To celebrate St Patrick’s Day in the best proper Irish pub in South London, we’re showing an extra film this Thursday 15th March.  It’s not in the programme but it is in the Gipsy Hill Tavern at 7.30pm.

And to get the weekend off with a bang, we’re showing the brilliant and very funny Irish hit, The Guard, with Brendon Gleeson and Don Cheadle.  Empire gave this film 5 stars (“a cross between Father Ted and the Bad Lieutenant” – read it here) and everyone from the Irish Film Awards, to Bafta to the Golden Globes loved it.  Watch the trailer here.

Gerry Boyle (Gleeson), an unconventional policeman in the west of Ireland, investigates a seemingly random murder. FBI agent Wendell Everett (Cheadle) arrives in Galway to mount a large-scale operation against a well-organised drug-smuggling ring. At first irritated by Gerry’s manner, Everett is surprised by the garda’s canniness as he connects the murder to the drug case.

So come along this Thursday and start the St Patrick’s Day celebrations in style.

Mark
Crystal Palace Pictures

Very soon, we’re not sure when, one lucky film-buff will win the prize of a lifetime… the Crystal Palace Pictures Golden Ticket!

From In Bruges back in October 2009 to Metropolis earlier this month, we’ve been keeping careful track of precisely how many tickets we’ve sold.  We’re now deep into the 900’s and very soon – possibly Christmas, possibly in the New Year – someone will buy not only a ticket to that night’s film, but a Golden Ticket giving them free entry to all of our films for the rest of the season!

If the Golden Ticket is sold at Rare Exports on the 22^nd, that means free entry to a further ten wonderful films, including Night of the Hunter, A Scanner Darkly, Singin’ In The Rain and Secrets in their Eyes.  That’s a prize worth £50!

So don’t miss out.  Come along to Rare Exports on the 22^nd and Breathless on 12^th January and, you never know,it could be a very merry Christmas indeed.

Mark

We’ve got films from around the world – from Argentina, France, Australia Finland, Germany and Hong Kong. And we’ve got films every taste: from the spectacular comedy of Scott Pilgrim vs The World – our rather splendid season opener; the nerve-jangling tension of classic thriller Night of the Hunter, to the unadulterated joy of one of the greatest movies ever made – Singin’ in the Rain.

Of course, we also have our seasonal specials. The Orphanage will have you screaming (and crying) at Halloween and Rare Exports will change your view of Santa Claus for ever. We’re even getting into the Olympic spirit, sort of, with The Long Good Friday to finish the season off.

All this and much, much more. Short films, guest appearances, Q&A, possibly even another live musical extravaganza. We’ll do anything to make Crystal Palace Pictures the best film society on the planet, and to keep you – our delightful, discerning and if I may say rather beautiful guests – more than happy for another year.

See you at the Gipsy Hill Tavern!

Head down to the Gipsy Hill Tavern on Saturday 30th July to see the modern animated classic Chico & Rita, with Cuban DJ beforehand, a Latin band after, and great food available in the beer garden throughout the evening.

For more information, see the programme on our Home page

17.00 The One Tree Hillbillies

Kicking off proceedings in our extensive beer garden with a 2 x 45 min set of good ‘ol bluegrass from these well seasoned bluegrass musicians. http://www.facebook.com/pages/One-Tree-Hillbillies/134764116561555

19.00 “O Brother, Where Art Thou”

In the Depression-era deep South, three escapees from a Mississippi prison chain gang embark on the adventure of a lifetime as they set out to pursue their freedom and return to their homes. This freewheeling over the top comedy features music from the Soggy Bottom Boys: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzK0739QQqQ (Tickets £5 on the door as usual.)

21.30 Flaky Jake

Cajun legend Flaky Jake takes us on a musical journey from Louisiana to the Caribbean, down Mexico way, to Venezuela and back again with his good time Gumbo Grooves, Cajun and Mardi Gras madness – guaranteed to have you dancing on the tables!

CAJUN STYLE BARBECUE

A special Cajun menu has been created along with our usual fare of traditional 100% Irish barbecued beefburgers, chicken and kebabs. Served between 5pm and 10pm.

Entry is FREE with a £5 charge for “O Brother Where Art Thou”

Seats are limited so get down early!

The Gipsy Hill Tavern is 1 min walk from Gipsy Hill Station (20 mins to Victoria or London Bridge) and 5 mins walk from Crystal Palace)

Igor has played accordion on several major film soundtracks including ‘Birthday Girl’ (2001), ‘Borat’ (2006) and ‘La Vie en Rose’ (2007). He also appears on screen in David Cronenberg’s ‘Eastern Promises’ (2007) singing the Russian song ‘Dark Eyes’.

Igor has already accompanied several silent films, including ‘Piccadilly’ and ‘Battleship Potemkin’. We are delighted that he will add ‘The General’ to that list with us at The Gipsy Hill Tavern on Thursday 14 April.

He is also President of the British Federation of Film Societies and presented Crystal Palace Pictures with our Distinction for Best New Film Society last summer.  We like him a lot!

Derek will introduce his favourite film of 2009, The White Ribbon, the haunting tale of a German village on the eve of The Great War.  He’ll also tell us about his 35 years in the fascinating world of film, how the profession has changed since he first started and what it’s like to watch 500 films a year!

Thanks to the hard work of our volunteers and the support of all our regulars, we have won an award for Best New Film Society (Distinction) at the British Federation of Film Societies’ 2010 Film Society of the Year Awards.

The Committee were presented with the award (soon to be proudly displayed at the Gypsy Hill Tavern) by Derek Malcolm, film critic for the Evening Standard.

Not a bad result for our first year in operation. Here’s hoping we get even better in season 2!

While the website might not outwardly look much different from last year, it’s had a huge overhaul and is now powered by the popular publishing software, WordPress. (We used to update it by hand!) There are lots of new features: films are now sorted by Season (1 and 2 so far), we can easily update News and Twitter from the site, and we can offer fun tools like rating our films.

There are still lots of cool things we can do with the site over the coming months. If you have any ideas or suggestions for new features, why not share them in the comments below?

Film London’s Outer Boroughs Pilot Fund supports projects that provide “consistent and coherent film viewing opportunities beyond mainstream commercial cinema to audiences in London’s outer boroughs.”

We will use this money to help cover marketing and licensing costs in our first year. It will also pay for a community outreach programme, taking cinema to those who would normally find it difficult to go themselves, such as older people or those with disabilities.

This funding will have a real impact for years to come. It means we can plan ahead with confidence. It means any surplus made this year can cover next years costs; no more struggling by week-by-week. It means we can now say that Crystal Palace Pictures is here to stay!

I’d like to say a big thank you to Film London and to everyone who has supported us: Dulwich Paradiso, local councillors Andrew Gibson and George Filby, The Norwood Society, The Crystal Palace Community Association and the Upper Norwood Library. An extra special thank you to Frank at The Gipsy Hill Tavern, we really could not have done any of this without you!