April 9, 2026 @ 4:00 p.m. at 801 Magnolia Ave
One of the rewarding pleasures of movies is seeing one with friends, and then chatting about it when the lights come up. The Piedmont Flix Fest meets on the second Thursday of each month, and offers a great movie in a comfortable setting, with a lively discussion to follow.
The Flix Fest April selection is an Academy Award-winning book-to-film adaptation from the 1922 novel by Elizabeth von Arnim titled, “Enchanted April”. The movie’s opening scene takes us to post WWI London on a dreary, rainy day, when Lotty Wilkins (Josie Lawrence) spots a newspaper ad advertising a castle in Italy with “sunshine and wisteria” available to rent for the month of April. Seeking an escape from her loveless marriage and mundane life, Lotty invites her friend, Rose (Miranda Richardson), to join her in renting the Castello San Salvatore above the town of Portofino. In order to share the castle’s expense, Lotty and Rose invite a socialite, Lady Caroline Hester (Polly Walker) and aging dowager Mrs. Fisher (Joan Plowright), to join them in this ladies-only adventure.
The castle’s stunning scenery and the beauty of its lush flora enchant the women, and allow them to begin a process of rediscovery. Lotty and Rose invite their husbands to join them, and each enjoys a renewal of their marriage that had atrophied in London. Lady Caroline escapes the obsessive male attention of her privileged social life, and finds true romance from her surprising connection to the castle’s owner. Lastly, Mrs. Fisher finds wonderful friendships with each of the other women that leads her to shed her preoccupation with her Victorian past. In the movie’s last scene, she provides an emphatic symbol for this change, when she drives her walking stick into the muddy path, leaving it and her past behind.
The movie will be screened on Thursday, April 9, at 801 Magnolia Avenue. Doors will open at 3:45 p.m. and the movie is free to anyone over 18 years of age. Participants are invited on a drop-in basis, and are free to bring snacks.
The next movie will be “Ramen Girl”, a 2008 comedy to be shown on May 14, 2026 at our normal time of 1 p.m.