Author: fisher

Grand Re-opening

With this Newsletter we are delighted to announce our grand re-opening for audience screenings.

A significant event in the Society’s history, this event is scheduled to take place in the Roysse Room at the Abbey Cinema in Abingdon on September 29th at 7.30pm.

Our association with Abbey Cinema is the culmination of a series of discussions with owners Sue and Ian Wiper over the course of the past two years or so. During that time, they have enthusiastically supported and encouraged us in our plans for the future of ABCD, for which we owe them a considerable debt of gratitude.

The film we shall be screening on the 29th is The Outfit (Britain/USA, 2022, dir. Graham Moore) which was featured (and highly rated) at the recent ICO Viewing Sessions at the National Film
Theatre.

To mark the occasion, the screening will be free of charge (but there will be a nominal £1.00 membership fee)

Booking details can be found on Abbey Cinema’s Website https://theabbey.ac. This link takes you to their home page, down which you will have to scroll to access the stock image for The Outfit. Selecting that will take you to a 7.30pm | GUILDHALL| option, from which you can then make your booking (£1.00 nominal membership fee). More information about the booking process and our current programme schedule can be found by searching under ‘About Us’ on
the ABCD Website https://abfilms.org.uk.

For the first screening, our Membership Secretary will be on hand to assist anyone who wants to see the film but has not been able to book online.

Continuing our established and popular-with-members practice, a Programme Note for the film has been produced and accompanies this Newsletter. Instituted from the foundation of the Society in 1975, Programme Notes encapsulate a descriptive context to film you are about to see, plus technical details and ‘trailers’ for forthcoming films.

Reactions to and comments on films, which should be Emailed to mj4603769@gmail.com, will be available on the ABCD Website in due course. If you wish to give a film a ranking score, please use the following guide :- A (very good), B (good), C (mediocre), D (poor), E (awful!).

Note: If this is the first time you have received an ABCD Newsletter and would like to find out more about the Film Society, please contact our Membership Secretary by Emailing info@abfilms.org.uk

http://abfilms.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/ABCD-Prog-Note-The-Outfit-ex-BR-290922.pdf

Cancellation of April 2nd Event

You will no doubt be familiar with the Government’s current additional advice concerning ‘social distancing’ and, where appropriate, ‘self-isolation’ as protective measures against infection by the rapidly spreading Covid-19 virus.

In particular, the restrictions on social events and meeting places (clubs, pubs, cinemas, etc.) apply to us, so it is inevitable that we’ve had to cancel our Joint Presentation with Abingdon Twin Towns Society on April 2nd.

As the situation develops nationally over the next weeks and months, we shall keep you updated via further Newsletters, especially with regard to our aim of re-starting a programme of screenings on a monthly basis – which, of course, may not be for some time.

Subscriptions

For those members who booked en bloc at the beginning of the year for Happy as Lazzaro, Sorry We Missed You and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (at a cost of £9.00), we’ve decided to carry forward the ‘unused’ £3.00 towards your next subscription when we start up again (see above). Organising cash refunds in the current circumstances and with your Committee in its
much reduced state is, in any case, just not on!

Change of Film

The film originally scheduled for April 2nd was The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Jacques Demy, 1964) but, because of the intransigence of the rights holder, StudioCanal, we were unable to secure a screening licence for it. Demy’s next film, Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (1967), also a musical (although different in style and character) was substituted and a screening licence obtained from the BFI. Setting next month’s cancellation aside, we hope to include it in our programme at some point in the future – certainly rather sooner than the Website’s speculative 2050!

The Committee extends its good wishes to all for your continuing health and welfare in these grim times

2020 Programme Reminder

We shall continue screenings at the on the first Thursday of each month up to Easter.

Thursday March 5th: Die Puppe (The Doll)

Start time: 7.30pm at St. Nicolas’ church, Market Place, Abingdon

As noted in last October’s brochure, we continue our annual tradition of screening a silent classic , with piano accompaniment by Andrew Youdell of the National Film Theatre – and long-time friend of ABCD.

Directed by Ernst Lubitsch, Die Puppe is the comedic story of Baron of Chanterelle’s determination to find a suitable wife for his shy nephew Lancelot, in order to continue the family line. Lancelot finds himself enthusiastically pursued by all the eligible local village girls until
finally Hilarius, a local doll maker, is called upon to assist. However, his daughter Ossi is the only one that Lancelot has eyes for.

Thursday April 2nd: Les parapluies de Cherbourg

Doors open: 7.00pm for 7.45pm screening at the Health and Wellbeing Centre

Our annual joint presentation with the Abingdon & District Twin Towns Society for this bring-and- share social event, with a cheese and light refreshment buffet. Voluntary contributions to cover our costs, please.

As a follow-up to the Ann Miller event last October, when she introduced Agnes Varda’s film Jacquot de Nantes, a loving tribute to her late husband Jacques Demy, we now present his classic film Les Parapluies de Cherbourg.

This delightful, magical and elegantly choreographed musical, with music by renowned composer Michel Legrand (who died a year ago), tells the story of the beautiful, pregnant and impoverished Genevieve (Catherine Deneuve) whose mother owns a local umbrella shop. When Genevieve’s adored suitor, a car mechanic, is posted to Algiers for military service, her mother sets about introducing her to a more suitable, and wealthy, beau.

2020 Programme Reminder

We shall continue screenings at the on the first Thursday of each month up to Easter.

Thursday February 6th: Sorry we missed you

Start time: 7.45pm at the Health and Wellbeing Centre

Director Ken Loach and his long-time writer Paul Laverty once again turn their gaze onto the policies of austerity and how they have affected ordinary working people in last decade. Sorry We Missed You focuses on one such Newcastle family, where the father, Ricky, has to work in the ‘gig’ economy as a self employed van driver for a large distribution franchise. His wife, Abby, is an essential worker in the care system on a zero-hours contract: they have two school-age children. Loach, without any sentimentality, portrays a scenario currently widespread across Britain, where the so-called ‘working poor’ struggle to survive without proper job security. An
ensemble cast delivers the naturalistic performances so characteristic of Loach’s narratives.

Thursday March 5th: Die Puppe (The Doll)

Start time: 7.30pm at St. Nicolas’ church, Market Place, Abingdon

As noted in last October’s brochure, we continue our annual tradition of screening a silent classic , with piano accompaniment by Andrew Youdell of the National Film Theatre – and long-time friend of ABCD.

Directed by Ernst Lubitsch, Die Puppe is the comedic story of Baron of Chanterelle’s determination to find a suitable wife for his shy nephew Lancelot, in order to continue the family line. Lancelot finds himself enthusiastically pursued by all the eligible local village girls until
finally Hilarius, a local doll maker, is called upon to assist. However, his daughter Ossi is the only one that Lancelot has eyes for.

Thursday April 2nd: Les parapluies de Cherbourg

Doors open: 7.00pm for 7.45pm screening at the Health and Wellbeing Centre

Our annual joint presentation with the Abingdon & District Twin Towns Society for this bring-and- share social event, with a cheese and light refreshment buffet. Voluntary contributions to cover our costs, please.

As a follow-up to the Ann Miller event last October, when she introduced Agnes Varda’s film Jacquot de Nantes, a loving tribute to her late husband Jacques Demy, we now present his classic film Les Parapluies de Cherbourg.

This delightful, magical and elegantly choreographed musical, with music by renowned composer Michel Legrand (who died a year ago), tells the story of the beautiful, pregnant and impoverished Genevieve (Catherine Deneuve) whose mother owns a local umbrella shop. When Genevieve’s adored suitor, a car mechanic, is posted to Algiers for military service, her mother sets about introducing her to a more suitable, and wealthy, beau.

Future of ABCD

Because of the uncertainty about our future, the brochure issued last October listed only films to be screened in 2019 plus the Silent scheduled for March 5th 2020. The revised programme of films for 2020, in our present guise, is given below and confirms the announcements already made.

Following a series of discussions with Ian and Sue Wiper, managers of the Abbey Cinema in Abingdon, the Society hopes to form a mutually beneficial arrangement with them and to relocate to a purpose fitted space on their premises round about Easter time.

Your (much reduced) Committee continues to try and function, with the essential roles of Secretary and Treasurer still vacant. We appeal once more to members to step forward and offer what help you can, as our ability to continue remains uncertain with so few active members

Programme for 2020

We shall continue screenings at the Health and Wellbeing Centre on the first Thursday of each month  up to Easter, starting at 7.45pm (or as otherwise noted).

Thursday January 9th:  HAPPY AS LAZZARO (Italy, 2018, 120mins, Cert 12A)

Rated as one of Sight&Sound’s best films of 2019, Happy as Lazzaro, from director Alice Rohrwacher (The Wonders, 2014), weaves a tale about modern-day exploitation bordering on slavery, here set in a seemingly rural idyll on an Italian tobacco plantation. To amplify the reality of slavery down the ages, where the idyllic beauty of the fields masks a life of endless toil, Rohrwacher gives only hints as to the period wherein the story is set. Triggered by a few clues in the opening section of the film, it soon becomes clear that this is a modern story, where the unscrupulous aristocratic landowner, Marchese Alfonsina de Luna, has contrived to keep her workers in ignorance as indentured servants and prevent them from being able to escape from her feudal control.

Using elements of magical realism in the film, Rohrwacher’s true aim is to portray the strength of the human spirit in its pure form while being subjected to malign and cynical influences.  

“Happy as Lazzaro demonstrates the writer-director’s ability to combine, convincingly and charmingly, an aesthetic which is firmly in the tradition of neorealism with elements of a peculiarly Italianfabulism” Geoff Andrew, Sight&Sound

Thursday February 6th:  SORRY WE MISSED YOU (Britain, 2019, 91mins, Cert 15)

Director Ken Loach and his long-time writer Paul Laverty once again turn their gaze onto the policies of austerity and how they have affected ordinary working people in last decade. Sorry We Missed You focuses on one such Newcastle family, where the father, Ricky, has to work in the ‘gig’ economy as a self employed van driver for a large distribution franchise. His wife, Abby, is an essential worker in the care system on a zero-hours contract: they have two school-age children. Loach, without any sentimentality, portrays a scenario currently widespread across Britain, where the so-called ‘working poor’ struggle to survive without proper job security. An ensemble cast delivers the naturalistic performances so characteristic of Loach’s narratives.    

“Loach does what he does best in this persuasive, affecting drama about a couple ground down by zero-hours contracts, where humour and honesty keep sentimentality at bay”

Geoff Andrew, Sight&Sound

Thursday March 5th:  DIE PUPPE (The Doll) (Germany, 1919, 64mins, Cert U)

Start time: 7.30pm

As noted in last October’s brochure, we continue our annual tradition of screening a silent classic at St. Nicolas’ church, Market Place, Abingdon, with piano accompaniment by Andrew Youdell of the National Film Theatre – and long-time friend of ABCD.

Directed by Ernst Lubitsch, Die Puppe is the comedic story of Baron of Chanterelle’s determination to find a suitable wife for his shy nephew Lancelot, in order to continue the family line. Lancelot finds himself enthusiastically pursued by all the eligible local village girls until finally Hilarius, a local doll maker, is called upon to assist. However, his daughter Ossi is the only one that Lancelot has eyes for.

Thursday April 2nd:  LES PARAPLUIES de CHERBOURG (France, 1964, 91mins, Cert A)

Doors open: 7.00pm for 7.45pm screening 

Our annual joint presentation with the Abingdon & District Twin Towns Society for this bring-and- share social event, with a cheese and light refreshment buffet.            Voluntary contributions to cover our costs, please

As a follow-up to the Ann Miller event last October, when she introduced Agnes Varda’s film Jacquot de Nantes, a loving tribute to her late husband Jacques Demy, we now present his classic film Les Parapluies de Cherbourg

This delightful, magical and elegantly choreographed musical, with music by renowned composer Michel Legrand (who died a year ago), tells the story of the beautiful, pregnant and impoverished Genevieve (Catherine Deneuve) whose mother owns a local umbrella shop. When Genevieve’s     adored suitor, a car mechanic, is posted to Algiers for military service, her mother sets about introducing her to a more suitable, and wealthy, beau. 

“Catherine Deneuve brings an unworldly, subtly erotic charm to Jacques Demy’s re-released pastel rainbow of a musical” Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

Full/One Week Membership 

Note: Full members have already paid for the Silent event on March 5th in their 2019/2020 subscription. At the first screening on January 9th, they can sign up for the other three 2020 events (January 9th, February 6th and April 2nd) at a cost of £9.00 in total.

Otherwise, one-week members/guests can ‘pay-as-you-go’ at £6.00 per screening

For reasons indicated above, no other membership deals can be offered during this interim period

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU IN 2020 AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT OF ABCD FILM SOCIETY.

Notice of Annual General Meeting

As previously, we are sending you the papers for the AGM in the form of a Newsletter. We ask you to bring the documents with you but there will be a few copies available on the evening.

Screening of the post-AGM feature, Roy Andersson’s You, The Living should start around 20:00.

Abingdon College and District Film Society Annual General Meeting

To be held at 19:30 on November 7th 2019 at Abingdon Health and Wellbeing Centre

AGENDA

1. Minutes of the last Annual General Meeting, held Nov 22nd 2018: see below
2. Matters arising
3. Officers’ reports and Accounts: see below
4. Matters arising from, and adoption of, Officers’ reports and accounts
5. Election of Officers, other executive officers and 5 to 7 other members of the Committee
6. Appointment of Independent Examiner of Accounts
7. AOB

Minutes of 2018 Annual General Meeting

• Present: 25 members
• Apologies for absence: Apologies were received from Noeleen Farrell
• Minutes of previous AGM: held Nov 16th 2017, were accepted as a true record – Proposed Anita Rendel: seconded Andy Norton: agreed nem con., with no matters arising.
• Minutes of SGM: held Nov 23rd 2017, were accepted as a true record – Proposed Andy Norton, seconded Anita Rendel: agreed nem con., with no matters arising.
• Officers’ reports: Officers’ reports (excluding Treasurer), which had been circulated prior to the meeting, were accepted – Proposed Barry Reeves: seconded Graham Legge: agreed nem con., with no matters arising.
• Accounts: Copies, up to July 31st 2018, were issued at the meeting. Treasurer addressed the meeting and gave a brief résumé of the finances with the overall balance being about £2000 down on last year, due to reduced membership income, increased cost of film licence fees and the repayment of Gift Aid to HMRC. (ABCD had agreed to repay Gift Aid claimed a few years ago because, in hindsight, we had concluded we were not entitled to make a claim, although HMRC had never advised us of this.) The accounts had been inspected and accepted by the Society’s Independent Examiner of Accounts, to whom thanks were extended. Treasurer confirmed that, despite the loss on the year, the Society is still able to continue, as it has reserve funds in deposit accounts – Acceptance of of report and accounts proposed Graham Linacre: seconded John Killick agreed nem con.
• Matters arising: John Bates asked for details about the decline in membership. Barry Reeves (Membership Secretary) answered that the decline was general, with members leaving – but balanced by only very few new members. John Killick asked whether it was wise to keep so much in the deposit accounts as interest is likely to be minimal. Treasurer responded that the account with the most money was linked to share investments and usually did much better than rates available standard bank deposit accounts
• Election of Officers and Committee members: All outgoing Committee members confirmed they were willing to stand for re-election: there were no other nominations. Dave Thomas advised the meeting that, as the number standing is less than the allowed number of Committee members, there was no need for an election. All existing Committee members therefore automatically continued to serve but with some role changes.

Chair	Martin Johnson
Treasurer	Jeffrey Karoly
Secretary	Dave Thomas
Membership Secretary	Barry Reeves
Programme Co-ordinator	Vacant
Ordinary Members	Noeleen Farrell
	Mike Bloom
	Richard Smart
	Andy Norton

• Independent Examiner of accounts: Steve Lawrence confirmed he was willing to take on this role again and so was re-appointed – Proposed Dave Thomas: seconded Martin Johnson: agreed nem con.
• AOB: Mike Bloom raised some of the issues facing the Society with falling membership and rising costs and identified some of the possible solutions, which had been identified at a recent Committee meeting. Martin Johnson said that he would welcome suggestions from members, which would be discussed at the next Committee meeting, December 17th 2018.
• The meeting closed at 19:54.

Officers’ report to the 2019 AGM

The past year was marked, sadly, by the tragic, sudden death on May 30th of Dave Thomas, the Society’s Secretary. On behalf of all members, sincere condolences were sent to his widow Angela and her family. Because of the loss of Dave, and other related circumstances, the Committee became reduced to four active members which, in terms of the future prospects and continued existence of the Society, we considered to be barely sustainable. See Future of ABCD below.

In the year since the last AGM, we nevertheless held 13 meetings in accordance with Charity Commission guidance. These included the AGM on November 22nd 2018 and the Member’s Meeting on May 23rd 2019.
We also put on a programme of 21 films, four of which were introduced by invited speakers, viz Ann Miller (twice), Susannah Brough and Hubert Zawdski. At a member’s suggestion, Adam Simcox, an undergraduate at the University of Kent, gave a presentation about his course in film studies. The Silent screening at St Nicolas’ church was Ernst Lubitsch’s The Oyster Princess, with piano accompaniment by Andrew Youdell. In addition, we provided projection facilities for a local environmental group, Abingdon Carbon Cutters. Following a contact made with ABCD, independent film-maker Sabina Sattar was invited to visit us to introduce and discuss her short film Flowers.

Audience numbers ranged from 41 to 17 with a mean of 27, down on the previous season. Audience ratings ranged from 98% (The Apartment and Jacquot de Nantes) to 67% (La Notte), with a mean rating of 88%.

The full programme and details of audience reactions and scores for each film are posted on the ABCD Website https://abfilms.org.uk

We continued our membership of Cinema for All.

Membership at the end of the AGM year was 33, down 13 on 2018.
It remains the Committee’s objective to attract more members, so that we can continue to show good, interesting films at reasonable subscription rates.

The Treasurer’s report will be issued to members at the meeting.

Future of ABCD

Being cognisant of the continuing fall in membership (see table 1. below), the Committee decided in January to contact the Digital and Media Studies Department at Brookes University, Oxford with a view to assigning a study of ABCD’s current situation, as a course module, to a suitable student. The Department readily agreed and sent a final year undergraduate Peter Coe to carry out a number of membership surveys and prepare a report.

His comprehensive report on possible changes to ABCD’s future modus operandi was noted.

Amongst several recommendations, the following were considered :-

• That we should have more invited speakers, as these were popular with members
• In response to a members’ survey, we should start the film promptly 7.45pm
• Reactions and other preliminary announcements should be completed before 7.45pm
• Reactions could be screened via PowerPoint, plus some discussion of them
• Improvements to look/usability of Website, to generate more interest in ABCD

In addition to this initiative, contact has been made with the Abbey commercial cinema, the intention being to form, early in 2020 if possible, an association with them which would allow us to continue to screen a programme of films of our choosing, under their auspices, using their projection set-up and on their premises. Talks with their co-owner/manager Sue Wiper, covering such additional areas as film bookings, membership arrangements, publicity, etc., have commenced, with positive outcomes thus far. The outcome of the most recent meeting (which took place a few days ago) will be presented to members at the meeting.

ABCD Membership

Dates	1st half season	2nd half season	Notes
2018/19	36	36	Current membership 33 compared with 35 at the same point last year
2017/18	45	46	Current membership 35 compared with 41 at the same point last year
2016/17	53	54
2015/16	50	50
2014/15	59	59

In November 2012, prior to re-locating from the College to the Health & Wellbeing Centre, membership stood at 78. The table above shows the pattern of membership since then.

As can be seen, there was a slight recovery in 2016/2017, probably as a result of strong publicity efforts but there has been a significant decline since then.

Barry Reeves
Membership Secretary
October 21st 2019

Abingdon Carbon Cutters Special Event

On Thursday September 26th, we will be hosting a special pre-season event presented by Abingdon Carbon Cutters (ACC) to screen the thought provoking documentary A Plastic Ocean (2016, Britain/Hong Kong, 102 mins, no BBFC certification). The event will feature an introduction and discussion by Edward Burke, representing Friends of the Earth.

Doors open and refreshments are available from 19:00. The introduction starts at 19:30 and the screening at at 19:45.

Please note: this event is not included in your subscription but ACC are asking for a donation of £5.00 from anyone who comes to see the film, at what will be a memorable evening

New Season

On Thursday October 3rd, we will be starting our brand new season in style with Double Indemnity, marking the 75th anniversary of this landmark Billy Wilder film noir, starring Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck and Edward G. Robinson. Ranked 108th in IMDb’s Top 250 Movies, this Oscar-nominated film (1944, USA, 107mins, Cert A) is based on the James M. Cain novel in which an insurance agent (MacMurray) stumbles on a deadly fraud scheme that causes his good friend and claims adjuster Barton Keyes (Robinson) to investigate the shady goings-on.

Doors open at 19:30, with the screening starting as close as we can get it to 19:45.

Short Films

Anyone who has seen the new season brochure will note that we have not listed any shorts in the programme. Luckily, we can now reveal that none other than Sabina Sattar will be visiting ABCD to give an introductory talk about her romantic comedy, Flowers (2014, Britain, 8 mins) on Thursday October 10th, our second event of the season. Her film precedes that evening’s feature presentation Rafiki.

Sabina has worked in film, TV and theatre as a production designer since the early 1990s. Her Website (https://sabinasattar.co.uk/) details her extensive filmography and production projects, including the BBC soap Eastenders and the 2010 TV movie The First Men in the Moon starring Mark Gatiss. She has written and produced numerous other films, including the 2004 short comedy Just the Ticket, which we will be screening with Bonnie Scotland on Thursday December 19th, as part of our annual Christmas social event.

The Mystery of R W Paul

As a follow-up to the well received Ian Christie Special Event, when he visited ABCD in February 2017, you may be interested to know that a graphic novella entitled Time Traveller: Robert Paul and the Invention of Cinema and co-authored by Ian Christie, has just been published by Northern Ireland’s leading creative media arts centre The Nerve Centre (https://www.nervecentre.org/) Funding for production of the novella was provided by the Department of Communities through Northern Ireland Screen. The book, (ISBN: 978-1-910225-08-0) is narrated from Paul’s point of view, while its scope gives many broader insights into his work that Ian was unable to address in the limited time he was with us.

Death of Dave Thomas

Since the last Newsletter informing you of Dave’s resignation from the role of Secretary, we have received, and been saddened by, news of his death on May 30th. He was at home with his family.

On behalf of you all, deepest sympathy and condolences have been sent to his widow Angela and her family.

If you would like further information about the funeral arrangements, please contact one of:

• Barry Reeves: 01235 521976 <barryabingdon@waitrose.com>
• Martin Johnson: 01235 223741 <martin.g.johnson@ntlworld.com>

Future of ABCD

For personal health reasons, our Secretary, Dave Thomas, has had to resign from the Committee with immediate effect. We send him our very best wishes for his on-going care and for the best possible support for him from family and friends.

Among the many tasks that Dave ably undertook, his role as Secretary was crucial to the life and smooth running of the Society. This Newsletter is therefore an urgent appeal to all members and friends of ABCD to find some one willing to take on this vital position. Full details of Secretarial duties are available on request.

As the Committee is currently depleted in numbers (there are presently four other unfilled vacancies), the need for a Secretary is paramount because, without some one to take on that role, the Society is unlikely to be viable much beyond next season. After almost 45 years existence in Abingdon, promoting the appreciation of a wide range of recent and archive cinema
from countries and directors the world over, it would be nothing short of tragic to see the Film Society disappear in this way.

We therefore urge any member who thinks they may be able fulfil the role of Secretary to let us know as soon as possible.

As noted above, the need for more members of the Committee continues to be pressing, so anybody interested in helping out in any way, apart from the Secretarial role, is similarly urgently appealed to!

If you, or anyone you know, would like to know more about either or both of these opportunities to contribute to the continued existence of ABCD Film Society, please contact us as soon as possible.

Email: barryabingdon@waitrose.com
Telephone: 01235 521976

Members’ meeting – 9 May 2019 at 19:30

This get-together, now a firm fixture in our annual calendar, is for members to hear ABCD’s latest news in an an informal atmosphere. The main thing, as ever, is for the selection group to share with those attending its latest thoughts on next year’s programme of films – and for you to give your reactions. The process is by no means complete, so there’s definitely some space for members’ opinions to make a difference.

Two members of the committee recently spoke with the proprietors of the Abbey and Unicorn cinemas about ways in which we might work together. We must stress that this was only an opening discussion and there is nothing concrete to report, but nevertheless a brief account of a brief encounter – and a discussion of what you think about it – should be well worthwhile.

Another development to report: A final year film studies student at Brookes, Peter Coe, has as part of his course, been looking at ABCD and ways of improving our viability – you may have completed a questionnaire for him. He is currently busy writing up his findings and if we have have seen his final report by 9 May we will share it with you.

We also plan to show a short film or two and tea and coffee will be available. By all means bring a bottle of wine or beer with you – we will provide wine glasses.

Reactions for In the Fade (screened April 4)

These are on the website at the end of the information about the film.

Oxford International Film Festival

This runs from May 8 – 12. For details go to https://www.oxiff.com or @OXIFFOFFICIAL

A personal message from the newsletter editor

I have just checked my records and see that I’ve been writing ABCD newsletters since late 2010. This edition is my last. While I’ve always kept them fairly concise and impersonal and with only a small amount of telling you what you probably already knew, I thought that for my final edition I would allow my name to appear in lights.

In fact I am standing down from the committee after 45 years, not just from the writing the newsletter. The reasons are the usual boring personal ones, so I’m afraid I am not going to regale you with tales of operatically noisy fallouts in the committee – or even hint at them. Not that a committee that didn’t disagree on important things could be expected to come up with anything much worth having. In sum, I think we all have good reason to be proud of ‘keeping the show on the road’ over the years.

To run well ABCD needs energy, imagination and a bit of stamina not just from committee members, but also from a number of members who are not on the committee. We have had that over the years and it continues now. But we are low in numbers of committee members and, as is plain to see, of members; something needs to happen to revitalise us. Obviously I hope that Peter Coe’s report (see above) will help in that.

So, thank you for enabling Abingdon to have a film society where it’s been possible to see non ‘run of the mill’ products over the years and be sociable enough for people to meet and become friends. I look forward to seeing you on 9 May and again in the autumn.

Mike Bloom