Sundays can be a very lonely time, especially for seniors. Sometimes they have no family living close by, their children and grandchildren  are busy on weekends. But every fortnight there is a simple remedy to long lonely Sundays for seniors, they can come and join the audience at COA’s Sunday Movie Presentation; and they do, with some participants coming from as far as Strathfield, Allawah, and Hornsby to join the happy crowd.

The COA Sunday Movie has been running since 2008 and has always included an intermission and afternoon tea to give attendees a chance to catch up over coffee and cake; and if they have nothing in common, they can always discuss the movie they are watching! In fact, the intermission is the real purpose behind the movie presentation. And occasionally we have a bonus as the delightful Rhona Adler, long time COA member and volunteer, will play piano during intermission.

 Movies shown are chosen from the best loved classic films and Oscar winners from the 1930’s onward, leaning heavily on musicals, and never showing a “Holocaust” film – this is not that kind of event, even though the audience is Jewish. As many of the regular participants lived through the Holocaust and have no wish to be reminded of it.

Recently the COA audience enjoyed a showing of  Casablanca, often voted in the top five best films of all time, and even though it was  definitely an anti-”Axis powers” film, concerned with escaping Europe during the war, it never touched on the horrors of  that war for most Jewish families, and in fact utilised a number of actors and writers who themselves had escaped the Nazi regime, in fact the leader of the Nazi occupiers is played by a Jewish  German actor who was living as a refugee in the USA.

Sunday Movie participants were over the moon as they had never seen this film on a “big” screen before, and because COA always tries to show subtitles at the movie presentation, many reported that they could finally understand all the dialogue!

So, the next time you are at a loss of how to spend your Sunday, or if you have a parent or older friend looking for somewhere to go, contact COA to book your seat, and share your Sunday with peers and friends at the COA Movie presentation. Check the Centre Program Pages in this newsletter for the next movie showings and join the regulars for a fun afternoon at the COA Centre.