UPCOMING SCREENINGS
Algonquin Theatre, Main Street Huntsville - 7pm for all films
MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2025
Widow Clicquot
Set in France during the Napoleonic Wars, Widow Clicquot tells the true story of Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, the “Grande Dame of Champagne,” otherwise known as Veuve Clicquot.
After her husband's untimely death, Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot flouts convention by assuming the reins of the fledgling wine business they had nurtured together. Steering the company through dizzying political and financial reversals, she defies her critics and revolutionizes the champagne industry to become one of the world's first great businesswomen.
Challenged by the capriciousness of the seasons, the aggressive competitor Monsieur Moët, and the Napoleonic Code of 1804 barring women from running businesses, the elegant and luminous widow must succeed or lose everything. Named Veuve (the French word for widow) at age 27, she is determined to protect her family’s legacy and boldly challenge the men — as well as the state — set on stripping her of her vineyards.
Telling the tale in retrospect and reflection over a 10-year span from approximately 1797 to 1807, director Thomas Napper entwines a sparkling story of flourishing female entrepreneurship with an account of doomed lovers whose legacy reverberates in the bubbles.
Director: Thomas Napper | France, United Kingdom
English | 2023 | 90 minutes | Featuring: Haley Bennett, Tom Sturridge,
Sam Riley | Distributor: Renaissance Media
Content advisory: Sexuality and nudity
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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2025
Conclave
Oscar nominees Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci lead a brilliant ensemble cast in director Edward Berger’s (All Quiet on the Wester Front) stunning adaption of Robert Harris’ high-stakes drama, in which Cardinals gather at the Vatican to elect a new Pope.
When the Pope unexpectedly dies, Cardinals from all over the world rush to the Vatican, where they immediately sequester themselves. Digital devices are stashed, doors are locked, and windows are shuttered as they prepare for the highly secretive election of a new leader — one who will not only provide spiritual guidance for the world’s Catholics, but also set the tone for the future.
Cardinal Lawrence (Fiennes) oversees the proceedings, assuming that the contest will come down to a battle between the reactionary, openly racist Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto) and the liberal progressive Cardinal Bellini (Tucci). And matters soon turn complicated as rumours circulate, secrets emerge, and acts of sabotage are undertaken.
Conclave unfolds over a tension-riddled 72 hours, depicting a gripping confrontation between tradition, politics, and faith. Featuring brilliant supporting performances — most notably from Isabella Rossellini as the silent yet formidable Sister Agnes — it focuses on the all-too-human aspects of a hallowed procedure, one that speculates on the role of religion in a rapidly changing world.
Director: Edward Berger
USA, United Kingdom | English, Italian | 2024 | 120 minutes
Featuring: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow
Distributor: Elevation Pictures
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2025
My Happy Ending
My Happy Ending is a poignant and funny female ensemble comedy about four women laughing in the face of adversity, that packs a strong emotional punch. Julia Roth (Andie MacDowell), a somewhat forgotten Hollywood star, discovers she has cancer the day the West End play that was supposed to be her comeback is cancelled.
Not fully understanding the magnitude of this discovery, she decides to go to a chemo clinic in Kent, seeking obscurity and privacy, and get it "taken care of" before returning to the US with her tail between her legs. To her horror, having mistaken what the doctor meant by 'private' she finds herself stuck within a general ward with members of the public, three very different women (an aging rocker, a 28-year-old Muslim mother of four, and a forever single retired schoolteacher who doesn't even have a cat), undergoing their usual round of treatment. She calls her manager Nancy to come in and "Fix it", which she promptly does. But as the group let her in on some of the realities she has to look forward to, she realises these strangers are the only ones who can really help her deal with the most difficult role she has ever played - herself. (IMDB)
Directors: Tal Granit, Sharon Maymon
Featuring: Andie MacDowell, Sally Phillips, Miriam Margolyes, Miriam Margolyes
2023 | Israel, United Kingdom (filmed in Wales)
Language: English
Distributor: levelFILM
Content advisory: Language and brief drug use
MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2025
Ghostlight
A middle-aged construction worker finds purpose in a local theatre production of Romeo and Juliet in this family drama featuring a very funny Dolly De Leon (Triangle of Sadness).
When Dan (Keith Kupferer), a melancholic middle-aged construction worker, finds himself drifting from his wife and daughter after his son’s suicide, he discovers community and purpose in a local theatre’s production of Romeo and Juliet. But as the drama on stage starts to mirror his own life, he finds the tragedies of the play too close to his own. Unwilling to confront his grief at home, he begins to confront his loss through the play. Funny and heartwarming, Ghostlight is an exploration of how we feel love and loss through art. The poignancy of the film is enhanced by the fact that the actors who portray the family in the film are in fact a family in real life.
One of IMDB Staff Picks Favourite Dramas of 2024: An unexpected delight: this earnest and honest portrayal of a grieving family (played by a real-life father, mother, and daughter) delivers on its intentions and elevates a potentially cheesy/melodramatic premise into a profoundly meaningful story. As someone who was not exactly what you would call a theater kid, this movie highlighted for me how the shared communal experience of the theater can help enlighten new meanings when retelling even the most familiar stories. — Devin G.
Director(s): Kelly O'Sullivan, Alex Thompson
USA | English | 2024 | 110 minutes
Featuring: Keith Kupferer, Katherine Mallen Kupferer, Dolly De Leon
Distributor: Renaissance MediaContent advisory: coarse language
MONDAY, MARCH 17, 2025
The Martini Shot
This existential comedy follows an ailing movie director as he shoots what he believes to be his final work of art. What starts out as a normal movie, ends up being an exploration of mortality and one's profound effect on the world.
While The Martini Shot boasts internationally acclaimed actors Mathew Modine, John Cleese and Derek Jacobi as its stars, it’s the film’s local connection that will likely pique the interest of Muskoka audiences most. The writer/director Stephen Wallis lives in Sprucedale; executive producer James Robson resides in Kearney and producer Mike Godfrey is a Huntsville native with family still living here. And, according to IMDB the film has 59 wins at various film festivals in North American and Europe.
Who knew we had such cinematic talents in our own backyard? Readers of the Muskoka Region would if they saw this article about the film and it's ties to the local community.
Writer/Director: Stephen Wallis
Ireland | 2024 |
Featuring: Mathew Modine, John Cleese and Derek Jacobi
MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2025
Sing Sing
Divine G (Colman Domingo), imprisoned at Sing Sing for a crime he didn't commit, finds purpose by acting in a theatre group alongside other incarcerated men, including wary newcomer (Clarence Maclin), in this stirring true story of resilience, humanity, and the transformative power of art.
Oscar nominee Domingo gives one of the most memorable and affecting performances of his career, bolstered by a cast made up almost entirely of formerly incarcerated actors and alumni of the Rehabilitation Through the Arts programme at Sing Sing Correctional Facility.
Their participation brings an authenticity to the group’s founding principle that human dignity must be a part of the justice system. Directed with a dynamism that matches the charm, mischief, and compassion of the men themselves, Sing Sing recognizes the value of a place we can gather in which to discuss, debate, and create, wherever that may be. It’s an ode to art as a process, much the same as life, through which we can strive to better understand ourselves and each other.
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2025 Nominee Golden Globe - Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama (for Colman Domingo)
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SXSW Film Festival - 2024 Winner Audience Award
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IMDB Staff Pick 2024 - Drama
Director: Greg Kwedar
USA | 2023 | 105m | English
Featuring: Colman Domingo, Clarence Maclin, Sean San Jose
Content advisory: themes of suicide; mature themes; violence; coarse language