The Housewarming Club presents… Almodóvar Tuesdays at Eclipse – Young Esteban wants to become a writer and also to discover the identity of his father, carefully concealed by his mother Manuela. – A Greek saying states that only women who have washed their eyes with tears can see clearly. This saying does not hold true for Manuela. The night a car ran over her son Esteban, Manuela cried until her eyes ran completely dry. Far from seeing clearly, the present and the future become mixed up in darkness. She begins looking for his father who has become a transvestite.
A screening of four distinct short-films written and directed by both emerging and established Chinese-Australian directors. TICKETS AVAILABLE VIA LINK: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/chinese-australian-spotlight-screening-tickets-1999845992197 The selected works include: FISH FIGHT — dir. Alyssa Wong THE DANCING GIRL & THE BALLOON MAN — dir. David Ma AUSTRALIAN DREAM — dir. Ji Li WHEN THE SKY WAS BLUE — dir. Rae Choi All revenue raised will go towards ‘Loose Ends’ – a Swinburne University short film written and directed by Faith Quah.
CULT CLASSIX …a presentation of Umbrella films – Widower Shigeharuseeks advice on how to find a new wife from a colleague. Taking advantage of their position as a film company, they stage an audition. Interviewing a series of women, Shigeharu is enchanted by the quiet Asami. But soon things take a twisted turn as Asami isn’t what she seems to be.
CULT CLASSIX …a presentation of Umbrella films – Philip Brophy’s hilariously bonkers debut feature makes an oozing, suppurating, bloody mess of Melbourne suburbia. – Everybody needs good neighbours. But if they don’t arrive in time with their warnings about those dietary supplement pills found in your letterbox, you might lose more weight than you bargained for – as the unfortunate residents of Pebbles Court discover. That tardy alarm-raising good Samaritan’s message? “The first phase is hallucinogenic. The second phase is glandular. The third is … arrgghhh!” – “One of the best movies of its type – a cool, sexy, gory, funny horror film.” – Quentin Tarantino, The Movie Show (2003)
Cult Classix: a presentation of Umbrella films – Another unsung masterpiece by the psychedlic, sprawling filmmaking genius Alejandro Jodorowsky (THE HOLY MOUNTAIN) – In Jodorowsky’s notorious acid Western, the desert is a land where a boy becomes a man by burying his childhood in the sand at the age of seven; where all sexuality is predatory and all affection is both the only salvation and an unforgivable weakness; where God’s will is revealed at the point of a gun and the only thing worse than the vast, lawless desert is the barbarism of civilization. – El Topo follows its hero through the shifting sands of a quest which suggests an allegory of religious conflict, a representation of the connection between psychedelic culture and spiritual exploration. Throughout the titular protagonist’s journey, voices come from the wrong mouths and flashes of events hint at motivations which none of the characters are quite realised enough to truly embody. Yet while the dense symbology of the film never fully settles, the story runs on an inexorable internal logic all its own as it moves toward a third act that reveals an unexpected sweetness just before its explosive conclusion.
Cult Classix: …a presentation of Umbrella films – Sexual deviant Frank (Sean Chapman) inadvertently opens a portal to hell when he tinkers with a box he bought while abroad. The act unleashes gruesome beings called Cenobites, who tear Frank’s body apart. When Frank’s brother (Andrew Robinson) and his wife, Julia (Clare Higgins), move into Frank’s old house, they accidentally bring what is left of Frank back to life. Frank then convinces Julia, his one-time lover, to lure men back to the house so he can use their blood to reconstruct himself.
CULT CLASSIX …a presentation of Umbrella films – 4k Restoration Hailed by The Guardian as “the last great film of the 90s”, Human Traffic is an unapologetic celebration of club culture and hedonism that has lost none of its energy. – Five Cardiff friends — trapped in dead-end jobs, bad relationships and dysfunctional families — plan a night out to remember. What follows is a wild, funny and surprisingly tender journey through clubs, drugs, pubs and parties, with unexpected epiphanies along the way. – Propelled by a joyous central performance from John Simm and marking Danny Dyer’s barnstorming feature debut, the film crackles with authenticity — and an unparalleled soundtrack featuring Underworld, Matthew Herbert, Fatboy Slim, Primal Scream and Orbital.
CULT CLASSIX …a presentation of Umbrella films – Stunning 4k restoration of this seminal Aussie coming-of-age class. – At seventeen Josie Alibrandi is a girl with attitude about to enter her final year as a scholarship student at an exclusive Catholic College. It’s the year her life is turned upside down and changed forever. She meets her father for the first time; discovers some astonishing things about her family heritage; falls in love – with the wrong guy – and has her first painful encounter with grief.
Cult Classix: …a presentation of Umbrella films – Often referred to as one of the scariest films ever made, PULSE (Japanese title: KAIRO) tells the story of a group of young friends rocked by the sudden suicide of one of their own, and his subsequent, ghostly reappearance in grainy computer and video images. Is he trying to contact them from beyond the grave or is there something more sinister afoot? The mysterious floppy disk they find in the dead man’s apartment may provide a clue, but instead launches a program that seems to present odd, ethereal transmissions of people engaged in solitary activities in their apartments. But there is something not quite right in the appearance and behavior of these lonely souls. Soon, there are more strange deaths and disappearances within the group, terrifying rooms sealed in red tape, and the appearance of more ghosts as the city of Tokyo – and the world – is slowly drained of life.
CULT CLASSIX …a presentation of Umbrella films – Widely considered to be the most shocking and hallucinatory horror movie in history -and described by Argento as “an escalating experimental nightmare”, SUSPIRIA stars Jessica Harper as a young American ballet student who arrives at a prestigious European dance academy and is confronted by a series of bizarre and horrific deaths. Packed with vicious violence, ultra gory effects and dazzling cinematic set pieces, SUSPIRIA is a gruesomely Gothic masterpiece of the macabre.
CULT CLASSIX …a presentation of Umbrella films – A gang of outlaws roams the countryside of Thailand. Among them is the handsome gunslinger Dum (Chartchai Ngamsan), who became an unwillingly bandit whilst trying to reclaim his beloved, Rumpoey (Stella Malucchi), the posh daughter of a provincial governor who’s been married off to a policeman. Dubbed the Black Tiger by his gang, Dum finds himself being pursued by the very same policeman who’s taken his love, and does everything in his power to reach her. – Ultra-stylised with richly saturated colour and packed with exuberant sets, stunning shots, a stirring soundtrack, Wisit Sasanatieng’s Thai ‘western’ TEARS OF THE BLACK TIGER was the first Thai film to be selected for competition at the Cannes Film Festival, premiering in 2001.
CULT CLASSIX …a presentation of Umbrella films – 10th Anniversary Screening: WIN a boxed set of the film + Anna Biller’s short film series. – Elaine, a beautiful young witch, is determined to find a man to love her. In her gothic Victorian apartment she makes spells and potions, and then picks up men and seduces them. However her spells work too well, and she ends up with a string of hapless victims. When she finally meets the man of her dreams, her desperation to be loved will drive her to the brink of insanity and murder. With a visual style that pays tribute to Technicolor thrillers of the 1960s, THE LOVE WITCH explores female fantasy and the repercussions of pathological narcissism.
Cult Classix: a presentation of Umbrella films – Follow a small group of elderly “Peeping Toms” through the shadows and margins of an unfamiliar world. Crudely documented by the participants themselves, we follow the debased and shocking actions of a group of true sociopaths the likes of which have never been seen before. Inhabiting a world of broken dreams and beyond the limits of morality, they crash against a torn and frayed America.
In 1970s New Zealand, young Brian is devastated by the loss of his mother and determined to stop his dad from marrying the woman he sees as her replacement. Convinced he can reach his mother through prayer and penance, Brian finds refuge at a run-down convent with three delightfully eccentric elderly nuns. But when he overhears plans to shut the convent down and split the sisters apart, sending the most vulnerable to a terrifying institution, Brian sparks an unlikely mission: escape to the Southern Alps to find a former nun-turned-lawyer who might just save them all. For Brian, it’s more than a legal battle—he believes this is the miracle he’s been praying for, a chance to reunite with his mother atop the sacred mountain, Aoraki. What follows is a wild, hilarious, and heartwarming road trip as a boy and three nuns face down their fears, outwit crooked officials, lose a sister to fishmongers, and even cash a bet shop win, all while racing against time to save their beloved convent. With its soul firmly planted in faith, family, and fierce loyalty, Holy Days is a joyful comedy packed with heart, humour, and high-speed hijinks. It’s a story about letting go, holding on, and finding home in the most unexpected places.
Friends on a late-night food run become trapped on an infinite highway with otherworldly terrors lurking beyond. Confined in their Jeep Cherokee, they must decide whether to accept their fate or attempt escape.
The Housewarming Club presents… Almodóvar Tuesdays at Eclipse – Forced to retire after a goring, matador Diego Montez (Nacho Martínez) has since become a teacher. Among his students is Angel (Antonio Banderas), a naive boy so perversely desperate to impress that he attempts to rape Diego’s girlfriend, Eva (Eva Cobo). He fails, but turns himself in regardless, also confessing to a series of murders he’s recently seen in psychic visions. A lawyer (Assumpta Serna) steps in to defend him, but the police are unconvinced…
SHAUN THE SHEEP: THE BEAST OF MOSSY BOTTOM sees the residents of Mossy Bottom Farm looking forward to Halloween – until the clumsy Farmer trashes the Flock’s beloved pumpkin patch! When Shaun turns MAD SCIENTIST to fix the problem, things rapidly spiral out of control… With The Farmer missing and a wild beast roaming the woods of Mossingham, all the ingredients are in place for a monstrously fun family adventure.
Hayao Miyazaki’s Academy Award®-winning masterpiece returns to cinemas for a limited time in celebration of its 20th Anniversary. Chihiro thinks she is on another boring trip with her parents. But when they stop at a village that is not all that it seems, her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, and Chihiro is whisked into a world of fantastic spirits, shape-shifting dragons and a witch who never wants to see her leave. She must call on the courage she never knew she had to free herself and return her family to the outside world. The biggest box office hit of all time in Japan (surpassed only recently by Demon Slayer the Movie), Spirited Away helped redefine the possibilities of animation for Western audiences and a generation of new filmmakers. Combining Japanese mythology with Alice in Wonderland-type whimsy, Spirited Away cemented Miyazaki’s reputation as an icon of animation and storytelling.
Filmmaker Q&A with Director James Ivor, Benjamin Ballette (DOP) and Gary Brun – STORM BIRD is a character driven comedy-drama that follows Richard Hollingsworth, a once-revered classical musician, now reclusive nihilist, living out his final months in tropical North Queensland. When Jack, a crass, working-class neighbour facing jail time, saves him from a sudden heart attack, their lives unexpectedly intertwine. Together with Carla, a sharp New York author documenting Richard’s life, the three unlikely companions spend a transformative weekend together, journeying deep into the rainforest and forging unexpected bonds across social divides, whilst confronting the sobering reality that each of their lives is about to change drastically.
After years of slapdash sequels and waning fandom, the Camp Miasma slasher franchise is handed over to an enthusiastic young director (Hannah Einbinder, Hacks) for resurrection. But when she visits the original movie’s star (Gillian Anderson, The X-Files, Sex Education), a now-reclusive actress shrouded in mystery, the two women fall into a blood-soaked world of desire, fear, and delirium.
When three upwardly mobile millennial couples descend on a luxury Southern Highlands farmstay to celebrate a joint birthday, the weekend spirals out of control and the dark foibles of the Australian bourgeoisie are laid bare. Sophisticated and sardonic, The Birthday Trip announces itself as Australia’s answer to the intricate and wryly funny cinema of Noah Baumbach and Joachim Trier. – With an acclaimed ensemble cast including Luke Jacobz (Home and Away), David Quirk (Rosehaven, Please Like Me), Annelise Hall (Grease, MammaMia), Ben Gerrard (Wolf Creek, The Fall Guy) and Sapphire Blossom (Mr Inbetween, Slapper), this uniquely Australian drama is equal parts sophisticated and satirical, speaking loudly to the current moment. – “Funny, sharp, incredible performances. Very clever satire, in conversation with Joachim Trier” Jared Richards (ABC, SMH, The Guardian, The Monthly) – “An intense handheld character study taking a leaf from Steven Soderbergh. That rare film that literally gets better with each progressive minute.” FilmInk
Freshly graduated lawyer Mehdi joins his girlfriend Garance at her family’s luxury villa in the South of France. On arrival, he discovers a conflict simmering between the Garance’s wealthy parents and the caretakers they employ off the books to maintain the estate. Convinced his modest upbringing gives him the right perspective, Mehdi steps in to mediate between the two warring parties, certain he can restore order. But things start to escalate…
Deep within the backwoods of rural Oklahoma, charismatic and musically gifted Amziah King (Matthew McConaughey) herds a bluegrass-playing band of misfits while overseeing the premier honey-making operation in town. When Amziah’s estranged foster daughter (Angelina LookingGlass) unexpectedly returns, Amziah leaps at the possibility to renew connection and create a family business. But the honey game is ruthless, and Amziah’s rivals threaten to destroy everything he has built.
$15 BUBS SCREENING – All welcome! – Deep within the backwoods of rural Oklahoma, charismatic and musically gifted Amziah King (Matthew McConaughey) herds a bluegrass-playing band of misfits while overseeing the premier honey-making operation in town. When Amziah’s estranged foster daughter (Angelina LookingGlass) unexpectedly returns, Amziah leaps at the possibility to renew connection and create a family business. But the honey game is ruthless, and Amziah’s rivals threaten to destroy everything he has built.
Miércoles con Almodóvar This colorful and controversial tribute to the pleasures & perils of Stockholm syndrome is a rambunctious dark comedy starring Antonio Banderas as an alluring ex-mental patient & Victoria Abril as the former porn star he takes prisoner; hoping she will marry him. A highly unconventional romance, this is a splashy, sexy central work in the career of one of the world’s most beloved and provocative auteurs, radiantly shot by the director’s great cinematographer, José Luis Alcaine.
“Winner of the Documentary Australia Award at Sydney Film Festival 2026” – Set in a remote town in China, when a once-proud patriarch suffers a stroke, the burden of his care falls on his estranged wife, who has long wanted to leave their unhappy marriage, and his second daughter, a single mother struggling to make ends meet. Time and Tide is a hybrid nonfiction film about contemporary China, seen through the eyes of a multi-generational family navigating ageing, hurt and the weight of family responsibility. – “A raw and intimate fly-on-the-wall portrait of a family in flux, as they grapple with life’s big questions … Time and Tide may zoom in on the minutiae of one family, but it also speaks to broader themes of familial responsibility and the pressures of contemporary Chinese society.” – Doc Weekly
The Housewarming Club presents… Almodóvar Tuesdays at Eclipse – When Pepa Marcos’ (Carmen Maura) lover Ivan (Fernando Guillén) suddenly leaves her without any explanation, she embarks on a strange journey to discover why. On the way she meets a variety of eccentric characters, including Ivan’s son from a previous relationship (Antonio Banderas), his fiancee Marissa (Rossy de Palma) and a Shiite terrorist cell who have been secretly holding her best friend Candela (María Barranco) hostage. It’s a film noir take on the romantic comedy