The Lemon Tree - Friday 15th May, 7.30pm

On the border separating Israel and the West Bank, a widow earns her small income by tending her lemon tree grove. The Israeli Minister of Defense lives alongside the trees, which to him pose an unacceptable security risk. That's when good neighbours...

Despite her seeming powerlessness, Salma refuses to remove the trees planted by her father half a century ago and she finds an unlikely ally in the minister's wife. A young lawyer takes on her case and fights it right to the Supreme Court.

Salma, the widow David to the Israeli army's Goliath, is played by Hiam Abbass, who we saw recently as a grieving mother in that wonderful film The Visitor.

Based on actual events, The Lemon Tree recevied wide critical acclaim as a sensitive, gentle look at the Israeli-Palestine conflict as felt by the people that live there.

"Like the fruit of the lemon tree, The Lemon Tree is an astringent film, but just as welcome to the palate, in the right context," wrote Andrew L Urban of Urban Cinefiles.

"After The Band;s Visit and Waltz With Bashir there’s no doubt that Israeli cinema is doing exceptionally well at the moment with films that intelligently and with humanism explore the main source of conflict in the region," said Margaret Pomeratz of ABC1's At the Movies.

"A beautiful example of how a film can explore grand themes in microcosm," said Jim Slotek of Jam! Movies.

The Lemon Tree screens this Friday 17th April at 7.30pm at Port Fairy Cinema in Bank Street. Memberships available at the door with free tea and coffee provided. Please note we have simplified our membership structure (don't worry, it's exactly the same prices and deal, just simpler to understand than the previous system - we hope!) From this month ALL members who don't have 6 or 12 month memberships purchase 3-month memberships at the door for $24/$20 concession with the option of paying HALF on first visit (i.e $12/$10 - the same as current visitor passes) and half on second visit, with the third film free. These are valid to use until Feb 2010. All current membership cards floating around will still be valid.

Click below to watch trailer:

Persepolis - February 20th 7.30pm

Persepolis is Port Fairy Film Society’s February screening. Review by Damien Becker.

Animation grew up long ago thanks largely to Japanese anime and Pixar, but audiences for ‘cartoons’, no matter how worthy the subject matter, can still be tricky to find. Some people just can’t seem to bond with drawings.

If this sounds like you, Persepolis might change your mind. The film looks at the Iranian revolution of the seventies through the voice of Marjane, a teenage girl with a dangerous love of punk rock. Marjane, like the film itself, is smart and endearingly straightforward. The revolution brings oppression and regression, especially for wisecracking rebellious teenage girls. This is a painful memory, but she doesn’t flinch in the telling of it with bite and humour.

Persepolis is a film of an autobiographic comic about an Iranian girl fleeing to France while speaking mostly in English. It sounds confusing, but it’s easy to watch and enjoy. It also chronicles a forgotten story, when Iran was open and tolerant until change came both insidiously and frighteningly swiftly.

The more sophisticated cinema effects technology and the fancier the editing gets, the clearer it is whether the people involved know what they’re doing as old fashioned filmmakers. A good story well told visually is still the foundation of the best films, as it always was.

Two recent animations, Persepolis and Waltz With Bashir have wowed audiences and critics even as they tackled difficult aspects of Middle East history. Persepolis beat all conventional films to win the Jury Prize at Cannes. Waltz With Bashir has even been nominated for an Oscar in a general film category, Best Foreign Language Picture.

The animation of Persepolis is hand-drawn but sharp and magical, and what it lacks in effects trickery it replaces with heartfelt, clever writing and clear visual style.

“An uplifting, funny, moving fable about the difference between the ideal of freedom and the real thing,” wrote Jim Schembri of The Age.

“A unique insight into life in Iran from the point of view of a young girl, this observant cinematic impression sears itself into our consciousness by its simplicity,” said Louise Keller from Urban Cinefiles.

“Four stars… this is a hymn to the human spirit, to a young woman who refused to let fundamentalism destroy her love of life,” said David Stratton, of ABC-TV’s At the Movies.

Screening starts at 7.30pm. Memberships available at the door, tea and coffee provided.

Click below to watch trailer:

The Band's Visit - December 12th 7.30pm

The Band’s Visit is Port Fairy Film Society’s December screening this Friday 7.30pm.

Comedy can’t end wars. But sometimes it can help cut through the unremitting complexity of conflict and grief by presenting us with the simple maxim: our stories are shared, so let’s laugh about it together.

The Band’s Visit revisits the Israeli-Arab issue with a clever set-up. An Egyptian police band due to perform at an Arab cultural centre becomes stranded at a remote Jewish village in Israel due to a miscommunication with a bus driver. In their bright blue police uniforms and carrying enormous instrument cases, they are less fish out of water than a pod of beached whales.

When the enemy is humanised, and needs our help, it generally brings out the best in people, and so it is – eventually - with the townfolk of Peta Tikva. The helpless dignity of the men and the generosity of the women in particular provide some interesting and amusing culture clash moments. With a lovely coming-of-age subplot and an emphasis on the shared love of music, the film is touching and memorable.

“The Band's Visit (is) a witty, elegant and deeply affecting film,” said David Stratton in The Australian.

“A film of quiet intensity, hard edged charm and surprising revelations, The Band's Visit straddles comedy and drama with ease," wrote Andrew L. Urban from Urban Cinefiles.

To get the audience in the mood, and to celbrate our final film of the year, the Port Fairy Band will be performing in the theatre shortly before the screening.

Screening starts at 7.30pm. Memberships available at the door, tea and coffee provided.

Click below to watch trailer: