Before Trilogy at Picturehouse at FACT

Tom Grieve, Cinema Editor
Before Sunset

Before Trilogy at FACT, City Centre 28 August 2022 Tickets from £13.20 — Book now

One of the key cinematic romances of recent years, Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy is evocative, wistful and at times crushingly believable. This summer, Picturehouse at FACT presents an opportunity to discover the whole trilogy – all 18 years of it – across one Bank Holiday afternoon.

1995’s Before Sunrise stars Ethan Hawke as Jesse, a young American on a train to Vienna, who charms Julie Delpy’s Celine into spending the day with him. The pair walk and talk, discussing things big and small with zest and a certain youthful naïveté, the breezy conversation barely hiding the fact that they are quickly falling for one another.

Before Sunset is filmed and set nine years later, 2004’s Celine and Jesse haven’t seen each other since Vienna, when they reunite unexpectedly over the course of a day in Paris. They’ve lived lives, earned baggage and obligations, but they’re drawn together once again. Is it possible for them to make something work?

Before Sunrise

Finally, Before Midnight jumps forward another nine years to 2013. On the Peloponnese coast, under the Greek sunshine, the two lovers flail as they work out what they mean to one another. Competing forces work to draw them to different sides of the world, and Celine and Jesse must determine the strength of their bond.

In addition to the powerful effect of time as an artistic tool (something Linklater would explore further with Boyhood), the trilogy gains from Linklater’s decision to invite Hawke and Delpy onto the writing team for the latter two films. The actors bring their own lived experiences to the enterprise, working alongside their director to craft characters that kept audiences rapt for almost twenty years.

It’s now nine years since the release of Before Midnight, and while there isn’t another sequel scheduled for 2022, perhaps a marathon screening is the next best thing.

Before Trilogy at FACT, City Centre 28 August 2022 Tickets from £13.20 Book now

What's on at FACT

Two people sitting playing a video game.
Until
ExhibitionsCity Centre
Art Plays Games at FACT

Art Plays Games is a new show at FACT, celebrating games created by digital artists and independent video game developers.

free entry

Where to go near Before Trilogy at Picturehouse at FACT

City Centre
Café or Coffee Shop
Garden Cafe FACT

FACT Liverpool gets back to its coffee-with-creativity roots thanks to a foliage-full new café.

Liverpool
Restaurant
Next to Nowhere Café

Food From Nowhere is a weekly vegan cafe held in the basement space of much-loved radical bookshop News From Nowhere. It’s open every Saturday from midday to 5pm.

library
City Centre
Shop
News from Nowhere

News from Nowhere is a radical community bookshop selling texts on important current issues as well as leading social justice initiatives.

food and drink
City Centre
Restaurant
BAM BOO

BAM BOO delivers a slice of paradise right in Liverpool city centre, with indulgent meals and delicious cocktails.

City Centre
Café or Coffee Shop
Bold Street Coffee

A super cool cafe at the top of Bold Street, Bold Street Coffee in Liverpool serves a range of specialist coffee, cakes and sandwiches.

Liverpool
Restaurant
Maray

Much-loved Liverpool restaurant, specialising in forward-thinking small plate dishes.

City Centre
Café or Coffee Shop
LEAF on Bold Street

Keeping Bold Street a hub of creativity, LEAF is more than a tearoom, it’s also a bar and thriving event space with a packed schedule of upcoming happenings.

City Centre
Music venue
Arts Club Liverpool

Based in Liverpool’s old Royal Institute of Arts and Science building, Liverpool Arts Club is a great spot to catch small touring acts.

food and drink
City Centre
Bar or Pub
Cafe Tabac

Cafe Tabac is the longest running café bar in Liverpool, serving food and drinks to arty locals and curious newcomers.

What's on: Cinema

Keswick Town
CinemaCumbria
Keswick Film Festival

Keswick Film Festival marks 25 years with a programme featuring some of the best of contemporary independent cinema, alongside select classics, and work from some choice Cumbrian talent.

from £5.00

Culture Guides

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Feminist farce, a magical circus show and Oldham Coliseum return with a brand-new off-site show. All in our latest theatre guide.

Good Fridaze Family Social at Freight Island
Family things to do in the North

As we edge towards spring we take a look at the best events and activities for families, from theatre to festivals, dinosaur adventures to family raves.

Poet Evan Jones
Literature Events in the North

Some of our favourite leftfield live literature regulars are back with their first events of the year – we’ve picked a weird and wonderful heap we think you’ll love.

NEXT: A Primer on Urban Painting production still
Cinema in the North

Street art, LGBTQ+ History Month, and the first film festivals of the year are amongst our cinema highlights this month.

A painting of a young child being bathed in a sink of a 197s style kitchen. Around the sink are a rubber duck, a bottle of  washing up liquid, a jug, a kettle and a mug.
Exhibitions in the North

Galleries are racing to announce new exhibitions so check out our top picks, from art films and nostalgic paintings to Hockney's collages.

FKA TWIGS
Music in the North

Masters of minimalism, leftfield electronica and cutting edge pop. We bring you the lot in our latest live music round up.