We are absolutely thrilled to announce the full line-up for Cinema Rediscovered - Watershed’s annual festival showcasing brand new restorations and rediscoveries as well as discussions between leading creatives involved in film programming, making, writing, archiving plus more, taking place in and around Bristol and online from Wed 28 July to Sun 1 Aug 2021. 

Back for its fifth edition, this summer’s festival will celebrate the return of the big screen experience that we have all missed, screening at cinemas including Clevedon’s Curzon Cinema & Arts, 20th Century Flicks, Arnolfini and Watershed before launching a UK wide tour of highlights and an online offer via MUBI, the global streaming service, production company and film distributor.  

Cinema Rediscovered explores all things cinematic; taking a deep dive into the legacy of revered filmmakers as well as shining a light on lesser known cinematic voices. The festival is also an opportunity to immerse yourself in many different aspects of film culture and film history and celebrate Bristol’s status as UNESCO City of Film and the city’s outstanding contribution to film culture. 

The festival opens at Watershed on Wed 28 July with a gloriously restored digital restoration of Wong Kar Wai’s sensuous and sumptuous In the Mood for Love a masterful evocation of romantic longing and fleeting moment, launching The World of Wong Kar Wai retrospective - seven new 4K restorations that will screen at Watershed in August, including his scintillating debut feature As Tears Go By (1988) and his loose sequel to In the Mood for Love 2046 (2004). It closes on Sun 1 Aug with A Man Called Adam - a star-studded cast of African-American musical and acting talent from Louis Armstrong, Sammy Davis Jr and Ossie Davis – it is also the debut feature for Lola Falana and the late Cicely Tyson. 

Mark Cosgrove, Watershed / Cinema Rediscovered Curator says: 

"I am extremely excited to get this postponed fifth edition of Cinema Rediscovered back up and running. Bristol as UNESCO City of Film has a world recognised love of film and a film loving audience. There is no better city to rediscover the rich history of cinema. We have a great selection of new restorations like Melvin Van Peebles' revelatory The Story of The Three Day Pass (1967) and the seductive visual treat that is Wong Kar Wai's In The Mood for Love (2000) as well as celebrating the city's historic connection with cinema in this centenary year of Bristol inventor William Friese-Greene's death. In between, there is much cinematic joy to lose yourself in as we celebrate and rediscover film back on the big screen."

Here's a taste of what to expect... 

• The UK premiere of the 4K restoration of Melvin Van Peebles’ little known Nouvelle Vague infused debut feature The Story of a Three-Day Pass (1967) (Sat 31 July) - an edgy, romantic film set in Paris inspired by his personal experiences in the US Air Force (c/o Janus Films.) Inspired by the story behind the film, curator Karen Alexander explores the appeal of Paris to Black Americans and the range and legacy of their creative presence in the city of love in a conversation about Black Paris (Sat 31 July in-venue and streamed). 
   
• Twelve30 Collective present the UK Premiere of Perry Henzell's follow-up to The Harder They Come: No Place Like Home (Sun 1 Aug, Watershed) which went unseen as the negative was thought lost for over 25 years, with special guest Justine Henzell (Perry’s daughter and the film’s Executive Producer) who was instrumental in the rediscovery and restoration of this Jamaican road movie which also introduced the world to Grace Jones.  
   
• Direct from Bologna’s Il Cinema Ritrovato (the inspiration behind Cinema Rediscovered), the new restoration of George Stevens’ The More the Merrier (1943). Introduced by author, critic and film historian Pamela Hutchinson, this delightful screwball romp that makes pointed comedy out fun of the housing shortage in Washington DC during World War II, an issue that which still resonates today. 
   
• Bristol Black Horror Film Club, an online platform that explores all things Horror through a Black Diasporic lens and celebrates Black Horror through editorial and bespoke film screening events in and around Bristol and the South West will launch with a rare screening of the late Paul Annett’s rarely screened 1974 feature-directorial debut for The Beast Must Die  (Fri 30 July, 20th Century Flicks).

Adam Murray (Bristol Horror Film Club Founder and Director) says: 

"The first film genre I had an overwhelming passion for was Horror, staying up late night to watch the likes of George Romero’s 1968 Night of The Living Dead. As a Programmer/Curator I’ve waited many years to combine my two passions of Horror Cinema and exploring notions of race on screen.

So it’s a great honour to announce the launch of Bristol Black Horror Club as part of this year's Cinema Rediscovered with a screening of Amicus studios cult-classic The Beast Must Die starring Black stars Calvin Lockhart (Cotton Comes To Harlem) and Marlene Clarke (Ganja & Hess) alongside horror stalwart Peter Cushing."

• Peter Domankiewicz and Christopher Frayling: Who was William Friese-Greene? (Sat 1 Aug, Arnolfini) – an exploration of the place of William Friese-Greene – Bristol-born photographer, inventor and pioneer of cinematography  cinema innovator as famous for not having invented cinema as he is for inventing it – in cinema history as we mark the centenary of his death with Opening Up The Magic Box, presented with Bristol Ideas and South West Silents as part of Bristol Film 2021.
   
• The launch of Film Noir UK (Sat 31 July) – the first dedicated film organisation in the UK celebrating the ever-influential world of Film Noir, by Bristol based South West Silents with an 80th anniversary screening of The Maltese Falcon - John Huston’s debut feature which is considered by many to be the first film noir that also provided the blueprint for hundreds of crime movies to come.  
   
• Rewriting Film History (with the Women in it)  (Fri 30 July) - Archive activists Invisible Women speak to writers Helen O'Hara, Simran Hans and Pamela Hutchinson about reimagining what an alternative history of cinema might look like with the women in it. While feminist critics have been uncovering and celebrating the work of female filmmakers for decades, the mainstream understanding of film history remains stubbornly male dominated. This talk will discuss alternative ways of imagining the story of cinema that provides more space to acknowledge female contributions.  
   
• Academy Award® winner Nick Park will be in conversation with Watershed’s Cinema Curator Mark Cosgrove in Portrait of An Animator as a Young Man (Sat 31 July) about some of his earliest work and will present the world premiere of the restoration of A Fisherman's Tale, a 'Standard 8mm' live action horror film made by Nick Park and friends when they were in their late teens at Longton Marsh near Preston.  

The festival will continue to celebrate Bristol’s status as UNESCO City of Film with Opening Up The Magic Box, a celebration of Bristol born William Friese-Greene (on the centenary of his death); the Victorian cinema innovator who is as famous for not having invented cinema as he is for inventing it. Presented in partnership with Bristol Ideas and South West Silents as part of Bristol Film 2021, the strand includes Cinema Walks following in the footsteps of early photography and motion pictures innovators; a rare showing of the all-star 1951 biopic of Friese -Greene, The Magic Box made for the Festival of Britain 70 years ago to celebrate British ingenuity; an in-conversation with arts historian Sir Christopher Frayling and film director and journalist Peter Domankiewicz who has spent over 20 years researching Friese-Greene; and a screening of The Open Road (1926) by his son Claude Friese-Greene, a travelogue through 1920s Britain in colour, screened with an introduction by BFI National Archive silent film curator Bryony Dixon and with a live accompaniment from world famous composer and musician Neil Brand.  

Tickets are selling fast! Check out the full programme, book your tickets or join the waiting list for sold-out events at: watershed.co.uk/cinema-rediscovered   

Bristol Venues: 

Watershed, 1 Canon’s Road, Bristol, BS1 5TX: watershed.co.uk   

20th Century Flicks, 19 Christmas Steps, Bristol, BS1 5BS: 20thcenturyflicks.co.uk   

Curzon Cinema & Arts, 46 Old Church Rd, Clevedon, BS21 6NN: curzon.org.uk   

Arnolfini Arts, 16 Narrow Quay, Bristol, BS1 4QA: arnolfini.org.uk 

Tour Dates:

1971: The Year Hollywood Went Independent will tour to: Watershed, Bristol; ICA, London; Phoenix, Leicester (1 – 22 Sept),  HOME, Manchester (26, 28, 29 Sept); Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow; Broadway, Nottingham; Chapter, Cardiff; Showroom, Sheffield; QFT, Belfast (6 Oct – 7 Nov); Filmhouse, Edinburgh; Eden Court, Inverness, DCA, Dundee, and Ipswich Film Theatre. More venues to be confirmed.

The Story of a Three Day Pass will tour to BFI Southbank, London (7, 8, 10, 12, 21 Aug); Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow (5 & 8 Sep); HOME, Manchester (3, 5, 6 Oct); Phoenix, Leicester (10 Oct), Broadway, Nottingham; Chapter, Cardiff; Showroom, Sheffield; QFT, Belfast; Filmhouse, Edinburgh; Eden Court, Inverness, DCA, Dundee and Cine Lumiere, London, Watershed, Bristol. Other venues to be confirmed.

About Cinema Rediscovered  

Cinema Rediscovered is Watershed’s annual festival showcasing the best in digital restorations, contemporary classics and film print rarities in and around Bristol UNESCO City of Film at cinemas including Clevedon’s Curzon Cinema & Arts, Arnolfini and Watershed. It is presented with partners South West Silents and 20th Century Flicks and support from BFI awarding funds from National Lottery and MUBI. Our partnership with MUBI, the global streaming service, production company and film distributor, also complement this year’s festival and continues the Cinema Rediscovered experience for both cinema and online audiences across the UK. 

Find out more about our partners, funders, sponsors and the team behind Cinema Rediscovered at: www.watershed.co.uk/cinema-rediscovered 

 

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