Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, MOONRISE KINGDOM tells the story of two twelve-year-olds who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore - and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in more ways than anyone can handle. Bruce Willis plays the local sheriff. Edward Norton is a Khaki Scout troop leader. Bill Murray and Frances McDormand portray the young girl's parents. The cast also includes Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, and Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward as the boy and girl.

Join us at Unit Twelve for this screening in our intimate pop-up cinema.

The Pocket Film Club is part of Spotlight on Staffordshire made possible with support from the BFI using funds from the National Lottery.

Wilding tells the story of a young couple that bets on nature for the future of their failing, four-hundred-year-old estate. The young couple battles entrenched tradition, and dares to place the fate of their farm in the hands of nature. Ripping down the fences, they set the land back to the wild and entrust its recovery to a motley mix of animals both tame and wild. It is the beginning of a grand experiment that will become one of the most significant rewilding experiments in Europe.

Join us at Unit Twelve for this screening in our intimate pop-up cinema.

The Pocket Film Club is part of Spotlight on Staffordshire made possible with support from the BFI using funds from the National Lottery.

A 1920’s English seaside town bears witness to a dark and absurd scandal in this riotous Mystery Comedy!

Based on a stranger-than-fiction true story, Wicked Little Letters follows two neighbours: deeply conservative local, Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) & rowdy Irish migrant Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley).

When Edith and fellow residents begin to receive wicked letters full of unintentionally hilarious profanity, foulmouthed Rose is charged with the crime!

The anonymous letters prompt a national uproar, and a trial ensues… However, as the town’s women – led by Police Officer Gladys Moss (Anjana Vasan) – begin to investigate the crime themselves, they suspect something is amiss, and Rose may not be the culprit after all!

Join us at Unit Twelve for this screening in our intimate pop-up cinema.

The Pocket Film Club is part of Spotlight on Staffordshire made possible with support from the BFI using funds from the National Lottery.

Back with our second Pocket Film Club screening of the season with the funny, anarchic and perfectly strange Swede Caroline.

In this British Mockumentary, the competitive giant vegetable growing world is rocked by scandal when up-and-coming prospect Caroline (Jo Hartley) has her prized marrow plants stolen.

With her life turned upside down and desperate for answers, she turns to two private detectives (Aisling Bea and Ray Fearon), who are then dramatically kidnapped. Are the events linked? No, of course not. But Caroline thinks they are and the hunt for her missing marrows takes her way beyond the allotments, plunging her into a national corruption scandal that goes all the way to the top!!

As Caroline readies herself for the big championship with the help of her trusty partners Willy (Celyn Jones) and Paul (Richard Lumsden), she sets off in search of the truth.

Join us at Unit Twelve for this screening in our intimate pop-up cinema.

The Pocket Film Club is part of Spotlight on Staffordshire made possible with support from the BFI using funds from the National Lottery.

Year of Release: 2024

Certification: 15

Runtime: 97

We return to the sumptuous Unit Twelve for our small and very perfectly formed Pocket Film Club...

Featuring Tilda Swinton as the voice of Scottish painter Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, this feature documentary tells the story of a remarkable artist and a magnificent obsession.

One day in 1949, a young Scottish painter climbed a Swiss glacier. The experience rewired her brain and transformed her art. Barns-Graham was synaesthetic – associating letters, names and people with particular colours – and Cousins explores how her neurodiversity and her encounter with the glacier shaped her vision of the world.

Born and raised in St Andrews, Barns-Graham was a member of the St Ives group of modernist artists, who lived in the Cornish seaside town from the Second World War onwards. The glacier paintings inspired by her experience in Switzerland were the breakthrough in her artistic career. Through a cinematic immersion into her art and life, the film explores themes of gender, neurodiversity, climate change, and the nature of creativity from youth to old age.

Made with the support of the Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust, the film delves into her archives, private notebooks and diaries from her 65-year career. Two decades after her death in 2004, the film represents a major reassessment of Barns-Graham’s life and work, and her place in 20th century art.

Winner: Grand Prix – Crystal Globe at Karlovy Vary Film Festival 2024

Join us at Unit Twelve for this screening in our intimate pop-up cinema.

The Pocket Film Club is part of Spotlight on Staffordshire made possible with support from the BFI using funds from the National Lottery.

Year of Release: UK 2024

Dir: Mark Cousins

English / 88 mins

We return to the majestic Holy Trinity Church, Eccleshall for our final screening of the 2025 Pocket Film Festival. To close this year's festival we will be celebrating the 95th anniversary of Alred Hitchcock's Blackmail with a special silent screening of the film with Darius Battiwalla providing live musical accompaniment on the organ.

Alfred Hitchcock's Blackmail is a landmark in British cinema. Released in June 1929, it was hailed as 'the first British all-talkie film'. Characteristically, Hitchcock makes flamboyant use of the new technical and aesthetic opportunities which sound offered. But the film was also released in a silent version, and to this day some critics consider this version a superior work.

The film will be accompanied by a live score on the organ by Darius Battiwalla. In the last few years Darius has been increasingly in demand as a silent film accompanist on both organ and piano.  After a sell-out performance of Nosferatu in 2009 at the Sheffield Festival, he has accompanied Phantom of the Opera, The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde on the organ, and on the piano has played for the premieres of the newly restored Helen of Four Gates.

For several years he played for a monthly series of films at the National Media Museum, and he makes regular appearances at the Leeds International Film Festival, and has also appeared at the Mayfield Festival, Deer Shed Festival, and many other venues throughout the UK.  This year sees films in Sussex, Leeds, London and Newcastle. Darius now teaches improvisation at the Royal Academy of Music.

Darius has performed at the Pocket Film Festival a number of times, most recently at the 2021 festival when he provided silent film organ accompaniment to the original Mark of Zorro.

Year of Release: 1929

Certification: 12

Runtime: 86

A British classic of such famous status that it barely needs an introduction. Directed by auteur David Lean and adapted from Noel Coward's play, this is a poignant and beautifully crafted love story. Laura Jesson accidentally meets a man, Dr Alex Harvey, at a railway station. As their acquaintance grows, so does their love for each other, despite both being married with children. On the brink of an affair and desperately in love, the two must make a choice that may part them forever.

Laura Jesson accidentally meets Alex Harvey at a railway station on her way home from a neighbouring town. Both married with children, the pair begin to question their previously happy home lives when their chance encounter turns into a regular acquaintance and their initial friendship becomes a burgeoning attraction.

Year of Release: 1945

Certification: PG

Runtime: 86

Growing up can be a bumpy road, and it's no exception for Riley, who is uprooted from her Midwest life when her father starts a new job in San Francisco. Like all of us, Riley is guided by her Emotions: Joy (Amy Poehler); Fear (Bill Hader); Anger (Lewis Black); Disgust (Mindy Kaling); and Sadness (Phyllis Smith). The Emotions live in Headquarters, the control centre inside Riley’s mind, where they help advise her through everyday life. As Riley and her Emotions struggle to adjust to a new life, turmoil ensues in Headquarters. Although Joy, Riley's main and most important Emotion, tries to keep things positive, the Emotions conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house and school.

Some flashing lights sequences or patterns may affect photosensitive viewers.

Year of Release: 2015

Certification: U

Runtime: 95

Wunderkind director Gints Zilbalodis has taken the animation world by storm with his beautifully crafted sophomore feature Flow, which has received a multitude of awards and nominations to date, including two nominations for both BAFTA and the Academy Awards.  

The mystical world he creates in Flow is in peril. There are traces of human inhabitants, but they are now nowhere to be seen as water begins to flood the landscape. The story begins following a small, solitary cat as the shoreline rises and the home where it once lived is submerged underwater. Forced to flee, he happens upon a refuge boat containing a calm and unperturbed Cabybarre who seems amenable to his presence, and the two begin a journey on the water towards higher ground. Along the way they cross paths with a lemur, obsessed with collecting shiny objects, a boisterous and excitable dog and a stoic, mysterious secretary bird. Together, as they traverse the landscape on their fable-like quest, the ragtag team of animals must learn to trust each other and work together to survive. 

Flow pushes the boundaries of animation, immersing audiences in a world before unseen.

Year of Release: 2024

Certification: U

Runtime: 84

A young boy, shipwrecked on a remote island, discovers he's not alone when he encounters an old Japanese soldier who retreated there after World War II. As dangerous invaders appear on the horizon, it becomes clear they must join forces to save their fragile island paradise. This gripping hand-drawn animated tale with its message of working together to protect nature, has never felt more relevant. Written by Frank Cottrell-Boyce from Michael Morpurgo’s beloved 1999 novel, Kensuke’s Kingdom features an impeccable voice cast including Sally Hawkins, Cillian Murphy and Ken Watanabe. 

In this 19th century, supernatural winter epic, a drunken applejack salesman must go from zero to hero and become North America's greatest fur trapper by defeating hundreds of beavers.

JEAN KAYAK finds himself stranded in a surreal winter landscape with nothing but his dim wits to guide him. Against a backdrop of ruthless elements and sinister creatures - all played by actors in full-sized mascot costumes – KAYAK develops increasingly complex traps in order to win the hand of a mischievous lover.

A young Peruvian bear travels to London in search of a home. Finding himself lost and alone at Paddington Station, he meets the kindly Brown family, who offer him a temporary haven.

From the beloved novels by Michael Bond and producer David Heyman (HARRY POTTER), PADDINGTON tells the story of the comic misadventures of a young Peruvian bear who travels to the city in search of a home. Finding himself lost and alone, he begins to realize that city life is not all he had imagined - until he meets the kindly Brown family who read the label around his neck ('Please look after this bear. Thank you.') and offer him a temporary haven. It looks as though his luck has changed until this rarest of bears catches the eye of a museum taxidermist...

Year of Release: 2014

Certification: PG

Runtime: 96

A thoroughly moving and ultimately joyful documentary, A Bunch of Amateurs follows the members of Bradford Movie Makers, one of the oldest amateur filmmaking clubs in the world. Once a thriving community, these days the membership is dwindling and the group struggle to keep the wolf from the door, but it's group of ageing cinephiles’ attempt to save their beloved club. 

This year, the Pocket Film Festival teams up with the Staffordshire History Centre for a special screening that invites you to explore their collections. Let the short films be the guide!

Art, toys, shoes, food, letters: these five themes will each be illustrated by an animated short film, followed by a talk about a museum object from Staffordshire's Arts and Museum Collection. 

Get to know the hidden treasures of the Staffordshire History Centre and discover fun animation for all ages, in this journey through the centuries!

Before the screening there will be a short film ‘A Tour of the Staffordshire Museum Collection Stores’, and talk by Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Heritage & Archive Service about their astonishing records relating to the history of Staffordshire, and some of the items they hold in their collection.

We will be showing the following films:

• ‘A Tour of the Staffordshire Museum Collection Stores’

• Joote - Aditya Nair / India / 2'30

• Lost & Found - Andrew Goldsmith & Bradley Slabe / Australia / 2018 / 7'30

• Still Lives - Elli Vuorinen / Finland / 2019 / 6'

• Archie - Ainslie Henderson / UK / 2019 / 4'30

• Rhapsodie pour un pot-au-feu -Gobelins / France / 2012 / 3

A bittersweet buddy comedy, Robot Dreams follows Dog, who is lonely, whiling away long evenings in his Manhattan studio apartment. Tired of his solitary life, he decides to purchase a friend, Robot, a fun-loving companion. After an idyllic day on the beach, they soon become separated. Devastated at the loss of his friend, Dog does everything in his power to get Robot back.

Since the 1970s, English photographer Martin Parr has held up a sometimes tender, sometimes critical and always mischievous mirror to our times, forcing us to take a hard look at how consumer society has shaped our lives. Discover the maverick behind some of the most iconic images of the past century on an intimate and exclusive road trip across England with the uncompromising Parr, whose subjects, frames and colours have revolutionised contemporary photography.

One of the most controversial photographers of his time, Martin Parr’s images often have the power to both amuse and leave us ever so slightly uncomfortable, caught between laughter and the uneasy recognition of ourselves in his uncompromising portrait of consumer society.

Though he’s now celebrated, collected and exhibited worldwide, Parr’s early work did not find an easy public and was highly criticized for trivializing the working class. Yet, in retrospect, perhaps he was just observing what we often overlook - forcing it into the spotlight as an essential topic of discussion. I Am Martin Parr is the definitive portrait of an extraordinary photographer who revolutionized contemporary photography by inventing a political, humanist and accessible photographic language.

Year of Release: 2025

Certification: 12A

Runtime: 67

Stafford Film Theatre returns for a new season at The Gatehouse- showing critically acclaimed films on the big screen.  They aim to show films from the UK and world cinema that you might not otherwise have a chance to see in Stafford.

Steve Coogan stars in this enjoyable comedy-drama, based on a true story. In the 1970s, disillusioned with life, Tom Mitchell accepts a teaching post in an exclusive boys’ school in authoritarian Argentina. After rescuing a penguin from an oil spill, he ends up smuggling it into the school, little realising the effect his unusual friendship will have on the unruly students and all who meet the endearing creature.  

Raised on hip-hop and foster care, defiant city kid Ricky gets a fresh start in the New Zealand countryside. He quickly finds himself at home with his new foster family: the loving Aunt Bella, the cantankerous Uncle Hec, and dog Tupac. When a tragedy strikes that threatens to ship Ricky to another home, both he and Hec go on the run in the bush. As a national manhunt ensues, the newly branded outlaws must face their options: go out in a blaze of glory or overcome their differences and survive as a family.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople is a big-hearted picture full of small, understated moments of magic. Directed by Taika Waititi (co-director of the vampire mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows) the film focuses on the emotional thrust of a mismatched buddy movie.

Join us at Cannock Library for our Easter special screening of Peter Rabbit, the mischievous and adventurous hero who has captivated generations of readers, now takes on the starring role of his own cute, contemporary comedy with attitude.

In the film, Peter's feud with Mr. McGregor (Domhnall Gleeson) escalates to greater heights than ever before as they rival for the affections of the warm-hearted animal lover who lives next door (Rose Byrne). James Corden, with playful spirit and wild charm, voices the character of Peter, alongside Margot Robbie, Elizabeth Debicki and Daisy Ridley voicing the roles of the triplets, Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-Tail.Non-English speaking territories synopsis: Peter Rabbit, the mischievous and adventurous hero who has captivated generations of readers, now takes on the starring role of his own irreverent, contemporary comedy with attitude. In the film, Peter's feud with Mr. McGregor (Domhnall Gleeson) escalates to greater heights than ever before as they rival for the affections of the warm-hearted animal lover who lives next door (Rose Byrne).

Year of Release: 2018

Certification: PG

Runtime: 95

Bookflix - read the book, watch the film… watch the film, read the book!

This screening is part of a programme of pop-up film screenings at Cannock Library where we bring films inspired by books, and books inspired by films to your Library for FREE!

To book a ticket, or for more information please contact Cannock Library on 01543 334525 or email cannock.library@staffordshire.gov.uk.

TYPIST ARTIST PIRATE KING puts forgotten artist Audrey Amiss on the map. Inspired by her extensive archive of diaries, letters and art, the film weaves real events into an imagined journey as Audrey goes on a road trip with her psychiatric nurse.

From acclaimed British filmmaker, Carol Morley, this dark and funny exploration of the growing friendship between two women as they hit the road in an electric car looking for reconciliation, is filled with adventure, humour and compassion.

Join us at Unit Twelve for a FREE event celebrating Women In Film from across the Midlands.

Midlands Short Film Club presents a proud collection of short films made by teams of women from across the region. The programme is a celebration of female identity on screen as well as showcasing some of the most exciting new filmmaking talent from across the Midlands. 

The short films in this programme have all been proudly supported by BFI NETWORK Short Film Funding and Film Hub Midlands with National Lottery Funding. 

Trigger warnings: Strong language, drug use, scenes of a sexual nature. 

Suggested rating: 15

Duration: 81 minutes

I Know Where I'm Going! is a 1945 romance film by the British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It stars Wendy Hiller and Roger Livesey, and features Pamela Brown and Finlay Currie.

Headstrong Joan Webster (Wendy Hiller) sets off to marry a rich older man on his remote Hebridean island. Stranded on Mull thanks to the weather, Joan finds herself struggling to cope with the unplanned turn of events.

Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger weave their course of true love through flashes of surrealism, a life-threatening whirlpool and an ancient curse, disarming and enchanting in equal measure.

This is a film where small moments count the most as they build by stealth into something overwhelming. By the end we are left breathless and desperate to book the next night train and ferry to Mull.

Join us at Unit Twelve for our screening of The Colour Room, a film about Clarice Cliff, a working-class girl who left school at 13 destined for a life of work in the Staffordshire potteries. Instead Clarice rose to become a celebrated ceramicist during the 1920s.

Her journey from the factory floor is told in this entertaining and feelgood period drama. This film is a bright and upbeat retelling of that story.

What better place to watch the film than at Unit Twelve a modern day hub of creative talent in the heart of Staffordshire!

A young woman in her 20s, Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara) is a clerk working in a Manhattan department store and dreaming of a more fulfilling life when she meets Carol (Cate Blanchett), an alluring woman trapped in a loveless, convenient marriage. As an immediate connection sparks between them, the innocence of their first encounter dims and their connection deepens. 

Based on Patricia Highsmith’s seminal novel, The Price of Salt, adapted by Emmy nominated screenwriter Phyllis Nagy, directed by Todd Haynes, Carol stars Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Kyle Chandler, Jake Lacy and Sarah Paulson.

Join us at Unit Twelve for our special screening of this 50s-set drama which is an intoxicating triumph!

By night Alfred and Klara are pen pals who have never met but who are deeply devoted to each other. By day, Alfred and Klara are co-workers who, just as deeply, dislike each other in The Shop Around the Corner. Academy Award winner Jimmy Stewart stars with Margaret Sullivan as Alfred and Klara in this classic romance directed by the great Ernst Lubitsch. This day/night -- hate/love relationship cannot continue ... but will it be loving or loathing when Alfred and Klara discover the identities of their cherished pen pals?

This Lubitsch romcom a Christmas delight!

We are excited to be back at Cannock Library for a Christmas special screening of The Muppet Christmas Carol!

The Muppets perform the classic Dickens holiday tale, with Kermit the Frog playing Bob Cratchit, the put-upon clerk of the miserable, miserly Ebenezer Scrooge (Michael Caine).

The film features lots of our favourite Muppet characters, including; Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Fozzie Bear and Sam the Eagle. Scrooge receives visits from spirits of three Christmases -- past, present and future and they show him the error of his self-serving ways, but the miserable old man seems to be past any hope of redemption and happiness.

The Muppet Christmas Carol is a festive holiday classic, with something to offer audiences of all ages. Simply perfect... even for the those Scrooges amongst us!

Bookflix - read the book, watch the film… watch the film, read the book!

This screening is part of a programme of monthly screenings at Cannock Library where we bring films inspired by books, and books inspired by films to your Library for FREE!

If you are aged between 11-18 and want to help create your very own cinema club right here at Cannock Library please come along to the screening to find out more… or just come along, enjoy some tasty chocolate treats and watch a great film on your doorstep! 

To book a ticket, or for more information about how to get involved in Bookflix please contact Cannock Library on 01543 334525 or email cannock.library@staffordshire.gov.uk.

‘Delivered as part of Cannock Chase Libraries Know Your Neighbourhood Project. Funded by Department for Culture, Media and Sport, delivered by Libraries Connected in partnership with Arts Council England.’

Phantom Thread is a 2017 American psychological period drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It stars Daniel Day-Lewis in his final film role, Vicky Krieps, and Lesley Manville. The film follows an haute couture dressmaker in 1950s London who takes a young waitress as his muse.

Set in the glamour of 1950s post-war London, renowned dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock and his sister Cyril are at the center of British fashion, dressing royalty, movie stars, heiresses, socialites, debutants and dames with their distinct style.

Join us at Cannock Library, for a FREE screening of Wonka, a story about how the world's greatest inventor, magician and chocolate-maker became the beloved Willy Wonka we know today.

We will create a magical pop-up cinema at your favourite venue, as we screen the magical musical adventure Wonka! This wonderful films tells the story of how Willy Wonka changed the world of chocolate one delectable bite at a time.

Well, there’s chocolate and there’s chocolate…

Bookflix - read the book, watch the film… watch the film, read the book!

This screening is part of a programme of monthly screenings at Cannock Library where we bring films inspired by books, and books inspired by films to your Library for FREE!

If you are aged between 11-18 and want to help create your very own cinema club right here at Cannock Library please come along to the screening to find out more… or just come along, enjoy some tasty chocolate treats and watch a great film on your doorstep! 

To book a ticket, or for more information about how to get involved in Bookflix please contact Cannock Library on 01543 334525 or email cannock.library@staffordshire.gov.uk.

‘Delivered as part of Cannock Chase Libraries Know Your Neighbourhood Project. Funded by Department for Culture, Media and Sport, delivered by Libraries Connected in partnership with Arts Council England.’

Come join us at Unit Twelve for a unique event showcasing the film The Nettle Dress...

THE STORY

Textile artist Allan Brown spends seven years making a dress by hand, using only the fibre of locally foraged stinging nettles. This is ‘hedgerow couture’, the greenest of slow fashion and also his medicine. It’s how he survives the death of his wife Alex, which leaves him and their four children bereft, and how he finds a beautiful way to honour her.

'Grasping the Nettle' is at the heart of this story. The challenge of making zero carbon clothing means relearning ancient crafts: foraging, processing, spinning, weaving, cutting and sewing.

Making a dress this way becomes devotional and healing.

‘While making the dress over all these years, I felt like I was being transformed by the nettles rather than the other way around,’ says Allan. ‘When Alex was ill and going through chemotherapy, as soon as I began spinning yarn, I felt calmer. It became much more than just a piece of cloth; it's been woven with the stories of people who know and love you.’

The dress is made up of 14,400 feet of thread, each one representing hours of loving attention.

Finally, the dress is worn in the woods where the nettles were picked, by Oonagh, one of Allan's daughters.

Director Dylan Howitt says: ‘This is a story about the deep value of creativity and imagination, and a slow, mindful craft that is more in tune with the natural world.’

Join us at Holy Trinity Church for a special 100th Anniversary screening of two Buster Keaton classic feature films - Sherlock Jr and The Navigator. We welcome back Australian-born London-based pianist/composer/improviser Meg Morley, who will deliver live musical accompaniment to both films!  

Sherlock Jr.

Buster Keaton’s third feature is a breathtakingly virtuosic display of every silent comedy technique imaginable, from his own formidable physical skills to some then ground-breaking camera trickery. The detective fantasy Sherlock Jr. largely takes place inside the head of a hapless and wronged cinema projectionist (Keaton) who dreams himself into the screen only to be flummoxed by the film’s editing.

The Navigator

Wealthy Rollo Treadway (Keaton) suddenly decides to propose to his neighbour across the street, Betsy O’Brien (Kathryn McGuire), and sends his servant to book passage for a honeymoon sea cruise to Honolulu. When Betsy rejects his sudden offer however, he decides to go on the trip anyway, boarding without delay that night. Because the pier number is partially covered, he ends up on the wrong ship, the Navigator, which Betsy’s rich father has just sold to a small country at war.

These screenings will be accompanied by a live piano score, performed by BFI Southbank’s resident pianist Meg Morley. Since performing for her first silent film in 2016, Meg has quickly become one of the UK’s pre-eminent silent film accompanists, performing at various international film festivals and playing regularly at the London Cinema Museum. Meg is also somewhat of a mainstay of our Pocket Film Festival, having performed at every festival since 2017… This double-bill event is not to be missed!