The Royal Ballet Comes To The Big Screen With Cinema Nouveau

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland comes alive in Christopher Wheeldon’s magical ballet for the enjoyment of audiences of all ages…

‘Absurdist, dark and almost beyond praise: Christopher Wheeldon's take on Lewis Carroll is a dazzling extravaganza’  – The Telegraph  ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆

All the beauty, grace and magic of the ballet will soon be enjoyed on the big screen, thanks to a screening partnership between Cinema Nouveau and The Royal Ballet in London. Following on the success of the screening of ‘live’ theatre, opera and art exhibitions, lovers of the arts will now be able to enjoy wonderful ‘live’ ballet productions from The Royal Ballet at Cinema Nouveau theatres in Johannesburg (Rosebank Mall), Pretoria (Brooklyn Mall), Durban (Gateway) and Cape Town (V&A Waterfront).

A season of five famous ballets will be screened over the next few months, and launches with a ballet that will appeal to audiences of all ages. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, adapted from the delightful book by Lewis Carroll, releases exclusively at Cinema Nouveau from Saturday, 28 March, with limited screenings. The other ballets to be screened includeSwan Lake (02 May), Romeo & Juliet (06 June), La Fille mal gardée (27 June) and The Winter’s Tale (08 August).

Tumble down the rabbit hole with The Royal Ballet with an exhilarating performance of choreographer Christopher Wheeldon’s magical Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. His version of the ballet first arrived on the stage in 2011, with a burst of colour, theatrical magic and inventive choreography. It was The Royal Ballet’s first new full-length work since 1995 and was greeted with delight by audiences.

Exuding a girlish charm, Alice, danced by American Principal Sarah Lamb, encounters a cast of extraordinary characters including the gardeners’ boy, Federico Bonelli, who later becomes her Knave of Hearts as they dance a tender and lovingpas de deux of delicate beauty.

There is also the highly-strung Queen of Hearts, who performs an hilarious send-up of The Sleeping Beauty's famous Rose Adage, dancing playing cards, the jittery White Rabbit and the quirky tap-dancing Mad Hatter.

But the ballet does not avoid the darker undercurrents of Lewis Carroll’s story – a nightmarish kitchen, an eerily disembodied Cheshire Cat and the unhinged tea party are all created in vivid detail.

The familiar story is reimagined with quirky designs by Bob Crowley as we follow Alice into Wonderland across a lake of tears, playing croquet with flamingos and hedgehogs, and attending the deranged tea party. Drawing upon a wealth of theatrical effects, projection and puppetry are used to visualise the grinning Cheshire Cat and the sinuous Caterpillar with his 16 legs of ballet dancers en pointe to create a mesmerising world of enchantment.

A feast for the senses, Wheeldon’s spectacular ballet brings to life Lewis Carroll’s famous story with a menagerie of colours, characters and compelling choreography. Joby Talbot’s lively score combines contemporary sound worlds with sweeping melodies that gesture to ballet scores of the 19th century, to provide the perfect accompaniment to the ballet with sparkling idiosyncrasy. Bob Crowley’s wildly imaginative sets and costumes draw on puppetry, projections and masks to make Wonderland wonderfully real.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was the first full ballet created for the Company since 1995 and premiered in 2011 with sold-out world performances. The live screening on Tuesday 16 December was captured for release on cinema screens worldwide.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland releases on South African screens on Saturday, 28 March, for four screenings only – on 28 March, 01 and 02 April at 19:30 and on 29 March at 14:30 – at Cinema Nouveau theatres in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town. Bookings are now open, and the running time of this production is 2hrs, 55mins (including two intervals).

For booking information on the Royal Ballet’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, visit www.cinemanouveau.co.za orsterkinekor.mobi. Folllow us on Twitter @nouveaubuzz or on Facebook at Cinema Nouveau. Download the Ster-Kinekor App on any Nokia, Samsung Android, iPhone and Blackberry smart phones for updates, news and to book from your mobile. For queries, call TicketLine on 0861 Movies (668 437).

Take a look at Gloria

The perfect film for 2015

Gloria

Set in Santiago, Chile, this Spanish-language drama (with English sub-titles) centres on Gloria (Paulina Garcia), a vivacious 58-year-old divorcee with grown children who have moved out of the house.

With no desire to spend her days and nights alone wallowing in self- pity, she decides to go out every night to the singles' clubs in hopes of meeting new people. After countless nights of emptiness and disappointment, Gloria meets ex-naval officer Rodolfo (Sergio Hernandez) and immediately has romantic feelings towards him.

Finally happy and in a serious relationship, Gloria finds herself having to face her past and becoming open to the future.

DIRECTED BY  Sebastian Lelio

PRODUCED BY   Gonzalo Maza, Juan de Dios Larrain, Pablo Larrain

To book visit www.cinemanouveau.co.za or sterkinekor.mob. Download the Ster-Kinekor App on any Nokia, Samsung Android, iPhone or Blackberry smart phone for updates, news and to book. Follow us on Twitter @nouveaubuzz and on Facebook at Cinema Nouveau. For queries, call Ticketline on 0861-Movies (668 437).

Opportunity for local Filmmakers to submit a short film thanks to Cinema Nouveau

CINEMA NOUVEAU LAUNCHES EXCITING NEW INITIATIVE TO ENCOURAGE LOCAL FILMMAKERS TO SUBMIT A SHORT FILM

Opportunity for young filmmakers to have their short film featured on the big screen

South Africa has a vibrant film industry that is growing in reputation and is competitive internationally. The local film industry in South Africa has been identified by government as a sector with excellent potential for growth, with the opportunity to increase employment from various sectors of the economy. According to a 2013 report from the National Film and Video Foundation (NVFV), the country’s film and television industries contribute approximately R3.5-billion per annum to the country’s economy.

The important role that local productions are playing in telling South Africa’s stories and growing the industry cannot be ignored. Ster-Kinekor Theatres has witnessed a 44% increase in the number of locally-produced films releasing on its national circuit in the past two years alone. This trend has shown a steady increase year on year, with 16 local films enjoying a theatrical release in 2012, which increased to 20 films last year. To date this year, 10 local films have played on the Ster-Kinekor circuit, with the total line-up for 2014 expected to reach 23 films.

With the continued interest in and support of local productions, Ster-Kinekor’s art-house chain of cinemas, Cinema Nouveau, today (25 September) launched an exciting initiative to support and encourage local filmmakers to create and submit original content in the form of a short film, no longer than ten minutes in duration. The Short Film Project is being launched in partnership with Spectrum and ShortandSweet, and will roll-out over a six-month period.

The concept behind the project is to call for entries that will be judged by a panel of industry experts. The entries that make it through the initial selection process will be featured on the big screen as the ‘supporting act’ to the main feature at the Cinema Nouveau theatres in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town.

Says Doug Place, Marketing Executive of Ster-Kinekor Theatres: “We are constantly amazed by the raw and undiscovered talent that abounds in the South African film industry. We are confident that this project will provide us with an opportunity to expose original content, in the form of the short film, to a wider cinema audience.

“The Short Film Project will target filmmakers, both established and aspirant talent within the industry, to produce and enter a short film of ten minutes or less. We have partnered with ShortandSweet to curate the entries, with Spectrum providing valuable input on the post-production process. A panel of judges will then view and review the entries that make it through this process, and compile a short list of finalists that make it onto the big screen.”

Entries are now open and submissions must be received by 24 October 2014. Budding filmmakers need to complete an entry form (available at Cinema Nouveau theatres and via the website at www.cinemanouveau.co.za) and submit this, together with their short film via Dropbox to: shortfilmproject@sterkinekor.com.

Audiences will have the chance to view all the curated entries – not only those that make it through to the short-list – from 14 November to 14 December this year. Thereafter, the entries will be submitted to the judging panel whose final selection will be announced on 02 February 2015. These short films will have the honour of being featured on the big screen during “Oscar” weekend, which always attracts large cinema audiences.

“The project culminates with the overall winners of The Short Film Project being announced at a special function at Cinema Nouveau Rosebank on 05 March 2015. For all the filmmakers whose work is selected for screening, it is the ultimate kudos for them to view their finished product on the big screen inside a cinema,” says Place.

The overall winning director of The Short Film Project will receive the following prize: Sony camera equipment to the value of R20 000and a screening of the winning short film at the 2015 Durban International Film Festival.  The director of the film that receives the most number of votes during the ‘Audience Choice Award’ voting process wins a screening of his or her film at 2015 Durban International Film Festival.

The Spectrum team will spend an hour with each finalist to assist them with the post-production process, and will also transfer their material to into a digital format, to play on the recently upgraded digital projection systems within the cinemas.

Ronald Henry, the MD of Spectrum.tv, comments: “Spectrum is very excited to work with our partners, Ster-Kinekor and Cinema Nouveau, on this new and exciting initiative.  We have been working with local filmmakers and distributors for more than ten years, and we are committed to helping develop and showcase emerging talent.”

Responsible for curating all the entries for the final judging process, Short & Sweet has an established reputation in curating short film festivals, and creates unique screening platforms to enhance and redefine the public’s experience of cinema.

Says Julia Stephenson, the founder and curator of ShortandSweet: “We are dedicated to the exhibition of film as a critical art form in its own right.  As such, we are delighted to be involved in this exciting new initiative with Cinema Nouveau and look forward to unearthing some real gems in the short film genre.”

Entries are now open for The Short Film Project and aspirant filmmakers have until 24 October 2014 to submit their original short film. All the project details and further information can be found on the Cinema Nouveau website -www.cinemanouveau.co.za.

(Source - Ster-Kinekor) 

Coming Soon - Lovelace - Cinema Nouveau 29 August South Africa

Cinema Nouveau will be releasing 'Lovelace' on Friday 29 August

This is part of their Erotic Art-House Fest which includes some wonderful films.

Back to 'Lovelace' this film is based on the autobiography 'Ordeal' by Lovelace.  The film tells the story of adult actress Linda Lovelace and the dark side of her experiences in the wake of the 1972 success of
'Deep Throat.'

Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman and Written by Andy Bellin.
The star studded cast includes Amanda Seyfried as Linda Lovelace, Peter Sarsgaard as her abusive husband.  Hank Azaria, Sharon Stone, James Franco and Adam Brody.


Article by +Fred Felton

Watch King Lear Live

CINEMA NOUVEAU SCREENS ONE OF SHAKESPEARE’S MOST FAMOUS TRAGEDIES, KING LEAR, FROM NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE

‘Sam Mendes and Simon Russell Beale deliver a brutal, unforgettable collaboration; prepare to have your heart broken.’ – Metro

‘The cast is beyond superlative. A literally awe-inspiring production.’ - Time Out

Sam Mendes’ acclaimed National Theatre production of Shakespeare’s King Lear, with Simon Russell Beale in the title role,will screen as part of the current National Theatre Live season. The Shakespearean tragedy releases onto Cinema Nouveau’s digital screens in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town and at Ster-Kinekor Blue Route in Tokai, Cape Town, from Saturday, 14 June, for four screenings only.

Academy Award® winner Sam Mendes (James Bond: Skyfall, American Beauty) returns to the National Theatre to direct acclaimed actor Simon Russell Beale in the title role of Shakespeare’s searing tragedy.

In King Lear, an aged king decides to divide his kingdom between his three daughters – Goneril, Regan and Cordelia – according to which of them is most eloquent in praising him. His favourite, Cordelia, says nothing. Lear’s world descends into chaos.

‘Witty, agile, lucid and deeply felt. A gripping production of a tragedy which is also an intensely painful psychological thriller.’ - Daily Telegraph

Simon Russell Beale’s recent theatre work for the National includes Timon of Athens (Critics’ Circle Award: Best Shakespearean Performance), Collaborators (Evening Standard Award: Best Actor), London Assurance, Major Barbara, Much Ado About Nothing, The Alchemist and The Life of Galileo; elsewhere, The Hothouse and Privates on Parade (West End), The Winter’s Tale and The Cherry Orchard (New York and Old Vic); and Bluebird (New York). His films include My Week with Marilyn and The Deep Blue Sea; television includes Spooks, Falstaff in the BBC film of Henry IV, and presenting the seriesSacred Music and Symphony.

‘Genuinely gripping. Simon Russell Beale movingly captures Lear’s terrified intimations of madness.’ - Daily Telegraph

Sam Mendes has previously directed The Sea, The Birthday Party, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice and Othello for the National. For ten years he was Director of London’s Donmar Warehouse, where his productions included Uncle Vanya andTwelfth Night.

In 2009 he founded the Bridge Project, a transatlantic classical theatre company, and directed The Winter's Tale, The Cherry Orchard, The Tempest, As You Like It and Richard III.  His films include American Beauty (Academy Award for Best Director and Best Picture) and the BAFTA and Academy Award-winning Skyfall.

The cast also includes Stephen Boxer (as Gloucester), Cassie Bradley, Tom Brooke (Edgar), Richard Clothier, Jonathan Dryden Taylor, Kate Fleetwood (Goneril), Simon Manyonda, Anna Maxwell Martin (Regan), Daniel Millar, Michael Nardone, Gary Powell, Adrian Scarborough (Fool), Hannah Stokely, Stanley Townsend (Kent), Sam Troughton (Edmund), Olivia Vinall (Cordelia) and Ross Waiton.

King Lear releases on South African screens on Saturday, 14 June, for four screenings only – on 14, 18 and 19 June at 19:30 and on 15 June at 14:30 – at Cinema Nouveau theatres in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town, and at Ster-Kinekor Blue Route Mall in Tokai. Bookings are now open, and the running time of this production is 3hrs, 20mins (including a 20-minute interval).

For booking information on King Lear, visit www.cinemanouveau.co.za or sterkinekor.mobi, or call our Ticketline on 082 16789. Follow us on Twitter @nouveaubuzz.  You can also download the Ster-Kinekor App on any Nokia, Samsung Android, iPhone and Blackberry smart phones for updates, news and to book from your mobile.

National Theatre Live enables audiences to experience the best of British theatre throughout the year, as the NT brings cameras into the auditorium to broadcast performances live from stage to screen. Over 2.5 million people have experienced aNational Theatre Live broadcast. National Theatre Live events are distributed outside the U.K. through New York-based BY Experience, the pioneer of global live “alternative content” digital cinema events.

Watch the trailer for King Lear here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXkt8c5I2uo

2014 Doccie Fest for Cinema Nouveau

CINEMA NOUVEAU LAUNCHES THE 2014 DOCCIE FEST WITH FOUR EXTRAORDINARY FILMS DEALING WITH FOUR EXTRAORDINARY TOPICS

Three wrongly-accused teenagers, local striking miners, the skill of a Dutch master painter and a world-class athlete’s fall from grace create the food for thought in four extraordinary documentaries that make up this year’s Doccie Fest, presented exclusively by Cinema Nouveau on its big digital screens. The four films will be screened over four weeks, from 23 May, at Cinema Nouveau in the Rosebank Mall, Johannesburg; Brooklyn Mall in Pretoria; Gateway in Durban; and at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town.

The Doccie Fest launches on Friday, 23 May with director Amy Berg’s West of Memphis (running time: 147mins), a powerful examination of a catastrophic failure of justice in Arkansas, USA. A ‘fictional’ version of this event unfolds in Devil’s Knot, currently on circuit at Cinema Nouveau, but this astounding documentary shows why fact always trumps fiction.

Berg collaborated on the production with first-time producers Damien Echols and Lorri Davis, together with the multiple Academy Award winning team of filmmakers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh. Her unprecedented access to the inner workings of the defense presents footage of the investigation, research and appeals process that reveals shocking new information about a case that still haunts the American South.

West of Memphis is told and made by those who actually lived the nightmare of events, documenting their extraordinary and desperate fight to bring the truth to light; a fight to stop the State of Arkansas from killing an innocent man. Starting with a searing examination of the police investigation into the 1993 murders of three, eight-year-old boys - Christopher Byers, Steven Branch and Michael Moore - in the small town of West Memphis, Arkansas, the film goes on to uncover new evidence surrounding the arrest and conviction of the other three victims of this shocking crime – Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley.

All three were teenagers when they became the target of the police investigation, and all three went on to lose 18 years of their lives - imprisoned for crimes they did not commit. How the documentary came to be made, is in itself a key part of the story of Damien Echols’ fight to save his own life. Director Amy Berg wrote: “… the 18 years of injustice, an investigation rife with corruption, and the destruction of multiple lives—I understood that this was a story that not only exposed a frightening failure of justice within our legal system, but exposed a judicial culture where innocence did not matter.”

The film reveals how close Damien and his wife Lorri Davis, together with his legal team, friends and supporters, came to losing that battle. But as Echols, who spent 18 years on death row, himself has stated: "... in the face of such horror, in the face of resounding grief and pain, you cannot give up... you must never give up."

(Trailer: West of Memphis - http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=west+of+memphis+trailer+2013)

The second production in the Doccie Fest releases on Friday, 30 May, and is a hard-hitting account of the deaths of 34 striking miners at Lonmin’s Marikana platinum mine in the North West province in August 2012. Miners Shot Down (running time: 90mins, 13V) is a locally-produced documentary in the political thriller genre from renowned South African filmmaker, Rehad Desai of Uhuru Productions.

Desai was at Marikana in August 2012, covering the wildcat strike by Lonmin’s rock drill operators in the days leading up to the massacre. At the time, he had intended to make a film about enduring inequality faced by mineworkers and mining communities across the country’s platinum belt. But nobody at the time could have predicted that the South African state would turn its guns on miners at Marikana who, out of sheer frustration with their union the NUM, had decided to go it alone to demand a living wage.

Since the massacre, unpacking the events that led to the country’s first post-colonial massacre has become Desai’s obsession. Since January this year, the miners’ have been on a prolonged strike regarding a basic living wage, creating further content for headlines and front page news stories, making the subject of this documentary all the more relevant in 2014.

(Trailer: Miners Shot Down - http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Miners+Shot+Down+trailer)

Releasing on Friday, 06 June is the third title in Cinema Nouveau’s Doccie Fest. Tim's Vermeer (running time: 81mins) tells the fascinating obsession of Texas-based inventor Tim Jenison with the works of celebrated 17th century Dutch master painter Johannes Vermeer.

How did the painter manage to paint so photo-realistically, 150 years before the invention of photography? One painting of Vermeer’s comes under particular scrutiny – that of "The Music Lesson", which features an astonishing amount of detail.

Did Dutch master Johannes Vermeer use technology to help make his astonishing lifelike images? He did, according to Tim's Vermeer, a documentary featuring Jenison, written and narrated by Penn Jillette (of ‘Penn & Teller’ fame), and directed by his partner, Teller.

Artist David Hockney and others believe that Vermeer may have employed a device called a camera obscura, though many art historians are not convinced. But when inventor and digital video expert Tim Jenison became intrigued with the question, he decided to take a scientific approach. His quest is detailed in the film.

Jenison eventually comes to the conclusion that Vermeer used a variety of optical devices (mirrors, camera obscura, lenses) in his works. To test this theory, he decides to recreate "The Music Lesson" from scratch, even though he is not a skilled painter. The epic research project Jenison embarks on spans a decade, and is as extraordinary as his discoveries that take him to Delft in Holland where Vermeer painted his masterpieces, to the north coast of Yorkshire to meet Hockney, and to Buckingham Palace to view the Vermeer in the Royal Family’s collection.

(Trailer: Tim’s Vermeer - http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tim%27s+vermeer+trailer+2014)

The Armstrong Lie (running time: 124mins), a documentary chronicling cycling legend Lance Armstrong's improbable rise and ultimate fall from grace,, is the fourth and final film in the Doccie Fest. It releases on Friday, 13 June.  In 2009, Alex Gibney was hired to make a film about Lance Armstrong's much-publicised comeback to cycling. The project was shelved however, when one of the most talked about doping scandals in the history of sport erupted, creating headlines around the world.

The project was back on track following Armstrong's eventual confession on ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’, which was viewed by millions of people globally. This intriguing documentary picks up events in 2013 and presents a riveting, insider's view of the unravelling of one of the most extraordinary stories in the history of sports. As Lance Armstrong himself said: "I didn't live a lot of lies, but I lived one big one."

(Trailer: The Armstrong Lie - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMo78N4BMww)

For screening times and booking information for the 2014 Doccie Fest, visit www.cinemanouveau.co.za or sterkinekor.mobi, or call our Ticketline on 082 16789. Follow Cinema Nouveau on Twitter @nouveaubuzz or on Facebook. You can also download the Ster-Kinekor app on any Nokia, Samsung Android, iPhone and BlackBerry smartphone, for updates and to book from your mobile.

Coriolanus Tragedy Hits South Africa

CORIOLANUS TRAGEDY HITS SOUTH AFRICA

Source: www.etsy.com

It’s been ages but still Shakespeare’s plays are the best, As Cinema Nouveau announces the release of Coriolanus, Shakespeare’s searing tragedy of political manipulation and revenge. The National Theatre Live will broadcast Donmar Warehouse production of the Coriolanus, this interesting play will be broadcasted onto Cinema Nouveau’s big screens at Ster-kinekor Blue Route in Tokai, Cape Town starting from the 1^st of March.

This thrilling play presents the best English actor and best villain actor Tom Hiddleston who previously acted in the avengers, War house (BBC’s The hallow Crown as Prince Hal in Henry four part 1 and 2) in the title role and Mark Gatiss (Season’s Greetings at the National theatre, BBC Entertainment’s Sherlock) as Menenius, which is directed by Josie Rourke. With a synopsis of “when an old adversary threatens Rome, the city calls once more on her hero and defender: Coriolanus. But he has enemies at home too. Famine threatens the city, the citizens’ hunger swells to an appetite for change, and on returning from the field Coriolanus must confront the march of realpolitik and the voice of an angry people.”

Characters in Coriolanus are: Tom Hiddleston playing Coriolanus and has previously performed for Donmar in Othello and Ivanov, Mark Gatiss playing Menenius performed for the Donmar his roles feature films such as the Avengers, Deborah Findlay playing Volumnia has previously appeared at the Donmar in Madame de Sade and Josie Rourke Director of the Donmar Warehouse. The Coriolanus will be out on South African screens on Saturday, the 1^st of March for four screenings only in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town. The running out of this production is two hours and forty minutes.

For more information on bookings, visit www.cinemanouvea.co.za, sterkinekor.mobi or you can contact the ticket line on 082 16789. Follow the nouveabuzz on twitter, @nouveabuzz and you can also download from your mobile. The National Live enables audiences to experience the best British theatre throughout the year, as the NT brings camera into the auditorium to broadcast performances live from stage.

Article by +Molly Dimpho