Next month Light House Cinema will present probably their finest ever season of films with HACKS, a season focused on the world of journalism in all its forms. The selection of films covers television, print, online and everything in between.
HACKS aims to engage Dublin audiences in a discussion about the importance of great journalism in society, where we’re going wrong and what can be done to improve the standards of how we receive share and process information.
From Citizen Kane to The Social Network, this season considers the history of journalism – the high points and the low points – and in doing so brings some of the greatest films in cinema history back to the big screen.
Tickets can be purchased via the Light House Cinema website.
Almost Famous Karaoke Party
2 Sept, 9.30pm
Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous is an intelligent look at the music industry with all it’s magic and mayhem through the eyes of an aspiring rock journalist as he follows a rock band Stillwater out on the road. We like to kick off our seasons with a bang so this screening will be followed by a big screen rock karaoke party!
All The President’s Men
6 Sept, 3pm & 8.30 pm | 9 Sept 10.30pm
The power of print journalism was never so brilliantly captured than by William Goldman’s
immaculate screenplay for Alan J. Pakula’s account of the Woodward and Bernstein’s
investigation into the Watergate scandal. Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman co-star in this brilliant political thriller that feels as relevant today as it ever did.
Network
8 Sept, 10.30pm | 11 Sept, 3.00pm & 8.30pm
Network is a film that has resonated with audiences for decades and continues to act as
an evisceration of mainstream media and the commercialisation of news media. Howard Beale’s “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore” on-air rant is one of cinema’s most iconic moments and deserves big-screen appreciation.
The Killing Fields
9 Sept, 3.00pm | 19 Sept, 8.30pm
The world of war photography is fraught with danger and dark insights into the human cost of war. A number of films have tried to delve into this but Oliver Stone’s The Killing Fields is one of the most enduring. Set in Cambodia, the film follows the friendship between a New York Times journalist and his Cambodian interpreter against the backdrop of around the Khmer Rouge regime. An unforgettable and epic insight into the true cost of war.
Citizen Kane 35mm
10 Sept, 2.00pm | 14 Sept, 3.00pm & 8.30pm
Not only is Citizen Kane universally revered as one of Hollywood’s most perfect offerings, but it serves as a wonderful origin story of mainstream print media as Orson Welles plays a fictionalised version of William Randolph Hearst and his rise to the top of the media world. Simply unmissable.
The Social Network
15 Sept, 10.30pm | 16 Sept, 3.00pm
While David Fincher’s seminal 2010 drama is not strictly about journalism, this darkly entertaining look at the inception of Facebook is a timely comment about how we share news today and the innovators who control technology and data on such a massive scale.
*film followed by Social Networks and their impact on journalism panel discussion
Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas
18 Sept, 8.30pm | 29 Sept, 10.30pm
And now for something completely different… Terry Gilliam takes on Hunter S. Thompson, a
true journalistic innovator whose unique brand of “gonzo” journalism was chaotic, unobjective and featured the writer as protagonist – a useful tool in viewing subjects from a different angle, if not always terribly reliable. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is an adaptation that stays admirably true to this drug-induced mayhem.
Nightcrawler
21 Sept, 8.30pm | 22 Sept, 10.30pm
Dan Gilroy’s ambitious look at the bloodlust in television news works on so many levels. It’s noirish tendencies and sociopathic protagonist propels it into thriller territory while the writer-director’s eye is clearly cast on discussing the type of person that ends up succeeding in such an industry. One of Jake Gyllenhaal’s many brilliant performances,
Lou Bloom is one of modern cinema’s greatest and most terrifying creations
In Cold Blood
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loRNwWFHvw
23 Sept, 10.30pm
Based upon Truman Capote’s brilliant true crime novel, Richard Brooks’ In Cold Blood follows two criminals on Death Row for the cold-blooded murder of an entire family. The subject and the characters are handled with sensitivity and humanity, giving some of the most intimate access to the criminal mind ever seen on film.
Cinema Book Club: Capote
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rWX7AFoOy
25 Sept, 6.30pm
We’re doing things a little differently this month for Cinema Book Club. We’re reading Truman Capote’s brilliant true crime novel In Cold Blood following murderers Dick Hickock and Perry Smith and watching Bennett’s Miller account of the writing of the novel in his Oscar winning film, Capote starring Philip Seymour Hoffman as the author. As an added bonus, we’ll be screening Richard Brook’s film adaptation of In Cold Blood on September 23rd.
The Devil Wears Prada + Panel Discussion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTDSwAxlNhc
27 Sept, 8.30pm
While on the surface, The Devil Wears Prada appears to be fairly conventional chick-flick fare, there’s a lot more zeitgeist-chewing going on under the layers of this film. Featuring a truly iconic turn by Meryl Streep as a thinly veiled and somewhat dramatised version of Anna Wintour, this biting comedy-drama is a great big-screen experience.
The screening will be followed by a discussion about the current state of fashion journalism, from print media to online blogging and beyond.
Goodnight and Good Luck 35mm
24 Sept, 3.00pm | 6 Oct, 10.30pm
Directed by George Clooney, Goodnight and Good Luck is a clever and stylish drama about
television journalists Edward R Murrow and Fred Friendly who took on controversial US Senator Joseph McCarthy, leader of the Communist witch hunt in 1950s America.
Zodiac 35mm
30 Sept, 10.30pm | 4 Oct, 8.30pm
It’s hard to believe that a decade has passed since Zodiac hit cinema screens. All the more reason to celebrate David Fincher’s dark and brilliant dissection of the famed Zodiac killer and their relationship with the San Francisco Chronicle.
Thrilling, intelligent, occasionally terrifying and featuring one of the finest casts ever assembled, do not miss your chance to catch Zodiac on the big screen on 35mm.
Anchorman Sex Panther Moustache Party!
7 October, Party 9.00pm, Film 10.30pm
Infinitely quotable, consistently hilarious and packed full of genius comedy moments, Anchorman is a film with a special place in a lot of hearts. Ron Burgundy is San Diego’s top rated newsman in the male-dominated broadcasting of the ’70s, but that’s all about to change for Ron and his cronies when an ambitious woman is hired as a new anchor. Come join us for 70’s vibes, snazzy suits, a fine glass of scotch and massive moustaches for our very special Anchorman Sex Panther Moustache Party!
Light House Cinema is a specialist independent cinema committed to programming the best Irish and International films. Their eclectic schedule includes feature films, shorts, classics, foreign language and animated films, feature length documentaries, Event Cinema, inventive special events, seasons and festivals.
In addition to their core specialist programming, they show films that might be considered more ‘commercial art house’ and films that crossover into mainstream cinema when they believe that the film or its talent (writer, director, cast) are of particular interest to their audience.
For more info on the exciting things going on at Light House Cinema check out www.lighthousecinema.ie.