During March, Pontio’s Cinema will display a wide range of films, celebrating worldwide cinema as part of the WOW Festival (Wales and the World as One), celebrating International Women’s Day, and the iconic comedy film Twin Town at 25 years old, as well as a screening of the extended version of The Shining.
On Thursday 7 Marth Pontio Cinema will host a special screening of the extended version of The Shining by Stanley Kubrick. To accompany this will be the launch of the latest memoir of the life and work of Stanley Kubrick, called Kubrick: An Odyssey by Nathan Abrams (Professor in Film, Bangor University) and Robert P. Koller with special guest Gordon Stainforth, who worked as the assistant editor of the film, as well as Vivian Jubrick’s documentary about the film Making of the Shining.
On International Women’s Day 2024 (Friday 8 March) we will be displaying two films; The Piano (1993) directed by Jane Campion and The Bling Ring (2013) by the director Sofia Coppola. Jane Campion won a Palme D’or in 1993 for The Piano, the first female director to win the prize in addition to three Oscar awards for Best Writing for the Screen, Holly Hunter as Leading Actress, and Anna Paquin for the Best Supporting Actress when she was only ten years old. Then, a chance to see The Bling Ring by the biggest female director currently in the industry, starring Emma Watson, Katie Chang, Taissa Farmiga and more!
The WOW Festival (Wales and the World as One) who have been celebrating the richness of the world’s cinema since 2001, bringing a selection of eclectic, interesting and moving films from every part of the world to cinemas across Wales will be visiting Pontio for the first time. The films will be displayed across the duration of four days, between the 11th and 14th of March. The programme includes a wide range of films including films in Arabic, Bengali, Spanish, African, and Igbo. The programme will include Tale of the Three Jewels (1995), the first film to be filmed entirely in the Gaza strip and Mami Wata (2023), Nigeria’s black-and-white Oscar entry for 2024, a captivating tale that intertwines magical imagery and haunting narrative threads.
At the end of the month, we will be celebrating 25 years of the dark and iconic comedy Twin Town on Wednesday 27 March with a special screening. Following the screening, film director Kevin Allen and Llŷr Ifans, who portrayed Julian Lewis – one half of the famous twins, will be joining us for a Q&A session under the leadership of Nathan Abrams from the Department of Film, Bangor University.
The rest of March will be offering some of Hollywood’s biggest films, The Colour Purple, The Iron Claw starring Zac Efron, Bob Marley: One Love and DUNE: Part Two with Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya and Florence Pugh. The live screenings include The Motive and The Cue from The National Theatre, London directed by Sam Mendes and Madama Butterfly from the Royal Opera House Live.
Dion Wyn, Pontio’s Cinema Coordinator said, ‘March is full of special events which celebrates Welsh, female, and international cinema. We look forward to inviting special guests for discussions and to be part of the WOW festival for the first time – a festival which gives us the opportunity to display a variety of international films as well as broadening our programme for our audiences.’
Tickets for all events and screenings in March are available on pontio.co.uk or from the Box Office and the full programme is free and available in the centre.
