Join us for the opening night of Woody Allen’s new comedy, Magic In The Moonlight. The pre film entertainment is brought to you by Uptown Brown and his patented “Goodtimes Gyratorscope”, a musical machine which permits this athletic fellow to play multiple instruments at once.  Using leftover parts from a disused biplane (which he himself had crashed), Brown delights with a repertoire drawn largely from the 1920s.

The 20's are coming to Westgarth on Friday the 29th of August, from 6.30pm.

We are so excited to announce that Joel Edgerton and Director Matthew Saville will be joining us at a Q&A for thier new film Felony on Sunday August 17 at Cinema Como. Due to an overwhelming response, we have also opened up a second session where Joel and Matthew will do an introduction preceding a screening of Felony.

Three detectives become embroiled in a tense struggle after a tragic accident that leaves a child in critical condition. One is guilty of a crime, one will try to cover it up, and the other attempts to expose it. How far will these men go to disguise and unravel the truth?

FELONY screening followed by a Q&A with Joel Edgerton and director Matthew Saville

Sunday August 17

4.30pm screening

Tickets: $20 Movie Club | $25 General Admission

Now in its 11th year, the AICE Israeli Film Festival presents the best of contemporary Israeli cinema to Australian audiences. From rollicking comedies to sensitive dramas, from riveting, political documentaries to hot-blooded romance, the exciting selection of films in this year’s program reflects the growing strength of Israeli cinema. Screening from August 20 - September 4 at Palace Brighton Bay, Cinema Como and Kino Cinemas.

Premiere of SELF MADE (Boreg) | Directed by Shira Geffen

Join us for the premiere of SELF MADE from Cannes-Award-Winning director Shira Geffen. Starring Sarah Adler and Samira Saraya, this highly-acclaimed film will be preceded by canapés, wine and live entertainment.

Palace Cinema Como

Wednesday 20 August

6:00pm Arrival

7.00pm Film Screening

Palace Movie Club Members $35 | General Admission $40

The film will be preceded by canapés, wine and live entertainment.

Premiere of THE GREEN PRINCE | Directed by Nadav Schirman

Celebrate the closing night with wine on arrival, followed by the premiere screening of Nadav Schirman's gripping documentary THE GREEN PRINCE that won the Audience Award for World Cinema Documentary at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.

Palace Cinema Como

Thursday 4 September

6.00pm wine on arrival | 6.30pm film screening

Palace Movie Club Members $21 | General Admission $26

Richard Linklater’s BOYHOOD -- a fictional drama made with the same group of actors over a 12-year period from 2002-2013 -- takes a one-of-a-kind trip, at once epic and intimate, through the exhilaration of childhood, the seismic shifts of a modern family and the very passage of time.

With sold out sessions at the Melbourne International Film Festival, BOYHOOD tracks 6 year-old Mason (Ellar Coltrane) over life’s most radically fluctuating decade, through a familiar whirl of family moves, family controversies, faltering marriages, re-marriages, new schools, first loves, lost loves, good times, scary times and a constantly unfolding mix of heartbreak and wonder. But the results are unpredictable, as one moment braids into the next, entwining into a deeply personal experience of the incidents that shape us as we grow up and the ever-changing nature of our lives. Read more

In THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY, Hassan Kadam (Manish Dayal) is a culinary ingénue with the gastronomic equivalent of perfect pitch. Displaced from their native India, the Kadam family, led by Papa (Om Puri), settles in the quaint village of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val in the south of France.

Filled with charm, it is both picturesque and elegant – the ideal place to settle down and open an Indian restaurant, the Maison Mumbai. That is, until the chilly chef proprietress of Le Saule Pleureur, a Michelin starred, classical French restaurant run by Madame Mallory (Academy Award®-winner Helen Mirren) gets wind of it. Read more...

Bringing a dash of Mediterranean romance to 15 superb Palace locations from mid-September to late October, the Lavazza Italian Film Festival’s 15th annual outing will screen 35 show-stopping new features and documentaries and one glamorous classic, showcasing the charisma of Italy’s most engaging actors, from Kim Rossi Stuart, Raoul Bova, Monica Bellucci and Claudio Santamaria to Giovanna Mezzorgiorno, Valeria Golino, Margherita Buy and Sergio Rubini.  Screening at Palace Balwyn, Brighton Bay, Cinema Como, Kino and Westgarth from September 17 - October 12.

Marina, a gloriously entertaining biopic that tells the true story of singer, songwriter and accordionist, Rocco Granata, will launch the 2014 Lavazza Italian Film Festival.  

Doctor Who makes a spectacular return to the big screen in the feature-length première episode of Series 8; DEEP BREATH.

DEEP BREATH reunites the newly regenerated Doctor and returning companion Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) with series regulars and fan favourites the Paternoster Gang - Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh), Jenny Flint (Catrin Stewart) and Strax (Dan Starkey) – in a pulse-racing adventure through Victorian London. Read more...

Melbourne’s leading Thereminist, Miles Brown is playing LIVE at Palace Westgarth for the premiere of the new Dr Who season.

Miles was taught to play the Theremin by Lydia Kavina; the world’s leading classical thereminist, and grand-niece of Leon Theremin, the inventor of the instrument. He has played with the likes of Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson and Dan Kelly.

Let Miles transport you to another dimension with the central instrument of the iconic Dr Who theme on Sunday 24th from 9.30am. Be prepared for more Whovian surprises on the day!

The films that shaped your childhood are back with our third program of FLASHBACK FILMS, a specially curated selection of much loved classic family films, perfect for all ages at Palace Balwyn and Dendy Brighton.

FLASHBACK FILMS transports us through the ages to the films that shaped our childhoods.Whether you want to introduce a new generation to these much loved gems or relive the films that shaped your childhood FLASHBACK FILMS is perfect for everyone.

10:30am Saturdays and Sundays at Palace Balwyn and Dendy Brighton.

All tickets $8 Palace Movie Club Members $10 full

A video game villain wants to be a hero and sets out to fulfil his dream, but his quest brings havoc to the whole arcade where he lives.

Slip back in time and fall into your favourite genre with Vintage Classics at Kino! Vintage Classics at Kino presents an eclectic selection of cinema so you can slip back in time, fall into their favourite genre and relive much-loved films from bygone eras on the silver screen.

Vintage Classics include cult hits One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), To Kill A Mockingbird (1962), and Pulp Fiction (1994), as well as The Dark Crystal (1982), Jaws (1975), Animal House (1978), Apocalypse Now (1979), Dirty Dancing (1987), The Blues Brothers (1980), and Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979).

Palace Westgarth are excited to be bringing you Sunday Serenades: a regular program of live music from local artists.

Enjoy a heart-warming elixir of good wine, exquisite surrounds and beguiling music every Sunday evening from 6pm in the foyer of the Westgarth Cinema.

Our inaugural performers are the highly praised Miles and Simone; a local acoustic folk duo who’s soaring vocals are augmented by pedal steel and the plunk of an old banjo. They have collaborated with the like of Darren Hanlon and their debut album was produced in the famed Type Foundry Studios in Portland, Oregon.

Fall in love with Miles and Simone on Sunday 31st of August from 6pm at Palace Westgarth.

The stylish Spierig Brothers take on time travel in this intelligent thriller that was the opening night film at this years Melbourne International Film Festival.

Predestination chronicles the life of a Temporal Agent sent on an intricate series of time-travel journeys designed to ensure the continuation of his law enforcement career for all eternity. Now, on his final assignment, the Agent must pursue the one criminal that has eluded him throughout time.

Ethan Hawke carries much of the film with a nuanced performance as the time-travelling agent, backed by an on-form Noah Taylor as his enigmatic boss. Sarah Snook,  meanwhile, dazzles with a revelatory and intimate turn, lending both her character and the film an uncommon emotional weight.

Shot on location in and around Melbourne, Predestination offers a distinctive blend of sci-fi, noir and crime fiction with a Bukowskian streak. True to the Australian twins’ directorial style, it investigates bigger questions – here, of destiny and identity – with wit and insight

Commencing August 28th at Palace Cinema Como, Dendy Brighton and Kino Cinemas

Two men separated by 100 years are united in their search for freedom.

In 1856 a slave, Samuel Woodward (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) and his family, escape from the Monroe Plantation near Richmond, Virginia.  A secret network of ordinary people known as the Underground Railroad guide the family on their journey north to Canada. 100 years earlier in 1748, John Newton the Captain of a slave trader sails from Africa with a cargo of slaves, bound for America. On board is Samuel’s great grandfather whose survival is tied to the fate of Captain Newton. Read more.

Commencing August 21 at Palace Balwyn, Cinema Como, Dendy Brighton and Kino Cinemas

In 2014 Melbourne Writers Festival will connect writers and stories to celebrate a world of literature, explore universal ideas, and inspire a global community of readers. The 2014 program has launched featuring literary legends announced including Helen Garner, Chris Hadfield, Sir Salman Rushdie, Maria Popova of Brain Pickings and Dave Eggers, there's something for everyone. 

GIVEAWAY! Thanks to our friends at the Melbourne Writers Festival, we have ten tickets to giveaway to sessions including Australian Gothic Cinema, In Conversation Erri de Luca, and Sound is the New Story. For your chance to win, simply email your name and address to [email protected] and tell us why you would like to attend. Entries close August 20. Good luck!

Check it out here: mwf.com.au      #MWF14

Screening from Wednesday 27 to Sunday 31 August, Artistic Director of the Bayside Film Festival, Richard Moore, who is helming the festival for the second consecutive year, has continued to expand the program by sourcing an outstanding and varied slate of independent features from around the globe.

Opening night will see the Victorian premiere of the US thriller, Cold in July, directed by Jim Mickle (Stake Land, We Are What We Are) and starring Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepard and Don Johnson.  Nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and screening courtesy of Umbrella Entertainment, this genre-bending tale follows an average family man whose uneventful life erupts after he accidentally kills a home intruder.

The four days of the festival will also bring to you the renowned Youth Project and Jump Cut, the short film competition which, in keeping with the event’s proud tradition, continue to showcase the talent of young, local filmmakers.

See the full program here.