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Our summer programme at Towner Cinema is not to be missed! Eric Ravilious: Drawn to War continues until 20 August, now with three captioned screenings added. We also launch our exciting new Family Film offer. Tickets are only £3.00 for these morning screenings, with some wonderfully thoughtful animated titles rotating weekly.

Read on to find out more and to see what else is coming up, including new releases, remastered classics and some powerful documentaries.

Introducing our new offer for families, just in time for the summer holidays! Every Wednesday and Sunday in August at 10.30am, join us for a shorter animated feature for only £3.00. Each week, we present a new and unique film, though each has been selected for its captivating art style, uplifting message and powerful story.

Family Film begins on 3 August with The Red Turtle, an adventure in colour and sound with no dialogue that still manages to master the peaks and valleys of a simple, parabolic story about acceptance. Explore the purposefully quiet and visually absorbing world of a man stranded on a desert island and his growing connection to the mysterious titular red turtle.

Family Film will also include:
 

The Breadwinner (12a)

When Marnie Was There (U)

Wolfwalkers (PG)

A full-length action-hero feature that forefronts Michelle Yeoh is a blessing in itself, but just as its multiverse continues to swell and develop, the gift of Everything Everywhere All at Once keeps on giving. In 1999, Being John Malkovich (Charlie Kaufman) dealt with the absurdity of existentialism in a similar, genre-rebellious way, but this 2022 film is able to combine the harsh banalities of modern life with a huge yet intricate sci-fi storyline in a way that could only make sense against the backdrop of late-stage capitalism. 

Visually sensational and with a dedication to telling the story of Evelyn Quan Wang (Yeoh), an Asian-American mother and struggling small business owner whose dissatisfaction with life is thrown into symbolic farce when she discovers that she is only one Evelyn occupying only one universe. While attempting to file taxes during an IRS audit of her family laundromat, she learns that she must connect with parallel universe versions of herself to prevent a powerful being from causing the destruction of the multiverse. Throughout this quest, we are introduced to places, people and things both bizarre and breathtaking, but the film stays grounded as we dissect Evelyn’s familial relationships and understanding of herself. 

When Dylan Williams set out to make a film about his 90 year old father Ed, who is already in the throes of arranging his own funeral, he wasn't expecting to end up with Men Who Sing, a deeply affecting but funny story of community, tradition and male bonding. The documentary shines a light on real-life characters - the members of Côr Meibion Trelawnyd, a Welsh-language all-male choir. The choir has become Ed's last remaining solace, and his passion is shared by the rest of the group, who with an average age of 74, are fighting fiercely to protect their legacy. A much-needed story of positive masculinity nestles within one of living heritage and the impact of comradery.

This film is programmed in association with Eastbourne Film Society (EFS) and the screening on 20 August will be introduced by Mansel Stimpson, Chair of EFS. 

By focusing on a journey rather than a destination, Panah Panahi is able to use his debut feature Hit the Road to explore the minutiae of family life as it exists across a spectrum - big sceen families don't need to be totally perfect but they don't need to be totally dysfunctional either. Though parallels to Little Miss Sunshine (2006) have been inevitable (the back seat of the car being occupied by a mysterious older brother and an injured father a la Steve Carrell), this film is unapologetically its own and unapologetically Iranian. As we begin to learn more about where the family are going in tandem with where the story is going, perspectives shift and emotions build. 

This is a Persian language film and will be subtitled.

This mini-series of selected classics provides a retrospective of New German Cinema icon Wim Wenders, giving you the perfect opportunity to familiarise yourself with his highly regarded canon. Wenders is known for his ability to filter traditions of Hollywood and American literature through his own rugged but lyrical eye. 

The series kicks off with a 4K restoration of Wings of Desire, an esoteric fantasy set in Berlin just before the wall came down. Two angels, Damiel and Cassiel, contemplate the mortals below them, their aches and longings experienced with a degree of separation perhaps shared by us as the audience. Soon, Damiel begins to question his immortality as he meets a talented trapeze artist and falls in love.

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You can see our full current programme on our Cinema page.

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