INDIs Movie Night presents Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi horror film Alien, a rare chance to see this classic icon of cinema on the big screen.
When the crew of the merchant spaceship Nostromo answer a distress call from a nearby moon, a search party discovers a colony of alien eggs. Following an attack on one of the crew they return to the ship only to discover they have brought an unknown creature on board, which is hunting them down one by one. As the crew are killed, it is up to Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) to take control and try to destroy the creature and prevent it from reaching Earth.
Over 40 years on and Alien is still considered one of the greatest sci-fi horror films of all time, and not without merit. With a relatively small budget ($11m), Ridley Scott created an epic futuristic world thanks to the combination of Dan O'Bannon's script, HR Giger's alien design and the cast's performances.
Even now, Alien remains innovative and relevant because it presents Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) as one of the first ever female heroines in sci-fi. Ripley’s character is empowering for women in a way that transcends both time and genre. (Jenni Holtz, 14 East)
Read ScreenRant's article Alien: 10 Things That Still Hold Up Today (spoilers)
Rise of the Final Girl: Women in Horror panel discussion
In partnership with Film 50/50
To accompany the screening, we will be hosting a panel discussion to talk about the monstrous-feminine themes in the film, the horror trope 'The Final Girl' as epitomised by Sigourney Weaver as Ripley in Alien and the roles of women in horror filmmaking.
The panel will be hosted by Martin Grund, Producer of the INDIs and Fanomenon programmer for Leeds International Film Festival, who will be joined by the following guests:
Dr Alison Peirse
Alison Peirse is an award–winning horror writer and an Associate Professor of Film. Her fourth book Women Make Horror: Filmmaking, Feminism, Genre (2020) is a Finalist for Superior Achievement in Non–Fiction in the Bram Stoker Awards, a Runner Up for Rondo Book of the Year, and winner of the Best Edited Collection at the BAFTSS 2020 awards. She also writes a bi–weekly horror newsletter, The Losers’ Club.
David Maguire
David Maguire is the author of the Columbia University Press book on 1978’s infamous ‘I Spit On Your Grave’, examining its influence on cinema and the historical, social, and political landscape into which the film was first released. David is also a programmer with the Leeds International Film Festival’s Fanomenon strand, catering for fans of fantasy, horror and science fiction. As an independent scholar he has given papers across the UK on topics such as George A Romero's zombie films as neo-westerns, wider issues at play in 21st century rape-revenge films and modern rape-revenge protagonists as the epitome of monstrous-femininity.
Evangeline Spachis
Evangeline Spachis is a digital content editor, writer, musician and former magazine editor. She is currently studying for a master’s degree in Film Curation at the Northern Film School, alongside developing a curated programme on queer horror for the 2021 edition of Leeds International Film Festival.
This screening is presented with support from Leeds 50:50.
