Thoughtful Thursdays documentary screenings at Confluence

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Thoughtful Thursdays

About Thoughtful Thursdays

Documentary film helps you see the world in new ways, and so Double Farley (owners and operators of Confluence) who also work in new ways, are delighted to bring Whanganui audiences a diverse range of documentary films every week.

Screenings are every week, on Thursday evenings starting precisely at 6:30pm.
All seats are $10 each and can be reserved or paid for online using the buttons below each film listing.
We also accept cash at the door, but do not currently have eftpos sorry.
Doors open just after 6pm and most films finish before 8:30pm including any Q&A or other activities.

Upcoming screenings

Click or tap on any of the buttons below each film to find out more, reserve a seat for paying at venue, or to pay now online.

Embrace - Thursday 22 November - 18:30pm

When body image activist Taryn Brumfitt posted an unconventional before-and-after photograph in 2013, it was seen by more than 100 million worldwide and sparked an international media frenzy. In her forceful debut, Brumfitt continues her crusade exploring the global issue of body loathing. She travels the world to interview an impressive range of women about their attitudes to their bodies, including: Mia Freedman, the youngest ever editor of the Australian edition of Cosmopolitan; Adelaide researcher Professor Marika Tiggemann; UK talk show host/photographer Amanda de Cadenet; body image blogger Jess Baker (a.k.a. The Militant Baker); and motivational speaker Turia Pitt

2016 | DIR Taryn Brumfitt | M | 1hr 30 mins

Choose how you wish to pay, either online using a card or via PayPal, or cash only on the night. If paying on the night please arrive before 6:25pm as in the event of a full-house we will release unpaid seats to cash walk-in sales after 6:25pm. Cash sales on the night are limited availability and may sell out due to online bookings.

Click Buy Now to complete your order, entering your details and payment information if paying online.

RESERVE SEATS

Samsara - Thursday 29 November - 18:30pm

Filmed over nearly five years in twenty-five countries on five continents, and shot on seventy-millimetre film, Samsara transports us to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders.

2011 | DIR Ron Fricke | PG | 1hr 42 mins

Click Buy Now to complete your order, entering your details and payment information if paying online.

RESERVE SEATS

Edith Collier: A Light Among Shadows - Thursday 06 December - 18:30pm

Only a few left!

Michael Heath's film tells Collier's story with sensitivity and respect, and includes much of her extraordinarily beautiful work. It is not only a fitting eulogy to a remarkable artist, but an affecting tale of cultural identity and rejection.
2007 | DIR Michael Heath | Exempt | 1hr 5mins

** SPECIAL FUNDRAISING SCREENING **
Limited seating. 100% of your ticket price from this screening will be donated to the Sarjeant Gallery Redevelopment Fund.

These special screenings are also being sold over the counter at Sarjeant Gallery. Choose how you wish to pay, either online using a card or via PayPal, or cash only on the night but you must reserve a seat online due to limited numbers. If paying on the night please arrive before 6:25pm as in the event of a full-house we will release unpaid seats to cash walk-in sales after 6:25pm. Cash sales on the night are limited availability and may sell out due to online bookings.

Click Buy Now to complete your order, entering your details and payment information if paying online.

RESERVE SEATS

Yellow is Forbidden - Thursday 13 December - 18:30pm

A brave designer chases the dream - to be crowned haute couture. But she comes from China, the land of knock offs and production lines. Will her Cinderella story end at a fairytale ball?

Not to be missed by anyone with an interest in fashion or design, and suitably compelling for everyone else.

2018 | DIR Pietra Brettkelly | Exempt | 1hr 37 mins

** WHANGANUI PREMIERE SCREENING **

Choose how you wish to pay, either online using a card or via PayPal, or cash only on the night. If paying on the night please arrive before 6:25pm as in the event of a full-house we will release unpaid seats to cash walk-in sales after 6:25pm. Cash sales on the night are limited availability and may sell out due to online bookings.

Click Buy Now to complete your order, entering your details and payment information if paying online.

RESERVE SEATS

Upcoming films trailer montage

Suggest a screening

Confluence and Double Farley have developed a number of connections to worldwide distributors of films and filmmakers. If there is a particular film, or topic, that you would like to see on a Thoughtful Thursday, then please let us know using the form on our new opportunities page.

As filmmakers ourselves we also appreciate how difficult it can be for documentary films to reach regional cinema audiences. So if you have made a documentary film, or know of someone who has, we would love to hear from you using the same form.

Suggest a screening

About the venue

We know that your experience of watching a film is almost as important as the story it tells. Our cinema space features a 6 metre wide high definition screen with dolby surround sound and comfortable seating for 30 people on sofas, recliners, and arm chairs, replete with cushions and air conditioning for added comfort.

We strive for Confluence boutique cinema to be one of the most comfortable and affordable places to experience cinema documentary film in Whanganui.

Our boutique cinema is designed for your comfort. Book a Five Film Deal to reserve a sofa, arm chair, or recliner.

Despite being up on the top floor of the building we do have a lift you're welcome to use. Once you are here the venue floor is flat with wide access doors. There are also disabled access toilets on the floor below.

Bringing your own food and drink

We provide free chilled filtered tap water and glasses for all ticket holders, and you're also welcome to bring your own
non-alcoholic drinks and snacks, but please respect the enjoyment of others by making sure your consumption of food or drink is not distracting during the film. Please do not bring noisy crisp bags or strong smelling foods such as popcorn or takeaways. Consider re-using another quieter container to bring along any sweets or similar snacks, instead of the normally noisy plastic bags they are packed in.

Our friends at Mint cafe, which is a short stroll down the road off of Majestic square, are open late on a Thursday night so you can pop in there for a pre-screening meal or a takeaway coffee and snack. Mention you are going to a Thoughtful Thursdays screening as well if you like.

Younger audience members

All films are exhibited as part of Thoughtful Thursdays are done so strictly inline with the New Zealand Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993. Please check any published classification of each film before purchasing a ticket or attending. As a responsible venue we will not permit audience members to attend screenings who are below the minimum age where restricted films are shown, and all children attending any film must be accompanied by an adult ticket holder who is a parent or legal guardian.

Set In Stone screening for Kelburn Normal School

Kelburn Normal School students attending a 2018 screening of Set In Stone.

Documentary film classifications

Documentary films, especially those made independently of major funding, are often unable to afford obtaining classifications in all countries where they are screened. Whilst Thoughtful Thursdays will only be screening content that has been legally sourced in New Zealand, there may be documentary films that have not yet, or will never, obtain a classification under the NZ Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993. As responsible exhibitors of films we are able to screen documentary films without a classification under the exemption clause of section 8 part G of the act, unless they contain objectionable material that would warrant a restricted classification.

Why only documentary films

Whanganui rarely has screenings of the annual film festival films, especially documentary film. Our local cinema is great for the latest blockbuster, but we're offering something different. Films that take time to look deeply at environmental problems, politics, history, New Zealand culture and local stories, and worldwide inspirational stories. There is something for everyone, and we're keen to bring an audience to each of them.

Just like a wonderful hardback storybook with exquisite illustrations and inlaid gilded letters is made for your enjoyment of the story it contains, a cinema setting with an audience, plus great sound and comfy chairs, is perfect for experiencing documentary film.

Thoughtful Thursdays...it's time to think.