Films | Cinema Salon

Once a month, Melanie Friesen invites a distinguished guest to present his/her favourite film. After the screening, audiences and guests will have the opportunity to discuss the film over drinks and snacks in our spacious lounge.
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Past Events 2008

Cinema Salon: BING THOM presents FITZCARRALDO
Dec 2 // 7:00 pm BUY TICKETS

NOTE EARLY START TIME.
Director: Werner Herzog // Peru/West Germany 1982 // 158 minutes

Fitzcarraldo is the story of a man obsessed by a fevered dream to build an opera house in the Amazon jungle. Propelled by his passion for Enrico Caruso, Fitzcarraldo, played by the mani acally brilliant Klaus Kinski, is so driven that he never stops to consider the impossibility of his vision.

PRESENTER: Bing Thom Bing Thom is the principal of Bing Thom Architects Inc. and has a reputation for innovative design on a wide range of types and scales of projects. Thom believes in a holistic approach to architecture. His distinguished career has earned him Canada's highest honour, the Order of Canada and the Golden Jubilee Medal.

Jim Byrnes presents SHANE
November 4 // 7:30pm
USA 1953 // Director: George Stevens // 118 min

We've seen many a wandering gunslinger come to the Wild West, side with the oppressed and pay a price, but Shane is the classic to remember. This is Alan Ladd's finest performance. From the moment he appears on the screen, Ladd shows a quiet dignity and bravery that has been an inspiration to many screen heroes ever since.

PRESENTER: JIM BYRNES
Vancouver's favourite blues man, Jim Byrnes has recorded six blues albums and played with Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Albert Collins and Taj Mahal. Jim is also a successful actor, having appeared in major films and TV programs such as Wiseguy and Highlander . He also hosts the nationally broadcast variety show The Jim Byrnes Show.

Barbara-Jo McIntosh presents 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD
September 2 // 7:30pm
UK/USA 1987 // Director: David Hugh Jones // 100 min

 Watch the trailer

Set between London's post-war years and the swinging sixties, 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD is the true story of the magical friendship between a brash New Yorker (Anne Bancroft) in love with old books and a dignified English book dealer (Anthony Hopkins), whose joy it is to supply them. Come in tweeds with Kleenex.

PRESENTER: Barbara-Jo McIntosh
Barbara-Jo McIntosh, owner of Barbara-Jo's Books to Cooks is an award-winning food professional with over 25 years experience in the food and hospitality industry.  She is a passionate bookseller, author and supporter of the culinary arts.

Jurgen Gothe presents BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S
August 5 // 7:30pm
USA 1961 // Director: Blake Edwards // 115 min

Based on a novella by Truman Capote, the charming Breakfast at Tiffany's features one of the most famous theme songs in film history. Free spirit Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) lives an illusory life, feted by wealthy men and fuelled by zany New York parties. In a fellow lonely dreamer, Paul Varjak (George Peppard), Holly finally finds love and happiness.

Presenter: Jurgen Gothe

Jurgen Gothe is the three-time Gold Medal winning host of CBC Radio 2's daily afternoon drive-time program  Discdrive. He is also a wine and food columnist/editor for numerous publications and has published four books and four CDs. Jurgen has recently undertaken various theatrical ventures, including the musical version of War of the Worlds.

George Bowering presents THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS
July 8 // 7:30 pm
Italy/Algeria 1966 // Director: Gillo Pontecorvo // 121 min // DVD

Watch the trailer

Although The Battle of Algiers is about grassroots combatants fighting the colonialist power in Algeria, it could be about the same situation in any country at any period of history. The strength of this magnificent film-a monument of neo-realism-is that it's passionate and neutral, and concerned with both sides' points of view. In spite of winning the top award at the 1966 Venice Film Festival, France banned its release until 1971.

Presenter: George Bowering

George Harry Bowering is a prolific Canadian novelist , poet and Professor Emeritus at Simon Fraser University. In 2002, he was appointed the first ever Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate and made an Officer of the Order of Canada . He was awarded the Order of British Columbia in 2004.

Cinema Salon - Grand Chief Ed John presents
RABBIT-PROOF FENCE
June 3 // 7:30pm
Australia 2002// Director: Phillip Noyce // 94 min // Rated: G; no advisory

Rabbit Proof Fence is the rarely publicized story of the escape of three mixed-race (Aboriginal/Caucasian) Australian girls from the Moore River Native Settlement, where they were sent "for their own good" (much like Canada's residential schools).

Presenter: Grand Chief Ed John