The black and white cinema program at The Filmoteca makes a welcome return to Alicante, organized by the Valencian Institute of Culture (IVC) at Teatre Arniches. The current cycle continues with a new chapter dedicated to Charles Chaplin, offering a session on Thursday at 7:30 pm featuring three classic shorts: A Party Day, Arms on the Shoulders, and Celebration.
The schedule continues in January with City Lights (1931), where a wandering Charlot lends a hand to a flower seller; on February 2 the spotlight shifts to Modern Times (1936), a pointed critique of dehumanization in capitalist society through the eyes of a worker trapped by industrial rhythms; and February 9 presents The Great Dictator (1940), a landmark anti Nazi satire and a bold anti fascist statement that helped shape cinema history as Chaplin’s first sound feature.
Monsieur Verdoux (1947), a black comedy inspired by a serial killer, appears on February 23, followed by a March 2 highlight that reflects on the life of the comedian on screen and reunites Chaplin with Buster Keaton. The cycle closes in March with A King in New York (1957), a sharp and provocative satire born from McCarthy era tensions, and on March 30 Countess from Hong Kong (1967) a romantic comedy shot in color that marks the end of Chaplin’s directing career, featuring Marlon Brando and Sophia Loren.
Premieres
The Film Library also unveils three previously unreleased films in Alicante. The Wind Phone (Japan, 2020) presents Nobuhiro Suwa reflecting on the 2011 tsunami and the Fukushima disaster, shown January 26. Becamea (Colombia, 2021) by Apichatpong Weerasethakul offers a sensory cinematic experience on February 16. Y Return to Reims (France, 2021) by Jean-Gabriel Périot compiles archival footage of workers’ struggles in France during the 1950s, providing a powerful historical perspective.