“I'm very happy because I've done something wrong.”

On Thursday 13th August 2026, Be Kind Rewind Bristol returns to the downstairs cinema at The Ill Repute with one of the most misunderstood and unexpectedly tender romances of the 2000s: Secretary (2002).

Directed by Steven Shainberg, and featuring unforgettable performances from Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Spader, Secretary refuses to fit neatly into any one genre. It's darkly comic, psychologically complex, quietly subversive, and unlike almost every Hollywood romance that came before it.

What begins as a simple employer-employee relationship gradually becomes a study of power, control, obsession, and self-discovery. Rather than asking the audience to judge its characters, the film asks something far more interesting: what happens when two people find happiness in a way the rest of the world doesn't understand?

Stylish, witty, uncomfortable, and surprisingly funny, Secretary remains one of the defining independent films of the early 2000s. More than two decades later, it still feels daring. Not because it's trying to shock, but because it refuses to apologise for being different.

▶ The Ill Repute, Old Market - downstairs cinema room
▶ Doors 7:30pm / Film 8pm sharp (no late entry)
▶ Free entry - first come, first served (arrive early to guarantee a seat)
▶ Drinks and snacks available at the bar

Be Kind Rewind Bristol is a free bi-weekly Thursday cult film night celebrating strange, beloved and offbeat cinema in the downstairs screening room at The Ill Repute.