Bienvenido to the 2012 Spanish Film Festival, presented by Estrella Damm! Celebrating its 15th birthday, this year’s festival will warm your winter with a rich selection of contemporary Spanish language cinema. The festival will run from Thursday July 5 until Sunday July 15 at Palace Cinema Como and Kino Cinemas.

OPENING NIGHT
AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT (La Chispa de la Vida)
Thursday 5 July, 6.30pm for 7.00pm
Palace Cinema Como
Movie Club Members $45 / General Admission $50
Includes sangria on arrival, Premiere screening, official after party with beer courtesy of Estrella Damm, wines courtesy of Torres Wines, and live latin salsa band Los Rumberos!

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AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT
The gorgeous Salma Hayek stars in this riveting satire about an out of work advertising executive who inadvertently becomes an overnight news phenomenon when an accident puts him in mortal danger. From his life-threatening predicament, Roberto (Jose Mota) seizes the opportunity as a chance to sell his story to the highest bidder and provide for his family. Engrossing at every turn, maverick Spanish filmmaker Álex de la Iglesia’s film is a biting satire about the machinations of today’s sensation-hungry media. Seamlessly moving between drama and black comedy, the heart of the film lies in the pitch-perfect performances from Mota, in his big-screen debut, and the always brilliant Hayek.

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For more information on the festival, please visit www.spanishfilmfestival.com.

Please join us for a very special event with the esteemed Crispin Hellion Glover at Palace Westgarth on July 13th and 14th where Crispin himself will perform live.

Crispin Hellion Glover performs one hour dramatic narrations of eight different profusely illustrated books over two nights. The images from the books are projected behind Mr. Glover during his performances. Then two different features are shown over the two nights.

"Crispin Hellion Glover's Big Slide Show part 2"
Friday July 13th, 8.30pm
Palace Westgarth
Screening of the film
'It is fine! EVERYTHING IS FINE'
followed by a question and answer session with Crispin Hellion Glover with a book signing to follow.
All tickets $32

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"Crispin Hellion Glover's Big Slide Show part 1"
Saturday July 14th, 8.30pm
Palace Westgarth
Screening of the film
'What is it?'
followed by a question and answer session with Crispin Hellion Glover with a book signing to follow.
All tickets $32

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Written and directed by Nadine Labaki, this heart-warming modern fable follows Labaki's impressive directorial debut Caramel. Set in a small, isolated Lebanese village, a group of Muslim and Christian women band together to ingeniously devise a plan to distract the local menfolk in an attempt to defuse mounting inter-religious tensions. Most days, the women gather at the cafe of feisty Christian widow Amal (Labaki) to work on joint projects and share gossip and song. These resourceful women, of all ages, shapes and sizes, united by their unwavering friendship, try almost every means at their disposal. As a series of chaotic incidents tests the women's ingenuity, can they manage, with their usual sass, to successfully stave off the fall-out from the distant war? Extraordinarily inventive and often comical, Where Do We Go Now? received a five minute standing ovation at its Cannes premiere, and won the Audience Award at the 2011 Toronto Film Festival.

"Spirited, upbeat and seasoned with musical sequences, Where Do We Go Now? has an abundance of charm" - Allan Hunter, Daily Express

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Now Showing at Palace Brighton Bay, Cinema Como and Kino Cinemas

BRAVE 2D and 3D [PG]
Since ancient times, stories of epic battles and mystical legends have been passed through the generations across the rugged and mysterious Highlands of Scotland. In BRAVE, a new tale joins the lore when the courageous Merida (voice of Kelly Macdonald) confronts tradition, destiny and the fiercest of beasts.

Merida is a skilled archer and impetuous daughter of King Fergus (voice of Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (voice of Emma Thompson). Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the uproarious Lords of the land. Merida’s actions inadvertently unleash chaos and fury in the kingdom, and when she turns to an eccentric old Wise Woman (voice of Julie Walters) for help, she is granted an ill-fated wish. The ensuing peril forces Merida to discover the meaning of true bravery in order to undo a beastly curse before it’s too late.

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Now Showing at Palace Balwyn 2D 3D, Dendy Brighton 2D 3D and Westgarth 2D
 

ICE AGE 4: CONTINENTAL DRIFT 2D and 3D [PG]

Scrat’s nutty pursuit of the cursed acorn, which he’s been after since the dawn of time, has world-changing consequences – a continental cataclysm that triggers the greatest adventure of all for Manny, Diego and Sid. In the wake of these upheavals, Sid reunites with his cantankerous Granny, and the herd encounters a ragtag menagerie of seafaring pirates determined to stop them from returning home.

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Now Showing at Palace Balwyn 2D 3D, Dendy Brighton 2D 3D and Westgarth 2D
  

THE THREE STOOGES [PG]

Left on a nun's doorstep, Larry, Curly and Moe grow up finger-poking, nyuk-nyuking and woo-woo-wooing their way to uncharted levels of knuckleheaded misadventure. Out to save their childhood home, only The Three Stooges could become embroiled in an oddball murder plot...while also stumbling into starring in a phenomenally successful TV reality show.

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Now Showing at Palace Balwyn and Dendy Brighton

KATY PERRY: PART OF ME 3D [CTC]

A motion picture event movie, Katy Perry: Part of Me 3D is a backstage pass, front row seat and intimate look at the fun, glamorous, heartbreaking, inspiring, crazy, magical, passionate, and honest mad diary of Katy.

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The Amazing Spider-Man is the story of Peter Parker (Garfield, The Social Network), an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field). Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Stone), and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets.

As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance – leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Ifans), his father’s former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors’ alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.

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Commencing July 5th at Palace Balwyn 2D 3D, Dendy Brighton 2D 3D, Kino 2D and Westgarth 2D

The daily grind for the police officers of the Child Protection Unit - taking in child molesters, busting underage pickpockets and chewing over relationship issues at lunch; interrogating abusive parents, taking statements from children, confronting the excesses of teen sexuality, enjoying solidarity with colleagues and laughing uncontrollably at the most unthinkable moments. Knowing the worst exists and living with it. How do these police officers balance their private lives and the reality they confront every working day?

Fred, the group's hypersensitive wild card, is going to have a hard time facing the scrutiny of Melissa, a photographer on a Ministry of the Interior assignment to document the unit.

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Warning: Some viewers may find this film disturbing. Please read synopsis and take note of rating before seeing this film.

Now Showing at Palace Brighton Bay, Cinema Como and Kino

Tickets are now on sale for the epic conclusion to filmmaker Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. Midnight sessions and first week of release are now on sale.

Christian Bale once again dons the cape for the dual role of Bruce Wayne/Batman, alongside the rest of the infamous cast. Following the death of District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman assumes the responsibility for his crimes to protect Dent's reputation, and is subsequently hunted by the Gotham City Police. Eight years after the events of The Dark Knight, terrorist leader Bane (Tom Hardy, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) arrives in Gotham City. Pushing the police to their limits, the city is forced to call for their exiled former-hero to resurface.

Revisit BATMAN BEGINS [M] and THE DARK KNIGHT [M] before seeing the third and final film - THE DARK KNIGHT RISES [CTC]

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Commencing July 19th at Palace Balwyn, Brighton Bay, Dendy Brighton, Kino and Westgarth with selected midnight screenings.

"Paquin creates that rarest of things: a profoundly unsympathetic character who is mysteriously, mesmerically, operatically compelling to watch."
Peter Bradshaw - The Guardian UK

From the director of You Can Count On Me comes MARGARET starring Anna Paquin, Matt Damon, Mark Ruffalo and Kieran Culkin.  Margaret centres on a 17-year-old New York City high-school student who feels certain that she inadvertently played a role in a traffic accident that has claimed a woman's life. In her attempts to set things right she meets with opposition at every step. Torn apart with frustration, she begins emotionally brutalizing her family, her friends, her teachers, and most of all, herself. She has been confronted quite unexpectedly with a basic truth: that her youthful ideals are on  a collision course against the realities and compromises of the adult world.   

Commencing July 12th at Palace Cinema Como

This July, “boldly go where no one has gone before” and don’t miss the only opportunity to see two of the most popular Next Generation episodes, Ep. 106 “Where No One Has Gone Before” and Ep. 114 “Datalore” which have undergone a $10 million restoration with enhanced special effects,on the big screen.

This special ‘alternate content’ event will include exclusive looks at the massive restoration of season one, never-before-seen interviews with the original cast members and behind-the-scenes looks at the artists who created the original FX elements and photography during the making of the show. Audiences will also be privy to an unseen sneak-peak of “Measure of a Man.”

Set in the 24th century, The Next Generation was created by Gene Roddenberry over 20 years after the original Star Trek series. The Next Generation became the longest running series of the Star Trek franchise, consisting of 178 episodes over 7 seasons.

Star Trek: The Next Generation 25th Anniversary Event is the first opportunity to see this transcendent digital presentation like no one before, in cinemas, on July 26. Check your local cinema listings for details.

Don’t miss seeing the futuristic world created in the past.

Screening Details

7.00pm Thursday 26 July

Palace Westgarth and Kino Cinemas

Adults $25, Movie Club / Concession $20, Children $15

Westgarth Tickets   Kino Tickets

If you're a parent or guardian with a little one in arms and craving a quality movie fix, our Babes In Arms® sessions 11.00am every Thursday at Palace Balwyn, Cinema Como, Dendy Brighton, Kino and Westgarth are designed with you in mind. These screenings are specifically designed for parents and their bubs, and are a perfect opportunity to catch a latest release film in the comfort of a lightly dimmed cinema with lower sound, easy pram access, and no one minds how much noise is made; half the audience are in nappies!

To subscribe to our Babes in Arms® Enews, click here

Join us on Thursday 21 June for our Babes in Arms screenings and each person in attendance will receive a bonus InStyle magazine.

Balwyn  
July 5th - A Royal Affair
July 12th - Not Suitable for Children

Cinema Como
 July 5th - Where Do We Go Now?
July 12th - Hysteria

Dendy Brighton
July 5th - Rock of Ages
July 12th - Not Suitable for Children

Kino 
July 5th - A Royal Affair
July 12th - Hysteria

Westgarth
 July 5th - Snow White and the Huntsman
July 12th - Hysteria

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FILMS : Feature Films will be demarked online with ‘Babes’ or with a star in our newspaper directories.