Welcome to Cinema at the Heart of the Community
THE BLOCK CINEMA
“Cinema is universal, beyond flags and borders and passports.”
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
THE BLOCK CINEMA is an independent cinema in South Manchester, offering you a wide range of accessible and affordable films. The cinema is led by volunteers who all share a passion for cinema. All are welcome.
Just so you know, we have moved to the new media centre at WYTHENSHAWE FORUM! For details on how to get there, please visit our ‘FACILITIES AND GETTING HERE’ page.
YOU'RE MY FAVOURITE FILM: A COMMUNITY TRIBUTE TO FILM
The Bear (1988) PG
Thursday 7 May
Doors 6.30 pm/Film 7pm
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Runtime: 1h 36m
Genre: Adventure / Family Drama / Nature
Set deep in the mountains of British Columbia, The Bear follows an orphaned cub forced to survive in a world that offers little mercy. Alone and vulnerable, he eventually crosses paths with a massive adult bear — a wary, battle-scarred creature with problems of his own.
What unfolds is a story of survival, instinct, and an unlikely bond, told almost entirely without dialogue. Instead, the film relies on image, movement, and sound — drawing you into the animals’ world with remarkable clarity and restraint.
Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, The Bear is both beautiful and unsparing. It captures the natural world as it is — harsh, unpredictable, and indifferent — but also full of moments of connection and quiet understanding.
This isn’t a sentimental animal story. It’s something closer to life: fragile, dangerous, and occasionally tender.
Come along and experience it on the big screen — where its scale, silence, and raw power truly land.
🎬 La La Land (2016) PG
📍 The Block at Broomwood (Timperley)
Wednesday 13 May
Director: Damien Chazelle
Runtime: 2h 8m
Genre: Musical / Romance / Drama
In modern-day Los Angeles, two dreamers cross paths: Mia, an aspiring actress, and Sebastian, a jazz musician determined to keep his art alive in a city that’s always looking for the next thing.
What begins as a chance meeting grows into something deeper — a relationship shaped by ambition, compromise, and the quiet question of what success really costs.
Directed by Damien Chazelle and carried by the chemistry between Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, La La Land blends old Hollywood style with a modern edge — part love letter to cinema, part reflection on the realities behind the dream.
Visually striking, musically rich, and emotionally grounded, it’s a film that lingers — not just for what happens, but for what might have been.
Join us for our first screening at The Block at Broomwood (Timperley) — a new home for great films, shared together on the big screen.
🎬 The Name of the Rose (1986) 15
📍 The Block Cinema
Thursday 21 May
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Runtime: 2h 10m
Genre: Historical Mystery / Thriller / Literary Adaptation
Set in a remote Italian monastery in the 14th century, The Name of the Rose follows a series of mysterious deaths that unsettle a rigid and fearful religious order.
Enter William of Baskerville — a sharp-minded Franciscan friar — and his young novice, Adso. As suspicion spreads and superstition takes hold, William begins to apply reason where others see only heresy, uncovering a trail of secrets hidden within the abbey’s walls.
Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud and based on the novel by Umberto Eco, the film blends intellectual mystery with a tense, almost claustrophobic atmosphere.
Anchored by a commanding performance from Sean Connery, it’s a story of knowledge versus control, faith versus reason — and the danger of asking the wrong questions in the wrong place.
Dark, absorbing, and richly detailed, this is a mystery that rewards patience and attention.
Come along and experience it on the big screen, together.
🎬 I Swear (2025) 15
📍 The Block at Broomwood (Timperley)
Wednesday 27 May
Director: Kirk Jones
Runtime: 2h
Genre: Drama / Biographical
Diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome at just fifteen, John Davidson grows up navigating a world that doesn’t always understand him — or make space for him.
From difficult school years to the challenges of adulthood, his journey is marked by frustration, resilience, and moments of unexpected kindness. What emerges is not a story of limitation, but of persistence — and of finding purpose in a life that refuses to follow a straight path.
Directed by Kirk Jones, I Swear approaches its subject with honesty and care, balancing hardship with warmth, and humour with dignity.
It’s a film about being seen, being heard, and the quiet strength it takes to keep going when the world would rather you stayed silent.
🕰 Doors: 6:30pm
🎥 Film: 7:00pm
Join us for our first screenings at The Block at Broomwood (Timperley) — a new home for great films, shared together on the big screen.
OUR SCREENINGS
Films begin at 7 pm, with doors opening at 6:30 pm.
MAY SCREENINGS
The Bear (1988) PG
Thursday 7 May
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud Runtime: 1h 36m
Genre: Adventure / Family Drama / Nature
📍 The Block at Broomwood (Timperley)
La La Land (2016) PG
Wednesday 13 May
Director: Damien Chazelle
Runtime: 2h 8m
Genre: Musical / Romance / Drama
The Name of the Rose (1986) 15
Thursday 21 May
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud Runtime: 2h 10m
Genre: Historical Mystery / Thriller / Literary Adaptation
📍 The Block at Broomwood (Timperley)
🎬 I Swear (2025) 15
Wednesday 27 May Director: Kirk Jones
Runtime: 2h
Genre: Drama / Biographical
JUNE SCREENINGS
The Piano (1993) 15
Thursday 4 June
Director: Jane Campion Runtime: 2h 1m
Genre: Romantic Drama / Period / Psychological
A Raisin in the Sun (1961) PG
Thursday 18 June
Director: Daniel Petrie Runtime: 2h 8m
Genre: Drama / Social Realism / Stage Adaptation
JULY SCREENINGS
The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941) U
Thursday 2 July
Director: William Dieterle Runtime: 1h 47m
Genre: Fantasy / Americana / Moral Fable
Perfect Days (2023) PG
Thursday 16 July
Director: Wim Wenders Runtime: 2h 5m
Genre: Drama / Meditative Cinema / Internationa