The Society's screening of Cleo from 5 to 7 will be preceded at 7.30pm by a short Special General Meeting, called to discuss and vote on the following motion:
That the Dunedin Film Society adopts with effect from 1 January 2026 the new Constitution prepared by the Committee in accordance with the Incorporated Societies Act 2022, and submits it for registration.
Members will also have the opportunity to participate in a lucky draw for three two-for-one vouchers for Robert (Scarfies) Sarkies' new film, Pike River, which has its nation-wide release in cinemas at Labour Weekend. |
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WELCOME TO OUR NEXT SCREENING
Agnès Varda's
CLEO FROM 5 TO 7
(Cléo de 5 à 7)
(France/Italy | 1962 | 86 mins | PG sexual references)
In co-operation with the Institut Français and the Embassy of France
Wednesday 8 October, 7.30PM, University of Otago’s Castle 1 Lecture Theatre**
Shooting entirely on location in the streets of Paris, Varda chronicles two anxious hours in a pop singer’s life. Score by Michel Legrand, who cameos alongside Jean-Luc Godard and Anna Karina.
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| | “Vain, childish and selfish at the start, Cleo’s journey through Paris is also a journey of self-discovery – she transforms in the course of the film from a passive woman on whom others’ expectations are projected into an active participant in her own life. Cleo’s metamorphosis is reflected in her movements through Paris; the film’s first half is dominated by a shopping excursion in which Cleo is surrounded by mirrors, and in the second half, she literally sheds her false image in order to actively observe the city” (Harvard Film Archive). |
| “Offers an irreplaceable time capsule of Paris, and fans of Michel Legrand won’t want to miss the extended sequence in which he visits the heroine and rehearses with her. The film’s approximations of real time are exactly that — the total running time is 90 minutes — but innovative and thrilling nonetheless. Underrated when it came out and unjustly neglected since, it’s not only the major French New Wave film made by a woman, but a key work of that exciting period—moving, lyrical, and mysterious” (Jonathan Rosenbaum). |
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FURTHER REVIEW
"Varda’s bigger contribution to cinema is especially clear in a stunning scene in which Cléo walks down the street, and we see a rush of images at the same time as she does, some in her memory, some before her eyes. She recalls Bob and, in ominous close-up, the face of the woman who read Tarot cards for her at the start of the film. She passes women in housedresses carrying loaves of bread home for dinner. She recalls a lovely clock with a toy monkey perched on top of it, suggesting the randomness of time itself. Close-ups of faces, life on the streets, and the meaningful weight of objects would become recurring patterns in Varda’s films. |
Here they also beautifully evoke the overload of Cléo’s thoughts. When she meets a young soldier about to go off to fight in Algeria, they share their worries, bolster each other’s hopes, and confide in each other the way people who meet fleetingly can. “Today everything amazes me,” Cléo tells him, “The people’s faces next to mine.” Her sense of life has been intensified by her brush with death, and she emerges less vain, less isolated and more engaged. But that eyes-wide-open intensity is always present in Varda’s films, even when they are as varied in form as drama, documentary, and autobiography" (BBC). |
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–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Finally, watch this extensive lecture concerning Cleo from 5 to 7 given by Agnès Varda herself! ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
ABOUT THE DUNEDIN FILM SOCIETY
ADMISSION
Free to members.
TO JOIN
To purchase a Half Season membership:- complete a membership form from our website and pay by online bank transfer (06-0942-0696013-00);
- or join at the door before any screening (cash only).
- you can also join at the OUSA office reception at the University of Otago (cash only).
Alternatively, you can purchase a Three-Film sampler ($25), which can be also be shared to bring two friends to one screening. The sampler does not expire and can be used over multiple years.
Membership includes generous discounts at Rialto Cinemas (from Monday to Friday); and FREE entry to the 2025 screenings of all other affiliated New Zealand Film Societies. Each member is entitled to ONE FREE GUEST ADMISSION to a single screening.
**To get to the Castle 1 Theatre: walk up between the University of Otago’s Arts building (Burns) and Information Services building (Central Library), on Albany Street.
WE WELCOME YOUR FEEDBACK!... on this screening, or any other Dunedin Film Society showing, on dunedinfi...@gmail.com –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– |
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| | Dunedin Film Society
C/- 1 Crewe Street Maryhill Dunedin, Otago 9011 |
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