Ventnor Film Society is back with its Autumn Season on Monday 7th September 2026 with another programme of recent, award-winning films from around the world.
Six films, six countries
Six films make up the season, drawn from Spain, France, Iraq, Brazil, Denmark and the UK. Journeys link almost all of them – a father crossing the Moroccan desert after his missing daughter, a nine-year-old scouring Baghdad for cake ingredients, a 77-year-old woman fleeing up the Amazon by riverboat, and a Cornish crew who sail home into the wrong decade.
The tone swings widely between them.
Oh My Goodness! puts five nuns into a regional bicycle race, and The Last Viking pairs Mads Mikkelsen with a brother who believes he is John Lennon, while Sirat and The Blue Trail head somewhere considerably darker.
Mark Jenkin’s Rose of Nevada is the only English-language film in the run; the other five carry subtitles.
Alternate Mondays
Films will be shown on alternate Mondays, at 2.30pm and 7.30pm at Ventnor Arts Club. The cost of tickets remains at £6 for adults and £3 for under 25s. Cash only.
Anyone is welcome to attend the film screenings; you don’t need to be a member of Ventnor Arts Club. Simple book a seat by emailing [email protected].
The bar will be open for drinks, tea, coffee, and ice cream until five minutes before the film begins.
Sirat Mon 7th Sept, 2.30 & 7.30pm
(Spain/France, 2025) Dir: Oliver Laxe
A desperate father and his young son travel deep into the Moroccan desert to search for his missing daughter amidst a pulsing techno rave. When armed soldiers abruptly break up the desert gathering, Luis and his boy impulsively follow a small group of drifting ravers further south.
This harrowing journey turns into an existential road trip where the fragile bonds of humanity are tested against an unforgiving landscape. Cert 15. 1hr 54 mins. In Spanish and French, subtitled.
Oh My Goodness! Mon 21st Sept, 2.30 & 7.30pm
(France, 2022) Dir: Laurent Tirard
In a delightful romp through the sunny French countryside, five eccentric nuns face a desperate financial crisis at their local retirement home. To raise the €25,000 needed for repairs, they enter a gruelling regional bicycle race. The untrained sisters must overcome fierce athletic rivals and a hostile competing convent.
After chaotic training mishaps, they resort to sneaky, less-than-holy tricks to secure a miracle victory and save their mission. Cert 12A. 1 hr 27 mins. In French, subtitled.
The President’s Cake Mon 5th Oct, 2.30 & 7.30pm
(Iraq, 2025) Dir: Hasan Hadi
In 1990s Iraq, 9-year-old Lamia is forced by a school draw to bake a lavish birthday cake for dictator Saddam Hussein. Facing extreme poverty and severe food shortages, she must navigate the dangerous streets of Baghdad to track down rare ingredients, and a simple baking task turns into a life-or-death mission.
Her family faces brutal punishment if the cake fails, an ordeal that exposes ordinary citizens’ quiet resilience under a ruthless regime. Cert 12A. 1 hr 45 mins. In Arabic, subtitled.
The Blue Trail Mon 19th Oct, 2.30 & 7.30pm
(Brazil, 2025) Dir: Gabriel Mascaro
In this dystopian drama, a near-future Brazilian government forces the elderly into harsh retirement colonies. When 77-year-old Tereza receives her relocation order, she refuses to surrender her independence. She defiantly escapes on a riverboat into the Amazon on a quest to take her first ever aeroplane ride.
Her tale unfolds as a poignant voyage of magic realism along surreal waterways, where reality and wonder blur, entirely on her own terms. Cert 15. 1hr 25 mins. In Portuguese, subtitled.
Rose Of Nevada Mon 2nd Nov, 2.30 & 7.30pm
(UK, 2025) Dir: Mark Jenkin
When the Rose of Nevada reappears in their harbour 30 years after vanishing with all hands, captain Murgey, young father Nick, and newcomer Liam take her to sea to restore their devastated Cornish village’s fortune.
But returning with a bountiful catch, they find they have slipped back in time, to be welcomed as the original lost crew. Confronting their ghostly legacy, they must choose whether to embrace the past or risk all to return to their families. Cert 15. 1 hr 54 mins. In English.
The Last Viking Mon 16th Nov, 2.30 & 7.30pm
(Denmark, 2025) Dir: Anders Thomas Jensen
After 15 years behind bars for a bank robbery, ex-convict Anker sets out to collect the money he buried. Unfortunately, his brother Manfred (Mads Mikkelson), the only one holding the secret location, has suffered a breakdown and now really believes he’s John Lennon.
Desperate to crack Manfred’s delusions without losing his own mind, Anker drags his peace-loving “Beatle” brother on a delightfully bizarre road trip to jog his memory and unearth the cash. Cert 15. 1 hr 56 mins. In Danish, subtitled.
The Ventnor Film Society website has full details of all films and links to reviews and trailers.
Where and when
Ventnor Film Society meets in Ventnor Arts Club, 13 High Street, Ventnor.
To be sure of a place, please book a seat by emailing [email protected].
Evening screenings take place at 7.30pm prompt and matinees at 2.30pm. Entrance is £6, payable at the door (cash only).
The bar will be open, so please arrive in good time if you would like to buy drinks.
