Origin12A

Directed by Ava DuVernay | USA | 2023 | 2h 21m | Starring Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Jon Bernthal, Nick Offerman, Niecy Nash, Emily Yancy

Isabel Wilkerson, already recognised as the first African-American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for her journalism, begins research on her new book: an examination of the origins of racial injustice. During her global travels, she delves into historical and contemporary caste structures, all while confronting her own personal tragedies. Oscar-winning director Ava DuVernay (Selma, 13th) skilfully transforms Wilkerson’s non-fiction narrative into a compelling drama, presenting a poignant portrayal of the lasting trauma inflicted by discrimination.

Reviews

‘Wilkerson’s book offers a new way to look at age-old concepts. DuVernay’s film gives us a new way to process them.’
★★★★
Elizabeth Weitzman, Time Out

‘It is in the comparisons between quotidian grief and systemic bigotry, weaving Isabel’s personal experience with the politics of her job and the history she must reckon with, in which Origin is the most impressive.’
★★★★
Steph Green, BBC

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed Origin between April 12, 2024 and April 18, 2024.

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What else is on?

Today (Thursday 5th March)

12:30

My Father's Shadow 12A
Parent + Baby Screening
1h 33m
During Nigeria’s 1993 election crisis, two brothers journey across Lagos with their estranged father, discovering the city’s vastness and political unrest. Told through a child’s eyes, this is a vivid and deeply personal debut from British-Nigerian filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr.

Book here

15:30

My Father's Shadow 12A
1h 33m
During Nigeria’s 1993 election crisis, two brothers journey across Lagos with their estranged father, discovering the city’s vastness and political unrest. Told through a child’s eyes, this is a vivid and deeply personal debut from British-Nigerian filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr.

Book here

17:45

Hamlet 15
1h 53m
Hamlet (Riz Ahmed) returns home after his father’s death, and is haunted by the ghosts of revenge. Amid political corruption, family loyalty and moral responsibility collide in this gripping, contemporary re-telling of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy.

Book here

20:15

The Handmaiden 18
2h 25m | Korean w/ English subtitles
Park Chan-wook’s lush erotic thriller dazzles with deception, desire and double-crosses. Set in 1930s Korea and based on Fingersmith, this modern classic is a masterwork of suspense and sensuality. A bold reimagining of the period drama.

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Tomorrow (Friday 6th March)

15:00

“Wuthering Heights” 15
2h 16m
In 18th-century Yorkshire, brooding outsider Heathcliff falls for Catherine, the daughter of his master, igniting a destructive love story of obsession. Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie star in Emerald Fennell’s (Saltburn) sensual adaptation of Emily Brontë’s classic novel.

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18:00

Soul to Soul U
1h 36m
Documentary about a historic 1971 concert at Black Star Square in Accra, celebrating Ghana’s independence. Over 100,000 people gathered as Ike & Tina Turner, Santana, and other African American musicians created groundbreaking music and experienced Africa for the first time.

Book here

20:30

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You 15
1h 53m
A house filling with water. A child who won’t get better. And a husband who’s never there. Rose Byrne delivers an Oscar-nominated performance as a mother whose world is unravelling in Mary Bronstein’s darkly comic portrait of modern womanhood.

Book here


Plan your visit

Our beautiful art deco inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford's Cowley Road.We are open 7 days a week. We open the cinema and box office 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of each film, and the Box Office then closes 10 minutes after the film starts. We only show a few adverts – less than most cinemas – and we only play a couple of trailers, so please don’t be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!