Portsmouth Film Society and The University of Portsmouth’s School of Creative Arts Film and Media are delighted to show two great films for students: on September 17 the award winning Mexican Post Tenebras Lux, and on September 18 American indie film Frances Ha. The screenings will be at Guildhall Portsmouth with their kind support. PFS is able to make these screenings free to University of Portsmouth Students with a valid current student ID, but tickets can be bought anyone.

While this is FREE for students and PFS members and season pass holders, the screenings are open to anyone. Tickets can be bought for £5 from PFS’ website or on the door.

Post Tenebras Lux (“After the Darkness Light”) is the story of Juan, a Westernised city Mexican, who moves to deep rural Mexico with his family, and tells of his encounters with the locals. The director plays with chronology as we follow Juan’s dreams and memories, and we jump between time scales and locations that include a sexual scene in a French sauna, and images of young lads playing Rugby in England. Compressed square images, blurring around the edge of the frame, and doubling effects are deliberately used to highlight the natural beauty and make the characters more complex.

Frances Ha is a modern comic fable and directed by Noah Baumbach. Guaranteed to appeal to the savvy young cineaste, Frances Ha has been described as ‘a film that reconciles well-trodden themes of New York indie cinema with physical comedy, emotional depth and a knowing affection for the nouvelle vague’ (Trevor Johnston, Sight & Sound, August 2013). Imagine Woody Allen’s Annie Hall re-written by Miranda July to conjure something of the spirit, if not perhaps the pathos, of Frances Ha which features a joyous performance from the eponymous Greta Gerwig who also co-wrote the screenplay with director Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale, Margot at the Wedding). Reasons to watch this film: Sam Levy’s black and white cinematography, and you’ll find out what the title means at the end.