Annual foreign film festival has a light-hearted feel

The festival will be celebrating its ninth year at the James Theatre on Friday September 1 and  Saturday September 2.

Presented by the Friends of the James Theatre Inc, this year’s Agog has a comic bent according to Andrew Leiboff.

“It’s a spectacular line up which has a real feel good effect and I’m sure it will be a popular package of films,” he said.

Agog 2017 will be launched on Friday evening at 7pm with French box-office hit Monsieur Chocolat (M), about the life and career of the clown Chocolat, the first black circus artist in France.

The Saturday starts at 11am with the Italian comedy Perfect Strangers, rated M, a take on decorum in the age of modern technology, that got the whole of Italy asking: how well do we really know those closest to us?

At 1.30pm the festival resumes with Chicken People which is rated PG, a feature documentary from the US about three rich and diverse personalities who come together to compete in their shared passion to raise the perfect chicken.

The afternoon programme continues at 3.30pm with A Man Called Ove (M), a Swedish heartwarming tale of unreliable first impressions and the gentle reminder that life is sweeter when it's shared.

The Festival will finish with The Trip to Spain (M) from the UK screening at 7.30pm. Michael Winterbottom’s postcard to Spain reunites two friends in the third chapter of the series The Trip. They pick up where they left off in The Trip to Italy and continue with semifictional, spouse-free raconteurial ramblings and a tour of some of the best restaurants in Spain for a newspaper review.

Tickets are available to purchase online for all films or individual films. For full program details and ticket purchases visit the James Theatre website.

This year’s Agog coincides with the departure of the James Theatre’s very own “foreign film treasure”, Franziska Dooley was a projectionist and handled promotions for the James who has moved to Germany.

The James Theatre Dungog is the oldest, still operating picture theatre in Australia and plays a central role in the social life of Dungog and its surrounding areas.

The beautiful historic building with its rare Spanish façade it is not only screening motion pictures several times every month but also hosts numerous film festivals during the year.

Tickets are now available to purchase online. Ticket prices are: All five films regular price - $70. All four Saturday films - $56. Single films - $15. Supper behind the Screen $30.

A small booking fee is also charged at the time of purchase.

For full program details and ticket purchases visit the James Theatre website