Summer of Sofia at Showroom

Tom Grieve, Cinema Editor
Showroom

Summer of Sofia at Showroom Workstation, City Centre 28 July — 17 August 2023 Tickets from £6.50 — Book now

Hazy teenage summers, evenings spent in self-reflection in a strange hotel bar, a movie star failing to connect with his daughter at Hollywood’s Chateau Marmont, or wealthy teenagers rolling around in outfits stolen from their favourite stars – the films of Sofia Coppola slide us into worlds of languid luxury, populated with characters grasping for something solid.

Raised amongst celebrity, Coppola comprehends the perils and pitfalls of wealth and glamour, as much as its inherent allure. With killer soundtracks and a sensual approach to image, she introduces us to teenage girls and young women trying to find their feet in the world, and, sometimes, the older men who never found their footing.

Timed to coincide with the 4k re-release of Coppola’s debut feature The Virgin Suicides (28 July – 1 August), Sheffield’s Showroom have lined up a retrospective of the autuer’s first five movies scheduled to last all summer long. The season of film includes a visit from Hannah Strong, author of Sofia Coppola: Forever Young who will introduce the screening of The Virgin Suicides on Tuesday 1 August.

Also showing as part of the season is Lost in Translation (4 – 10 Aug), in which Bill Murray’s movie star and Scarlett Johansson’s newlywed meet in Tokyo and bond over a mutual sense of disillusionment. In Marie Antoinette (4 – 10 Aug) Coppola takes a thrilling, post-modern approach to the much-maligned queen of France, casting Kirsten Dunst as a young woman thrust into a world of simultaneous constraint and excess – along with a belting post-punk soundtrack.

The real joys of a retrospective like Showroom’s Summer of Sofia is in seeing the rarely screened works on the big screen. In this case, we’re doubly excited, as the last two films scheduled – Somewhere and The Bling Ring – are not only Coppola’s best, but seldom make an appearance on the revival circuit.

Set on Coppola’s home turf, in Hollywood’s exclusive enclaves, Somewhere (11 – 17 Aug) is an insider’s perspective of life and (too much) leisure in the movie business as an adrift film star (Steven Dorff) struggles to find common ground with his teenage daughter (Elle Fanning). The flipside of that is The Bling Ring (11 – 17 Aug), a pulsating, ripped-from-the-headlines account of a gang of teens who plan burglaries based upon the gossip pages of TMZ.

As Strong writes, Coppola utilises a “unapologetically hyperfeminine aesthetic” as she approaches themes of ennui and alienation. Sometimes this has been undervalued by critics, or her work too quickly dismissed on grounds of her position of privilege (her father Francis Ford Coppola directed The Godfather), but Strong’s book and Showroom’s retrospective position the director as an artist to be reckoned with – we just can’t wait to watch the movies again.

Where to go near Summer of Sofia at Showroom

Site Gallery, Sheffield
City Centre
Gallery
Site Gallery Sheffield

Specialising in moving image, new media and performance, and offering a busy events programme, a visit to Site in Sheffield is not to be missed.

City Centre
Music venue
The Leadmill

Situated in a former flour mill to the south east of the city centre, The Leadmill is Sheffield’s longest running music venue.

The Rutland Arms pub in Sheffield
City Centre
Bar or Pub
Rutland Arms

A great pub situated in an early 20th century brick and bright yellow building on the corner of Furnival Street and Brown Street.

The Sheffield Tap
City Centre
Bar or Pub
The Sheffield Tap

With a wide range of craft beers and its very own on-site microbrewery, Sheffield Tap is uniquely housed within a restored railway station.

Street Food Chef
City Centre
Restaurant
Street Food Chef

An award-winning Mexican cantina serving speedy and fiercely tasty food – a healthy fast food alternative for the people of Sheffield.

Tamper Sellers Wheel, Sheffield
City Centre
Café or Coffee Shop
Tamper Sellers Wheel

Excellent coffee, including its own blend, and hearty, relaxed food make this one of Sheffield’s best casual eateries.

Sheffield
Event venue
Sidney and Matilda

Sidney and Matilda, a former paper factory, is now one of Sheffields’s most exciting gig venues and art spaces.

Graves Gallery
City Centre
Gallery
Graves Gallery

Graves Gallery is home to Sheffield’s visual art collection, with a permanent collection and temporary exhibitions arranged across eight galleries.

Sheffield
Restaurant
Oisoi

A high-quality pan-Asian restaurant in Sheffield’s city centre, Oisoi is worth a visit to the Steel City right now.

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