NOW BOOKING: MARCH SCREENS 2018 [F-RATED]
RADIANT CIRCUS hunts out the best independent movie nights, film events & gallery screenings in London. Find out what’s showing in MARCH with our special F-RATED roundup* for International Women’s Day 2018.
SINGLE-O EXHIBITS // EXHIBITIONS // SEASONS // GRIND SHOWS
Welcome to our monthly roundup for MARCH 2018.
THU 08 MAR is International Women’s Day, so this is a special F-RATED edition where all of our listed titles have been made by women. Our usual all-gender listings will return in our weekly screen digests.
In addition to screenings celebrating the big event, there are several exciting Q&A sessions with women filmmakers and artists (some of which are beamed and/or repeated across town) as well as screenings of excellent F-RATED films and artworks.
With so much going on, we’ve moved our list of festivals to a separate guide where you can find even more F-RATED titles (for example, half of the new features at Kinoteka – London’s Polish Film Festival – are directed by women).
We have chosen the new exhibition of projection and performance pioneer JOAN JONAS at Tate Modern (14 MAR to 05 AUG) as our FEATURED ATTRACTION of the month. We look forward to seeing you in the darkness of Tate’s Tanks very soon.
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#SCREENGUIDE: Each month we highlight significant SINGLE-O EXHIBITS as well as a summary of MUSEUM SHOWS – divided into EXHIBITIONS & SEASONS – and our pick of the month’s GRIND SHOWS. Follow the links to find what you want. Use your ‘back’ button to return.
FEATURED ATTRACTION
JOAN JONAS at Tate Modern (14 MAR to 05 AUG):
Hero to a generation of younger artists, Joan Jonas is a pioneer of performance and video who has pushed the boundaries of art for the last five decades. This is the largest exhibition of Jonas’ work ever held in the UK. Early works from the late 1960s are shown alongside recent installations dealing with topical themes such as climate change and extinction. Installations on show include Lines in the Sand, The Juniper Tree and Reanimation.
Joan Jonas will also perform live alongside other artists as part of the next BMW Tate Live exhibition, TEN DAYS SIX NIGHTS (16 to 25 MAR). Free daytime events include the installations in the Tanks and performances of Mirror Piece II and Delay Delay, a daily ritual at low tide on the Thames. Jonas performs in nights one to four out of the six evening events.
NOW BOOKING: SINGLE-O EXHIBITS
SCREEN WEEKS: 02 to 08 // 09 to 15 // 16 to 22 // 23 to 29
02 to 08 MAR
#GENESISTERS VOL 7 screens at Genesis Cinema (03 MAR 19:00):
Loud Women and Genesis present an evening of “live music, a film screening and the usual selection of ‘zine stalls, themed cocktails and the obligatory free cupcakes”.
THE HITCH-HIKER screens at Curzon Goldsmiths (04 MAR 13:30):
Birds Eye View presents Ida Lupino’s 1953 film about two fishermen who pick up a psychotic escaped convict only to find that he intends to murder them when the ride is over…. After the screening, Mia Bays and Joanna Duncombe host an illustrated talk about the film and director Lupino’s journey from S.E London to Hollywood stardom.
BEING BLACKER + Q&A with Molly Dineen and Blacker Dread screens at Rio Cinema (04 MAR 14:00):
After a ten-year absence, BAFTA and Royal Television Society award-winning filmmaker Molly Dineen is back with a new feature documentary. BEING BLACKER is an intimate, portrait of Jamaican-born reggae producer, businessman, father, son, and community pillar, Blacker Dread.
Second chances: Bertha DocHouse (09 MAR 18:30) & Lexi Cinema (11 MAR 14:30).
BRITISH SHORTS screens at The Institute of Light (05 MAR 19:15):
Short Sighted Cinema presents a diverse selection of short film exploring the unique facets of ‘Britishness’ through “an entertaining and eye-opening look at our characters, culture and our many, many quirks”. Includes BILL & GORDON by Sara Archer, BAD NEWS by Alicia MacDonald, and MASTERPIECE by Runyararo Mapfumo.
TAMARA HENDERSON: OUT OF BODY screens at Tate Modern (07 MAR 18:30):
Discover the imaginative films of Canadian artist Tamara Henderson in this short film programme which includes the world premiere of SEASONS END: OUT OF BODY. Henderson’s works are shot with a 16mm camera and edited in camera.
MOVING THE GOALPOSTS + BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM screens at Rich Mix (07 MAR 19:30):
Girls on Film presents a discussion on the state of women’s team sports followed by a screening of the cult classic BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM.
BRUK OUT! – A DANCEHALL QUEEN DOCUMENTARY screens at Screen25 (07 MAR 19:45):
Screen25 presents filmmaker Cori Wapnowska’s documentary about the raw and energic world of Jamaican dancehall culture, seen through the eyes of the women at its very heart. Dancehall Origins and Ignition Dance Company will bring the magic of dancehall to life with a fun and dynamic dance class before the film (18:30).
BOMBSHELL: THE HEDY LAMARR STORY + SATELLITE Q&A with exec producer Susan Sarandon and director Alexandra Dean screens at Bertha DocHouse (08 MAR 18:20):
Combining a rediscovered interview with reflections from her closest friends, family and admirers, including Mel Brooks and Robert Osborne, Alexandra Dean’s BOMBSHELL gives Hollywood’s “most beautiful woman in the world” the chance to tell her own story.
Beamed from a sold out event at BFI Southbank. Other cinemas available.
YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE + Q&A with Lynne Ramsay screens at Curzon (08 MAR 18:45):
A senator’s daughter has been kidnapped. The authorities can do nothing. Ex-soldier Joe (Joaquin Phoenix), who has a reputation for resolving impossible situations, is contracted to return the girl safely home. However, things don’t quite go to plan in this stripped-down psychological thriller by Lynne Ramsay.
NOVA NIGHTS EP#10: KUO’S EYES & OTHER DARK VISIONS screens at The Horse Hospital (08 MAR 19:00):
O. B. De Alessi presents her 2017 film: KUO’S EYES. Young Kuo is found unconscious in the woods with his eyes torn out. Using his stuffed bear companion Bainfu as a guide, he goes in search of the person responsible for this heinous act. The evening also features a selection of O. B. De Alessi’s video works and the artist will be in conversation with Billy Chainsaw.
A REAL JOB IS TO MAKE SOMETHING screens at Bernie Grant Arts Centre (08 MAR 20:00):
As forty years of manufacturing at the Wearite factory on West Green Road comes to an end, this screening of new works by, amongst others, Rosie Edwards, Kate Owens and Kate Keara Pelan highlights a place and a community and considers the value of making things in present times.
WOMEN IN REVOLT screens at Regent Street Cinema (08 MAR 20:45):
Shorts On Tap and CinemaItaliaUK present the return of award-winning series WOMEN IN REVOLT with a selection of works “depicting, describing and challenging the very essence of daughterhood”. Features short film from around the world, panel discussion and special guests.
THE RIDER screens at Genesis Cinema (21:00):
Celebrate International Women’s Day in style with Birds Eye View and Playback Festival 2018, who are taking over the Genesis Cinema for the evening. The bar is open from 19:00 to enjoy the IWD2018 cocktail and so you can mingle with the Birds Eye View / Playback / Random Acts crews alongside protests art workshops and a preview screening of Chloé Zhao’s THE RIDER: “one of the finest examples of the female gaze you’ll see all year”.
09 to 15 MAR
LOVING VINCENT + Q&A with David Parfitt screens at Talkies (09 MAR 19:30):
Co-directed by Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman, the world’s first fully oil painted feature film brings the artwork of Vincent Van Gogh to life in an exploration of the complicated life and controversial death of one of history’s most celebrated artists.
ERASE & FORGET + Q&A with Andrea Luka Zimmerman screens at Rio Cinema (11 MAR 14:15):
Andrea Luka Zimmerman’s ERASE & FORGET is an investigative documentary which charts the extraordinary life and times of Bo Gritz, one of America’s highest decorated veterans and the ‘inspiration’ for Rambo and Brando’s Colonel Kurtz.
Second chance: Zimmerman joins Mia Bays from Birds Eye View for a Q&A after a screening at Curzon Soho (14 MAR 18:40).
MORVERN CALLAR screens at Deptford Cinema (11 MAR 16:30):
From Lynne Ramsay (YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE), this study of the unpredictable actions of the opaque Morvern (Samantha Morton) is conveyed in engrossing visual language and funk-psychedelic soundtrack.
STRAIN ANDROMEDA THE screens at Close-Up (14 MAR 19:30):
A project of complete appropriation, Anne McGuire’s version of THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN, Robert Wise’s adaptation of Michael Crichton’s novel, reverses the film, every shot re-cut so that the last becomes the first, and the first becomes the last. Part of ITS ORIGINS ARE INDETERMINATE at The Whitechapel Gallery (17 MAR – see below).
16 to 22 MAR
THROUGH A DIFFERENT LENS: FILM WORK BY JOANNA MARGARET PAUL screens at The Cinema Museum (16 MAR 19:30):
Filmmaker and curator Peter Todd presents a programme of 12 films by New Zealand poet, painter, and filmmaker Joanna Margaret Paul. Often shot and edited in camera, her films chronicle motherhood and domestic life, the worn traces of urban settlement and the persistent presence of the natural world.
ITS ORIGINS ARE INDETERMINATE screens at The Whitechapel Gallery (17 MAR 11:15):
A series of four programmes – three collections of shorts projected here and one feature at Close-Up (14 MAR, see above) – examines the concept of ‘language-as-a-virus.’ As carriers of meaning, words and images are vulnerable to intervention and corruption. The works presented on screen – including many made by women – test and bend the limits of language and break down systems of grammar control.
THE VIRGIN SUICIDES screens at Everyman Screen On The Green (17 MAR 23:30):
Sofia Coppola’s film about a group of male friends who become obsessed with five mysterious sisters who are sheltered by their strict, religious parents in suburban Detroit in the mid-1970s.
DARK RIVER + Q&A with producer Tracy O’Riordan and casting director Amy Hubbard screens at LEXI (19 MAR 18:30):
In Clio Barnard’s latest feature, Alice (Ruth Wilson), an itinerant farm worker, returns to assert her claim to the tenancy of a run-down small holding after the death of her father.
THE WILD FRONTIER screens at Barbican (20 MAR 19:00):
Co-directors Elisabeth Perceval and Nicolas Klotz’s documentary presents “a highly sensitive portrait of the now demolished Calais ‘jungle’ and its community of displaced migrants”. Presented by the Architecture Foundation as part of ARCHITECTURE ON FILM.
THE RAPE OF RECCY TAYLOR + DISCUSSION with director Nancy Buirski screens at Curzon Soho (22 MAR 18:30):
Recy Taylor, a 24-year-old black mother and sharecropper, was gang raped by six white boys in 1944 Alabama. Common in Jim Crow South, few women spoke up in fear for their lives. Not Recy Taylor, who bravely identified her rapists. The NAACP sent its chief rape investigator Rosa Parks, who rallied support and triggered an unprecedented outcry for justice. Presented by Curzon DocDays and UN Women.
MUJERES – WOMEN ON FILM SHORT FILM PROGRAMME screens at Hackney Picturehouse (23 MAR 19:30):
Cinemaattic puts gender parity in the film industry in perspective, inviting professionals from Spain, Mexico and the UK to share good practice and name and shame some of the most urgent actions to be tackled.
23 to 29 MAR
I GOT LIFE! + SCREENTALK with Blandine Lenoir screens at Barbican (23 MAR 18:30):
Blandine Lenoir’s feel-good charmer tells the story of fifty-year old Aurore as she tries to reassert herself in a society that rather she goes unnoticed. Part of CONVERSATIONS WITH WOMEN IN FILM.
DOWN TO EARTH + Q&A with co-directors Renata Heinen and Rolf Winters screens at Rio Cinema (24 MAR 12:00):
Filmed by a London couple and their three young children, DOWN TO EARTH follows the family’s search for a new perspective on life. In their five-year journey across six continents, they live with some of the planet’s oldest indigenous communities.
GHOLAM + SCREENTALK with Mitra Tabrizian screens at Barbican (26 MAR 18:15):
Haunted by his past and with an uncertain future, Gholam gets involved in the conflict of a total stranger and sees it through to the very end. Set in London, GHOLAM is the story of an enigmatic Iranian cab driver, who works at night and doesn’t like to talk about his past.
MASTERCLASS: BASMA ALSHARIF screens at LUX Moving Image (26 MAR 18:30):
In this public lecture, Basma Alsharif will present a number of her films and discuss her artistic practice. Alsharif’s films and videos explore the subjective experience of political landscape, investigating the links between a geographical space and its mental representation.
THE LAST ANIMALS + Q&A screens at Frontline Club (27 MAR 19:00):
The story of the conservationists, scientists and activists who are battling poachers and criminal networks to protect elephants and rhinos from Africa, to Asia and the United States. The screening is followed by a Q&A with director Kate Brooks, Mary Rice from the Environmental Investigation Agency, and Will Travers of the Born Free Foundation.
DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST 35mm screens at The Prince Charles Cinema (27 MAR 18:15):
At the dawn of the 20th century, a family in the Gullah community of coastal South Carolina – former West African slaves who adopted many of their ancestors’ Yoruba traditions – suffers a generational split.
YOU’VE GOT MAIL 35mm screens at The Prince Charles Cinema (27 MAR 20:45):
Struggling boutique bookseller Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) hates Joe Fox (Tom Hanks), the owner of a corporate chain store that just moved in across the street. When they meet online, however, they begin an intense and anonymous romance, oblivious of each other’s true identity.
WESTERN screens at Goethe Institut (28 MAR 19:00):
Special preview screening of Valeska Grisebach’s film about a German construction crew starting work in a remote part of Bulgaria where rivalries begin to unfold with the local villagers.
COMRADE KIM GOES FLYING + SCREENTALK with co-directors Anja Daelamans and Nicholas Bonner screens at Barbican (28 MAR 20:30):
The UK premiere of North Korea’s first ‘girl power’ movie tells the story of a young coal miner’s pursuit of her dream to become an acrobat. In association with the House of Illustration exhibition Made In North Korea: Everyday graphics from the DPRK (until 13 MAY).
> Keep up to date with our weekly screen digests & daily tweets.
NOW BOOKING: MUSEUM SHOWS
EXHIBITIONS (by show)
BL CK B X: VANALYNE GREEN screens at LUX Moving Image (21 MAR to 14 APR – free, check with the gallery for opening days/times):
LUX presents a solo exhibition of video work by American artist Vanalyne Green, as part of the free BL CK B X exhibition series. Join the artist in conversation with Adrian Rifkin to launch the exhibition (24 MAR 14:00).
> JOAN JONAS at Tate Modern (14 MAR to 05 AUG) – our featured attraction.
SANDRA PERRY: TYPHOON COMING ON screens at Serpentine Galleries (06 MAR to 20 MAY – free, check with the gallery for opening days/times):
The Serpentine presents the first European solo exhibition of American artist Sondra Perry who explores the intersection of black identity, digital culture and power structures through video, media, installation and performance.
> Keep up to date with our weekly screen digests & daily tweets.
SEASONS & FESTIVALS (by event)
ANIMATION 2018 screens at BFI Southbank (until DEC):
BFI continues a yearlong celebration of animation with FUNNY WOMEN GET ANIMATED: REVISITING ‘CRAPSTON VILLAS’ & ‘POND LIFE’ (06 MAR 18:20): “The late 1990s saw not one but two animated, adult sitcoms on mainstream television, both written and directed by women.”
DIRECTED BY WOMEN / CLAIRE DENIS screen at Deptford Cinema:
Pick from Claire Denis’ CHOCOLAT (04 MAR 18:30) and WHITE MATERIAL (11 MAR 19:00); or, ALMOST HEAVEN + Q&A with director Carol Slater (04 MAR 15:30); and, THE PRINCE OF NOTHINGWOOD (17 MAR 15:30).
GIRLFREINDS screens at BFI Southbank (until 31 MAR):
BFI invites you to “revisit cherished classics and discover trailblazing women filmmakers in our season celebrating female friendships.” Every title screens with a suitable F-RATED short and there’s a good smattering of 35mm events. This month’s (F-RATED) features include: GIRLFRIENDS (02 & 13 MAR); NOW & THEN (02 & 11 MAR); IN BETWEEN (03 & 07 MAR); DAISIES (04 & 16 MAR); POISON IVY + INTRO by Anna Bogutskaya & Olivia Howe (09 MAR 20:30); WALKING & TALKING (17 & 19 MAR); MARTHA & NIKI (18 & 21 MAR); and, 2 FRIENDS + INTRO by Isabel Stevens & Sophie Monks Kauffman (21 MAR 18:20). There’s also a live event with THE GUILTY FEMINISTS (17 MAR 13:50).
HIT THE ROAD screens at Classic Cinema Club – Ealing (MAR & APR):
Classic Cinema Club Ealing screens a new season of “moving pictures: the epitome of road movies and buddy films, along with some acclaimed documentaries and animation”. Feel the wind in your hair with a programme of popular films including Agnès Varda’s THE GLEANERS & I (16 MAR 19:30).
OSCAR® WEEK screens at Barbican (02 to 08 MAR):
A chance to see all the BEST PICTURE contenders, including Greta Gerwig’s LADY BIRD on International Women’s Day 2018 (08 MAR 20:45).
Barbican’s screening of the LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM nominees is sold out, but you can catch Katja Benrath’s WATU WOTE: ALL OF US and all of the other nominees at your local Picturehouse as part of their DISCOVER TUESDAYS strand. Here it is at Picturehouse Central (06 MAR 18:30): other Picturehouses available.
VAULT FESTIVAL screens at VAULT (until 18 MAR):
This year’s Vault festival includes a number of excellent film events. Consider: FUNNY WOMEN COMEDY SHORTS (04 MAR 15:00) and LONDON SHORT FILM FESTIVAL SHOWCASE (11 MAR 15:00).
WOMEN IN ACTIVISM (03 to 24 MAR):
Black History Studies begins a festival dedicated to women taking action – read more about that in our separate guide to this month’s film festivals.
#WOMENINFILM2018 screens at Genesis Cinema (until 31 DEC):
The season dedicated to films that have a female director/co-director, a female writer/co-writer, or a strong/iconic female lead continues with Cinesisters’ special screening of THE DIVINE ORDER (13 MAR 18:10). The film will be followed by a panel with Deva Palmier, Samantha Harrie, Christiana Ebohon-Green and Lauren Cooney.
WOMEN SHAPING THE WORLD screens at Ciné Lumière (28 FEB to 31 MAR):
CÉSAR & HER (04 to 31 MAR) is dedicated to the women celebrated by France’s most prestigious cinema awards. The films are: TROIS HOMMES ET UN COUFFIN (04 MAR 14:00); WATER LILIES (06 MAR 18:30); VÉNUS BEAUTÉ (INSTITUT) (18 MAR 14:00); LE GOÛT DES AUTRES (30 MAR 14:00); and, POLISSE (31 MAR 18:20). There’s also a special screening of BEAU TRAVAIL (25 MAR 14:00) which is accompanied by a salon with Nick Walker (Rochester Kino).
Then there are a couple of standalone events: THE DIVINE ORDER + Q&A with director Petra Volpe (06 MAR 20:30); and, LET THE SUNSHINE IN (08 MAR 20:40), Claire Denis’ latest film and Ciné Lumierè’s special screening for International Women’s Day 2018.
> Keep up to date with our weekly screen digests & daily tweets.
NOW BOOKING: GRIND SHOWS
REGULAR RUNS & MAINSTREAM MARVELS (by title)
GOOD THOUGHTS, GOOD WORDS, GOOD DEEDS: THE CONDUCTOR ZUBIN MEHTA screens at JW3 (04 to 08 MAR):
UKJF presents Bettina Ehrhardt’s fascinating documentary about the music director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Produced on the eve of Zubin Mehta’s 80th birthday the doc is a “timely celebration of the legendary maestro’s life and work”.
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*THE SMALL PRINT: As accurate as we could make it. Apologies for any mistakes. Updates & corrections will be made to the online version. We don’t filter by age/certification: all readers & subscribers should be 18+.
Featured image: JOAN JONAS WITH JASON MORAN (Tate Modern).