Ditchling Film Society

My Favourite Cake (15)
2026-09-03 20:00 - 21:40 (Europe/London) | Ditchling Village Hall, 18 Lewes Road, Ditchling, Hassocks, East Sussex, BN6 8TT, United Kingdom
70-year-old Mahin has been widowed for 30 years and her two children live abroad. She is living a lonely life in Tehran. But one day, she decides to join her friends for the afternoon tea and finds a new spark in her heart. She meets someone who makes her feel alive again, and the evening brings unpredictable surprises and memories. She bakes her favourite cake, believing that she may have found love at her late age.

The female directors were banned from leaving Iran to attend it’s premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival. They were held in Evin prison awaiting trial for propaganda against the regime.

Persian with English subtitles. 97m Directed by Maryam Moghaddam & Behtash Sanaeeha

A personal view by guest critic Beth Travers

Ah yes, My Favourite Cake – though I would have appreciated a slice or twoto comfort me after this film. It is a gut-wrenching portrayal of loneliness andisolation of two, single 70-year-olds living in the hustle of modern-day Tehran.This award-winning Iranian film follows seventy-year-old Mahin and herattempt to revitalise her life after the loss of her husband. From a hilariousdepiction of female friendships, to heroism in the face of the oppressiveIranian morality police, co-directors Maryam Moghadam and BehtashSanaeeha beautifully capture a revival of love and romance.

The question arises from the beginning of the film – is it possible to find loveonce again at such an age? Mahin proves quite easily that it is, even underthe constraints of the Islamic Republic regime. She determinedly sets herheart on rediscovering life with a partner, unabashedly inviting cab driver andmilitary veteran, Faramarz (played by Esmail Mehrabi ) into her home forsome of her “favourite cake”. Admittedly I felt dazzled by her boldness, LiliFarhadpour magically captured that universal excitement and enjoyment offemale pursuit typically associated with young, carefree (and predominantlywestern) women. She proved the desire to be seen and for physical touchnever dies as we grow older.

Esmail won my heart with his loveable, charming smile and dance moves thathad viewers (such as myself) crying on their sofas still with no cake insight…

Beth

Battleship Potemkin (PG)
2026-10-01 20:00 - 21:20
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Eisenstein’s 1925 film has earned immense critical acclaim and is consideredone of the greatest films ever made. About a 1905 naval mutiny it wasrevolutionary in both form and content. Battleship Potemkin is renowned forits dynamic composition and frame-perfect editing.

In this 2025 release the Pet Shop Boys score is performed with the DresdnerSinfoniker and orchestrated by Torsten Rasch. It blends electronic beats withorchestral grandeur in an encompassing score that makes a powerfulcinematic experience.

Director Sergei M. Eisenstein. 72 minutes. Silent. Originally screened in 1925. This version with new accompanying soundtrack by the Pet Shop Boys. 2025

The Ballad of Wallis Island (12A)
2026-11-05 20:00 - 21:40
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This humorous and melancholic films follows Charles (Tim Key) an eccentric lottery winner living alone on a remote island who dreams of getting his favourite folk duo back together for a gig with an audience of just one. Carey Mulligan stars as part of the once almost famous band and returns from west coast USA where she now makes chutney along with her bird watching husband who tows along for the reunion. Tim Basden plays the other part of the duo and wrote the music for the film.

A powerful and beautiful story of family , friendship and identity

English. 1h 40mins. Director James Griffiths.

The Tundra Within Me (12A)
2026-12-03 20:00 - 21:40
Oskai’s film shows narrative and characters richly steeped in Sami cultural and tradition. Artist Lena returns to her remote Sami homeland in order to work on a project about women herders after she herself rejected this role and headed for the city.

The stark and beautiful landscape shows the life of the herders including the women and Lena is torn between renewing this life for herself and her son whilst falling in love.

The director Oskai is also a herder and this enables her to understand the love and pain that goes into this way of life. A beautiful and enriching film.
