Spinning Reels

September 28, 2022 | Sponsored by Shamrock Lodge

The heartwarming true story of Maurice Flitcroft (Mark Rylance), a dreamer and unrelenting optimist. This humble crane operator from Barrow-in-Furness managed to gain entry to The British Open Golf Championship qualifying in 1976, despite never playing a round of golf before. He shot the worst round in Open history and drew the ire of the golfing elite, but became a folk hero in the process and, more importantly, showed his family the importance of pursuing your dreams.

Official Trailer for Phantom of the Open

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FOQMuV0bQU

October 12th, 2022 | Sponsored by Judy Watson

Adapted from the critically acclaimed 2017 novel by Catherine Hernandez, Scarborough is an unflinching portrait of three low-income families struggling to endure within a system that’s set them up for failure. It shows the love and perseverance communities can foster, lifting up families to overcome the obstacles placed in their way. 

The film centres on Bing, Sylvie, and Laura, who become friends through their neighbourhood and the morning school program they attend. An empathetic caregiver, Ms. Hina, is a key figure in their lives. She finds herself struggling within the daycare system as she tries to support them.

Scarborough received Honourable Mention at last year’s TIFF awards for Best Canadian film and it was the runner up for the People’s Choice Award. It found major success at the 2022 Canadian Screen Awards, earning eight wins including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Official Trailer for Scarborough

Monday, March 23rd | 7:00 p.m. at the Norwood Theatre

The iconic Merce Cunningham and the last generation of his dance company is stunningly profiled in Alla Kovgan’s 3D documentary. Though a breathtaking explosion of dance, music, and never-before-seen archival material, the film traces the artistic evolution of Cunningham from his early years as a struggling dancer in postwar New York to his emergence as one of the world’s most visionary choreographers.

Cunningham’s mid-20th century collaborations with composer John Cage (his lifelong partner) and visual artist Robert Rauschenberg were central to an era of transformation. The film brings us closer to these works than any audience has ever been before. We also hear illuminating interviews with Cage, Rauschenberg, and members of the original Merce Cunningham Dance Company, who endured years of rejection and outrage before they slowly won over audiences.

” Whether you come to Cunningham as a neophyte or an aficionado, you’ll leave with a rich experience of his art.” —Toronto International Film Festival

93 minutes

Monday, March 9th | 7:00 p.m. at the Norwood Theatre

Set in the summer of 1926, Brotherhood recounts the true story of a group of youth at a camp on Balsam Lake in the Kawartha Lakes. In a terrifying test of will and strength, they have to fight for survival when an unforeseen thunderstorm capsizes their war canoe. Ten campers and their two leaders are left stranded in freezing water far from shore. The boys are propelled into manhood, all in the darkness of one catastrophic summer night.

Written and directed by Richard Bell, this drama-cum-thriller was shot near Wawa, Ontario and in studio in Toronto.

“Bell orchestrates some fine moments among the young cast – which includes The Order’s Jake Manley and Northern Rescue’s Spencer Macpherson in key roles – and Brendan Fehr and Brendan Fletcher find some compelling notes as the First World War veterans charged with minding the boys.”
Norman Wilner, NOW

97 minutes

An exploration of the career, music and influence of the legendary Canadian musical icon. With unprecedented access to the artist, the film takes audiences from Lightfoot’s high school auditorium in Orillia in the ’50s to the coffee houses of Yorkville and Greenwich Village in the ’60s, through his turbulent, substance-fueled arena shows of the ’70s, and finally to Gordon Lightfoot in present day.

Monday, February 24th | 7:00 p.m. at the Norwood Theatre

The documentary features interviews from many notable voices in the music industry including Lightfoot peers Ian and Sylvia Tyson, Randy Bachman, and Steve Earle; famous fans Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee from Rush, Alec Baldwin, Anne Murray and Sarah McLachlan; as well as behind the scenes stories from members of his longtime band.

Following Lightfoot’s evolution from Christian choirboy to troubled troubadour to international star and beloved Canadian icon, Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind is an intimate and emotional examination of the artist’s profound relationship to his music and his Canadian roots.

91 minutes

Gripping, powerful, and of-the-moment, Antigone loosely adapts Sophocles’ Greek tragedy and situates it in contemporary Montreal.

Following the murder of their parents, Antigone, her sister Ismène, her brothers Étéocle and Polynice, and their grandmother Ménécée find refuge in Montreal. They live a quiet modest life in a tiny apartment in a working-class neighbourhood. A straight-A student seemingly destined for greatness, Antigone is the glue that holds the family together. Tragedy strikes when Étéocle is wrongfully gunned down by police during the arrest of Polynice, a small-time drug dealer. Motivated by her sense of duty towards her family and fuelled by the memory she cherishes of her dead parents, Antigone decides to jeopardize her own future to preserve that of her family.

“Canada’s Oscar submission is an intelligent, moving reworking of Sophocles’ tragedy, electrified by a breakout turn from star Nahéma Ricci.” Variety

“The latest from critically acclaimed Québécois writer-director Sophie Deraspe, Antigone is a compassionate family drama that doesn’t hold back on its indictment of the current refugee and immigrant experience in North America.” TIFF Winner – Best Canadian Feature Film

109 minutes

A Prodigy, a War and a Mystery

As Europe erupts into World War II, 9 year old Martin comes to love his new brother Dovidl, a highly gifted violin prodigy of the same age and recent Polish-Jewish refugee to London. But hours before Dovidl’s debut concert performance at the age of 21 he vanishes without a trace, causing shame and ruin for their family.

A lifetime later, a young violinist shows a 56 year old Martin a stylistic flourish that could only have been taught by Dovidl. This triggers Martin’s odyssey overseas in search of his lost brother, one that will lead to surprising revelations for both men and for Helen, the woman who stood between them.

Song of Names is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Norman Lebrecht. Directed by François Girard (“The Red Violin”), the film stars Tim Roth and Clive Owen. It was nominated for Best Canadian Feature Film at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival.

113 minutes

Set sail with us on MONDAY, JANUARY 13th

MAIDEN ~ 7:00 p.m at the Norwood Theatre

Exhilarating, suspenseful, and emotionally charged, this documentary from director Alex Holmes chronicles Tracy Edwards’ 1989–90 precedent-setting sea voyage around the world with an all-female crew. The Whitbread Round the World Race was considered an exclusively masculine endeavour when 24 year old Edwards came along and, in the face of much sexist condescension, proved that skill, perseverance, and courage at sea know no gender.

Edwards and her crew members — all of them rousing storytellers — collectively narrate their experience in the film. MAIDEN is a classic tale of people contending with the elements; though, in this case, some of those elements are other people.

“Using archival footage and fresh recollections, director Alex Holmes offers an illuminating look into the weird world of jibs and rigging in a film that transcends the action of the sport.” Brad Wheeler, The Globe & Mail

“This stirring documentary recounts not just the feminist achievement, but triumph of the human spirit.” Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service

Please join us at the Norwood Theatre on Monday, November 25th at 7:00 p.m. for The Great Buster: A Celebration. In his documentary, Peter Bogdanovich examines the legendary life and career of actor, filmmaker and comic genius Buster Keaton.

Keaton’s singular style and fertile output during the silent era created his legacy as a true cinematic visionary. His beginnings on the vaudeville circuit are chronicled in THE GREAT BUSTER, as is the development of his trademark physical comedy and deadpan expression that earned him the lifelong moniker of “The Great Stone Face”, all of which led to his career-high years as the director, writer, producer and star of his own short films and features.

The movie is filled with stunningly restored archival Keaton films and interspersed throughout are interviews with nearly two-dozen collaborators, filmmakers, performers and friends. These include Mel Brooks, Quentin Tarantino, Werner Herzog, Dick van Dyke and Johnny Knoxville, who discuss Keaton’s influence on modern comedy and, indeed, cinema itself.

Director Bogdanovich is a filmmaker and cinema historian whose landmark writings and films on such renowned directors as John Ford and Orson Welles have become the standard by which all other studies are measured.

102 minutes

Please join us at the Norwood Theatre on Monday, November 11th at 7:00 p.m.

Writer-director Noble Jones’ The Tomorrow Man is a dramatic and romantic character piece about two quirky seniors from a small town who look past their drastic differences to find love. Ed (John Lithgow) is obsessed with the end of the world and spends his life preparing for a disaster that may never happen. Ronnie (Blythe Danner) is a lively woman who spends her time shopping for items she may never need in order to feel close to her loved ones. When they meet, sparks fly and they soon begin their journey together.

At first, their disparate lifestyles cause some problems for Ed — but when an incident lands him in the hospital, he must decide if going through life according to his own future plans is more important than living in the present with Ronnie.

“Jones’ portrayal of finding love in the later stages of life pulls at your heartstrings and makes you think about your beliefs — and about conspiracy theories that may impact your life in an unexpected way.” tiff

94 minutes