Reel Mondays has been proving to be a real hot ticket. As the last of the screenings of the fall season is set to queue up on Nov. 7, the Friends of St. Albert Public Library are already tantalizing film festival fans with the new winter slate of offerings.
Valerie Spink, the president of the group, said that season ticket subscriptions went up almost 15 per cent.
“We’re up a few tickets. Our first movie, The Lady in the Van, was a huge success,” she enthused, noting a large number of single tickets were sold for that Dame Maggie Smith film. “I’m getting people saying that they come to everything. That’s very good.”
She also praised the film series’ new home at the Arden Theatre. “All I want is to see a full theatre some day,” she remarked with a laugh.
Tickets go on sale starting on Nov. 14, one week after the screening of The Meddler. The screenings of these five critically acclaimed films take place one Monday every month from January to May.
The winter series begins on Jan. 23 with Love & Friendship. Whit Stillman’s period piece is based on Jane Austen’s novella Lady Susan. Set in the late 1700s, the story follows the widow Lady Susan Vernon (Kate Beckinsale), who arrives at her in-laws’ estate, already working up a way to marry anew and even scheming to find a husband for her debutante daughter, Frederica (Morfydd Clark).
That’s followed up by Florence Foster Jenkins on Feb. 27. We all know that the immensely talented Meryl Streep can sing but who knew that she could sing so well that she can also act like she is the worst singer in the world? This Stephen Frears' comedy is based on an unbelievably true story of a New York socialite and amateur soprano who pined for the bright lights of the opera stage. There’s only one place that can make this croaker happy and that’s Carnegie Hall. It co-stars Hugh Grant.
The series rounds off with Viggo Mortensen in Captain Fantastic on March 27, Clint Eastwood’s Sully, a look at a real-life hero pilot, on April 24, and unconventional family drama on May 15.
There are still seats available for The Meddler on Monday, Nov. 7 as well.
All movies begin at 7 p.m. at the Arden Theatre. Tickets are $55 for the whole series or $15 per movie. They can be purchased at the main floor customer service desk at the St. Albert Public Library.
Call 780-459-1530 or visit www.sapl.ca for more information. All proceeds go to benefit the St. Albert Readers' Festival, better known as STARFest.
