Highlights of the last 12 months included winning the national Film Society of the Year Award, the club's second Louth Children's Film Festival, attended by over 1,400 local schoolchildren, and a visit from Julie Christie.

The much loved, Oscar winning screen actress attended a screening of her latest film, Away From Her, and then answered questions from the audience.

A very different Q&A session followed the Iraqi film Ahlaam, made in the most testing circumstances imaginable, in and around Baghdad in 2004, a year after the American-led invasion.

On a more cheerful note, at the club's annual social event, at the Beaumont Hotel, a 'who-am-I' game in which everyone had to guess the film stars' name on their hats was a great hit.

The club has increased its membership by a third over last year, from 156 to 206, thanks partly to Julie Christie's visit.

Louth Film Club shows films on Monday nights, usually fortnightly, at the Playhouse Cinema. Next screening is the comedy classic Withnail And I, on Monday June 1.

* Programmes and membership details can be picked up at Off The Beaten Tracks record shop in Aswell Street, Louth (tel: 01507 607677, closed on Thursdays) or at the Playhouse Cinema. Log onto the club's website www.louthfilmclub.co.uk