| News On Oswestry Film Society's World Cinema
Screenings At The Hermon Chapel
&
WOW Wales One World Film Festival 2025 | | | | HELLO!
From time to time we like to bring you news from our fellow cinema programmers & film festival partners, so as we say goodbye to winter and stride into spring we just wanted to give you a quick update on Oswestry Film Society's wonderful upcoming programme of World Cinema.
(OFS are still screening out of The Hermon Chapel in Oswestry).
For those of you who are willing to venture further afield the brilliant WOW Wales One World Film Festival returns for it's 24th edition this month with a rare selection of screenings in Bangor, Carmarthen, Fishguard & Aberystwyth.
We hope you will take the opportunity to explore the incredible cinematic stories on offer and continue to support them!
With thanks Ruth & Ian
Please scroll down for more information and booking links | | |  | Agent Of Happiness (12A)
OFS at The Hermon Chapel
Wednesday 26th March 7:30pm How is happiness measured? Can satisfaction with one's life be rated on a scale from one to ten? The Kingdom of Bhutan's famous -- and highly exoticized -- government policy measuring its nation's Gross National Happiness operates on the idea that the basic tenets of fulfillment can and should be quantified when calculating their nation's development.
Happiness Agent Amber Gurung embarks throughout the Himalayan mountains to survey the contentment of citizens from different households and lifestyles. While Amber dutifully administers this census, he too is forced to confront his own struggles with fulfillment, and question what makes him happy.
A "quiet, gently absorbing documentary" (The Guardian)
AGENT OF HAPPINESS is a holistic exploration of Bhutan's Gross National Happiness index, using "meaningful visual contrast to scrutinize Bhutan's narrative about itself," (Variety).
Filmmakers Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbó carefully craft a visually stunning, tender narrative around the age-old quest to find the purpose of life. Dzongkha, Nepali with English subtitles Run time: 1 hours 34 mins BOOK TICKETS HERE | |  | Touch (15)
OFS at The Hermon Chapel
Wednesday 9th April 7:30pm An adaptation of the best-selling novel by Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson, Touch is the achingly poignant story of an elderly man who, on receiving a troubling medical diagnosis, embarks on an epic quest to find his long-lost first love.
Widower Kristofer (Egill Ólafsson) sets off from Iceland on a seemingly impossible mission. Decades earlier, the young Kristofer (Pálmi Kormákur) met his first love, Miko (Koki), in London. A student of economics, he decides to give up his studies and work in a Japanese restaurant. There he meets Miko, the owner's daughter, and romance blossoms. Then she disappears without a trace.
All these years later, with limited time left, Kristofer tries to track her down, eventually leading him to Japan and an astonishing discovery.
A deeply moving, delicate, and spellbinding romance.
English, Japanese, Icelandic with English subtitles Run time: 2 hours BOOK TICKETS HERE | |  | Risen (15)
OFS at Hermon Chapel
Wednesday 16th April 7:30pm "I have seen two things which cannot reconcile: a man dead without question, and that same man alive again. I pursue him, the Nazarene, to ferret the truth." Roman military tribune and army veteran Clavius (Joseph Fiennes) remains set in his ways, but arrives at a crossroads when tasked to investigate the mystery of what happened to Jesus after the crucifixion. As his journey takes him to places never dreamed of, his quest to disprove rumours of a risen Messiah and prevent an uprising in Jerusalem make him question his own beliefs and spirituality. Rotten Tomatoes critics' site: "Risen benefits from a lighter tone than many faith-based productions, as well as a unique take on the Greatest Story Ever Told and a terrific turn from star Joseph Fiennes."
Run Time: 1 hour 47 mins
BOOK TICKETS HERE | |  | Small Things Like These (12A)
OFS at Hermon Chapel
Wednesday 23rd April 7:30pm Oscar® winner Cillian Murphy delivers a stunning performance as devoted father Bill Furlong in this film based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Claire Keegan. While working as a coal merchant to support his family, he discovers disturbing secrets kept by the local convent — and uncovers truths of his own — forcing him to confront his past and the complicit silence of a small Irish town controlled by the Catholic Church. "Claire Keegan's acclaimed Magdalene laundries novella reaches the big screen in director Tim Mielant's atmospheric adaptation" **** - Can Brooks, The Guardian Run Time: 1 hour 38 mins BOOK TICKETS HERE | |  | Chuck Chuck Baby (15)
OFS at Hermon Chapel
Wednesday 30th April 7:30pm? A film of love, loss and music set amongst the falling feathers of a chicken factory. Present day, industrial north Wales. Helen spends her nights packing chickens and her days caring for dying mother-figure Gwen. Helen's mundane world is turned upside down by the return of Joanne, a crush from her schooldays. The feeling is mutual, and as they fall in love, Helen's zest for life returns – but Joanne feels the walls close in as she faces something darker from her past. Run Time: 1 hour 41 mins BOOK TICKETS HERE | |  | A Complete Unknown (15)
OFS at Hermon Chapel
Wednesday 7th May 7:30pm? Set in the influential New York music scene of the early 60s, A COMPLETE UNKNOWN follows 19-year-old Minnesota musician BOB DYLAN's (Timothée Chalamet) meteoric rise as a folk singer to concert halls and the top of the charts – his songs and mystique becoming a worldwide sensation – culminating in his ground breaking electric rock and roll performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. Run Time: 2 hours 20 mins BOOK TICKETS HERE | | This year marks the 24th edition of WOW, celebrating the very best of Welsh and world cinema.
4th March - 20th April From 21 March to 4 April 2025, we'll bring the magic of film to communities across Wales before concluding with an unforgettable week in Aberystwyth.?
WOW is the only UK festival dedicated principally to films from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Wales' longest running film festival, WOW showcases thought provoking, eye-opening films from places you rarely get to see on screen. For 24 years we have brought a wide range of the very best international films to cinemas across Wales. Our tour starts in Bangor, travels through Carmarthen and Fishguard, and culminates in the vibrant Aberystwyth and our festival 'home,' its Arts Centre. At every stop, we'll showcase a rich variety of films that highlight local talent and global stories. "The accessibility and diverse range of storytelling - discovering my new favourite film of the year which I otherwise wouldn't have heard of, let alone seen!"
"As usually it is the high quality of the films.... I find the films at WOW festival really deep, eye-opening and a great opportunity for reflection."
"Independent cinema at its finest—bold, peculiar, and from places you do not get to see on screen that often. It was an immersive experience into storytelling that feels so authentic and untouched."? Join us as we celebrate 24 incredible years of WOW and the power of cinema to connect and inspire.
Find the full programme with booking links on the WOW website: HERE | | |
