THE MERCURY CINEMA

The Mercury and Iris Cinemas are run by the Media Resource Centre to enhance screen culture and to give screening opportunities to emerging South Australian film, video and digital media artists.

Cinemas are also available for hire. For more information CLICK HERE.

CONTACT
Operations Manager, Jeremy Chance e-mail

Exhibition Manager, Toby Bramwell e-mail
Ph. (08) 8410 0979

This webpage is a work in progress - comments?

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST MERCURY CINEMA CALENDAR!

JOIN OUR MAILING LIST!
Be among the first to see our quarterly program - email us your name and contact details, including postal address.

TICKET SALES

Call 8410 0979 9-5:30 Mon to Fri with you credit Card handy.
Call into the MRC 13 Morphett St Adelaide (behind the Mercury) 8-5:30 Mon-Fri
Buy tickets at the box office from one hour prior to the advertised screening time.

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MERCURY for hire

The Mercury and Iris Cinemas are available for hire. We offer highly competitive rates for your screening, conference, lecture or party. We can screen just about anything from 35mm CinemaScope to your Powerpoint or web based presentation. AND we can look after your catering and liquor requirements with the minimum of fuss!

SHINING LIGHTS: THE CINEMA OF TRANCENDENCE

11 May – 21 May

While blockbuster movies serve up plenty of entertainment, some films offer a contemplative experience where plotting and action becomes secondary to subtle observation and philosophical thought. Whether set in the rural isolation of North America or the inner reaches of memory, some films dare to touch on concepts that go beyond human knowledge and present those rare moments in time that transcend the mundane and allow us to see with lucidity the truths that lie in a common experience.

SAN SOLEIL || STROSZEK
STELLET LICHT || SOLARIS

7:30pm Monday 11 May

SANS SOLEIL (18+)

Dir: Chris Marker France 1983 100mins 16mm
Defying definition, Marker’s experimental visual essay is a rich blend of imagery drawn from across the globe – Japan, Guinea-Bissau and the US - overlaid with meditations on memory, the passing of time and human nature as read aloud from letters despatched by roving cameraman Sandor Krasna located at the “extreme poles of survival”. The art of linking and structuring thoughts, becomes not only the film's subject but also the task of the spectator.

Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

7:30pm Thursday 14 May

STROSZEK (M)

Dir: Werner Herzog West Germany 1977 106mins 16mm
Inspired by the life of Bruno S. who stars as Stroszek, a struggling street musician flees Berlin in pursuit of the American Dream only to find that it is not what he imagined. What begins as a low-life melodrama with a realistic edge, becomes an absurdist road movie, then a metaphysical quest. Making superb use of non-professional actors and rural locations, director Herzog transcends the banal environment to create something much more in his search for the “ecstatic truth”. Print courtesy of the National Film & Sound Archive.

Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

7:30pm Monday 18 May

STELLET LICHT (M)

Dir: Carlos Reygadas Mexico/France/Netherlands/Germany 2007 131mins 35mm
This mesmerising and deeply moving tale of love and betrayal within a Mennonite community in Mexico centres on Johan, a married man struggling with his faith and traditional beliefs after falling in love with another woman. This incredible cinematic experience is essential viewing for any fans of Werner Herzog, Terrence Malick or Andrei Tarkovsky. Completely confounding expectations, Reygadas' masterful control of image and sound confirm his position as one of cinema's most distinctive new auteurs.

Winner Jury Prize Cannes Film Festival 2007.

7:30pm Thursday 21 May

SOLARIS (M)

Dir: Andrei Tarkovsky USSR 1972 165mins 35mm
When the space station Prometheus, orbiting around the distant planet Solaris, cuts off all communication with Earth, Dr. Kris Kelvin is sent to investigate. When he arrives, Kelvin discovers the resident scientists either dead or half crazed. Slowly learning the secrets behind the mysterious phenomena, he encounters his long dead wife apparently alive and well, in this visually hypnotic, deeply affecting story of conscience, love, and reconciliation. Based on the novel by Stanislaw Lem, this is a science-fiction classic for all time.

Winner Grand Prix Cannes Film Festival 1972.
Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die