Our latest series of Storyhouse Gems, titled Beautiful Nothings, captures the poetic, quietly profound and bittersweet moments of life as experienced through the eyes of poets, filmmakers, artists and dreamers. This season brings together four distinct films by Jim Jarmusch, Nora Ephron, Spike Jonze and Michel Gondry, each with their own stories of offbeat minds and creative struggles, following characters who view the world through a lens that’s imaginative, vulnerable and wonderfully whimsical.
Curated by Storyhouse Cinema Assistant Ryan Murphy, an artist and musician himself, this selection explores the lifestyles and processes of both ordinary people and artists, showing that we can all work creatively, and that success is not always the goal.
What does it mean to be an artist?
A difficult question. The answer varies depending on the person you ask. Simply put, an artist is someone who creates things – attempting to combine imagination, emotion, and skill in order to produce something. Something which may one day captivate audiences and inspire others to do the same. This passion for expression comes in many forms and has endless outcomes. During this gems season, I aim to shine a light on the creativity I believe we are all capable of conjuring, given the right circumstances.
Each of the four films which shape Beautiful Nothings showcases a different artistic point of view, exploring the lifestyles and processes of ordinary people working creatively, where success or profundity is not always the goal. You may see yourself up there on the screen: perhaps you too are a budding poet, designer, writer, or cook. This season hopes to inspire you to get creative and pursue your passion for no other reason than to feel the delight of making something for yourself.
So give it a go! Trust me, it’ll make your soul grow.
Paterson (2016) Dir. by Jim Jarmusch
Often surprising, and always innovative, Jim Jarmusch is one of the New York indie scene’s best writer-directors. His 2016 film Paterson is at once real, dreamlike, and daringly undramatic. The film presents one week in the life of Paterson (Adam Driver), a bus driver poet with a quiet and loving temperament. His wife, Laura (Golshifteh Farahani) dreams of becoming a country music star and opening her own cupcake business.
Throughout Paterson, Jarmusch shows us beauty in contentment with familiar and unpretentious storytelling. One week in Paterson’s life plays out slowly, giving the audience time to reflect whilst soaking up the beautiful cinematography of Frederick Elmes. Perhaps one aspect of the life of an artist is to live simply – to appreciate the little things, and strive to be content with the fruits of your creativity.
Wednesday 27 August at 6pm
Julie & Julia (2009) Dir. Nora Ephron
Nora Ephrons’ Julie & Julia is a heart-warming and highly appetising biographical comedy, contrasting the lives of American chef, author, and TV personality, Julia Child (Meryl Streep), and New York blogger Julie Powell (Amy Adams). Both women are at loose ends, until they discover that with the right combination of passion, fearlessness, and butter, anything is possible. For Julie and Julia, cooking becomes the ultimate creative outlet, and thus, by discovering the thing they love doing, each finds contentment.
We are all artists, but not everyone has an interest in seemingly more “traditional” creative practices such as painting, film, or music. Childs and Powell explore a variety of other creative avenues before arriving at the often-overlooked art of cooking. With supporting roles as refreshingly supportive husbands from Stanley Tucci and Chris Messina, Ephron’s Julie & Julia is a comfort film and culinary delight from starters to dessert.
Tuesday 30 September at 6pm
Adaptation (2002) Dir. Spike Jonze
Where to begin writing about Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman’s Adaptation? An exploration of narrative cinema’s inherent limitations – the struggling artists’ Fight Club, Kaufman’s screenplay is based on his attempts to adapt Susan Orlean’s 1998 nonfiction book The Orchid Thief whilst suffering from writer’s block. The film’s rich and interesting characters are brought to life by its ensemble cast (Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, Tilda Swinton), each of which search for some meaning, or seek truth in the lives they lead and the art they create.
Hopefully, Adaptation will inspire you to go back to that creative endeavour you’ve been putting off by accepting your creative mistakes and approaching the process of making from a new angle. Dizzyingly original, the loopy, multi-layered Adaptation is both funny and thought-provoking.
Wed 22 October at 6pm
The Science of Sleep (2006) Dir Michel Gondry
Blending dreams and reality… imagination, delusion, and loss are some of the many themes explored in Michel Gondry’s The Science of Sleep, a surrealistic rom-com starring Gael García Bernel and Charlotte Gainsbourg. The film’s protagonist, Stéphane (Gael García Bernel) is a deluded and childish artist, stuck in job he dislikes and frustrated with the progress of his work – a common feeling shared by creative types. His increasing inability to recognize the difference between his dreams and waking life, Stéphane becomes confused and dejected as he messily tries to impress fellow artist and next-door neighbour Stéphanie (Charlotte Gainsbourg), the woman he has decided is his soul mate.
Although playful and humorous, The Science of Sleep contains a sadness, which is underscored by Jean-Michel Bernard’s award-winning score – a bittersweet ode to the creative daydreamer.
Wed 3 December at 6pm
Storyhouse Gems is a monthly strand of hand-picked, one-off cinema screenings featuring cult, classic, and contemporary film favourites programmed by a member of your Storyhouse Cinema Team.
Storyhouse Gems aims to provide experience in cinema programming, event planning and more, nurturing future talents.
Storyhouse Cinema is supported by Film Hub North with National Lottery funding on behalf of the BFI Film Audience Network.