The Cine Club raises its game. The big screen is replete with cinema in
October. The month’s programme is bursting with attractions, with
ALCINE38 coming into view on the 7th of November. A
Festival of Fantastic and Horror Movies and a
Series devoted to Human Rights in collaboration with
Amnesty International will set up shop for the month in the
Teatro Salón Cervantes in Alcalá.
The first films will shine from the screen of the movie theatre
from the 1st to the 5th of October. Frights, mystery and strong sensations will share the limelight in the
Festival of Fantastic and Horror Movies, to be held for the thirteenth time this year. The first feature film to be shown on the big screen of the TSC will be a science fiction classic. Nostalgic fans of the genre will be unable to miss
'Blade Runner' directed by
Ridley Scott at the beginning of the eighties. It will be screened on Wednesday the 1st and Friday the 3rd of October.
The other films making up the festival are more recent.
'The Mist’ (Thursday 2nd and Friday 3rd of October), has the hallmark of
Stephen King. Directed by the skilled hand of
Frank Darabont ('The Shawshank Redemption'), it depicts the anguish of a small village that is unexpectedly inundated with dense mist. What appears to be the result of an inconsequential storm, has unforeseen dimensions and effects. The British film
'Sunshine' then moves the action forward to the year
2057, in which the sun is in its death throes and humanity is facing up to its inevitable extinction. The film was directed by
Danny Boyle and will be screened on the 2nd and 4th of October.
Spanish films also have a role to play in the Festival of Fantastic and Horror Movies.
'REC', by
Jaume Balagueró and
Paco Plaza, turned out to be one of the revelations of last year’s crop of films. It stars
Manuela Velasco, and begins with the recording of a television report on the working methods of a team of firemen. The reporter and her colleagues end up having to face up to a
distressing and unknown problem. 'REC' will be screened on TSC’s big screen on Wednesday the 1st and Sunday the 5th.
The programme of the Festival is completed with a
double session comprising the feature films
'Planet Terror', by
Robert Rodriguez, and
'Death Proof', by
Quentin Tarantino. They will be screened together on the 4th and 5th of October.
'Cinema and Human Rights'
The other part of October’s programme of the
Cine Club of Alcalá de Henares has a political edge to it. The
'Cinema and Human Rights' series set up in collaboration with
Amnesty International is made up of four films. They will be all screened in the
Teatro Salón Cervantes. After the first screening of each feature (Wednesdays at 18:30) a
discussion will be held between specialists in the field.
The first film of the series can be seen on Wednesday the 8th of October.
'Buddha Collapsed out of Shame”, directed by
Hana Makhmalbaf, tells the story of Baktay, a six-year old Afghani girl. When she is making her way to school, she is harassed by some boys. The scene becomes a reflection of the violence and cruelty many people are subjected to on a daily basis.
A week later (Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th) it will be the turn of
'Battle for Haditha', a British production directed by Nick Broomfield. The action takes place in Iraq, when a group of insurgents attacks a US convoy and kills its most popular officer. His death triggers off a wave of violent events that occur one after another in rapid succession. The film discusses the underlying situation of conflict in which the victims are more than just a list of the deceased.
On the 22nd and 23rd of October the 'Cinema and Human Rights’ series is reserved for 'Blood of My Blood'. Filmmaker Christopher Zalla focuses on the story of Pedro and Juan, two young Mexican immigrants who meet in a truck on the way to New York.
The last film in the human rights series is 'Rendition', by Gavin Hood. Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal and Meryl Streep appear in the cast of a feature film that depicts the harsh interrogation made by the CIA of an Egyptian-American suspected of Islamic terrorism. The film will be screened on Wednesday the 29th and Thursday the 30th of October in the Teatro Salón Cervantes in Alcalá.
