In American cinema, one family above all others stands out as having made a notable impact on film history: the Coppolas. A family tree including composer Carmine Coppola, A-list actors Talia Shire, Nicolas Cage and Jason Schwartzman, and of course, Francis Ford Coppola, director of The Godfather series and Apocalypse Now. For a new generation of film fans, the first name that comes to mind when thinking of the name Coppola is Sofia.

Sofia Coppola was around cinema from birth, appearing as a baby in The Godfather and glimpsed as a young child on the set of Apocalypse Now in her mother’s behind-the-scenes documentary, Hearts of Darkness. Often appearing briefly as a child actress in her father’s films and writing the script for his contribution to 1989’s New York Stories. Accusations of nepotism have followed, but in navigating her own filmmaking career through early music videos and shorts before making feature films, Sofia Coppola has transcended these claims by displaying the talent and knowledge borne from her lifelong cinephilia.

Starting on Friday 28 July, Showroom Cinema will present a mini-season of Sofia’s first five films; The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation, Marie Antoinette, Somewhere and The Bling Ring. The ‘Summer of Sofia’ season will be officially launched on 1 August with a special introductory lecture by Hannah Strong, author of ‘Sofia Coppola: Forever Young’ in partnership with Bristol-based restoration festival, Cinema Rediscovered. Alongside a screening of The Virgin Suicides, Strong will look at Coppola’s career and contextualise her work.

Each of the first five films together displays the director’s unique storytelling, whilst also allowing audiences to appreciate Coppola’s signature and influential aesthetic; sumptuous visuals, smart screenwriting, killer modern soundtracks, and unforgettable leading roles for the best young actors of their generation to revel in, including Kirsten Dunst, Scarlett Johansson, Emma Watson and Elle Fanning, all uniting the director’s works. Coppola’s talent as both a director and screenwriter was obvious from the outset, as displayed by the stunning new 4K restoration of The Virgin Suicides, and she was awarded early with an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay on only her second feature, Lost in Translation.

With her latest film Priscilla due to be released in October, the summer is the perfect time to revisit or see Coppola’s ethereal and unique works for the first time.

‘Summer of Sofia’ plays at Showroom Cinema from 28 July to 17 August and tickets are on sale now: www.showroomworkstation.org.uk/summer-of-sofia