NOW SHOWING: LONDON SCREEN GUIDE w/c 04.08.17

To help your hunt for adventurous moving pictures, RADIANT CIRCUS hand-picks the best movies, film events and gallery screenings in London for the week ahead*.

Things continue to be a tad quiet with Ciné Lumière and Close-Up amongst others taking a well-earned summer break. There are still plenty of treasures to be found and documentary (RADIANT CIRCUS rule #5) is a great place to start. Options include the DOC/FEST PRESENTS weekender at Bertha DocHouse, OLA BALOGUN PROGRAMME at BFI, work in progress night ROUGH CUTS at The Horse Hospital and RAILWAY SLEEPERS at ICA.

Our featured film of the week is THE EVIL WITHIN at Regent Street. This renowned oddity is screened by Cigarette Burns and leads a smattering of fantastic cinema across the week.

“Make no mistake, THE EVIL WITHIN is very clearly the handiwork of a rank amateur under the influence of powerful narcotics.” (The Guardian).

> Let us know where you’re seeking shelter in the comments below.

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BRIMSTONE & GLORY screens at Bertha DocHouse (04 AUG).

FRIDAY 04 AUGUST 2017, 18:30, CURZON BLOOMSBURY

We’ve already given you a sneak preview, but tonight we’re drawn to the shock and awe of BRIMSTONE & GLORY which opens DOC/FEST PRESENTS. From the strong weekend lineup, MOTHERLAND screens all week at the Bloomsbury home of documentary film.

Looking for an alternative? Suburban peculiarity THE SWIMMER (18:30) screens at BFI (other dates/times available) and EVIL DEAD II (20:45) enjoys its 30th anniversary at Prince Charles Cinema.

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RAILWAY SLEEPERS screens at ICA (05 AUG).

SATURDAY 05 AUGUST 2017, 16:20, ICA

ICA secures some excellent exclusives and Thai documentary RAILWAY SLEEPERS continues the trend. Taking the form of a two-day, two-night trip from the north to the south of the country, Sompot Chidgasornpongse’s film “turns the train into a microcosm of life in Thailand”. Other dates and times available.

Looking for an alternative? THE GHOUL + Q&A (15:30) with director Gareth Tunley is hosted by Reese Shearsmith at Curzon Bloomsbury. Any film that’s described as a British LOST HIGHWAY sounds like a good bet to us…

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O-BI, O-BA: THE END OF CIVILISATION screens at Barbican (06 AUG).

SUNDAY 06 AUGUST 2017, 16:00, BARBICAN

Rarely screened piece of Police speculative fiction, O-BI, O-BA: THE END OF CIVILISATION gets an outing at Barbican with a little help from The Polish Cultural Institute. The post-apocalyptic drama screens as part of Barbican’s excellent SCI-FI SUNDAYS/ INTO THE UNKNOWN.

“Like Waiting for Godot transferred to a post-nuclear society, O-BI, O-BA is a tale of suffering and hopeless resilience, skewering any idea of redemption or saviour.”

Looking for an alternative? OLA BALOGUN DOCUMENTARY PROGRAMME (13:00) runs with a recently slimmed down programme as part of BFI’s ongoing AFRICAN ODYSSEYS. Whatever happened, the surviving shorts are very rare indeed.

MONDAY 07 AUGUST 2017, 19:00, DEPTFORD CINEMA

We’re sat writing this with the UEFA Women’s Euro 2017 Semi-Final on in the background, so tonight’s pick is more than appropriate. OFFSIDE + LIKE A GIRL (19:00) screens at Deptford Cinema:

“Winner of the Berlin Silver Bear, the comic, hugely entertaining OFFSIDE tells the story of a rebellious group of young football-obsessed girls who hatch an audacious plan to sneak into a world cup-qualifying game at the Azadi stadium in Tehran. First, they have to outwit a law that bans Iranian women from attending games.”

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DAUGHTERS OF BANGLADESH screens at Frontline Club (08 AUG).

TUESDAY 08 AUGUST 2017, 20:40, REGENT STREET CINEMA

There’s often something peculiar about the way the über wealthy choose to spend their cash, but this one’s a reel oddity. THE EVIL WITHIN was directed by a Getty family heir who died during production. The Guardian gives good account of the tragic backstory and producer Michael Luceri will spill the beans in a Skype Q&A after the film.

Looking for an alternative? More documentaries abound with ROUGH CUTS: THE BOYS FROM MUSHIN (18:30) from Open City Docs at The Horse Hospital and DAUGHTERS OF BANGLADESH + Q&A (19:00) at Frontline Club.

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THE ELEPHANT MAN screens at Regent Street Cinema (09 AUG).

WEDNESDAY 09 AUGUST 2017, VARIOUS

One day, two double bills…

David Lynch has featured in our GUIDES before, and is likely to again, but Regent Street Cinema’s double bill of THE ELEPHANT MAN (18:30) followed by DAVID LYNCH: THE ART LIFE (20:50) seems pretty irresistible. Save yourself £7 by doing the double when you checkout online.

Looking for an alternative? ORTON: OBSCENITIES IN SUBURBIA continues at BFI. Pay attention to the 50 years since the playwright’s tragic murder with a daring double bill of WHAT THE BUTLER SAW (18:30) and LOOT (20:40) for the bargain price of £15.

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SHIN GODZILLA screens at Genesis Cinema & across London (10 AUG).

THURSDAY 10 AUGUST 2017, 21:00, GENESIS CINEMA

As befits this monster franchise, SHIN GODZILLA (aka Godzilla Resurgence)¹ stomps across the city for its ‘one night only’ release. We’ve chosen Genesis Cinema (21:00), but try the Picturehouse chain as part of their Culture Shock strand (various times), or Prince Charles Cinema (18:05 & 20:45). Full listings can be found here.

Looking for an alternative? CULTURE (20:45) screens at BFI as part of FOR AN IMPOSSIBLE CINEMA: CUBAN DOCUMENTARIES − read our writeup of the first night of the season for more details.


FESTIVALS / SEASONS / TALKS

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POR PRIMA VEZ screens at BFI (10 & 19 AUG).

BFI continues a number of splendid seasons including FOR AN IMPOSSIBLE CINEMA: CUBAN DOCUMENTARIES (we’d also recommend SANTIAGO ALVAREZ, 08 AUG), GROSS INDECENCY (how about TWO GENTLEMAN SHARING + Q&A, 10 AUG?) and INDIA ON FILM.

Breaking the Legacy Film Festival marks African Holocaust Remembrance Day (23 AUG annually) and gets started with OUT OF DARKNESS at Bernie Grant Arts Centre (10 AUG, 19:30).

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FAHRENHEIT 451 screens at House of Vans (06 AUG).

House of Vans is enjoying a sunny summer with free/no booking required season, DYSTOPIA. Amongst the usual suspects, we’d pick FAHRENHEIT 451 (06 AUG, 14:00 & 16:00).

And finally…

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LIFE & HUMMUS screens at JW3 (06 AUG).

JW3 serves up KOSHER KINO: JEWISH CUISINE ON FILM (06 AUG, 12:00). Enjoy three short films − LIFE & HUMMUS, THE LAST BLINTZ & BAGELS IN THE BLOOD − before splashing the £5 voucher that’s included in your ticket at in-house eatery, Zest.


More places to shelter from the storm in next week’s GUIDE.


*As accurate as we could make it. Apologies for any mistakes. We try to cover film events you can get tickets for at the time of posting. Click quickly!

¹Like this year’s KONG: SKULL ISLAND, the monster gets a boost…

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SHIN GODZILLA features the biggest version of the atomic lizard thus far…

Featured image: THE EVIL WITHIN (2017).