by AMY

October Film Club

The Women’s Library Film Club has three films under discussion in October. The directors this month are Andrea Arnold, Sophie Hyde, and Mounia Meddour from the UK, Australia, and Algeria

Sunday 3 October: Fish Tank (2009) on SBS on Demand

Directed by: Andrea Arnold, UK

Andrea Arnold’s award-winning coming-of-age drama tells the story of Mia, a volatile and socially isolated 15-year-old who lives with her single mother and younger sister. When her party-loving mother brings home a handsome new Irish boyfriend (Michael Fassbender), everything begins to change.

Watch here: Fish Tank

The film has been reviewed on Little White Lies and The Guardian

Sunday 17 October: Animals (2019) on SBS on Demand

Directed by Sophie Hyde, Australia

Laura and Tyler have been flatmates and best friends for 10 years, marauding around the streets of Dublin, rejecting the expectations that bombard modern women and acting purely on desire. For Tyler, this is the best version of life, even with the inevitable hangovers, but when Laura’s (younger) sister Jean gets pregnant… on purpose… Laura panics. Should she still be partying into her mid-thirties? And where has her supposed talent as an aspiring writer got her, apart from notebooks full of scribbles?

Watch here: Animals

Here’s a review by Kate Stables and another on Corner Stone.

Sunday 31 October: Papicha (2019) on SBS on Demand

Directed by: Mounia Meddour, Algeria, France

Algeria, 1990s. Nedjma, an 18 year-old student passionate about fashion design refuses to let the tragic events of the Algerian Civil War to keep her from experiencing a normal life and going out at night with her friend Wassila. As the social climate becomes more conservative, she rejects the new bans set by the radicals and decides to fight for her freedom and independence by putting on a fashion show.

Here’s an interview with the director and a critique by Anna Battista.

Watch here: Papicha

Here’s how the Film Club works:

  • You sign up to join the film club
  • We add your name to the mailing list
  • You watch the film any time before the Sunday discussion
  • We send you a link to the discussion group
  • You join the discussion on Sunday at 18:00

If you would like to become a member of The Women’s Library please complete a Membership Application and we will get back to you within a few days.

Image Credit: Still from Animals, directed by Sophie Hyde