North Cornwall Arts is celebrating 21 years of its Film Season

www.ncarts.org.uk

21 years ago Richard Ham (now of Lambrays) and his friend Rick Costan, a Wadebridge bookshop owner decided to bring some excitement to North Cornwall and so they started a film club with the co-operation of the Regal Cinema proprietor David Williams.

Their vision was to have a more professional approach to film clubs and to show more serious films rather than just big box office hits! Membership cost just £1 to cover administration and the first film to be screened was a west-country premier called ‘Heat and Dust’ directed by James Ivory, set in India, starring Julie Christie who plays Anne a young woman who investigates the life of her Grand-Aunt Olivia, whose destiny has been shrouded with scandal! 220 people came to see the film club’s first film!

Following the first film season at Wadebridge, Cornwall had its first weeklong film festival! Over the next ten years Richard and Rick chose films that edged away from the mainstream and that were not entirely minority films, therefore allowing people to view a vast genre of film. Amongst Richards all time favourites are two French films: ‘Jean de Florette’ and ‘Manon des Sources’ directed by Claude Berri.

After 10 years of choosing films, North Cornwall Arts relieved Richard and Rick of their duties and took o­n the film club and its large following. Its aim was to bring a piece of art house cinema to the northern area of Cornwall The genre of film has varied over the years, highlighting Directors, Classics, Experimental and Contemporary works, Foreign and Vintage Film, or something a little bit different or just the plain crazy!

Now each autumn instead of a feeling of despair for the summer coming to an end, film enthusiasts look forward to the commencement of North Cornwall Arts film season, which begins every September and carries o­n until May.

The film season has established itself with it’s regular base of cinema goers and has had much success with ‘Greats’ such as Casablanca and Hamlet, Being John Malkovitch, o­nce we were Soldiers, Pulp Fiction, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Belleville Rendez-Vous, A Life Less Ordinary, and Breaking the Waves and the Idiots from the Dogma film movement.

As the winter nights grow darker what better a way is there to spend an evening than tucked up in a cinema, transported to a special place or moment in time? So help us to celebrate 21 years of film pop along to The Regal Cinema, Wadebridge and see our season of film!

Thank you to all of you who have supported us over the years! We look forward to another 21!