Give Me Pity - plus '80s disco

This new release is one-of-a-kind, set in an alternative dream-universe between 1975 and 1985; it is centred on one particular star, a brassy, heart-on-sleeve song-and-dance performer called Sissy St Claire, played by Sophie von Haselberg.

She does musical numbers, elaborate costume changes, dance routines, goofy comedy sketches, all in the cause of entertainment. Sissy looks like a cross between Barbra Streisand and Bette Midler (Von Haselberg is in fact Midler’s daughter) with a bit of Judy Garland’s repressed agony in I Could Go on Singing.

But something is very wrong. Sissy notices out of the corner of her eye a disturbing masked figure with a knife offstage, who looks as if he wants to murder her. There are flashes of hallucinatory horror, symptoms of an impending crisis which are produced in the same cheesy way as the rest of the show. Is Sissy having a breakdown at the very moment of her professional triumph? Or is this whole thing a dream that she or someone else is having?

"Brilliantly observed hallucinatory nightmare of '80s showbiz... Everything about this film is very well observed: it really does look like a TV special of a certain period, but modified and tweaked to make it look like a nightmare cabaret." - Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

• “One of the boldest filmmakers working today, with Give Me Pity! Kramer demonstrates she is only going from strength to strength.” - AWFJ.org
• “Mesmerising, wholly bizarre, and lovably unconventional." Screen Zealots
• "Imagine a 1980s TV Special invaded by a demon” Film Threat

PLUS! '80s disco!

Come along in your '80s threads and bop the night away in your legwarmers at our '80s themed disco after the screening until 10.30pm.

Disco wear a little weathered? Add some '80s-tastic accessories from Dandy Vintage via our special clothing deal, for your clothes to match the look of the film.

This film is F-Rated. The F-Rating is applied to all films which are directed by women and/or written by women. Find out more about F-Rating.

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