Three English girls walk into a bar… many, many bars, in fact. In Malia, Crete. How to Have Sex is the ironically titled feature debut from director Molly Manning Walker. Mia McKenna-Bruce does a star turn as Tara, hoping to lose her virginity on a “Best holiday ever!” with her two best mates, against the looming backdrop of soon-to-be released A-level exam results. Remarkably, Walker is able to color this story richly with absolutely no nudity.

Tonight (once again, he says, puffing up his feathers) we were transported to another world, via the magic of cinema. This is why I do this.

Right now, I’m feeling pretty chuffed, as the Brits say. Chuffed = Proud. I’ve been waiting for months to get my hands on this one, and to show it to my NewScreeners who, of course, were suitably blown away by it. Although I never had a teacher quite like Ms. Nowak (Leonie Benesch), she left me to ponder one or two of them who put their indelible mark on my budding personhood. I suspect that my guests had similar associations.

Our short intro feature tonight, while somewhat outdated, kept the German flavor coming. It’s a well-trodden meme of a scene from Downfall, but remains wonderfully funny. Sorry I can’t find a current link…

Billy Wilder’s The Apartment seems to have become the official holiday movie at NewScreen. So far, we have watched it on 1/12/10, 12/18/14, 12/23/22, and now on 12/27. Also, this was only the second screening* we’ve had between Christmas and New Year. Always great to watch, and tonight’s turnout was somewhat unexpected. Not only that, but we had two guests who had managed to not see it before. Success! Education-wise, I mean.

*Assuming that anyone actually reads this, can you name the other one? Hint: It has something to do with what the British call December 26th.

Once again, a great night at NewScreen. I’m happy that regulars are turning up with friends… new blood!

Ang Lee’s The Ice Storm was so good to watch again and, as always, great to watch with a room full of people. Although it’s ultimately quite a bleak story, it’s thought-provoking, and laced with plenty of laughs. Incidentally, it was set exactly 50 years ago.

And also… the return of Evil Beaver. lol

NewScreen was on fire again tonight (sorry… couldn’t resist) with the return of director Christian Petzold. Petzold has held this audience in silent rapture in past MovieNights with Barbara, Phoenix, and The State I Am In, but this was his first NewScreen appearance. With Afire (Roter Himmel) he mixes in more humor than usual, but somehow, that humor serves to heighten the drama.

To me, there is nothing quite as gratifying as looking out from my “station”, behind the bar upon a room full of transfixed faces. That’s what this is all about.

Another great night here tonight… a fascinating glimpse into the world of First Alaskan peoples, fighting to resist changes imposed by a modern world, and a warming planet. Filmmakers Peter Chelkowski and Jim Wickens brought us there, with a combination of intimate conversations with members of (mostly) one family, exciting hunting footage, and extraordinary drone photography.

I feel lucky to have been able to show this. I’m pretty sure my guests will be thinking about it for days.

The last time I showed this sexy thriller was in December of 2016, during the final season of MovieNight in the old place. Every time I watch it, I find myself on the edge of my seat and tonight was no exception. Read My Lips managed to attract enough people who had never seen it before. Dare I say we’re 3-0 with this new season? I’ll try to keep up the pace!

Our short this week was another quirky music video, this time featuring Audrey Nuna. Locket, directed by Valentin Petit.

Thanks to Igor for bringing the Latvian herring for me to serve with my fresh-baked Borodinski bread. Legit. Good times!

For our second feature in this new season, I had a complication on Wednesday, so switched to Thursday, November 8th, in the email. November 8th was actually a Wednesday, so some confusion ensued. It also turned out that this sudden change of day conflicted with the plans of my loyal regulars… I almost cancelled, but you know what? The show must go on, and so it did.

Tonight turned out to be a blast, and attendance greatly exceeded my expectations. And what a thrill it was to see this movie again on the big screen. I’m pretty sure I figured out how the famous last shot was done!

I’ll try to announce next week’s feature a bit earlier though.

Our short tonight was a beautiful bit of animation: Flora by Ian Frederick.

What a way to start off a new season! A German rom-com! Who knew?

I was delighted to be surprised by this movie earlier this year… I wasn’t expecting it to be so well observed and funny. Apparently you were all delighted too, judging from the applause.

In my opinion (always humble) Ich bin dein Mensch could’ve be better translated, and more ironic, as I’m Your Human. Seems like someone in marketing didn’t do their job properly… which perhaps explains why an excellent film from two years ago remains relatively unknown.

Thanks to all who came out on this chilly follow-up to Halloween. Tonight’s short was the exciting and sexy music video of Tanto, by Cassie Marin.