Leedy Film Club: Borstal Boy

Love great cinema and lively discussion? The Leedy Film Club invites you to join a community of film lovers for monthly screenings of classic, international, and thought-provoking films. Each session features a hand-picked film followed by an informal discussion where you can share your thoughts, ideas, and insights with fellow film buffs.

Each screening will be followed by a discussion led by film academic, writer, and filmmaker, Dr Damien Spiccia. Damien has lectured at WAAPA and Edith Cowan University, where he developed courses in screenwriting, film production, and screen history, and has presented at international film conferences.

This is an adults-only event.

November Screening: Borstal Boy

Brendan Behan's famous memoir about his troubled youth formed the basis of this drama. Brendan is a 16-year-old boy from Ireland who loathes the British and is eager to do something about it. Brendan sails into Liverpool, but is discovered to be carrying the makings of a bomb; he's soon placed under arrest and thrown into a borstal (British reform school), where he finds himself surrounded by a collection of tough-as-nails English delinquents.

Nominated for Outstanding Film at the GLAAD Media Awards. Nominated for Best Feature Film at the Irish Film and Television Awards.

"The inherent strength of the material as well as the integrity of the filmmakers gives this coming-of-age story restraint as well as warmth." - Kenneth Turan, The Los Angeles Times