The Bouddi Foundation for the Arts Presents“Shakespeare At The Movies”

Come and admire the world of Shakespeare through the lens of modern filmmakers! In this exclusive series, the doyen of film critique Margaret Pomeranz and the master Shakespearean actor John Bell, introduce feature films adapted from the timeless work of the Bard of Avon. Margaret and John will unpack the modern works, critique and contrast each movie in their inimitable way. If you’re an admirer of Shakespeare, intrigued by great story telling, or simply love movies, you’ll be captivated by their playful banter, expert analysis, and sharp wit as they exchange views on the most debated artistic works in history!

Discussion with John & Margaret after a screening of Baz Lurhmann's - Romeo + Juliet

John Bell Bio:

John Bell is one of Australia’s most acclaimed theatre personalities. In a career of acting and directing, John Bell has been instrumental in shaping the Australian theatre industry as we know it.
In 1990, Bell founded the theatre company Bell Shakespeare and has produced, among others, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, Richard III, Pericles, Henry IV, Henry V, Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, The Comedy of Errors, The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest, King Lear, and Goldoni’s Servant of Two Masters.
In the New Years Day Honours of 1978 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). In the Queen’s Birthday Honours of 1987, he was named a Member of the Order of Australia (AM). In Australia Day Honours of 2009, he was named an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO).

His achievements in theatre have been acknowledged by the Universities of Newcastle (1994) and Sydney (1996) who have both awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Letters. In 2001 a painting of Bell by artist Nicholas Harding won the Archibald Prize. In 2002, Bell’s performance of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, in Richard III earned him a Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Play.
In 2003 the Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, presented Bell with the Cultural Leader of the Year Award. In 2009 he received the JC Williamson Award for his life’s work in the live performance industry. He has been named an Australian Living Treasure.

Margaret Pomeranz Bio:

Pomeranz joined the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) in 1980 as writer/producer, and was appointed producer for David Stratton's film presentations. Together with Stratton, she hosted the long-running SBS TV program The Movie Show from 1986 until 2004. She appeared on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) version of the program, At the Movies, again with Stratton, beginning in 2004 and concluding on 9 December 2014.[citation needed] Pomeranz and Stratton received the Don Dunstan Award in 2018 and were both Patrons of the Adelaide Film Festival.[3]

In addition to being a critic, Pomeranz is also an anti-censorship campaigner. She was a prominent attendee and was briefly detained by police at an attempted 2003 protest screening of the controversial film Ken Park, banned in Australia.[4] She has been critical of the Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification (now the Australian Classification Board), the Australian censorship body, on a number of occasions.

On 29 January 2015, it was announced that Pomeranz had signed with Foxtel to present film and television programs on Foxtel Arts, along with Graeme Blundell, in a new series called Screen.[5][6] The series was renewed in 2018.[7]

Margaret now appears on The Weekly with Charlie Pickering.