Cinema Rediscovered 2024 | Programme

Previous events in this programme

Join some of the most inspiring voices in repertory and archive film exhibition and distribution to explore ways of connecting with a new wave of cinema goers.

Wed 24 July

In her keynote speech for this year’s Cinema Rediscovered, film writer and critic Christina Newland will explore the questions around the thorny films we might love, and way the films which touch on moral grey areas are sometimes most interesting to discuss.

Wed 24 July

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Take part your way

Tune in, wherever you are, online (no need to book). If you want to take part in person please book in advance.

Rita Hayworth stamped her name forever in film stardom with this sultry film noir revolving around lust and greed, screening newly restored on this 100th anniversary of Columbia Pictures.

Wed 24 July

With an introduction by film writer and critic Christina Newland.

Alain Delon is the peak of cinematic cool in Jean-Pierre Melville’s icy hitman thriller presented here in a brand new 4K restoration.

Wed 24 July

Sun 28 July

The Wed 24 July screening will have an introduction by film historian, programmer and video essayist Jonathan Bygraves. The introduction will feature BSL interpretation.

Join influential film festival programmer, producer and author Lynda Myles for this special screening of Mark Cousins' insight into her cinematic adventures.

Thu 25 July

Lynda Myles will introduce the screening and is also presenting one of her favourite films Illustrious Corpses (1976) on Thu 25 July 14:00, restored courtesy of The Film Foundation and Cineteca Bologna.

Ninón Sevilla’s film debut the very year she arrived in Mexico from her native Cuba.

Thu 25 July

With an introduction by Lorena Pino, film curator and promoter of Latin American film culture.

Waterside 2, Watershed

Join author, critic and film historian Pamela Hutchinson and film critic and journalist Christina Newland for insights into the highs and lows of the journey of Rita Hayworth.

Thu 25 July

Illustrious Corpses (Cadaveri eccellenti)

Festival programmer, producer and author Lynda Myles presents this special screening of Francesco Rosi’s gripping exploration of the enigmas of power and corruption.

Thu 25 July

With an introduction from influential film festival programmer, producer and author Lynda Myles.

An upper middle class woman falls into an erotic underworld of lust and betrayal in a musical/noir film that catapulted Ninón Sevilla to stardom after her debut in film in 1946.

Thu 25 July

With an introduction by Lorena Pino, film curator and promoter of Latin American film culture.

Nominated for an Oscar® for its masterful screenplay, this American indie landmark from John Sayles lays bare the fault lines of life at the Tex-Mex border.

Thu 25 July

With a remote introduction by indie cinema legends John Sayles & Maggie Renzi hosted by Dr Mark Bould, author of The Cinema of John Sayles: Lone Star.

A coming-of-age comedy-drama about three African American women living in Brooklyn who navigate standards of beauty, self-image, and the rights women have over their bodies.

Thu 25 July

With a short performance by poet, cultural producer, writer, broadcaster Muneera Pilgrim. The performance will feature BSL interpretation.

An extravagant film noir set in Mexico City’s red-light district nightclubs, starring sensationally versatile diva Ninón Sevilla, known as ‘The Golden Venus’.

Thu 25 July

With an introduction by Lorena Pino, film curator and promoter of Latin American film culture.

Deaf Conversations About Cinema: Alma's Rainbow

Café & Bar, Watershed

We are delighted to be hosting a special Deaf Conversations About Cinema event as part of this year’s Cinema Rediscovered.

Thu 25 July

19:30 (ends 20:30) BSL, Free

Waterside 1, Watershed

Join Queer Vision, Queer Cinema From the Eastern Block co-curator Siavash Minoukadeh and friends for an informal get together before the screening of Coming Out.

Thu 25 July

19:30 (ends 20:30) in Waterside 1

Four nursing students navigate the political and social turmoil of 1970s LA in this ensemble drama by Stephanie Rothman, the first woman to direct a Roger Corman production.

Thu 25 July

With an introduction by co-curators Isabel Moir and Selina Robertson.

A powerful story of love and self-acceptance set in East Germany, originally released on the night the Berlin Wall fell, and way ahead of its time in its approach to queer identities.

Thu 25 July

Join us for a meet-up in Waterside 1 before the screening at 19:30 with season co-curator Siavash Minoukadeh, Queer Vision and friends.

With an introduction by season co-curator Siavash Minoukadeh.

Women’s Film Preservation Fundpresents: Liane Brandon

We team up with the Women’s Film Preservation Fund to present a trio of shorts by one of the first American indie women filmmakers to emerge from the Second Wave Feminist Film Women's Movement, Liane Brandon.

Fri 26 July

With a pre-recorded intro from Liane Brandon herself and followed by an in-person discussion with Kirsten Larvick (Co-Chair of the Women’s Film Preservation Fund and a Moving Image Preservationist) and Bristol filmmaker Katie Davies (part of BEEF film and sound collective) hosted by critic and writer Tara Judah.

The event is followed by a Get Together led by Katie Davies presented with the Women’s Preservation Fund (free but please reserve your place).

An unflinching portrait of young men in the military pushed to their limits by officers yet finding tenderness and comfort in each other.

Fri 26 July

With an introduction by season co-curator Siavash Minoukadeh.

Women’s Film Preservation Fund: Get Together

Waterside 1, Watershed

Take part in a free get together, an opportunity to connect with each other and record your stories and responses to Liane Brandon's films.

Fri 26 July

Waterside 2, Watershed

Find out how a festival like Cinema Rediscovered is programmed by joining a discussion with some of the festival curators who will share their insight, thinking and journey and discuss how to get involved.

Fri 26 July

A 50th Anniversary screening of Alan J. Pakula’s ominous vision of America – captured in the wake of the assassination of the Kennedy’s and Martin Luther King and just before the scandal of Watergate is about to break.

Fri 26 July

With an introduction by Andy Willis, Professor of Film Studies at the University of Salford and Senior Visiting Curator: Film at HOME in Manchester.

The clash of sexuality and politics provides the basis for this political drama exploring the effect totalitarianism has on the most intimate aspects of life.

Fri 26 July

With an introduction by co-curator Fedor Tot.

Cinephilia itself becomes an act of resistance in Ehsan Khoshbakht’s moving account of preserving banned 35mm films in post-Revolutionary Iran.

Fri 26 July

This screening will be introduced by director Ehsan Khoshbakht and followed by a discussion with Bristol-based film director Nariman Massoumi.

Béla Tarr gazes into the abyss with his dark vision of a society over run by disorder and mob rule.

Fri 26 July

Introduced by Cinema Rediscovered's Founder Mark Cosgrove.

The classic Raymond Chandler novel is given a laid-back satirical cinematic twist.

Fri 26 July

With an introduction by Sean Wilson, film journalist and author ofThe Sound of Cinema: Hollywood Film Music from the Silents to the Present.

Waterside 3 Event Space, Watershed

A panel exploring the ethical and moral questions opened up by the inclusion of Roman Polanski's Chinatown in this year's festival.

Fri 26 July

Panellists include Pamela Hutchinson (film critic/historian), Julian Baggini, (Philosopher), Mark Cosgrove (Cinema Rediscovered Founder) hosted by Steph Read (Watershed Curator).

Edward Yang finds humour and pathos in a group of lost and lonely twenty-somethings in Taiwan with wit, warmth, and good humour.

Fri 26 July

With an introduction by critic and writer Ian Wang.

A rare chance to experience this classic of New Hollywood, which pierces straight to the heart of American darkness, on 35mm on its 50th anniversary.

Fri 26 July

With an introduction by Michael Eaton, playwright, scriptwriter whose updated edition of BFI Film Classic series on Chinatown will be published later in the year.

Join in The Chinatown Dilemma, a panel exploring the ethical and moral questions opened up by the inclusion of Chinatown in this year’s festival.

When a First Nation community finds itself facing an infectious zombie outbreak, their immunity turns the tables on colonialism as settlers head to the reservation to seek sanctuary.

Fri 26 July

With an introduction by co-curators of Jeff Barnaby: The Art of Forgetfulness Adam Murray (Bristol Black Horror Club) and Stephen Morgan (University of Bristol).

Projection Rooms, Watershed

Join BFI National Archive Curator Rosie Taylor on a tour of Watershed’s projection booth and discover how the films screening at the festival make it to the screen during a festival like Cinema Rediscovered.

Sat 27 July

Sun 28 July

Join us somewhere over the rainbow and follow Dorothy and her little dog Toto as they are whisked away from their home in Kansas, set on a magical journey down the yellow brick road.

Sat 27 July

With an introduction by UWE MA in Curating student Dáire Carson.

A rare opportunity to see Jeff Barnaby’s iconic short films on the big screen, followed by a discussion on his life, work and legacy.

Sat 27 July

Followed by a discussion hosted by strand co-curators Adam Murray (Bristol Black Horror Club) and Stephen Morgan (University of Bristol), who will discuss the life, work and legacy of this vital (and much missed) voice in contemporary First Nations cinema.

A crime comedy from Taiwanese master Edward Yang that doubles as another of his many love letters to Taipei.

Sat 27 July

With an introduction by critic and writer Ian Wang.

Join us after the screening for a pop-up Mahjong Game Session in Waterside 1, hosted by Monica Wat, Hong Kong-born artist and founder of East & South East Asian creative collective Made on the Moon and its annual event MOON FEST.

Bristol Megascreen (about 1 min walk from Watershed)

Experience Wim Wenders’s unconventional American road movie, one of the most iconic films of the 1980s, newly restored on Bristol’s biggest screen.

Sat 27 July

The Cube Microplex (about 20 min walk from Watershed)

A delightful, musical, magical realist fable through the heartlands of India that will have you dancing out of the cinema.

Sat 27 July

With an introduction by artist and filmmaker Diwas Dewan, a member of 'Out the Window’, volunteer at The Cube and a recent BEEF recruit.

A timeless tale of an artist both blessed and cursed by genius, featuring an almost entirely Asian cast including film star and producer Sessue Hayakawa.

Sat 27 July

With an introduction by author, critic and film historian Pamela Hutchinson.

The debut feature from Mi’gmaq filmmaker Jeff Barnaby, this is a dystopian tale of revenge in mid-1970s Québec.

Sat 27 July

With an introduction by co-curators of Jeff Barnaby: The Art of Forgetfulness, Adam Murray (Bristol Black Horror Club) and Stephen Morgan (University of Bristol).

Waterside 1, Watershed

Join us after the UK Premiere: Mahjong for a pop-up Mahjong Game Session in Waterside 1, hosted by Monica Wat, Hong Kong-born artist and founder of East & South East Asian creative collective Made on the Moon and its annual event MOON FEST.

Sat 27 July

16:30 (ends 18:00) in Waterside 1

A moving documentary about the story of the extraordinary friendship between Scottish filmmaker Bill Douglas and his lifelong friend and collaborator Peter Jewell.

Sat 27 July

With an introduction by Dr Phil Wickham, curator of The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum.

Charles Burnett’s heart-warming romantic comedy sees two great actors pair off against each other with hilarious results.

Sat 27 July

With a remote introduction by director Charles Burnett, hosted by writer/curator Karen Alexander.

Bristol Megascreen (about 1 min walk from Watershed)

Fifty years after its release, Francis Ford Coppola’s thriller now feels prophetic in its portrait of surveillance culture.

Sat 27 July

With an introduction by musician Adrian Utley and season curator and Cinema Rediscovered Founder, Mark Cosgrove.

20th Century Flicks Videodrome and 20th Century Flicks Kino

Mutated piranhas terrorise a summer resort in this classic B movie from legendary producer Roger Corman.

Sat 27 July

With an introduction by Timon Singh (Forbidden World Film Festival, Bristol Bad Film Club).

This 1989 Sundance winner is a bittersweet comedy about getting cold feet at the altar.

Sat 27 July

With an introduction by film writer and critic Christina Newland.

The search for a missing teenage girl leads to a devastating emotional reckoning in this 1970s film noir starring Gene Hackman.

Sat 27 July

With an introduction by season curator and Cinema Rediscovered Founder Mark Cosgrove.

The first film from the former Yugoslavia to openly depict LGBTQ+ characters Marble Ass remains one of Želimir Žilnik’s most enduring works, even more brilliant for its open acts of love and positivity at a time of such misery.

Sat 27 July

With an introduction by season co-curator Fedor Tot.

Please Note: This film contains scenes of animal slaughter.

UK Premiere: At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul

Bristol Megascreen (about 1 min walk from Watershed)

Once seen, never forgotten! Zé do Caixão (Coffin Joe) makes his screen debut in José Mojica Marins’ At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul, the first Brazilian-produced horror film.

Sat 27 July

With an introduction by writer and critic Paul Farrell.

Original and powerful in his artistic vision, Bill Douglas’s three short films My Childhood (1972), My Ain Folk (1973) and My Way Home (1978) are weaved together through the journey of Jamie.

Sun 28 July

With an introduction by Dr Phil Wickham, curator of The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum.

A C.I.A operative cannot trust anyone when their world is turn upside down in Sydney Pollacks tense political thriller.

Sun 28 July

With an introduction by Andrew Kelly from Bristol Ideas.

The tender adventure of a very unconventional family who bring cinema magic to the people of Venezuela.

Sun 28 July

With an introduction by Lorena Pino, film curator and promoter of Latin American film culture.

Crime is beauty in the rabid whirlwind of John Waters’ Female Trouble – the naughty middle-child in his opus “Trash Trilogy”, which celebrates its 50th birthday.

Sun 28 July

With an introduction by producer, writer, and community organiser Harriet Taylor (SWITCH).

Curzon Cinema & Arts (about 45 min bus journey from Watershed)

The film that Martin Scorsese compared to ‘opening a door and walking into another dimension, where time has stopped and beauty has been unleashed’.

Sun 28 July

With an introduction by Professor Ian Christie (Birkbeck College, London).

Between 14:30 – 15:30, the doors will be open for ticket holders of this screening to wander through the cinema building with a behind-the-scenes look of the venue.

Filmed in off-season Capri, this little-known debut by Italian director Giuseppe Patroni Griffi inspired Bill Douglas.

Sun 28 July

With an introduction by David Melville, Teaching Fellow in Film Studies and Literature at the University of Edinburgh Centre for Open Learning and writer of Up from the Depths – Rediscovering Il Mare (Senses of Cinema).

UK Premiere: Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors

Sergei Parajanov’s masterpiece of Ukrainian Poetic Cinema unleashes the full breadth of his remarkable visual imagination via a simple Romeo and Juliet story.

Sun 28 July

With an introduction by Professor Ian Christie (Birkbeck College, London).

Café & Bar, Watershed

Drawing on movie trivia from every decade of film history and executed with a dash of joy and wit, the Cinema Rediscovered Film Quiz is designed to reward film knowledge while encouraging good times.