in the arts
from April 2008

Sheffield Showroom Cinema has four films on this month with queer-appeal.

Water Lilies (15), (pictured) from Friday 11th, is set amid the world of synchronised swimming.Celine Sciamma’s debut follows three fifteen-year-old girls in Paris: blonde, beautiful Florian, shy, boyish Marie and Anne, an outspoken extrovert. Anne’s crush on a male swimmer is thwarted when he only has eyes for Florian. Unkown to Florian, Marie harbours similar desires. It’s an accomplished exploration of teenage lust, disappointment and the trials of female friendship.

My Beautiful Laundrette (15) on April 30th, is the Oscar-nominated love story starring Daniel Day-Lewis in his breakthrough role as ex-fascist street punk Jonny, hired by old school friend, now lover Omar to convert a run-down laundrette into a glittering palace of commercial success. April 26th sees Brokeback Mountain (15), the story of a lifelong romance between herdsmen Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Ennis Del Mar (played by the late Heath Ledger). Meeting on an assignment to care for sheep on Brokeback Mountain in 1963, the rodeo cowboy and ranch hand fall in love, yet are unable to sever their connection when they return to small-town existence - and their wives.

A Life In The Death Of Joe Meek (12A), with guest introduction from directors Howard S Berger & Susan Stahman is on 12th April. Joe Meek was one of the most creative and original people in the early UK pop business and the first to score a US number 1 by a British artist. He was also gay at a time when it was still illegal in the UK and was subjected to blackmail as a result. This fascinating documentary charts the personal and creative life of this seminal but tragic pop pioneer. Featuring interviews with musos Alex Kopranos and Edwyn Collins and director Marc Evans as well as a host of characters from the 50s and 60s world of pop.