Get out of the house on the third Wednesday evening of each month and enjoy films on the big screen with us!

The Drill Hall Film Society screens classic films at an affordable price in comfortable tiered seating in our air-conditioned theatre. Grab a delicious snack and beverage from the bar, and be part of our lively film discussions after each show.

Become a Film Society subscriber for just $60 and gain entry to 11 films/year (or $50 if you’re a Drill Hall Theatre Company associate member). Casual guest rates cost $10/film.

Renewals due in July.

Contact Sonia on 0406 090 260 or email on [email protected] for more information or to become a member.

Wednesday 16th October @ 7pm
A Separation (2011)

Winner of the 2011 Academy Award for the Best Foreign Language Film and also a nominee for Asghar Farhadi’s triumphant and remarkably authentic screenplay, the Iranian film A Separation is one of the best family dramas in recent times in any language.

Nader is a man whose entire life seems to be disintegrating around him. His wife, Simin, wants to leave their native Iran and take their daughter with her. Nader, however, feels that he must stay in Iran to care for his father, who is experiencing increasing signs of dementia. Nader is a man of modest means, and attempting to pay for both child and elder care is a daunting task even if such a caretaker can be found. When he does eventually find someone who minimally meets the requirements, she presents with her own baggage including a temperamental husband.

The beauty of A Separation is the universality of its themes, messages and conflicts. Most of us in the West will have a pre-conceived notion regarding life in Iran. We see the newspapers, hear the politicians and watch the media and integrate their biases, notions and judgments into what we believe life in Iran to most closely resemble. A Separation is a reminder that for a good majority of persons in the world, the issues and concerns that impact us all are far more common than we often admit.

Of course, there’s also simply the fact that A Separation is an incredibly good film that is both beautifully acted and directed with a script that was most worthy of its Oscar nomination and probably deserved to win it.

While the film’s themes and ideas are universal, A Separation also offers a rare but fair glimpse into the lives of Iran’s middle class and the culture’s patriarchal and class-based society. It is both interesting and harrowing to watch how the decisions made by both Nader and Simin lead to consequences that impact far more than just the immediate family. Nader, in particular, is strongly impacted by his decision to hire a disciplined Muslim woman from the lower class whose presence will prove incredibly challenging. Wisely, Farhadi doesn’t paint these characters as all good or all bad but simply all caught up in their own humanity.