Films & Events

Upcoming decalogue

Decalogue 2009: Avatar 3D

Sun 19 Dec, 14:00hrs

Avatar

Avatar 3D

Regardless of what anyone thought about Avatar it effectively made cinemas buy into 3D as a reality for the modern film experience. James Cameron waited 15 years to film his sci-fi epic so technology could catch up with his vision – and the result is the most ambitious 3D film ever released. Since then directors such as Herzog and Scorsese have started working in 3D. Film industry consultant Michael Gubbins and cinematographer Terry Flaxton will introduce the film and discuss the emergence of 3D: is it the future of cinema? Or just another Hollywood experiment, an obsolete fad? As we conclude our year-long reflection on the previous decade we look forward to what the future of cinema might look like.


Previous decalogues

Decalogue 2008: Wall-E

This event took place on Sun 28 Nov, 15:00hrs

Wall-E

Wall-E

After hundreds of lonely years of doing what he was built for, cleaning up the detritus of an environmentally ravaged earth, the curious and lovable Wall-E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) discovers a new purpose in life when he meets a sleek search robot named EVE. Join Helen Brunsdon (who has over 18 years experience producing in the animation industry from Aardman to CBBC) as she looks back at the decade in animation and in particular on Pixar, the company that arguably dominated the decade and created this fabulous award-winning animated feature.

Decalogue: Director of the Decade, Michael Haneke

This event took place on Sunday 24 October

Michael Haneke’s brilliant psychological thriller Hidden, widely considered one of the best films of the decade, follows Georges (Daniel Auteuil) and Anne (Juliette Binoche), whose privileged Parisienne lives are disturbed when an anonymous tormentor sends them a series of videotapes tracking their movements. A powerful, disturbing film about paranoia, racism and guilt that gets right under your skin. Author Catherine Wheatley introduces the screening and discuss the film’s impact and significance.

Decalogue 2006: Pan’s Labyrinth

This event took place on Sun 26 September

Pan's Labyrinth

Film critic Nigel Floyd will look back at the decade in horror films and introduce the screening. Del Toro’s stunning, timeless tale of the battle between good and evil is probably one of the most visually imaginative films of the last decade. Set against the backdrop of a fascist regime in 1944 Spain, it centres on a lonely, dreamy child living with her mother and a cruel stepfather intent on crushing the area’s rebel forces. She plunges deep into her imagination to a world filled with fantastical creatures… but the real beasts lurk closer to home.

Decalogue 2005: Tropical Malady

This event took place on Sunday 25 July

Apichatpong Weerasethakul, winner of the Palme d’or at Cannes this year, established himself as one of the world’s most original filmmakers with this boldly surreal film that pushes the limits of narrative and style. It’s a film of two halves, the first a gay romance between a Thai soldier and a country boy, the second a supernatural journey through the jungle where the soldier is tracking a shape-shifting tiger. Lyrical, mysterious and unashamedly daring – this is visionary filmmaking of the highest order.

In this introduction to the work of Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul Mark Cosgrove and Adam O’Brien discuss the director’s filmmaking, which explores dreams, memories and Thai folklore to offer what some consider to be a new direction in cinema.

Decalogue 2004: Elephant

This event took place on Sunday 27 June

“Gus Van Sant’s film Elephant deserves to be considered in the Decalogue as it is a bold piece of cinema which attempts to explore and shed light on the unimaginable. He uses the language of filmmaking in particular multiple perspectives to convey how the ordinariness of everyday life can be ruptured by the chaos of violence. ”

Mark Cosgrove, Watershed’s Head of Programme, introduces Gus Van Sant’s 2004 film Elephant and discusses the significance of this coolly devastating account of a high school shooting.

Decalogue 2003: Touching the Void

This event took place on Sunday 30 May

In this introduction to the screening Dr Angela Piccini, Lecturer in Film and Television, University of Bristol, discusses what went in to making the film, its reference points, its critical reception and its socio-cultural importance around the entaglement of fact and fiction.

Decalogue 2002: Russian Ark

This event took place on Sun 25 April

Professor Ian Christie of Birkbeck College introduced the Decalogue 2002: Russian Ark event in April. In the video above he talks about some of the reasons why the film was such a milestone, explores director Sokurov’s vision for the film and charts the filmmaking history of one of Russia’s most respected contemporary directors.

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Decalogue 2001: Mulholland Drive

This event took place on Sun 28 March


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Decalogue 2000: Dancer in the Dark

This event took place on Sun 28 Feb

Nick James, editor of Sight and Sound magazine, and Mark Cosgrove, Head of Programme at Watershed, discuss Lars Von Trier’s Dancer in the Dark.
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