As usual, Cinemateket is coming up trumps in December, showing a diverse mix of films that gives you a great alternative to the Hollywood run-of-the-mill dross on offer at the bigger movie theatres.

One of the  themes this coming month is the US actor and director Elia Kazan. Kazan died in 2003, and is described by the New York Times as “one of the most honoured and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history”. He was born in Istanbul to Greek parents, but grew up in the States. He studied acting at Yale University and favourerd the use of ‘method actingÂ’ on the stage and screen. He acted in a few films, but quickly showed a unique talent for directing film. He had an amazing ability to draw out fantastic dramatic performances from the actors he worked with, with his films producing no less than 21 acting Oscar nominations and nine wins. He himself also won two Oscars for best director.

Kazan was inclined to cast new actors in his films and was responsible for introducing actors such as Marlon Brando and James Dean to the movie scene. In December, you will be able to see such treats, including A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) and East of Eden (1955). Many of KazanÂ’s films were concerned with social issues. GentlemanÂ’s Agreement (1947) tackled discreet anti-Semitism and On the Waterfrontconfronted  the issue of union corruption in New York. Many regard the latter film as amongst the greatest in the history of international cinema.

In the run up to Christmas, the cinema will also be running a tribute to the Disney classics. Of course, your  children may well have seen what amazing  things can be done in animation with the computer technology used today, such as in Tangled and Cars, but why not show them some of the fantastic  films they made years ago without those  modern tools, such  as Fantasia, Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty?

And for those of you who can understand Danish, there will also be a series of films by the Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer, whose French film The Passion of Joan of Arc was named by the curators of the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival as the most influential film of all time!

CinemateketÂ’s programme for December

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