Best of Documentary: February Dochouse Launch
New film season in celebration of the new Bertha Dochouse showcases the best documentaries of the last decade.
Still from Phillippe Petit's 'Man on Wire'
DocHouse’s ‘Best-Of’ season: February screenings
Spring 2015 sees the exciting opening of the Bertha DocHouse – the first cinema screen in the UK dedicated to documentaries – at the new Curzon Bloomsbury (formerly the Renoir). With an eclectic schedule of master-classes, seasons and festivals to complement screenings of cutting-edge contemporary docs, it hopes to become the best place in London to watch documentaries as well as a hangout for film buffs.
To celebrate the opening, DocHouse is screening a ‘Best Of’ season, featuring the top ten films from its archive and hosting Q&A sessions with a stellar cast of directors, producers and cinematographers. The first six will be shown at Birkbeck Cinema, with the final four will be screened in the brand new cinema at the Curzon. Here’s a summary of what’s on offer in February at Birkbeck.
February at Dochouse
Kicking of the season on February 19th is Shape of the Moon, which follows three generations of a Christian family in contemporary Indonesia, the largest Muslim community in the world. Shape of the Moon is a vivid family drama and also encapsulates the political, social and religious tensions in a country where tradition in under assault from modernisation. Through the stories of Rumidjah, a 62 year old widow, her son Bakti and 13 year old granddaughter Tari, the film gives a snapshot of Indonesia’s rapid and often chaotic change since the fall of Dictator Suharto. After the screening, stay put for the exclusive Q&A session with the director Leonard Retel Helmrich, pioneer of the Single Shot Camera method, and twice winner of the World Documentary Award at Sundance.
February 26th sees an extraordinary feat depicted on screen, with the Oscar-winning Man on Wire, the tale of Phillippe Petit’s legendary hire-wire performance between the Twin Towers in 1974. For almost an hour, the adrenaline-fuelled Petit performed his act of ‘funambulism’ (tightrope walking), languorously balancing, dancing and lying down in the clouds above New York as the city gazed up, enthralled. The story is skilfully brought to life by the use of powerful black and white reconstructions, dynamic interviews and archive photographs of the event.
Spring 2015 sees the exciting opening of the Bertha DocHouse – the first cinema screen in the UK dedicated to documentaries – at the new Curzon Bloomsbury (formerly the Renoir). With an eclectic schedule of master-classes, seasons and festivals to complement screenings of cutting-edge contemporary docs, it hopes to become the best place in London to watch documentaries as well as a hangout for film buffs.
To celebrate the opening, DocHouse is screening a ‘Best Of’ season, featuring the top ten films from its archive and hosting Q&A sessions with a stellar cast of directors, producers and cinematographers. The first six will be shown at Birkbeck Cinema, with the final four will be screened in the brand new cinema at the Curzon. Here’s a summary of what’s on offer in February at Birkbeck.
February at Dochouse
Kicking of the season on February 19th is Shape of the Moon, which follows three generations of a Christian family in contemporary Indonesia, the largest Muslim community in the world. Shape of the Moon is a vivid family drama and also encapsulates the political, social and religious tensions in a country where tradition in under assault from modernisation. Through the stories of Rumidjah, a 62 year old widow, her son Bakti and 13 year old granddaughter Tari, the film gives a snapshot of Indonesia’s rapid and often chaotic change since the fall of Dictator Suharto. After the screening, stay put for the exclusive Q&A session with the director Leonard Retel Helmrich, pioneer of the Single Shot Camera method, and twice winner of the World Documentary Award at Sundance.
February 26th sees an extraordinary feat depicted on screen, with the Oscar-winning Man on Wire, the tale of Phillippe Petit’s legendary hire-wire performance between the Twin Towers in 1974. For almost an hour, the adrenaline-fuelled Petit performed his act of ‘funambulism’ (tightrope walking), languorously balancing, dancing and lying down in the clouds above New York as the city gazed up, enthralled. The story is skilfully brought to life by the use of powerful black and white reconstructions, dynamic interviews and archive photographs of the event.
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| What | Best of Documentary: February Dochouse Launch |
| Where | The Birkbeck Cinema, 43 Gordon Square | MAP |
| Nearest tube | Russell Square (underground) |
| When |
19 Feb 15 – 30 Apr 15, Thursday afternoons, 19th February - 30th April |
| Price | £40 Season Ticket, £5-£8 per individual screening |
| Website | Click here to book via the DocHouse website |