North East Film Premiere with Oscar-nominated director - Mike Figgis

Newcastle’s Tyneside Cinema welcomes back Oscar-nominated director and patron Mike Figgis for North East premiere of his new film

Suspension of Disbelief (15) Plus Q&A with director Mike Figgis

Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, NE1 6QG

Wednesday 10 July, 6pm. Tickets £8.50 (£7 concessions)

Newcastle’s Tyneside Cinema is delighted to welcome back Oscar-nominated director and patron of the Cinema Mike Figgis to present the North East premiere of his new film Suspension of Disbelief on Wednesday 10 July. The audience will also have the chance to put their questions to Mike at a special Q&A after the screening, when the director will discuss how the film was made. Following Mike’s critically acclaimed films Timecode and Leaving Las Vegas (for which he received two Oscar nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay), his new film Suspension of Disbelief is a stylish murder mystery starring Sebastian Koch (The Lives Of Others) as a successful screenwriter who becomes implicated in the death of a beautiful young woman. Mike also wrote the soundtrack for the film, which co-stars Lotte Verbeek (The Borgias) and Emilia Fox (The Pianist). Mike Figgis said, “I’m looking forward to presenting my new film, Suspension of Disbelief at Tyneside Cinema, the place where I saw my first provocative films. It feels like coming home.” Film director, writer and musician Mike Figgis was born in Carlisle and grew up in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He has been a patron of Tyneside Cinema, one of the UK’s leading independent specialised film and media venues, for over a decade and Mike’s pioneering work with digital technology was an important influence on the Cinema’s redevelopment in 2008, its digital art programme Pixel Palace and award-winning Northern Stars Film Academy for young filmmakers. Tyneside Cinema’s Figgis Room was named after the director following the venue’s reopening five years ago. Mark Dobson, Chief Executive for Tyneside Cinema said, “Mike Figgis’s work as a filmmaker has been very influential on the world of digital cinema, and as a patron he has been hugely supportive of Tyneside Cinema and a big inspiration for what we do here. We’re very excited to welcome him back for this special screening and to give our audiences the chance to put their questions to Mike in person about how he made his new film.” Tickets for Suspension of Disbelief with a live Q&A with Mike Figgis on Wednesday 10 July at 6pm are on sale now and cost £8.50 (£7 concessions). Tickets are available in person from the Tyneside Cinema Box Office, by telephone on 0845 217 9909 or online at www.tynesidecinema.co.uk. On Thursday 11 July, Mike Figgis will also take part in a discussion about digital filmmaking as well as a workshop for young filmmakers at Tyneside Cinema’s Northern Stars Film Academy for 15-18 year-olds. Applications for the Northern Stars Film Academy are open now and close on Monday 8 July at 5pm. To find out more about the Academy and how to join, please visit www.madebynorthernstars.com/academy or telephone the Tyneside Cinema Box Office on 0845 217 9909. In 2003, Tyneside Cinema and AV Festival presented a retrospective of Mike’s work. The season culminated in a unique screening of Timecode, when Mike remixed his film to create a new version In front of a live audience at the former Odeon Cinema building on Pilgrim Street. This screening of Suspension of Disbelief at Tyneside Cinema follows the film’s UK premiere on Saturday 6 July at the East End Film Festival, where Mike is also introducing the festival’s new EMERGE strand exploring digital technology. For more information please visit www.eastendfilmfestival.com. The film is also showing at QUAD in Derby on Saturday 13 July.