Opening Night: Sidewalk Stories

Remaking a film by one of cinema’s genuine masters is perhaps an audacious thing to do, but remaking a Charlie Chaplin film 70 years on without sound or colour for a contemporary audience is ludicrous right?

Well, American filmmaker and actor Charles Lane did just that, pulling off one of the very best yet rarely seen comedies of the last 30 years with his film Sidewalk Stories, a retelling of Chaplin’s 1921 classic The Kid. Lane’s film, which follows the story of an unlikely father-daughter pairing, sees Lane (playing the main character himself) charged with the care of a toddler (who happens to be his daughter in real life) when her father is murdered. Fearing he will be framed by the police for the crime, he flees the scene with the child. Sublimely directed, superbly acted, and seriously funny, it’s a masterpiece of the New Black Cinema movement, and thoroughly deserves wider acclaim.

Making this evening extra-special is jazz wunderkind Xhosa Cole, who has put together a talented eight-piece ensemble to rescore Lane's film. Winner of the BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year in 2018, Cole tonight presents the world premiere of his first live feature film score.

We’re enormously grateful for the support from The Feeney Trust for their support in making this commission possible.