New Dot's advice on things to watch during the lockdown

Llangollen's New Dot Cinema, itself closed for the duration of the Covid-19 lockdown, has come up with these suggestions for what to watch while you are staying at home.   

As we settle down to the new normal - staying at home, washing our hands, keeping a social distance and other actions that will help protect the NHS, our families and ourselves, we thought it might be a good time to offer up some cinematic suggestions to entertain while the Town Hall doors remain shut.

One fantastic offer we've come across is free access for 90 days of free films from MUBI. If you haven't come across MUBI, it's a little different from Netflix or Amazon in that their film nerds choose a film a day so there is a constant library of around 30 films available at any one time. Current films include the wonderful Mustang, which we showed a couple of years ago, along with new and old classics of international cinema. Sign up here.

If you're missing watching films with others, and you already have a Netflix subscription, you can download Netflix Party, an extension for Google Chrome browsers, that allows you to watch a Netflix film with other people (as long as they too have Netflix subscriptions). This handy guide tells you how to launch your Netflix Party and you can download the extension here.

We're all probably watching a lot more films and television than normal but the sheer volume of content available on the many platforms can feel overwhelming. So we asked some of our team to give their recommendations on what to watch at the moment. This is what we've come up with so far:

Danny recommends Contagion (Amazon Prime - to rent). He clearly can't get enough of pandemic stories! He says it's 'insanely prescient' and very scary.

Scary films seem quite popular with the team. Louise suggests Midsommar (Amazon Prime), the Swedish horror film that became a huge cult hit last year, and is, she says, "absolutely fantastic".

If you're in the mood for something altogether lighter, Yvonne recommends the glorious French series, Call My Agent (Netflix). Set in a talent agency in Paris, it's funny, sometimes farcical, dramatic and features many current French film stars sending themselves up. It's a joy. There are three seasons currently available with the fourth series promised soon.
 

And Jen decided to take comfort in animated classics by signing up for the new Disney+ streaming service, but found the real gem to be 'The World According to Jeff Goldblum'. His calm presence and childlike wonder are a real balm in these confusing times. Disney is offering a free 7-day trial, so even if you only take the freebie you'll be able to pass a week of lockdown with an Aladdin's cave of Disney, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic.

If you have any recommendations to share, just let us know on our Facebook or Instagram pages. Also, if there's anything we can do to help anyone in our audience who is isolated, please don't hesitate to get in touch at hello@newdotcinema.org

And last, but definitely not least, many handclaps and congratulations to Cat Meade and everyone at the Covid-19 volunteer support group. They are doing a fantastic job in supporting those in our community who currently need some extra help. The group is fundraising at the moment so if you have some spare change, please go to their Gofundme fundraising page to make a donation and support their brilliant efforts.

In the meantime, please stay home, stay safe and stay well.

See you soon!...from the New Dot volunteer team.