Black Barn OpenAir Cinema – A Festival of Film under the Stars

Hawke’s Bay is welcoming its eighth OpenAir Cinema season starting on December 27th at Black Barn Vineyards in Havelock North. The festival organisers, Doris and Urs Blum, have again prepared a cinematic smorgasbord to delight film enthusiasts under the stars: from the Nature movie The White Planet and Jim Carey’s new comedy Mr Popper’s Penguins to the latest installment of the Sci-Fi saga X-men, X-men: First Class, there is plenty of variety to more than satisfy a broad range of film appetites.

The season will run over nine nights from December 27th to 30th and from January 02nd to 6th. “We have selected the programme carefully”, says Doris. “Each film is a gem of its genre.” Amongst the other films shown are:

The HB stopover and HB Premiere of The 10/11 Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour, showcasing short movies of adventure sports at the highest level including wild water kayaking, climbing, base jumping, mountain biking and much more.

Billy T: Te Movie celebrating NZ’s very own Billy and his extraordinary talent as musician, singer, comedian, actor, writer and artist, featuring digitally re-mastered footage of his performances and never-seen-before archival images.

The stellar cast of Ewan McGregor and Melanie Laurent team up with Christopher Plummer in the intriguing romantic drama Beginners alluring to the fact that when it comes to relationships we are all beginners.

Relationships are also the focus in the hilarious comedy Heartbreaker. You could say Alex is a ladies' man. He has already wooed and charmed armies of women, but he does it only on active service: breaking up undesired couplings.

Based on real life events, the thought provoking drama-thriller Fair Game (Naomi Watts, Sean Penn) sheds light on the illegal exposure of CIA operative Valerie Plame by the US government as payback for a news article her husband wrote.

The final night will showcase the short movie Simple Pleasures, which was filmed with involvement of students and staff of the EIT Screen Production course, followed by Woody Allen’s latest rom-com Midnight in Paris. Featuring a whole lot of stars including, Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Kathy Bates, Carla Bruni, Adrien Brody, and Michael Sheen, the movie is about a young man's great love for Paris, and the illusion people have, that a life different from theirs would be much better.

“Hawke’s Bay is climatically and culturally perfectly suited for movies under the stars. The past seven seasons have proven extremely successful. Everybody loves the experience of watching movies on a big screen nestled in the picturesque vineyard setting of the amphitheatre”, Urs Blum, the event organiser, states. It has great acoustics, good sight lines, the best of technology installed, and offers views to die for. Moviegoers can relax on grassed terraces, listen to pre-movie music, sip a glass of wine with friends, enjoy a nibble from the onsite caterers or bring their own picnic, and watch the sun set over Hawke’s Bay. It is the ultimate outdoor experience: great films, great sound, great food, and great company under the stars.”

Admission: adults $ 18 / $ 10 children (5-12 yrs)

The full programme, trailers, the print-your-own-ticket facility as well as movie and venue details are available on the Black Barn website (www.blackbarn.com). Other selected ticketing outlets are:

• Havelock North: Black Barn Vineyards, Black Barn Road, 06 877 79 85
• Havelock North: Village Image Printz, Village Court, 06 877 89 89
• Napier: Deco City Printz, 165 Hastings St, Napier, 06 835 94 30
• Hastings: House of Travel, 117 Market St North, 06 878 88 58

ENDS

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