Towner Cinema: September highlights
Posted on 05 September 2022There's lots to look forward to this month, including a showcase of work by shortlisted artists for the Film London Jarman Award, the welcome return of The Cult Film Club and some exciting debuts from new emerging directors including Larry Achiampong and Nana Mensah.
Meanwhile, Eric Ravilious: Drawn to War will continue until 16 September, so you still have time to catch this thoughtful account of the life of one of Towner Collection's favourite artists.
Keep reading to see more on our top picks for September...
Paris, Texas
(12)

Wim Wenders, Paris, Texas, 1984.
Our retrospective of New German Cinema icon Wim Wenders continues this month, 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 season closes with Paris, Texas, a classic but eerie road movie dripping with aesthetic synchronicity and thick with the warmth of humanity that Harry Dean Stanton is so well regarded for. This is one of those all-consuming pictures that just belongs on the big screen, and here it is restored in 4K.
The Wim Wenders Series also includes documentary The Salt of the Earth (12a), a study of Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado.
Fisherman's Friends: One and All
(12)

Meg Leonard & Nick Moorcroft, Fisherman's Friends: One and All, 2022.
Maybe there's something to be said for the way that Fisherman's Friends confronted the false dichotomy of art versus craft or folk versus heritage and the often overlooked division of class across the UK, or maybe it's just a fun film about stoic, curmudgeonly fishermen learning how to develop mass appeal to a fad-obsessed generation. Either way, One and All is a sequel that continues to balance the social commentary tightrope as we revisit the real-world inspired band, now dealing with the pressures, pitfalls and temptations of their newfound fame.
Of Love and Law
(12a)

Hikaru Toda, Of Love and Law, 2017.
One of IndieWire's Best Queer Films of 2018, Of Love and Law is a moving documentary that follows Fumi and Kazu, who are partners in both life and law as the first openly gay couple in Japan to set up their own law firm. As we get to know the couple and their unconventional family, we also meet their clients - outsiders and misfits drawn to the warmth and experience of the pair, and bringing forward their own unique struggles to keep up with the conservative traditions of modern Japan.
Film London Jarman Award: Touring Programme 2022

Art and film lovers can explore the shortlist for this year’s prestigious Film London Jarman Award when the nationwide touring programme comes to Towner Eastbourne. Works by the six shortlisted artists, Jamie Crewe, Onyeka Igwe, Grace Ndiritu, Morgan Quaintance, Rosa-Johan Uddoh and Alberta Whittle will be played on a loop in Towner Cinema from 10.00am to 5.00pm.
At 7.00pm, Morgan Quaintance will join us for a dedicated screening of his work and a Q&A with the audience. This evening event is free, but booking is essential.
Armour of God II: Operation Condor
(15)

Jackie Chan, Armour of God II: Operation Condor, 1986
The Cult Film Club returns to Towner Cinema with Armour of God II: Operation Condor, one of Jackie Chan's most dangerous movies. With unmissable action choreography and a strikingly cathartic but silly Indiana Jones style plot, this action-comedy allows the skill and passion of the stuntman to shine over gratuitous violence. Gags over guns has always been Chan's philosophy, resulting in masterful physical comedy which radiates pure old-fashioned Nazi-fighting joy.
Queen of Glory
(15)

Nana Mensah, Queen of Glory, 2021
A stunning and thoughtful directorial debut from Nana Mensah allows the 13 Reasons Why alumnus to confront her frustrations with the roles available to her as a black female actor. Queen of Glory follows Sarah Obeng, a Ghanaian-American scientist whose mother unexpectedly dies and leaves her a Christian bookstore in the Bronx, New York. Mensah's gritty realisation of the city is interspersed with archival footage of Ghanaian gatherings as we join Sarah in exploring her heritage, identity and self.
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You can see our full current programme on our Cinema page.