Brockley Jack Film Club unveils its winter programme

3:37pm Wednesday 12th November 2008

The brains behind the new Brockley Jack Film Club, Gregor Murbach, tells Kerry Ann Eustice why these movies made the group’s winter programme.

As a relatively new group, Brockley Jack Film Club claims it doesn’t like to take too many risks with its screenings. That said, the programme for the season ahead is filled with a variety of beautiful and thought-provoking cinema. Sure, classics such as Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest and Stanley Kubrick’s Dr Strangelove make appearances but lesser-known world cinema such as El Bano del Papa (The Pope’s Toilet), Syndromes of a Century and La Vie En Rose prove this isn’t your run-of-the-mill blockbuster appreciation society.

Prior to launching the club, with its first film Baghdad Café, Gregor conducted an online survey in order to get informed feedback of what the area’s film lovers wanted to see.

“We had 250 replies from people in the area who had heard about it through word-of-mouth or via community blogs, so we’ve got a fairly good idea of what people want.

“I designed it with the help for the informal committee of film club members,” said Gregor of the forthcoming programme.

“It’s made up of films I want to see or films people in the Brockley area want to see. It’s a mix of cinematic classics and recent releases people may have missed. We’re trying to offer an eclectic collection of films people would like to see on a big screen.”

“There are so many platforms now to watch films, maybe too many,” he added. “It’s good to see films in an intimate venue such as the Brockley Jack Theatre on a big screen. We’re about showing films you’re still thinking about them the next day and adding something to the local culture.”

November 17: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

“It’s something I was keen to watch. I’d read the book and was really moved by the story. I’d also seen the documentary made about the main subject by Jean-Jacques Beineix, the director of Betty Blue and was keen to see the film too. I knew this director [Julian Schnabel] made very visually stunning films and the editing was interesting. We’re keen to show well-made films.”

December: Group selection

Brockley’s film fans choose between world cinema such as After Life, the Brit classic Matter of Life or Death and recent critical successes Atonement and La Vie En Rose.

January: Syndromes of a Century

“This film had amazing reviews from the Guardian and Time Out, etc. We thought this would be good for January as after a month of excess people may want to go back to something thought-provoking and serious. It’s well crafted and the antithesis of a blockbuster.”

February: Dr Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

“We were keen to show a British on our list as part of the season. As we’ve had a foreign entry we thought we’d go for the classic British. It’s probably Stanley Kubrick’s best film and is very well-acted by Peter Sellers. The committee helped pick this one.”

March: El Bano del Papa

“Again, it’s world cinema. We wanted something light and supremely funny. This is a nice little comedy. It’s not very well known but was well received by the critics.”

April: North by Northwest

“We were looking at showing something made 50 years ago, great films from 1959 such as Some Like It Hot, Ben-Hur, the Oscar winners, and North By Northwest came up. It’s got some striking scenes – the plane chasing James Stewart. This is the sort of thing people want to see on a big screen again. And it’s a great Hitchcock.”

Brockley Film Club, monthly at the Brockley Jack Theatre. Box office 020 8699 6685.