If you manoeuvre yourself to the back of the Northern Quarter’s busy Fierce Bar, climb three flights of stairs, and swiftly turn left you’ll find a brick-walled room in which a film projector sits perched upon a pirate-esque beer barrel. This is where Rough C.U.T.S and their garnered film devotees have gathered once a month since last summer in Manchester and will do so again this coming winter for their new film programme.
It seems jovial madness is an ethos of Rough C.U.T.S, as without fail, their double bills have always sparked confusion and curiosity materialised into me grabbing my diary to jot down their event date. As it goes, their double bills consist of two tonally different films with a common thread weaving the films together. In the past they’ve wildly paired; The Killing of a Sacred Deer with Bambi, The Worst Person in the World with Booksmart and even Whiplash with School of Rock.
I gladly attended their crazy Boys in Peaches screening of both Call Me by Your Name and James and the Giant Peach. After the summer kerfuffle that was Barbenheimer and debating which film to go see first, Rough C.U.T.S hits the nail on the head for me by selecting the more serious film first followed by the light-hearted pick.
Between each film is a twenty-minute interval in which most people convene outside. It’s the perfect opportunity to informally discuss your thoughts about the films with friends or strangers. It’s not unusual to go by yourself. Rough C.U.T.S highlights the social aspect of cinema that can sometimes be forgotten as their events always manages to gather a keen audience devoid of film snobbery. At the Boys in Peaches screening, audiences were heartily reactive to the films projected. They were ready at a moment’s notice to sway their heads to songs in James and the Giant Peach and even indulge in Elio’s sadness in Call Me by Your Name.
The best part of Rough C.U.T.S is that clapping after the film is encouraged. Often after watching an amazing film, I never know where to place the energy and love I have for it. It feels barren to walk out of the cinema without showing any appreciation for the film I’ve just watched. But, with Rough C.U.T.S the problem’s solved as I can applaud till my heart’s content. It may seem insignificant to clap after the films yet doing so has a strange effect of making you feel as if you’re part of something special despite having only attended to watch two films.
It’s fitting that Rough C.U.T.S dedicated a night to peaches as their events themselves ooze the same amount of sweetness!
All information regarding future Rough C.U.T.S events can be accessed through @rough.c.u.t.s on Instagram.
