Films and Cinema in Leicester 2011

This page is part of our Visual Arts section

Film News

23rd December

Documentary Film Festival Returns

Following the successful festival of documentary films earlier this year, another event is planned for Phoenix Square from Friday 20th - Sunday 22nd January 2012.

A schedule of screenings has already been announced.

See below for our report of the 2011 Documentary Film festival

The Doc Film Festival 2 blog site

2nd September

Community Film Project

Kaleidoscope Arts Presents: The Manor House Film Project

This FREE community film project starts 7th September 2011. Open to anyone regardless of age or background, whether you are an experienced artist who wants to showcase your skills or someone who is interested in learning any aspect of film production.

You can be involved in the whole project or focus on just one aspect of the process. This project is being lead by Amanda an award winning film maker and an ex art director of television productions such as Causality and Emmerdale, there will also be specialist guest tutors that shall focus on specific areas such as: script writing, musical composing, art and acting/delivery, to help support the whole process.

So whether you're interested in being in front or behind the camera, come and get involved, meet new people and have some fun! We are keen to recruit people from:Braunstone Park, Rowley Fields and Westcotes, however this project is open city wide.

Initial sessions shall be held at The Manor House Community Centre 11am to 2pm and 6pm to 7pm on Wednesday 7th September 2011, fixed time and days to run the sessions shall be formulated from this to help establish the best time to suit everyone.

For further information please contact Amanda, call 0116 2221021 or 0770 6973116

25th July

The Phoenix, 19th August, Social Cinema

Whilst some films demand the auditorium experience, other movies are just plain better with a group of friends and lots of food and drink! From 19th August we'll be presenting a monthly selection of classic, cult and world cinema with a more social, interactive edge in our Screen Lounge. Consider it your front room with a big screen and a fully stocked bar!

And what better way to kick off these screenings than with the Coen Brother's evergreen, cult classic The Big Lebowski. Test out your bowling skills, win prizes for dressing up as your favourite character in our 'Best Dressed Dude' competition, and of course watch the Coen's masterpiece itself, all washed down with a delicious White Russian or two!

Tickets: £4 standard/£5 sofa seats. Spaces are limited so book soon.
Call our Box Office on 0116 242 2800

Info on facebook

13th July

Phoenix Square and Leicester Libraries offer joint promotion Great news for Leicester Libraries film fans!

Members of Leicester Libraries who have a current library card can now obtain a 10% reduction when buying a full or concession price cinema ticket at Phoenix Square.

There is no need for any resident to miss out on this great offer; just join Leicester Libraries online at www.leicester.gov.uk/libraries or at any of the 16 city libraries and start to benefit from this great offer. Phoenix Square Marketing Officer James Adams says "This is a fantastic partnership for both Phoenix Square and Leicester Libraries, bringing together fans of literature and film. We look forward to welcoming Leicester's library members to Phoenix Square as well as further initiatives with Leicester Libraries in the future."

Head of Libraries, Adrian Wills said "This super offer means that there are even more good reasons to join your city library. We welcome any resident to come and see us to join. It's a very simple process with no ID needed".

The promotion is a key part of Leicester Libraries developing links with a range of key cultural organisations in the city. Look out for further benefits from your Leicester Library card soon.

18th May

Leicester gears up to host first UK Green Film Festival

Co-hosted at Phoenix Square in Leicester, the first national UK Green Film Festival is set to run this weekend (Friday 20th to Sunday 22 May 2011). With the three-day programme now announced, organisers are gearing up to show a selection of the best films, documentaries and shorts highlighting climate change and other environmental issues.

The festival, which is also running in independent cinemas in Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds and London, includes world and UK film premieres including: 'Alma', Patrick Rouxel's stunning documentary on the effects of business on the natural world. The story of three men's life-long search for a diet which is good for our health, the environment and the future of our planet in 'Planeat', which was written, filmed, edited and directed by Shelley Lee Davies and Or Shlomi.

'Home' (free screening at Phoenix Square on Sunday 22 May). Narrated by Glenn Close, this stunning documentary from Yann Arthus-Bertrand is the astonishing story of mankind's relationship with Earth. With aerial footage from 54 countries, Home is a depiction of how the Earth's problems are all interlinked.

Highlights of the festival for Leicester audiences include the Grindhouse Double Bill: 'Godzilla' (1954) and 'Soylent Green'. With special offers on drinks including bottomless coffee, Phoenix Square is also inviting cinemagoers to bring their blankets and settle in for the two old-school sci-fi films.

Phoenix Square will also host a question and answer session with Richie O'Donnell, the director of compelling documentary film 'The Pipe' which tells the story of a small Rossport community taking on the might of Shell Oil and the Irish State.

To celebrate the inaugural festival, Phoenix Square will become a haven for all things 'green' over the weekend. A host of activities will take place including a workshop on Green Communities from Leicester City Council, and honey tasting sessions and the chance to sponsor your very own beehive from Great British Honey.

Morsbags will be on hand to help you transform your spare fabric into a beautiful bag; Complete Wasters will be running their Groovy Record Workshop; and Transition Leicester will be moving their regular Green Light Cafe to Phoenix Square for the Saturday morning.

Igloo's John Long, one of the festival founders, said: "It's been a labour of love for many people to pull this together and I am so pleased to be announcing such a strong line up of films and events at our debut festival. Our hope is that audiences around the country will be informed and engaged by these powerful films, but also entertained and inspired."

Jake Harvey, UK Green Festival organiser for Phoenix Square, added: "We are very excited to be co-hosting the UK Green Film Festival at Phoenix Square. As a Green building, the issue of climate change is very important to us and we are looking forward to sharing an inspirational weekend of great cinema with our customers and fantastic local green groups."

Executive Director of Friends of the Earth, who are supporting the festival, Andy Atkins commented: "We're very proud to be involved in the first UK Green Film Festival. It's a great way to get people thinking and talking about our environment and how we can deal with the challenges we all face, such as climate change."

Also backing the festival is Property Management Consultants GVA. Head of the company John Jones added: "Encouraging communication is a fundamental part of how GVA work. When Igloo approached us about supporting this innovative new venture, it seemed a natural link to enable important message on our environment to reach a wider audience. There is insightful information in these films so we are delighted to help get these stories into the public eye."

See the Uk Green Film Festival web site.

16th May

Group looks at Upload Cinema idea.

A group gathered at the Phoenix today to consider the idea of Upload Cinema, a project in which web-based films are transferred to the big screen. The invited audience watched 20 short films that were originally uploaded to YouTube. Organised by film-maker Rhys Evans, the focus group was asked a series of questions about the viability of the idea.

Upload Cinema began in Amsterdam as a way of collecting together and screening the best Internet films. The reaction of the audience at the Phoenix was generally positive and certainly some of the short films shown tonight were very witty and creative.

Having regular showings of films that have been published on YouTube and other internet outlets offers small, amateur film makers the chance to get their work shown on a big screen at an established cinema.

Referring to the recent Documentary Film festival (see below), Artsin Editor Trevor Locke commented "This ia great idea all around but I think it opens up possibilities for Leicester film-makers who want to work with local material. It would be a golden opportunity for Leicester videographers to create work about local events, people and issues. Collecting all these films together into a night of screenings is a great idea, since not many people have the time to hunt through Youtube to find new and experimental productions."

The organisers are taking away the results of the focus group to consider the viability of setting up a regular series of screenings.

Find out about Upload Cinema. | See videos released by Leicester bands

4th May

Sci-fi festival

Leicester's first Sci-Fi Festival lands at Phoenix Square and it's an event that lovers of Sci-Fi will not want to miss! With a stellar film line-up including the winner of the StarBase Leicester vote: Alien, the winner of the Leicester vote: Moon, and an ultra-rare opportunity to see '2001: A Space Odyssey', plus gaming, stalls, and a Beat the Experts Quiz!

Full details of the Sci-Fi festival

28th April

See The Queen at the Phoenix

helen mirren at queen elizabeth

Royal Wedding now also live at Phoenix Square, coverage from 10 am Friday in the Cafe Bar, free entry. Join us at Phoenix Square as we celebrate the Royal Wedding with the screening of some classic titles that highlight cinema's love affair with the Royal Family.

Highlights include a special showing of The King's Speech presented by De Montfort University's Prof Steve Chibnall in association with CATH Research Centre, also look out for screenings of The Young Victoria and Elizabeth. The celebrations come to a close on Sun 1 May (starts 2.30 p.m.) with a gala screening of The Queen, accompanied by archive footage of royal visits to Leicester introduced by Rob Foxon. The ticket price will also include a high tea of sandwiches, tea and cake all for just £8.50/£7 concessions.

21st April

Manchester TV film producer looks for Leicester cast

"We're looking to cast for the latest series of May The Best House Win over the next couple of weeks" writes Phil Hirst of ITV. "We're looking to film in Leicestershire at the beginning of May and are plan to cast for the program in the next two weeks."

"We're also looking to start casting for the UK immediately so if anyone is interested they can get in contact staright away either by searching for May the Best House Win on the ITV website or by contacting us direct on 0161 952 0991", Phil told us.

"We are looking for people with amazing, unusual and wonderful homes to feature on our programme. Its similar to Come Dine With Me but with houses. We are looking for people with houses of all shapes and sizes but more importantly for homeowners that are proud of their houses and happy to let cameras in and show them off to an audience. "

This hugely popular series is now back and on the lookout for interesting homes all over the UK. "The series will be filmed over the summer and the show's producers are seeking properties of all shapes and sizes, from country cottages to stunning new builds. They are also on the lookout for homes with a difference or a quirky theme, maybe your house has an unusual design scheme or a unique feature that you're particularly proud of."

Contact ITV direct on 0161 952 0991 and mention your saw this on Artsin.

Find out more on the ITV web site

22nd February

Crime and Candyfloss

scene from brighton rock

See our review of Brighton Rock.

1st February

A tense pyschological drama ... it deserved an Oscar.

We review The Black Swan

Leicester's First Documentary Film Festival at Phoenix Square On Saturday January 22nd 2011

Artsin went along and here's our report:

A steady stream of people turned up to support DocFilm at the Phoenix. It was good to see the venue bustling with visitors of all ages, showing that the centre is becoming increasingly popular with local people who want to engage in its numerous activities or just use the cafe as a rendezvous. The day had been organised by John Coster of Reportage Club which was set up three years ago. This was the first event of its kind and over the 12 hours of the event, 56 documentary films were shown over five screening areas. Similar events have taken place at other venues, such as The Quad in Derby and the Cornerhouse in Manchester.

Our visit started in Screen 2 where there was a documentary called 'The Corporation'. The film looked at the concept of the corporation throughout history and its impact on the environment, the work force in various parts of the world, on people who work in corporations and on ethnical and moral issues around business and commerce. It was a cleverly made film that explored a range of issues to do with the impact of big organisations on issues such as the control of intellectual property, the patenting of genetic code, the control of news by commercial interests and the exploitation of human and environmental resources for profit.

Far from having a preaching or hysterical stance, the film gave a balanced narrative firmly rooted in evidence and allowing representation and discussion from sides, both those who run or study corporations and those who have investigated their impacts or oppose the effects that have on the planet.

In The ETC suite, a series of local documentaries covered a broad range of topics, including street life in Braunstone, cycling in Leicester and bike recycling, the work of the Gay and Lesbian centre and a look at the world of the Traveler's community.

These short films illustrate how local projects and activities can be captured through the medium of video. We could see how film could be used as a medium through people can express issues to do with their community, getting into the visual side of life in a way that that is immediate and which would be hard for all but the most talented of writers.

Local radio has been giving local people a voice for many years and East Midlands Today (BBC) has been coveraging regional news and activities for the past twenty years.

The documentaries on BMX riding brought the activity alive in a way that would have been difficult through writing alone. I noticed (of course) the background music to the films: thrash and heavy metal and some nu rock.

Now that cameras are built into a lot of mobile phone handsets, the ability to take photos and videos is pervasive. Added to that there are many free video editing softwares that can be down loaded, bringing the technology to make and edit films to the masses. YoutTube gives everyone the opportunity to share their films with the world at large.

Young people are growing up now in a world dominated by visual communications, in way that was not prevalent 50 years ago. In our digital age, have we lost some of the heritage of paper based photographs and celluloid films? Will digital imagery be stored and curated with the same passion as we now see for the photographs and cine films of the pre-digital age? Are we now in a post-literate society where the written word's technicalities are boring compared with the allure of those of the camera?

Hopefully, there will be more DocFilm events to come. Let's hope that some screen-time will be given to the work of ordinary people who have used the medium to capture and document the every day life of Leicester in days gone by. Film is a key aspect of modern urban history.

Interesting links about documentary film-making:

Video Production and photography in Leicester and the East Midlands.

Reportage Club

Community Media Training video.

News agency for photographers - Citizens Eye web site

Documentary Archive

Cinemas in leicester

Phoenix Square - Digital Media Centre

4 Midland Street
Leicester
LE1 1TG

Tel: 0116 242 2800

Phoenix Square web site

Located in Leicester's Cultural Quarter, Phoenix Square is a newly built complex housing an independent arts Cinema, digital gallery, flats, studios and a cafe bar.

Our pick of September's films at the Phoenix

To see other films showing this month visit the Phoenix web site films page.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (15) 1pm, 3.45pm, 6.30pm, 9pm

For this remake of John le Carre's classic novel, Tomas Alfredson Director of Let the Right One In, has assembled perhaps the greatest ensemble cast in recent cinema. A veritable who's who of British acting talent, it includes Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, the always superb Ciaran Hinds, and thinking-ladies-heartthrob Benedict Cumberbatch. Oldman takes on the role of George Smiley, made famous by Alec Guiness in the 1979 BBC TV series. Smiley is the antithesis of the James Bond spy. No car chases and gadgetry, his work is based on intelligence, method, an ability to see and exploit the weaknesses in others. Called out of semi-retirement to track down and expose a Russian mole in the upper echelons of MI6's "Circus" HQ in London, Smiley is drawn back into the espionage world. How far up does the conspiracy go? Who can he trust if anyone? Beautifully paced and filmed by Alfredson, he elicits what could be the performance of Oldman's career. Above all it's a refreshingly grown-up film that respects the intelligence of its audience whilst remaining consistently thrilling.

Times and tickets

Jane Eyre

After opening to rave reviews in America all the way back in March, Cary Fukunaga's superb adaptation finally makes it to this side of the pond. Based on Charlotte Bronte's timeless novel, it follows the life of Ms Eyre from her harsh childhood at the hands of her Aunt, to her employment at Thornfield Hall as governess to the ward of Mr Rochester. As mysterious outbreaks of violence begin to occur at Thornfield, Jane is torn between her blossoming feelings for her new master and questions over his past. Inevitably with such a cherished book there were concerns over another remake. All fears are allayed however, with this sumptuous, haunting and impeccably acted drama. The casting of Michael Fassbender is inspired, able to convey the mix of brooding passion and power, his Rochester plays as a heady blend of Byron and Heathcliff. Mia Wasikowska is also superb, carrying the entire film with a masterful understated performance. One of the must sees of the Autumn.

Times and tickets

Fellini's La Strada

The Leicester Dante Alighieri Society (eden@gn.apc.org for details) invites all lovers of Italy and things Italian to our annual marooning; this year we meet in Rimini for Fellini's heartbreaking classic of a young girl sold to a travelling showman.

Times and tickets

Whiskey Galore

Mackendrick's first film was shot on location in the Western Isles, thus deepening the sense of community, after a ship with a cargo of whiskey runs aground and the islanders try to outwit the local law.

Times and tickets

See all films showing at the Phoenix

Other pages you might like:

Our guide to The Cultural Quarter in Leicester

Our feature on digital arts in Leicester.

Art for change exhibition