Get ready for more films, more activities, and more laughs in the Mercury Cinema’s biggest programme for over 50s yet.
Seniors on Screen in 2016 is a complete bonanza of fabulous films, launching on 5 February 2016 with an audience favourite from the Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival, Heavenly Nomadic. Set in the high remote mountains of Kyrgyzstan, this visually majestic film tells the poignant story of a family of nomads living the old ways as modernity looms. Heavenly Nomadic is characterised by beautiful performances by adults and children alike.
The Mercury Cinema’s carefully curated and exciting film program for the over 50s shows the world’s most interesting and entertaining films. This year, films from the Seniors on Screen programme are previewed in The Sunday Sessions at 4pm each Sunday, catering to film buffs who can’t make the popular mid-week morning sessions, which run every Tuesday & Friday morning at 10:45am.
While the Sunday Sessions is for everyone, people are encouraged to bring a senior in their life with them. Regular audience members accompanied by a senior can get a $10 ticket when accompanied by a senior paying $7.
Notable Seniors on Screen programme highlights this year will include:
- The must-see, Academy Award nominee Room starring Brie Larson, Joan Allen and William Macy, which tells the story of a woman and a young child, who escape capture from their imprisonment in a single room. This acclaimed drama focuses on the aftermath of the mother re-entering the world with her son for the first time.
- The programme also features a number of Oscar-contenders including Carol, The Revenant, Son of Saul, 45 years and Brooklyn.
- Tangerine, made entirely on an iPhone 5s, tells the story of a transgender working girl’s Christmas eve as she searches West Hollywood for her cheating boyfriend.
- The amazing Aferim!, a western homage set in 19th century Wallachia, follows the story of a policeman searching for an escaped gypsy slave.
Throughout the Adelaide Fringe the Mercury Cinema will present Good Morning Comedy, a weekly, Wednesday morning comedy gala at 11am. Expect a hilarious line-up of international, national and local comedy talent including Ray Bradshaw (UK) and Gordon Southern (UK) confirmed, with more to be revealed soon.
For seniors interested in getting behind the screens, the Media Resource Centre will also run film-making workshops especially for over 50s:
- The Digital Storytelling workshop guides participants through the creation of short, personal multimedia tales told from the heart. This is a much-loved workshop, which invariably sells out.
- My Place is a new two-day seniors documentary workshop initiative with peer-to-peer and intergenerational support. Ten participants will work in pairs to assist each other to tell their stories.
For the past nine years the Media Resource Centre has presented the Ruby Award winning Seniors on Screen screening programme for over 50s at the Mercury Cinema. Around 140 (and sometimes up to 186) over-50s come through our doors to share a cuppa, partake in conversation with new and old friends and enjoy a specially curated film.
The success of Seniors on Screen rests not only in the $7 tickets, free cuppa and warm welcome. It’s also due to the intelligent and carefully curated programming choices of contemporary cinema from notable international film festivals with a smattering of retrospective highlights. The programming is not pitched to a pre-conceived “older person” audience but is undertaken with this sensitivity in mind.
To make a bookings or find out more, phone (08) 8410 1934 or visit the Mercury Cinema website and the Media Resource Centre website.
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