Welcome to our feature What's on at Watermans this week? rounding up the current cinema, theatre and gallery listings on at the local riverside arts centre.

What's on at Watermans this week?

Pickpocket

In one of Robert Bresson's most admired, intriguing, and influential films, resolute drifter Michel spends his days learning the art of pickpocketing and targeting the unsuspecting citizens of 1950s Paris.

Following his inevitable arrest (and almost immediate release) he begins to reflect on the morality of crime, spouting vague theories about exceptional individuals being above the law.

Bergman Island

Bergman Island is a dazzling and bittersweet romantic drama set on the breathtaking island of Fårö, where revered filmmaker Ingmar Bergman lived and worked for over forty years. Chris (Vicky Krieps) and Tony (Tim Roth) are filmmakers, hoping to find inspiration for their next films as they retreat to the Swedish island to work on their screenplays. As the summer passes by, the lines between reality and fiction become increasingly blurred against the backdrop of the island's landscape.

Leave No Traces

Poland, 1983. The country is shaken by the case of Grzegorz Przemyk – a high school student beaten to death by militia. Based on true events, the film follows the story of Jurek – the only witness of the beating, who overnight became the number one enemy of the state. The oppressive regime used its whole apparatus – the secret service, militia, the media and the courts – to squeeze Jurek and other people close to the case, including his parents and Przemyk's mother, Barbara.

Cold War

A joint presentation and screening by Jon Davies and Michael Brooke

A warm welcome to Watermans two resident film experts, who finally get the chance to meet in the flesh as they take an entertaining and informative look at Pawel Pawlikowski's multi award winning drama.

It has more poignancy than when released given the times we live in, but stands on its own as one of the finest period dramas of the past decade.

Pawe Pawlikowski follows the Oscar-winning Ida with this stunning and epic romance set against the backdrop of post-war Europe. Sumptuously shot in luminous black and white, it spans decades and nations to tell a love story that is as tragic as it is moving, and as transportive as it is honest.

About Jon Davies: Jon Davies has been presenting Watermans' popular French cinema club French Impressions for over 20 years, he's Tutor in Current Film and Cinema at Morley College and an Associate of the British Film Institute, appointed in 1993. In French Impressions he lends his expert insight and relaxed conversational style to French cinema from across the spectrum and invites you to take part.

About Michael Brooke: Michael is a freelance writer specialising in central/Eastern European cinema. He regularly hosts talks for the Polish Cultural Institute as well as being a contributor to the book Polish Cinema Now! (2010). Michael has been presenting Watermans's series of Polish Film Screenings and Talks since 2020 and No Ticket Required via Zoom online since 2021.

Kids Cartoonmania

A selection of the finest Looney Tunes animated cartoons, featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and the rest of the immortal characters. Half an hour of the funniest moments put on celluloid.

Hostile

Michael Brooke is back to host a live Q&A with writer-director Sonita Gale for the screening of Hostile. Hostile is a feature-length documentary focusing on the UK's complicated relationship with its migrant communities.

Told through the stories of four participants from Black and Asian backgrounds, the film reveals the impact of the evolving 'hostile environment' - a term used by the UK government in 2012 to illustrate the atmosphere they wanted to create for migrants, with the intention of provoking them to leave of their own accord.

The film explores how the lives of international students, members of the Windrush generation and 'Highly-Skilled Migrants' have been affected. After decades of hostile immigration policies, Britain has reached a crisis point.

With Brexit, the Points Based Immigration System and the Nationality Bill and Borders taking effect, the film asks: once the 'hostile environment' has targeted all migrants, who will it extend to next?