Cinetopia presents a double bill of Ken Loach’s Sweet Sixteen (2002) and Michael Caton-Jones’ Our Ladies (2019), as part of TRANSMISSION: Youth Across Generations, exploring youth culture, memory and identity in Britain across the decades. Curated by two of our young programmers, Vama Urban and Eva Rodrigues, the event invites audiences to explore themes of rebellion, escape and belonging through cinema and an interactive sound archive. Tickets: £6 per film or £9 for both films. Sweet Sixteen (Ken Loach, 2002, 106 mins, cert 18) Ken Loach’s gritty coming-of-age drama follows Liam, a teenager from Greenock determined to build a better life for himself and his imprisoned mother despite his troubled upbringing. As Liam becomes involved in street crime, the film raises questions about morality, opportunity and how our surroundings shape our identities and futures. Sweet Sixteen also marked the screen debut of Scottish actor Martin Compston, who had never acted before. Programmed by Vama Urban Vama is currently on a gap year after completing high school. Her growing interest in filmmaking has led her to the Young Filmmakers Hub, BFI Academy and NFTS x Disney Academy. Particularly drawn to storytelling and screenwriting, she is fascinated by representations of youth across generations. “I have an obsession with films set in the 80s/90s/2000s, especially about youth, as it’s so interesting to see how teenagers like me lived but in a different generation. Lately, I’ve been especially drawn to these kinds of films when they’re set in Scotland. Watching Trainspotting (1996) was really interesting as it was set in my own hometown but in the 90s, so it looked familiar yet vastly different to now.” Our Ladies (Michael Caton-Jones, 2019, 100 mins, cert 15) Set in 1990s Scotland, Our Ladies follows five teenage girls from a Catholic school in Fort William travelling to Edinburgh for a choir competition. Away from the constraints of school, family and small-town life, their trip becomes an opportunity to assert independence and test boundaries. Exploring friendship, sexuality, rebellion and ambition, the film challenges nostalgic representations of adolescence, offering a bold portrayal of young women navigating expectations inherited from previous generations. Programmed by Eva Rodrigues Glasgow-based Eva recently graduated with an MA in Spanish. Having made her first documentary short in Barcelona and worked with IberoDocs Film Festival, she is passionate about bringing together her love of languages and cinema. “With the intention of breaking free from the common notions of nostalgia that often overwhelm engagements with media depicting youth cultures, I hope that this screening of Our Ladies will instead encourage discussions around female friendships, every-day rebellion and restrictive gender norms that we contend with from our teenage years into adulthood.” Eva is particularly interested in the film’s portrayal of young women’s rebellion and its representation of growing up in Scotland outside the Central Belt. She hopes the screening will encourage audiences to consider where they found escape in their youth and how they continue to challenge expectations in adulthood. Developing Youth Archive Between screenings, audiences are invited to share their own stories of rebellion, escape and belonging through an interactive sound and listening booth. Participants can contribute memories, songs and reflections to the Developing Youth Archive, creating a collective record of youth experiences across generations. By bringing these two films into conversation, the event creates space for stories to be heard and connections to emerge, using cinema as a starting point for wider discussions about identity, community and the circumstances that shape us. Venue Norton Park Conference Centre 57 Albion Road, Edinburgh EH7 5QY About TRANSMISSION This screening is part of Cinetopia’s TRANSMISSION: Youth Across Generations, a multi-event programme exploring how youth culture has shaped identity, belonging and collective memory in Britain from the 1980s to the present. TRANSMISSION is part of Rip It Up, supported by Film Hub Scotland as part of the BFI Film Audience Network (FAN), made possible by the National Lottery. About Cinetopia Cinetopia is an Edinburgh-based film events and exhibition company connecting audiences and the film industry through screenings, pop-up cinema, workshops, masterclasses and networking events.