Into Film Clubs
Find out everything you need to know about starting an Into Film Club.
April sees some huge cinema releases for young audiences alongside some more mature titles looking to find an audience in young adults. With one of the world's most popular video game characters returning for a double-size sequel, a huge franchise delving deeper into its own mythology and a fantastic youth-focused music drama from Morocco, April promises a wealth of riches for cinema going audiences.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - in cinemas 1 April
After the first film based on everyone's favourite blue hedgehog reached dizzying popularity during 2020, its sequel Sonic the Hedgehog 2 bursts into cinemas at the beginning of April. Speedy hedgehog Sonic has finally found a home and a family on Earth. Now residing in Green Hills, Sonic is keen to demonstrate his responsible side while Tom and Maddie are away in Hawaii for a wedding. Hoping to prove he can be a hero for the community, Sonic is given an opportunity to do so with the return of the dastardly Dr. Robotnik. With the help of his new fox friend Tails, Sonic learns that the mythical Master Emerald is in fact real when he receives a holographical message from his former guardian, Longclaw. Together Sonic and Tails seek to locate the powerful gemstone before Robotnik does, lest he use it to conquer the world. But Robotnik has a new friend too: Knuckles the Echnida, who proves a match for Sonic, and has his own reason for pursuing the emerald. This sequel is a high-energy family film based on the iconic video game series with themes around friendship, responsibility, and growing up.
The Bad Guys - in cinemas 1 April
From the animation studio that brought you Despicable Me and Minions comes The Bad Guys, a comic crime caper which explores stereotypes and our ability to change for the better. Wolf, Snake, Shark, Tarantula, and Piranha are titular criminal gang known for their elaborate heists who strike fear into the general public. Each has their own set of skills, from disguises to codebreaking, and they make a great team. When their latest theft goes wrong, however, the five lawbreakers are set to spend time behind bars. Wolf, the gang's leader, thinks quickly and plants the idea that they could be rehabilitated by the city's beloved public figure Professor Marmalade, a guinea pig who loves to do good deeds. While Professor Marmalade puts together a training programme which encourages good values such as kindness and sharing, The Bad Guys are planning their most audacious heist yet.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore - in cinemas 8 April
Continuing the magical narrative of the Harry Potter universe is this third entry into the popular spellbinding franchise. It's the 1930s and the wizarding and muggle worlds are under threat, as the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald gains more and more followers. Magizoologist Newt Scamander has been recruited by Professor Albus Dumbledore to try and stop his friend-turned-enemy Grindelwald, and he won't be alone: long before Harry Potter and his friends bandied together to form ‘Dumbledore's Army', Newt's motley crew of wizards, witches, magical beasts plus a muggle join forces to fight for hope, friendship and freedom. As their adventures take them all over the world and into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, darkness threatens as elements of Dumbledore's past come to light.
Operation Mincemeat - in cinemas 15 April
It's early in 1943 and the British intelligence services have been tasked with devising different ideas to turn the tide of World War II. While various plans are put into motion, the most outlandish concept is put forward by none other than writer Ian Fleming who would go on to author James Bond. His plan involves planting a washed-up corpse on a Spanish beach with fake documents which will lead the German troops to abandoning their stronghold in Sicily and preparing for a false attack elsewhere, allowing the British army to advance. Despite the commanding officer's skepticism and reluctance, Churchill appears a fan of the proposal and so the intelligence officers are tasked with finding a corpse, creating a backstory, and writing forged letters. And if the success of the scheme wasn't improbable enough, events are further complicated when the two main players driving it forward both develop romantic feelings for the same colleague. Operation Mincemeat is a lively, inventive, and engaging adaptation of a book based on the true spy story.
Casablanca Beats - in cinemas 29 April
Based on the lives of the film's director and ensemble cast, this Moroccan film is an authentic and engaging drama with an upbeat and vibrant tone. In Morocco's largest city, a group of energetic teenagers meet their cultural centre's new music teacher. Under the guidance of Anas, a former rapper, the students are encouraged to create and develop hip hop lyrics about their lives and perform them to each other. While the students use this opportunity to reflect their own difficult realities through the lyrics, Anas wants more. He interrogates their efforts, but also protects the students against criticism made by staff and parents. As the group discuss and debate their society challenging religion, traditional gender roles, and more they decide to put on a concert to truly express themselves creatively in a public forum.
More films released in April
Prayers for the Stolen - in cinemas 9th April
Adapted from a revered novel of the same name, this Mexican drama follows three girls in Guerrero who come of age in a small countryside village that is being controlled and decimated by the drug trade and human trafficking.
Ennio - in cinemas 22nd April
A comprehensive homage to the revolutionary Ennio Morricone, one of cinema's most well-known composers who secured his legacy through Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns.
