0/5

SBS World Movies: first week of programming

Arthouse, Bollywood, Anime & more when new multichannel launches on July 1st.

 

  • 24 / 7 movies channel in HD
  • Showcasing arthouse, Bollywood, anime, thrillers, comedies, family titles
  • 700 movies annually, at least half in language other than English
  • 6am – 7.30pm each Saturday and Sunday family movies
  • Tuesdays 9:30pm French actor Romain Duris movies
  • Thursdays: Women in Film

SBS has released its first week of programming for its upcoming World Movies channel which launches Monday July 1st.

Drawing upon a library of international titles, it features channel premieres around 7:30 and 9:30pm slots, Japanese animation on Saturdays, Women in Film on Thursday nights and a movie showcase on French actor Romain Duris on Tuesday nights.

Like most multichannels there is a high rotation of titles too (see below), with the oldest flick currently scheduled as the Jacques Tati classic Playtime from 1967 and the newest as 2018.

World Movies will be available on Ch. 32 (VICELAND remains on Ch. 31). SBS is in discussions with Foxtel for retransmission (for more technical advice click the link below).

SBS Director of Television and Online Content, Marshall Heald said: “SBS World Movies is a celebration of diversity – diversity of ideas, stories, talent and content. It’s a uniquely SBS channel that will bring the very best of world cinema to Australian audiences free of charge. What other network would showcase critically acclaimed international dramas alongside beloved anime from Studio Ghibli? We can’t wait to hear what audiences think of the channel.”

SBS World Movies will also feature curated seasons of special programming to mark cultural events, festivals and celebrations such as NAIDOC, Lunar New Year, International Women’s Day and Mardi Gras. From 6am to 6pm the channel will reprise the classics of cinema drawing on the best of the world’s movies over the decades and educating audiences about the art and history of cinema.

SBS is thrilled to reveal the first months line up for SBS World Movies, which will be available free-to-air and in HD from 1 July 2019.

Loving Pablo (Spain), Rafiki (Kenya), various Studio Ghibli titles (Japan) and Just A Breath Away (France) are among the titles to headline the first month.

The 24-hour channel will be a celebration of the very best of world cinema – acclaimed arthouse, the best of Bollywood, nail-biting thrillers, romantic comedies, family favourites and anime classics. At least half of all titles will be in a language other than English, and the channel will broadcast over 700 films each year.

The first month of SBS World Movies is a unique mix of titles to help see audiences through winter. Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem unite in Spanish drama Loving Pablo to chronicle the volatile love affair between notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar and journalist Virginia Vallejo, throughout his reign of terror in Colombia.

Controversially banned in its home country of Kenya, Rafiki is the tender story of two women falling in love. Following critical acclaim at Cannes and around the world, filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu has taken on the Kenyan government to overturn their decision to ban the film.

All day, every single weekend in July, SBS World Movies will present cult classics from Studio Ghibli, the Japanese animation film studio behind Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro, Howl’s Moving Castle and When Marnie Was There. From 6am – 7.30pm each Saturday and Sunday parents and children alike will be transported to distant, mystical worlds from the comfort of their own home.

Tuesdays are dedicated to French heartthrob and lauded actor Romain Duris. He is known for his versatility, taking on gritty antiheroes, witty romantic interests and sombre dramas. Every Tuesday at 9.30pm, SBS World Movies will showcase his best films, including: Just A Breath Away, Odd Job, The New Girlfriend and Heartbreaker.

Women in film will be celebrated every Thursday, with films featuring strong female characters and creative teams airing back-to-back in prime time. Top picks include The Assassin, Into The Forest with Ellen Page and Evan Rachel Wood, Pin Cushion and Brick Lane.

SBS World Movies will broadcast in HD on free-to-air channel 32 alongside SBS’s existing channels: SBS, SBS VICELAND, SBS Food and NITV. SBS World Movies will be SBS’s third HD channel.

Channel premieres in bold

Monday July 1
10am Remi Nobody’s Boy France 2017
12pm Office China 2015
2:15pm Cheerful Weather For The Wedding UK 2012
4pm The Crow’s Egg India 2014
5:45pm Mary And Max Australia 2008
7:30pm Lion Australia 2016
9:45pm Rafiki France 2018
11:25pm Through The Fire France 2018

Tuesday July 2
1:40am Office China 2015
3:50am Family Law Argentina 2006
5:45am Playtime France 1967
8am Remi Nobody’s Boy France 2017
10:05am Cheerful Weather For The Wedding UK 2012
12pm Rafiki France 2018
1:35pm Playtime France 1967
3:50pm Family Law Argentina 2006
5:45pm The Crow’s Egg India 2014
7:30pm Eye In The Sky UK 2015
9:30pm Just A Breath Away France 2018
11:15pm Rafiki France 2018

Wednesday July 3
12:50am Rolling To You Belgium 2018
2:55am Office China 2015
5:15am Remi Nobody’s Boy France 2017
7:15am Cheerful Weather For The Wedding UK 2012
9:05am Mary And Max Australia 2008
10:55am The Crow’s Egg India 2014
12:35pm Through the Fire France 2018
2:55pm Wings of Desire Germany 1987
5:35pm Family Law Argentina 2006
7:30pm The Curse Of The Golden Flower Hong Kong 2006
9:35pm Whiplash USA 2014
11:30pm Rolling To You Belgium 2018

Thursday July 4
1:40am Just A Breath Away France 2018
3:20am Playtime France 1967
5:30am Asterix and Obelix vs Caesar France 1998
7:30am Summer Wars Japan 2009
9:30am The Lunchbox India 2013
11:30am Dancing Ninja South Korea 2010
1:20am Just A Breath Away France 2018
3:00pm Parineeta India 2005
5:30pm Asterix and Obelix vs Caesar France 1998
7:30pm Brick Lane India 2007
9:30pm Pin Cushion UK 2017
11:10pm Someone Else’s Happiness Belgium 2005

Friday July 5
1:05am Brick Lane India 2007
3:05am Wings of Desire Germany 1987
5:45am The Lunchbox India 2013
7:45am Asterix And Obelix Vs Caesar France 1998
9:50am Summer Wars  Japan 2009
12pm Brick Lane India 2007
1:50am Paris Can Wait Japan 2016
3:35pm Dancing Ninja South Korea 2010
5:30pm The Lunchbox India 2013
7:30pm Amelie France 2001
9:40pm Ash Is The Purest White China 2018

Saturday July 6
12:15am Someone Else’s Happiness Belgium 2005
2:00am Amelie France 2001
4:10am Dancing Ninja South Korea 2010
6:00am My Neighbour Totoro Japan 1988
7:40am Kiki’s Delivery Service Japan 1989
9:45am Ponyo Japan 2008
11:45am Laputa: Castle In The Sky Japan 1986
2:05pm The Secret World of Arrietty Japan 2010
3:50pm Kiki’s Delivery Service Japan 1989
5:50pm My Neighbour Totoro Japan 1988
7:30pm Sky Hunter China 2017
9:40pm The 12th Man Norway 2017

Sunday July 7
12:15am Ash Is The Purest White China 2018
2:45am Monkey King: The Hero Japan 2016
4:15am What We Did On Our Holiday UK 2014

More details about how to access the channel are available at sbs.com.au/update.

Updated.

21 Responses

  1. What a great initiative from S.B.S.It’s a pity the commercial channels don’t do something similar.Not so much with world movies,but have a dedicated movie channel from all of the movies they must have in their vaults.

    1. Seven tries that with 7flix, didn’t rate well, so turned it into a more general entertainment channel. The ‘M’ in 9Gem also stands for movies but also changed.

    1. Thanks for that insightful information.
      I’m quite appreciative that SBS are making great use of the Government funding they receive. Channels like this are great for a lot of people, even if it might not suit you.

  2. David – does the launch of this channel also mean an increase in the amount of movies SBS are hosting on their on demand service? They already have a lot on there, but wondering if this will mean there will be even more.

  3. The Studio Ghibli films sound enticing, but SBS are likely to air the American dubs, which is unfortunate considering that almost everything else on the channel will be in a foreign language.

    1. SBS screened the American versions of the Ghibli films at lunch a few months ago. Many of their “Channel Premieres” have screened many times on both SBS and their cable World Movies channels. The foreign films are what SBS is supposed to be doing, and much better use of the spectrum than Viceland.

  4. Hmm. SBS need to do better if they think Brick Lane is an Indian film. And some of those “Channel premieres” are well short of being network premieres.

  5. While SBS arrange to have this available on Foxtel, they should also arrange for Viceland HD to be available too. I don’t watch it that often due to lack of decent content, but on the odd occasion I need to fire up the old PVR to record in HD rather than the SD Foxtel feed on the IQ4.

    1. Foxtel aside, SBS VICELAND remains on channel 31 in HD.

      SBS say they are “in advanced discussions” with Foxtel to continue the current retransmission of SBS VICELAND and secure retransmission of SBS World Movies.

      1. Foxtel are shedding channels to save bandwidth (with the NBN using the cable they are having to stick to the bandwidth they are supposed to use) and abandoning the cable network for satellite/streaming in couple of year anyway. Can’t see much coming of that. Both Viceland and World Movies content will be on On Demand anyway.

Leave a Reply