2024 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
WFS is still screening our films on the last Wednesday of each month, at 7:30pm, in The Council Chamber of the Williamstown Town Hall. It's official - all films are confirmed. Phew. Our interactive program of films below has some details but by the time our January screening comes around it will be chock full of reviews, trailers and other tantalising titbits. So, please wander through and wonder at what's in store, we think you're gonna love it...and check in each week as it gets bigger than Ben Hur (how's that for a movie cliché?)
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.
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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.
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