UPCOMING EVENTS

This program has rich discussions on the movies selected each month by facilitator Barbara Brennan. If you enjoy movies, we encourage you to be a part of the group. Check out this month’s movies below. Join the group and be a part of the fun!

Movie 1. Wicked Little Letters is a 2023 British black comedy mystery film.  Watch on NETLIX  or Apple TV. Awards.
Directed by Thea Sharrock, written by Jonny Sweet and starring Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Anjana Vasan, Joanna Scanlan, Gemma Jones, Malachi Kirby, Lolly Adefope, Eileen Atkins and Timothy Spall. Based on a true scandal, it follows an investigation into the anonymous author of numerous crudely insulting letters sent to the residents of seaside town Littlehampton. Little Letters premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 9 September 2023, and was released in the United Kingdom by StudioCanal on 23 February 2024. It received generally positive reviews from critics.

Movie 2. The French Connection is a 1971 American neo-noir action thriller film. Watch on Amazon, Apple TV, MAX, YouTube. Awards. Directed by William Friedkin and starring Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider and Fernando Rey. The screenplay, written by Ernest Tidyman, is based on Robin Moore’s 1969 non-fiction book of the same name. It tells the story of fictional NYPD detectives Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle and Buddy “Cloudy” Russo, whose real-life counterparts were narcotics detectives Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso, in pursuit of wealthy French heroin smuggler Alain Charnier (played by Rey).

At the 44th Academy Awards, the film earned eight nominations and won five for Best Picture, Best Actor (Hackman), Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay. It was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Scheider), Best Cinematography and Best Sound Mixing. Tidyman also received a Golden Globe Award nomination, a Writers Guild of America Award and an Edgar Award for his screenplay. A sequel, French Connection II, followed in 1975 with Hackman and Rey reprising their roles.

Often considered one of the greatest films ever made, The French Connection appeared in the American Film Institute’s list of the best American films in 1998 and again in 2007. In 2005, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant”.

This is a Zoom event and registration is required. Please be sure to register on AHA Hub or to the AHA office: 703.231.0824 or AHA@AtHomeInAlexandria.org.

​

​