Cinema Nova showcasing old movies this month

Cinema Nova in Lygon Court Carlton is screening a selection of retrospectives and double features to celebrate cinema favourites on the big screen throughout April.

The Anniversary Party program is designed for movie buffs, nostalgia tragics or ordinary cinema patrons who haven’t had their fill of watching and discussing the nominees and winner of this year’s Academy Award’s Best Picture.

It kicks off on Wednesday, April 6, with the 2003 Academy Awards’ Best Picture winner Chicago and finishes up on Wednesday, May 4 with the ultraviolent satire Robocop, winner of a Special Achievement Award at the 1988 Academy Awards.

Cinema Nova CEO Kristian Connelly is responsible for scheduling and programming alongside co-owners Natalie Miller and Barry Peak.

Mr Connelly said the first factor for the April retrospective program choices was the lack of new films for Australian cinemas to present during the first 12 to 18 months of the pandemic.

“I found many of the selections of ‘retro’ titles to be uninspired and cliched,” he said.

“It was the same films seemingly being screened ad nauseam, all over the country.”

“It was like the history of cinema was limited to only a handful of shows; I was disappointed that cinematic memory could run so shallow.”

It was a similar story of not many new releases on offer from the studios when Mr Connelly visited the USA in January 2022.

Many of the films were older releases, never seen or had not been screened for many years in Australia.

“The enthusiasm for these films was remarkable among US audiences, which was enormously inspirational [for me],” he said.

“I was also fortunate that when it came to Anniversary screenings, 2022 coincides with a considerable number of banner years of cinema including 1982, 1987 and 1997; all formative years for me as a moviegoer, long before I joined the industry.”

Grab a wine and a snack or two on Sunday nights to take you through the long haul of April’s Double Trouble screenings.

It could be two movies by the same director, like Baz Luhrmann’s spectacular Moulin Rouge and Romeo and Juliet or back-to-back films from the same genre, such as anime adventures Spirited Away and Porco Rosso.

“The response to previous retrospective programs has been a mixed bag,” Mr Connelly said.

“We find there are several evergreen retrospective titles including releases like 2001 A Space Odyssey, Midsommar, Lawrence of Arabia and, of course, The Room, our cult hit that has been screening for 13 years straight.”

“We also find that screenings from filmmakers that we have championed in the past, such as Bong Joon Ho, Edgar Wright, Yorgos Lanthimos and Paul Thomas Anderson, are popular among those looking to learn more about the best filmmakers working today.”

“The response to the 1982 visual epic Koyaanisqatsi, the first Anniversary Party film we screened in March, was beyond my wildest expectations.”

For more information: cinemanova.com.au/events/anniversary-party

Image: Cinema Nova CEO Kristian Connelly