The Circle (2000)

Part of the Cinema Of The World

7:30 p.m. Thursday 21 April 2011

Director:	Jafar Panahi
Certificate:	BBFC PG
Length:	87 minutes
Format:	35mm
Language:	Farsi with English subtitles
Country:

Set over the course of a single day, Jafar Panahi's powerful film is an ensemble piece that tells the stark tales of several young Iranian women and the harsh society in which they live.Beginning with a childbirth, and the ensuing despair at the discovery that the baby is a girl, the film touches upon the myriad hardships endured by women living in Iran's male dominated world of bureaucracy, constant surveillance and age old inequalities.But even in the midst of this stifling environment, the spirit, strength and courage of the circle of women cannot be extinguished.Panahi's gripping and controversial film is further confirmation that Iranian cinema is now among the most original, vital and exciting in the world.

Other films in the Cinema Of The World:

19 Film: Cinema Of Prayoga - A Secret History Of Indian Film

19 Jan 2007, 7:30 p.m.

CINEMA OF PRAYOGA is a unique touring exhibition of artists' film and video work from India; making available for the first time in the UK this rich and unseen history. Moving from the birth of Indian cinema with the fantastic films of D.G. Phalke, to the inventive and playful work produced under the government’s Films Division in the 1960s

31 Film: Dreams Of Sparrows (2005)

31 Jan 2007, 7:30 p.m.

£3.50/£3 - Dreams of Sparrows, Hayder Mousa Daffar, Iraq, 2005, 75mins.

01 Film: Touki Bouki (1973)

1 Feb 2007, 7:30 p.m.

The first screening for the Cinema of the World club!

25 Film: Touki Bouki (1973)

25 Feb 2007, 7:30 p.m.

Repeat screening! Young lovers, Mory and Anta, dream of Paris and an escape from the dead-end clutches of Dakar, Senegal. Only when that dream becomes a tantalising reality do they realise that in pursuing their dream, a sacrifice must be made - a sacrifice far greater than either were expecting.

01 Film: Offside (2006)

1 Mar 2007, 7:30 p.m.

This is a kind of mockumentary, but in a totally real situation.

07 Film: Dreams Of Sparrows (2005)

7 Mar 2007, 7:30 p.m.

Iraqi filmmakers share their world; a vision of life in Baghdad post Saddam Hussein.

05 Film: Tbc - Eritraen Film

5 Apr 2007, 7:30 p.m.

An Eritraen Film In Tigrinean (title TBC) Free with NASS card. With traditional food and music. Come and be enchanted!

22 Film: Bamako (2006)

22 Apr 2007, 7:30 p.m.

Bamako. Melé is a bar singer, her husband Chaka is out of work and the couple is on the verge of breaking up… In the courtyard of the house they share with other families, a trial court has been set up. African civil society spokesmen have taken proceedings against the World Bank and the IMF whom they blame for Africa's woes… Amidst the pleas and the testimonies, life goes on in the courtyard. Chaka does not seem to be concerned by this novel Africa's desire to fight for its rights…

22 Film: Bamako (2006)

22 Apr 2007, 7:30 p.m.

26 Film: Bamako (2006)

26 Apr 2007, 7:30 p.m.

27 Film: Bamako (2006)

27 Apr 2007, 7:30 p.m.

28 Film: Devi (1960)

28 Apr 2007, 7:30 p.m.

Devi focuses on a young woman who is deemed a goddess when her father-in-law, a rich feudal landlord, envisions her as the Goddess Kali - a great depiction of the crisis faced by people struggling to be modern yet encumbered with the traditional systems and the spectre of having been colonized.

03 Film: Turtles Can Fly (2005)

3 May 2007, 7:30 p.m.

B. Ghodbadi's film - the first to be made in Iraq after the invasion of 2003 - matches the brightness and clever mischief of young folk growing up in a Kurdish refugee cmp with the trauma of life in that very conflicted area of the Middle East.

16 Film: Cantina Latina - Como Aqua Para Chocolate (1992)

16 May 2007, 7 p.m.

(Like Water For Chocolate)

07 Film: Ode To Joy (2005)

7 Jun 2007, 7:30 p.m.

The movie is part of "The Polish Past, Present and Future by Polish Young Artist" event. Along with the movie there will be photo exhibition and slide show. "Ode to Joy" - Polish present reality is revealed by 3 directors of young generation for whom communist times are just vague memories from the childhood. Just as the protagonists in the movie young Polish people enter their adult life in capitalistic times, where only money counts. We have got 3 life stories set in 3 different parts of Poland and showing 3 visions of the same Polish brutal reality. Parents’ generation are either “losers” with no jobs or about to lose it, or “winners” with lots money but no morals and no mercy. Young people try to adapt in different ways but their “home” seems to offer no opportunities. And when everything fails the last recourse turns out to be a ticket to London. Search for love, search for a future, and eventually disillusionment; doesn’t it seem familiar? The movie won the Special Jury Prize at the Gdynia Polish Film Festival; was recently screened at the London Film Festival; and is the first Polish movie that succeeded to entered in official competition of the prestigious Rotterdam Film festival.

20 Film: Countryman (1982)

20 Jul 2007, 7:30 p.m.

Star and Shadow in Dub - tonight is a special night of film (Countryman) and dub and reggae until 3am. Ital Vibes at the star and SHADOW

05 Film: Latcho Drom (1993)

5 Sep 2007, 9 p.m.

One hundred minutes of music, singing and dancing on a gypsy journey heading from India to Egypt, Turkey, Romania and France.

06 Film: When The Road Bends: Tales Of A Gypsy Caravan (2006)

6 Sep 2007, 6 p.m.

At the centre of our two-day gypsy music festival is the new celebratory film of Roma musical culture.

01 Film: Cinema Of The World - Focus On Amir Shahab Razavian (2002, 2004)

1 Nov 2007, 7:30 p.m.

This double bill is an exciting introduction to a contemporary Iranian filmmaker who has rarely been screened in the UK, followed possibly by food and music.

03 Film: Khuda Kaye Liye (In The Name Of God) (2007)

3 Jul 2008, 7:30 p.m.

Cinema of the World - Pakistani film night

02 Film: Since Otar Left (2003)

2 Oct 2008, 7:30 p.m.

This month we celebrate Georgia, with a multi award winning film from Juliette Bertucelli, who worked on films by Otar Ioseliani and Krystov Kieslowki before this first feature.

06 Film: Heavy Metal In Baghdad (2007)

6 Nov 2008, 7:30 p.m.

Life is as hard as their music for the only metal band in Iraq, Acrassicauda.

08 Film: Into Great Silence (2006)

8 Jan 2009, 7 p.m.

This award winning film is a mesmerizing study of the lives of a few monks who live high up in a beautiful, reclusive monastery in the French Alps.

05 Film: California Dreamin' (2007)

5 Feb 2009, 7:30 p.m.

Internationally acclaimed, an absolute gem coming from the refreshing recent Romanian new wave.

05 Film: Baran (2001)

5 Mar 2009, 7:30 p.m.

This month's Cinema of the World season brings you a sheer delight from Iran. In a building site in present-day Tehran, Lateef, a 17-year-old Kurdish worker is irresistibly drawn to Rahmat, a young Afghan worker. The revelation of Rahmat's secret changes both their lives.

07 Film: Vhs Kahloucha (2006)

7 May 2009, 7:30 p.m.

In this unusual film, Tunisia's premier amateur auteur filmmaker is portrayed with loving honesty and gut-busting hilarity in this thrilling documentary.

03 Film: Cinema Of The World: America/India - Sita Sings The Blues (2008)

3 Sep 2009, 7:30 p.m.

Sita is a goddess separated from her beloved Lord and husband Rama. Nina is an animator whose husband moves to India, then dumps her by email. Three hilarious shadow puppets narrate both ancient tragedy and modern comedy in this beautifully animated interpretation of the Indian epic Ramayana, scored with 1920's jazz. Director Nina Paley has taken the unusual step of making Sita Sings The Blues available to everyone under a Creative Commons License so the film will be beamed to our plush auditorium direct from the internet.

01 Film: Cinema Of The World - Ramchand Pakastani (2008)

1 Oct 2009, 7:30 p.m.

showing in partnership with the Pakastan Cultural Society

03 Film: Cinema Of The World - Waltz With Bashir (2008)

3 Dec 2009, 7:30 p.m.

This is simply one of the best films of 2008

07 Film: Cinema Of The World: Tulpan (2008)

7 Jan 2010, 7:30 p.m.

By a celebrated film-maker, this film has won awards all over the place.

04 Film: Cinema Of The World; Son Of A Lion (2007)

4 Feb 2010, 7:30 p.m.

This brave film is set in the troubled region of the Hindu Kush, the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan. It tells of a boy, resistant to picking up his father's trade of gun-making as he challenges the expectations of those around him. Made secretly and with non-professsionals this is rough, gorgeous cinema that speaks from the heart. this film speaks of personal freedom, AK47s and poetry.

04 Film: Cinema Of The World: The Pool (2008)

4 Mar 2010, 7:30 p.m.

A new film from India delving into the curiosity we human beings possess. Look through the eyes of a young man working in a hotel in India. Follow his dream, over the garden wall, through the mango branches, into the neighbouring house with its wealth and allure…This is a story both authentically specific and profoundly global.

01 Film: Shirin (2008)

1 Apr 2010, 7:30 p.m.

A homage to the women of Iran. With Shirin, the highly regarded Abbas Kiarostami continues to explore the potential of cinema , reimagining an iconic story, based on a 12th century Persian poem, through showing us an audience of women deeply absorbed in watching a film we never see ; an activity women have traditionally been excluded from in Iran.

20 Film: The Circle (Dayereh) Screening In Support Of Jafar Panahi (2000)

20 Apr 2010, 7:30 p.m.

Jafar Panahi, internationally acclaimed Iranian filmmaker has been arrested and held without charge following a raid on his Tehran home in March. We're screening one of his films tonight as part of an international campaign to show our support, with cinemas around the world screening his films this week. We're screening The Circle (Dayereh) which won 11 awards internationally including the prestigious Golden Lion in Venice: Set over the course of a single day, Jafar Panahi's powerful film is an ensemble piece that tells the stark tales of several young Iranian women and the harsh society in which they live. Beginning with a childbirth, and the ensuing despair at the discovery that the baby is a girl, the film touches upon the myriad hardships endured by women living in Iran's male dominated world of bureaucracy, constant surveillance and age old inequalities. But even in the midst of this stifling environment, the spirit, strength and courage of the circle of women cannot be extinguished. Panahi's gripping and controversial film is further confirmation that Iranian cinema is now among the most original, vital and exciting in the world. 'Cries out to be seen… Devastating' - THE INDEPENDENT 'Arresting and deeply involving' - EMPIRE 'Powerful' - FILM REVIEW 'Powerful… This is a compelling, humane and deeply serious film' - THE GUARDIAN 'One of the outstanding films of the year' - WHAT'S ON 'Compelling… Essential, if devastating viewing. Don't hesitate' - TIME OUT info taken from Artificial Eye, the films distributors: http://www.artificial-eye.com/film.php?dvd=ART212DVD

13 Film: The Gold Diggers (1983)

13 May 2010, 7:30 p.m.

A feminist sci-fi musical extravaganza… Gold Diggers is a key film from Eighties feminist cinema. Made with an all-woman crew, it features stunning photography, an awesome score and a radical and experimental narrative structure. As Ruby and Celeste cross paths they come to sense that there could be a link between the male struggle for economic supremacy and the female ideal of mysterious but impotent beauty.

02 Film: The Goat Horn (1972)

2 Dec 2010, 7:30 p.m.

A Bulgarian classic from 1972. The degree of freedom to artistic expression is extra-ordinary, especially if replaced into the context of the political environment prevailing in Bulgaria in the 70s. The absence of dialogue and music, together with Black and White cinematography emphasize the dramatic content of the movie. The direction is remarkable, and the play is first-class. Definitely, the best Bulgarian movie, and a must-see for every cinephile.