The Film Club meets the second Tuesday of the month and watches films from all genres and eras.
July's movie is Bicycle Thieves. This film won the Oscar in 1950 for outstanding foreign language film released in the United States during 1949.
Watch the trailer Here:
About the film:
Hailed around the world as one of the greatest movies ever made, the Academy Award–winning Bicycle Thieves, directed by Vittorio De Sica, defined an era in cinema. In poverty-stricken postwar Rome, a man is on his first day of a new job that offers hope of salvation for his desperate family when his bicycle, which he needs for work, is stolen. With his young son in tow, he sets off to track down the thief. Simple in construction and profoundly rich in human insight, Bicycle Thieves embodies the greatest strengths of the Italian neorealist movement: emotional clarity, social rectitude, and brutal honesty.
Screenings are led by Mark Holding, a film studies professor.
The screenings include a comprehensive handout, brief intro to the film, and end with a group discussion. Popcorn and cold drinks served. This is similar to a book club and a great group of people. Mark is very open to input on the films to screen.
The library holds a Swank Movie License.
About Mark:
For Mark, films create community and foster empathy.
Growing up in the UK, Mark’s frequent visits to ‘the pictures’ provided him with, among many other wonders, his first window into the New World and all things American. It was the beginning of a love affair. When he moved to New Hampshire in the early 80s, Mark began a lifelong career teaching English and Film Studies at three New Hampshire public high schools and at St. Paul’s Advanced Studies Program. Exploring and studying films with his students, Mark discovered film’s power as a cross-generational connection. When he retired, he collaborated with Carol Nelson at the Peterborough Community Theatre to host a popular weekly Film Club, where movie fans and film buffs shared their thoughts in post-viewing large-group discussions. He currently teaches an Introduction to Film Studies course at Keene State College’s CALL continuing ed. program. All these teaching/moderating experiences have confirmed Mark’s belief that discussion is the single most helpful way to a greater understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of film.
Peterborough Town Library, located downtown at the corner of Main and Concord/Rt 202, has a large meeting room, study rooms, classroom, and a board room available to the public.
