Global feast for film lovers in Luton

A season of world cinema promises a variety of flavours, atmospheres and moods, with some of cinema’s most acclaimed films lined up at the Hat Factory.

Giuseppe Tornatore’s 1988 classic Cinema Paradiso will be screened on Thursday June 15 . The film tells of a famous Italian filmmaker recalling his childhood, when he fell in love with the movies at his village’s theatre, and formed a deep friendship with the theatre’s projectionist.

Heading north, Wolfgang Petersen’s Das Boot is the season’s German contribution from 1981 on Sunday June 25, depicting the claustrophobic world of a Second World War German U-boat and reiterating the dictum that ‘war is hell,’ not matter which side you look at it from and where the battle is located.

Ending the season is Kinji Fukasaku’s legendary Battle Royale on Friday July 14. The story is set in a dystopian future where the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary ‘Battle Royale’ act; the students have three days to fight it out until one survives – or they all die.

Visit www.lutonculture.com or call 01582 878100 to book tickets or for more information about the season.