Grants.
Our 2024 Program
Our 2024 season of movies has concluded. Thanks for the movie memories. If you would like to revisit what we watched (or what you missed) you have until New Year's Eve to wander through our program before it vanishes like the Invisible Man. As a bonus the 2025 program is beginning to appear, before your very eyes, with all The Prestige and slight of hand of The Illusionist. So, take a seat and scroll and stroll, you'll be glad you did. Oh, and we'll be back in the new year in the same place, on the same day, at the same time - [the last Wednesday of each month, at 7:30pm, in The Council Chamber of the Williamstown Town Hall].
January 31st 2024, Wednesday, 7:30pm
THE DRESSMAKER (Australia, 2015, 119 mins, comedy/drama, colour) There are shades of an Aussie Western as Tilly steps down from the bus, Singer sewing machine in hand intent on revenge... and then there are the costumes, Cate Winslet and Judy Davis, and of course Sergeant Farrant (Hugo Weaving). A riotous beginning to our year of films. Happy New Year. What a start to the year... a Starbox score of 4.8 (out of 5 stars). Most had seen it before; many loved it even more this time around.
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February 28th 2024, Wednesday, 7:30pm
DELICIOUS (France, 2021, 112mins, historical drama, colour, M) If there was such a thing as an 'historical foodie film', this is it. France 1789, just prior to the Revolution, a chef is sacked by his noble master and with the help of a talented young woman frees himself from the position of servant and opens the first even restaurant...there was a first time for everything. A gorgeous, mouth watering film. Starbox score 4.5 (out of 5) from 38 votes. Quote of the film, "Potato sticks... they'll never catch on..." How wrong can you be!
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March 27th 2024, Wednesday, 7:30pm
MAHANA (New Zealand, 2016, 103mins, M, drama/western, colour). A melodrama involving feuding sheep shearing families on the east coast of New Zealand in the 1960s. Directed by Lee Tamahori, starring Temuera Morrison. A little too melodramatic for a few of our members but the rest simply loved it. To hear some members of our audience singing along with Prince Tui Teka as he sang 'For the Life of Me' over the end credits was music to my ears. Starbox 4.6 out of 5 stars from 37 votes.
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April 24th 2024, Wednesday, 7:30pm
DARKEST HOUR (United Kingdom, 2017, 125 mins, drama, colour, PG) A biopic starring Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill. The film focuses on the May 1940 war cabinet crisis. An Oscar winning performance. A terrific night with a large appreciative audience and a quite remarkable film. Starbox 4.6 stars (out of 5). We are having a very consistent run of hits....
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May 29th 2024, Wednesday, 7:30pm
QUARTET (United Kingdom, 2012, 98mins, comedy/drama, colour, M) Set in a retirement home for musicians, a place where all would be peaceful and harmonious; no personality clashes here you would think. Well think again. As luck would have it 4 opera singers are thrown together one last time after vowing NEVER to perform together again. Should be a hoot. Maggie Smith, Pauline Collins, Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly and Michael Gambon. Directed by Dustin Hoffman. Our largest attendance so far in 2024 with 48 people voting and an overwhelming hit - 4.5 stars out of 5. The music was wonderful.
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June 26th 2024, Wednesday, 7:30pm
THE WIND RISES (Japan, 2013, 126mins, historical drama, PG) An animated feature from Studio Ghibli for Nippon TV which follows Jiro, a you boy enchanted by flight, as he fulfils his dream to become an aeronautical engineer. The use of his planes during WWII changes enchantment to regret. This is a complimentary screening courtesy of Crunchyroll.com, a streaming service dedicated to the art & culture of anime. Starbox - 4.4 (out of 5). We are having a very good run of appreciated films this year.
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July 31 2024, Wednesday, 7:30pm
SILENT RUNNING (USA, 1972, 90mins, sci-fi/thriller, PG, colour) Aren't 70s Sci-Fi movies something else? You can't beat them and this is a cracker. Spaceship greenhouses because Earth is uninhabitable. Bruce Dern as an environmental saviour? And aren't his robot companions 'cute as' and futuristically familiar? Bring your space ice-cream if you have some. Our lowest audience for the year (for all sorts of reasons) but Sci-Fi seems to be a turn off. Starbox 3.4 (out of 5 stars), not our lowest for the year but those that came along thought it was great.
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August 28 2024, Wednesday, 7:30pm
IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (USA, 1934, 105 mins, B&W, Frank Capra) A romantic comedy (with a touch of screwball) produced and directed by the great Frank Capra. Made before the Hays Code - a set of 'morality' guidelines, self-imposed by the industry itself. It is a road movie and would have very different had it been made even a year later. It won Oscars for Film, Actress, Actor, Director & Writer - one of only 3 to do so... and the others are... Well, a good turnout of 35 thought It Happened One Night was a great fun and gave it a Starbox score of 4.4 - it must be a classic, yes?
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September 25th 2024, Wednesday, 7:30pm
SHOPLIFTERS (Japan, 2018, 121mins, drama/crime, colour, M) Starring Lily Franky and Sakura Ando, it is about a family that relies on shoplifting to cope with a life of poverty. Master director Hirokazu Kore-eda doesn’t pour on the emotion. He doesn’t need to – his film, even as it enchants, is quietly devastating. Shoplifters won the Palm d’Or at Cannes in 2018. A huge turn out of 43+, scored Shoplifters 3.5 (out of 5 stars) with most liking it, some loving it and some not. Regardless it is a film to make one think and think... Dimi said she could watch it again now. So could I. Don't you just love movies?
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Rocktober 30th 2024, Wednesday, 7:30pm
EGO: THE MICHAEL GUDINSKI STORY (Australia, 2023, 111mins, documentary, colour) If you were 'Living in the 70s' and listening to Aussie Rock 'n' Roll this is the film for you. The man behind Mushroom Records - Michael Gudinski - his story told. And of course we are screening it in Rocktober. 'Do yourself a favour' and join us in winding back the musical clock. Please note the WFS AGM precedes the screening of EGO. Thanks to all 44 of our members and guests who came along and made EGO such a great success. Starbox - 4.6 stars (out of 5). That's our third 4.6 this year. We keep picking winners.
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November 27th 2024, Wednesday, 7:30pm
THE LADY KILLERS (United Kingdom, 1955, 91 mins, PG, comedy, colour) The caper movie to end all caper movies. A group of small time crooks (you will recognise them all) rent an upstairs room from a little old lady to plan a robbery. The greatest and most popular of all Ealing black comedies. Why not finish the year with a certified classic...and we did. Starbox 4.5 stars (out of 5). Thanks to everyone for a great year.
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2025 Program
Tread Warily - Construction Site - New Program Calendar Underway
January 28th 2025, Wednesday 7:30pm, Council Chamber, Williamstown Town Hall
BRAN NUE DAE (Aus, 2009, Musical/Comedy, 85min, colour, M) A road movie set on the west coast of Australia in the 1960s. A young Aboriginal boy runs away from his Catholic boarding school, pursued by the head priest. Stars Rocky McKenzie, Ernie Dingo, Jessica Mauboy, Geoffrey Rush, Missy Higgins. Based on the award winning stage musical by Jimmy Chi. The screenplay was written by Reg Cribb, Rachel Perkins & Jimmy Chi. Rachel Perkins directed.
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February 26th 2025, Wednesday 7:30pm, Council Chamber, Williamstown Town Hall
CHAPLIN (UK/France/Italy/Japan/USA, 1992, 143min, colour, M) Richard Attenborough's extravagant biopic of Charlie Chaplin. An aged Charlie Chaplin (Robert Downey Jr) narrates his life to his autobiography's editor, including his rise to wealth and comedic fame from poverty, his turbulent personal life and his run-ins with the FBI. 3 Oscar nominations - Actor, Art Direction & Original Score. Wonderful insight into making movies back in the day. Note: Long Movie. No preamble. Straight into the film...be on time. There will be supper, of course.
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March 26th, 2025, Wednesday 7:30pm, Council Chamber, Williamstown Town Hall
MARY & MAX (Aus, 2009, 94mins, drama/comedy, claymation, colour, PG) Adam Elliot’s first animated feature film tells the story of an unlikely pen-friendship between a lonely Australian girl and a 40 year old Jewish man in NY. Toni Collette and Philip Seymour Hoffman provide the voices for Mary and Max. Other voices belong to Eric Bana, Barry Humphries, John Flaus, Molly Meldrum, Renee Gayer and a million others. The creator Adam Elliot, as well as writing and directing, also voiced 6 of the characters. Claymation is a passion and Adam totally deserved his Oscar for his earlier short Harvie Krumpet (2004). Adam's new feature 'Memoir of a Snail' is in cinemas now.
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April 30th 2025, Wednesday 7:30pm, Council Chamber, Williamstown Town Hall
THE TRAIN (US/France, 1964, War/Action, 133min, B&W, PG) In 1944, a German colonel loads France's greatest paintings on a train to transport them to Germany. However, the French resistance is determined to prevent them from stealing their national treasure. Shot in tremendous B&W, this is a classic. Is it a train film? Sure is. Is it an action movie? Sure is. Does it delve deeper than the average war film? Sure does. Burt Lancaster, Jeanne Moreau and Paul Scofield. Directed by John Frankenheimer & Arthur Penn (so epic it needed 2)
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May 28th 2025, Wednesday 7:30pm, Council Chamber, Williamstown Town Hall
ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS (US, 1955, Romance/Melodrama, 89min, colour, PG) Cary Scott (Jane Wyman), an upper-class widow with two grown-up children, has a small circle of rich friends. When her friendship with her gardener, Ron (Rock Hudson) turns to love, she faces criticism from her kids and pals. Directed by the influential Hollywood great Douglas Sirk. The story has been remade twice: The first time in 1974 by German director Rainer Werner Fassbender as 'Fear Eats The Soul'. The second was in 2002 by American Todd Haynes with the title 'Far From Heaven'. Perhaps future programs?
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June 25th 2025, Wednesday 7:30pm, Council Chamber, Williamstown Town Hall
THE TERMINAL (US, 2004, Comedy/Romance, 128min, colour, PG) Viktor, an East European tourist, finds himself stranded in JFK airport and takes up temporary residence there. Stars Tom Hanks, Zoe Saldana, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Stanley Tucci. According to Director Steven Spielberg the idea for the film came from a true story. An Iranian refugee, Mehran Karimi Nasseri, lived in Terminal One in Charles de Gaulle airport, Paris, from 1988 until 2006. However, this was never officially acknowledged. The 1993 French film 'Lost In Transit' was also based on the same story (available on Apple TV).
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July 30th 2025, Wednesday 7:30pm, Council Chamber Williamstown Town Hall
I’M YOUR MAN / ICH BIN DEIN MENSCH (Germany, 2021, Romance, 105, colour, M) In order to fund her research, a German scientist is persuaded to participate in a study and live with a humanoid robot, designed to be the perfect life partner. Berlin IFF: acting winner for Maren Eggert; nominations for film and screenplay - Maria Schrader. Subtitled.
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August 27th 2025, Wednesday 7:30pm, Council Chamber, Williamstown Town Hall
RED, WHITE & BRASS (New Zealand, 2023, Comedy, 85min, colour, PG) Tongan superfan Maka will do whatever it takes to get tickets to the Tonga vs. France Rugby World Cup game in Wellington, even delivering a brass band for the pre-match entertainment. However, the band doesn't exist and Maka has only four weeks to build one. A feel-good film in every sense and based on a true story. A big hit on release in NZ, the film's exploration of Tongan-New Zealand society and culture contributing to its success.
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September 24th 2025, Wednesday 7:30-m, Council Chamber, Williamstown Town Hall
THE COLOUR OF PARADISE (Iran, 1999, Adventure/Drama,90 mins, colour, PG) A fable of a child's innocence and a complex look at faith and humanity. Visually magnificent and wrenchingly moving, the film tells the story of a boy whose inability to see the world only enhances his ability to feel its powerful forces. Directed by Majid Majidi who also made ‘The Children of Heaven’ which we screened as part of our 2011 program. Persian with English subtitles.
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October 29th 2025, Wednesday 7:30pm, Council Chamber, Williamstown Town Hall
ON A CLEAR DAY (Scotland, 2005, Comedy/Drama, 98min, colour, PG) After losing his job at a Glasgow shipyard, 50-year-old Frank (Peter Mullan) has few prospects and little hope. A casual remark by a buddy (Billy Boyd) inspires him to find a new purpose: to swim the English Channel.
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November 26th 2025, Wednesday 7:30pm. Council Chamber, Williamstown Town Hall
THE LONG, LONG TRAILER (US, 1953, Comedy/Romance/Musical, 96min, colour, G) Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz live slaphappily ever after as newlyweds honeymooning in their trailer, or as we know it, a caravan. Breezily directed by Vincente Minnelli. Also stars Marjorie Main, Keenan Wynn & Bert Freed. When the movie was made, 'I Love Lucy' had been running for 3 years on TV and MGM were unsure whether the public would pay to see Lucy and Desi when they could watch them for free at home. They were wrong and the LLT out grossed 'Father of the Bride' the top comedy at the time. Audiences were won over by the opportunity to see the stars in colour - 'I Love Lucy' episodes were filmed and broadcast in B&W. A few specials were colourised in the 1990s.
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