NEWS

Next month the Davidson Film Club will begin its 22^nd series of critically acclaimed international films. This series will include five remarkable films, from Spain, the UK, South Korea, France, and Denmark (see brief descriptions below). Each film club event includes the screening of a film in the Armour Street Theatre in Davidson, followed by discussion led by a knowledgeable guest presenter.

All of our events are scheduled on a Saturday evening (7 p.m.), once a month. Memberships are now open for the new series. Members are all those who subscribe to the whole series of five films. We are maintaining our low ticket price for members at $35 for the series, that is, $7 per film. We are also keeping the walk-in ticket price for individual films at $9. Walk-ins, who are very welcome, will need to continue reserving their seats in advance so that we are sure to be able to accommodate them.  

The Davidson Film Club webpage at has been updated with the new schedule from July to November and descriptions of all the films. However, we are still in the process of seeking discussion leaders for each of these films, so the order of the films may well change according to the schedule constraints of the eventual discussion leaders. The PayPal buttons on our home page have been reactivated so that people can subscribe using their credit card. PLEASE NOTE: The button on the LEFT is for a single membership at $35; the button on the RIGHT is for a couple at $70, for your convenience. Easy to confuse the buttons, so please be careful!

For those who prefer to pay by check, you may send a check made out to the “Davidson Film Club” to Davidson Film Club, P.O. Box 32, Davidson, North Carolina 28036. The number of seats in the Armour Street Theatre is limited, and memberships for a given series are accepted on a first come-first served basis, so it is best to subscribe as early as possible to reserve your seat(s) throughout the series.

Films in the 22^nd Series at the Davidson Film Club will begin with Mike Leigh’s Secrets & Lies, but, as explained above, the other films may not be in this order ultimately:  

July 29: Mike Leigh, Secrets & Lies (UK, 1996, 2h20).
After her adoptive mother dies, Hortense, a successful Black eye doctor, seeks out her birth mother. She’s shocked when her research leads her to a lower-class white woman, Cynthia. At first Cynthia denies the claim, but she eventually admits to birthing Hortense as a teenager, and the two begin to bond. However, when Cynthia invites Hortense to a family barbecue, Cynthia’s already tense relationship with her family becomes even more complicated.
Discussion leader: Dr. Brenda Flanagan, Edward M. Armfield, Sr. Professor of English, Davidson College, Cultural Ambassador for the U.S. Dept. of State.  

August 26: J. A. Bayona, The Impossible (Spain, 2012, 1h54).
In December 2004, close-knit family Maria, Henry, and their three sons begin their winter vacation in Thailand. They get an upgrade to a villa on the coastline. After settling in and exchanging gifts, they go to the pool, like so many other tourists. A perfect paradise vacation, but the idyllic holiday turns into an incomprehensible nightmare when a terrifying roar rises from the depths of the sea, followed by a wall of black water that devours everything in its path. There is no time to escape from the tsunami; Maria and her eldest are swept one way, Henry and the youngest another. Who will survive, and what will become of them?
Discussion leader: TBD  

September 16: Lee Isaac Chung, Minari (South Korea, 2020, 1h55).
A tender and sweeping story about what roots us, Minari follows a Korean- American family that moves to a tiny Arkansas farm in search of their own American Dream. However, new beginnings are always challenging, and to find out what is best for the family, let alone start a 50-acre farm to grow and sell Korean fruits and vegetables, is easier said than done. The family home changes completely with the arrival of their sly, foul-mouthed, but incredibly loving grandmother. Amidst the instability and challenges of this new life in the rugged Ozarks, Minari shows the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home.
Discussion leader: TBD.  

October 21: Céline Sciamma, Portrait of a Lady on Fire (France, 2019, 2h01).
At the end of the18th-century in France, on an isolated island in Brittany, young painter Marianne, is commissioned to do the wedding portrait of Héloïse without her knowing. Therefore, Marianne must observe her model by day to paint her portrait at night. Day by day, the two women become closer as they share Héloïse’s last moments of freedom before the impending wedding.
Discussion leader: TBD.

November 25: Jonas Rasmussen, Flee (Denmark, 2021, 1h30).
An animated documentary telling the true story about a man’s need to confront his past in order to truly have a future. Amin arrived as an unaccompanied minor in Denmark from Afghanistan. Today, at 36, he is a successful academic and is getting married to his long-time boyfriend. A secret he has been hiding for over 20 years threatens to ruin the life he has built for himself. For the first time, he is sharing his story with his close friend.
Discussion leader: TBD.

Best regards,
Alan
Alan Singerman
President, Davidson Film Club
[email protected]
(704) 231-6736