NOW SHOWING: FIELD NIGGAS screens at ICA (from 05 JAN).

NOW SHOWING: LONDON SCREEN GUIDE w/c 05.01.18

RADIANT CIRCUS hunts out the best independent movie nights, film events & gallery screenings in London for the week ahead*. Here’s our SCREEN GUIDE for 05 to 11 JAN 2018.


FRI 05 // SAT 06 // SUN 07 // MON 08 // TUE 09 // WED 10 // THU 11


Welcome to our first SCREEN GUIDE of 2018. We hope you have a happy one.

It’s a week with some grand openings – BFI’s seasons dedicated to Ingmar Bergman and John Hurt – and a lot that’s still gearing up for a little later in the month. Sunday creates time for some long takes with 162min doc INTO GREAT SILENCE (DocHouse) and an edible double-bill at Close-Up. Deptford Cinema screens one of our childhood favourites, THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS (10 JAN), whilst The Whitechapel Gallery will plunge you even deeper into darkness (11 JAN).

Our FEATURED ATTRACTION of the week is FIELD NIGGAS which gets a GRIND SHOW screening at ICA (from 05 JAN).

Tell us what you’re seeing in the comments below.


#SCREENGUIDE: We highlight up to three SINGLE-O EXHIBITS (one-off screen events) each day and offer a roundup of others. There’s a summary of MUSEUM SHOWS (exhibitions // seasons & festivals) and GRIND SHOWS (regular runs & mainstream marvels) below the line. Follow date & section links to find what you want. Use your ‘back’ button to return here.

We check ticket availability for everything listed: please click quickly!


WHAT’S ON: We launched our dedicated events listing page this week, covering London’s DIY, independent & alternative film events & gallery screenings. In its testing phase at the moment, we’re adding new content all of the time. We (really) hope you like it.


NOW SHOWING: SINGLE-O EXHIBITS

ONE-OFF MOVIE NIGHTS, FILM EVENTS & GALLERY SCREENINGS (by date/venue)

FRI 05

NOW SHOWING: IVAN'S CHILDHOOD screens at ICA (05 JAN).
IVAN’S CHILDHOOD screens at ICA (05 JAN).

BFI Southbank: PERSONA (18:30 & 20:45)

Bergman’s modernist masterpiece explores the volatile relationship between an actress and her nurse. Screens as part of BFI’s definitive Bergman season – see MUSEUM SHOWS for links.

ICA: IVAN’S CHILDHOOD (18:30)

Andrei Tarkovsky’s Venice Golden Lion-winning debut feature is an extraordinarily moving and powerful story of war and revenge. Starts a new retrospective of all 7 of the master’s films – see MUSEUM SHOWS for links.


SAT 06

NOW SHOWING: REDISTRIBUTION screens at ICA (06 JAN).
REDISTRIBUTION screens at ICA (06 JAN).

BFI SouthbankMY DEAREST SEÑORITA aka Mi Querida Señorita (18:20)

BFI Flare presents an Oscar-nominated, sensitive study of a middle-aged transgender man (also screens 09 JAN 20:40 with an INTRO).

Close-Up: TAKE TWO: THE WAGES OF FEAR + SORCERER (16:30 + 20:00)

Henri-Georges Clouzot’s parable on 20th century imperialism and masculinity pushed to past breaking point, followed by William Friedkin’s audacious reinterpretation of the masterful thriller. Discounts for doing the double.

ICA: REDISTRIBUTION + TALK (15:00 & 17:00)

Starting out as a slide lecture artist Seth Price gave at the Guggenheim Museum in 2007, and added to by him ever since, this version of REDISTRIBUTION is the longest version to date. Make sure you get the BOGOF deal to pick up tickets for both the screening and Michelle Kuo’s subsequent talk.


SUN 07

NOW SHOWING: THE LOVE WITCH screens at Moth Club (07 JAN).
THE LOVE WITCH screens at Moth Club (07 JAN).

Close-Up: TAKE TWO: RICOTTA + LA GRANDE BOUFFE (19:00)

A gut-busting double-bill of satirical masterpieces: Pier-Paolo Pasolini’s critique of high art, filmmaking and all-too-real poverty followed by Marco Ferreri’s subversive and scatological satire of bourgeois excess.

DocHouseINTO GREAT SILENCE (15:45)

With an epic runtime of 162 minutes, this portrait of a Chartreuse monastery is a contemplative masterpiece. Arrive early to sample some of the famous liqueur made by the monks featured in the film. Part of the DETOX DOCS season.

Moth Club: THE LOVE WITCH (16:00)

Anna Biller’s comedy horror starring Samantha Robinson, Jeffrey Vincent Parise and Laura Waddell pays homage to Technicolor thrillers of the 1960s and 70s.


MON 08

NOW SHOWING: FILTER BEDS screens at Close-Up (08 JAN).
FILTER BEDS screens at Close-Up (08 JAN).

Close-Up: GUY SHERWIN: SEVEN FILMS ABOUT PLACE (19:30)

Guy Sherwin presents a programme exploring a range of approaches to capturing qualities of place and changes in film form. A haphazard diary of places and of times.

The Montague Arms: PARTY MONSTER (19:00)

Answering our prayers for an alternative to too much HOME ALONE this Christmas, Deeper Into Movies screens the one where Macaulay Culkin and Seth Green get glammed-up,  take lots of drugs and kill.


TUE 09

NOW SHOWING: LET THE RIGHT ONE IN screens at Genesis Cinema (09 JAN).
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN screens at Genesis Cinema (09 JAN).

Deptford Cinema: ON BODY & SOUL (19:45)

When two introverted workers at a meat processing plant discover that they both share the same dream, they are puzzled, scared and suspicious. But as they come to accept this peculiar coincidence, they decide to make what happens when they close their eyes into reality. Part of a new MEAT season.

Genesis Cinema: LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (19:00)

Not just a brilliant modern horror film, but a near perfect study of being 12 years old. Part of NORDIC NIGHTS: CONTEMPORARY SCANDINAVIAN HORROR, a new weekly series of FREE screenings. Booking required to avoid disappointment!

Regent Street Cinema: YOUR NAME + LU OVER THE WALL (18:30 + 20:45)

A beautiful masterpiece about time, the thread of fate, and the hearts of two young souls doubles up with the story of a student whose life changes dramatically when he meets a mermaid. Discounts for doing the double.


WED 10

NOW SHOWING: THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS screens at Deptford Cinema (10 JAN).
THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS screens at Deptford Cinema (10 JAN).

Deptford Cinema: THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS (19:30)

A ferocious dinosaur awakened by an Arctic atomic test terrorizes the North Atlantic and, ultimately, NYC. One of the first ‘atomic monster movies’, BEAST screens as part of ANALOGUE ANIMATIONS, celebrating pioneers of non-digital animation.

Regent Street Cinema: RIVERBLUE (19:30)

Following international river conservationist, Mark Angelo, RIVERBLUE travels the globe to infiltrate one of the world’s most pollutive industries, fashion.

Screen25 (formerly Stanley’s Film Club): HUMAN FLOW (19:45)

Ai Weiwei artfully captures the massive and shocking breadth of the global migration crisis in this critical documentary. In partnership with Young Roots.


THU 11

NOW SHOWING: DARKNESS VISIBLE screens at The Whitechapel Gallery (11 JAN).
DARKNESS VISIBLE screens at The Whitechapel Gallery (11 JAN).

Frontline Club: ICARUS + Q&A with dir. Bryan Fogel & prod. Dan Cogan (19:00)

Filmmaker Bryan Fogel sets out on a mission to learn about performance-enhancing drugs in sports. What he ends up discovering is far bigger than anyone could have even imagined.

JW3: SEEING DAYLIGHT: A FILM PORTRAIT OF DOROTHY BOHM + Q&A (18:45)

Dorothy Bohm, who escaped from Lithuania to the UK in 1939, is one of Britain’s finest street photographers, and the co-founder of the Photographers’ Gallery. This film portrait looks back at her most important images and revisits the places that have shaped her view of the world. Followed by a Q&A with Dorothy Bohm, curator and writer (and Dorothy’s daughter) Monica Bohm-Duchen, and director Richard Shaw.

Whitechapel Gallery: DARKNESS VISIBLE (19:00)

An immersive cinematic and performance event exploring darkness, perception and poetic narrative. The immersive exhibition of the same name continues at the Southbank Centre until 25 MAR (free booking HERE).


NOW SHOWING: MUSEUM SHOWS

EXHIBITIONS (by venue/event)

THE NOMADIC CITY OF CAMELA screens at Whitechapel Gallery (until 28 JAN 2018).

Barbican: PURPLE (until 07 JAN 2018 – FREE, check for times)

British artist and filmmaker John Akomfrah’s “immersive six-channel video installation addressing climate change, human communities and the wilderness”.

LUX Moving ImageBL CK B X: Alia Syed – WALLPAPER (from 10 JAN to 10 FEB 2018 – FREE, check for times)

Alia Syed’s WALLPAPER, a double screen film that was originally commissioned by the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in 2011, screens alongside other works to launch a new series of monthly exhibitions of artists’ moving image, BL CK B X.

Whitechapel Gallery: LUIS LAZARO MATOS + ZHENG MAHLER + NGUYEN PHUONG LINH (until 28 JAN – FREE, check for times)

A new selection of moving image works from the gallery’s Artists’ Film International partnership.


SEASONS & FESTIVALS (by venue/event)

NOW SHOWING: PERSONA screens at BFI (from 05 JAN).
PERSONA screens at BFI (from 05 JAN).

BFI Southbank: A New Year, a new clutch of stellar seasons. BFI begins their INGMAR BERGMAN retrospective alongside a season dedicated to the late, great JOHN HURT. Elsewhere, the regular SCREEN CLASSICS strand takes a new focus of HOLLYWOOD ON HOLLYWOOD. Check it all out.

Ciné Lumière: Forget those resolutions and look back on some great films from last year with the BEST OF 2017FOCUS MARCEL PAGNOL continues with a screening of MARIUS + DISCUSSION with Nick Walker from Rochester Kino (07 JAN 14:00).

Close-Up: Close-Up repeats the LÉOS CARAX short season (09 to 13 JAN).

Deptford Cinema: Regular LGBTI strand DCQ opens up the New Year with the folk at QUEERBEE, offering another selection of short film, this time focused on faith (07 JAN 19:30).

NOW SHOWING: INTO GREAT SILENCE screens at DocHouse (07 JAN).
INTO GREAT SILENCE screens at DocHouse (07 JAN).

DocHouse: DETOX DOCS is a three film mini season to help you settle into a more mindful New Year. In addition to INTO GREAT SILENCE (07 JAN – see SINGLE-O EXHIBITS), there are regular runs of WALK WITH ME (05 to 11 JAN) and BECOMING WHO I WAS (12 to 14 JAN).

Genesis Cinema: Carrying on from where they left off last year, Genesis begins a new season #WOMENINFILM2018 – films that have a female director/co-director, a female writer/co-writer, or a strong/iconic female lead. This week you can see THE OTHER SIDE OF UNDERNEATH (11 JAN 18:00) and PIN CUSHION (11 JAN 20:50).

ICA: Another week, another ANDREI TARKOVSKY retrospective. Not that we’re complaining. See six of the master’s films on The Mall this week. Catch up with his last film, THE SACRIFICE, next week (14 JAN 21:15).

Prince Charles Cinema: One of several London venues playing host to the PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON 35mm TOUR. This week you’ve got a chance to see BOOGIE NIGHTS alongside Anderson’s latest short, HAIM/VALENTINE (07 JAN 17:15).


NOW SHOWING: GRIND SHOWS

REGULAR RUNS & MAINSTREAM MARVELS (by title)

NOW SHOWING: REY screens at ArtHouse Crouch End (from 05 JAN).
REY screens at ArtHouse Crouch End (from 05 JAN).

FIELD NIGGAS screens at ICA (05 to 11 JAN)

This hour-long documentary offers a portrait of a Harlem street corner by, according to director Khalik Allah, “taking the hood off of the hood and showing you the head”.

GLORY screens at ICA (05 to 10 JAN)

Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov’s follow-up to THE LESSON is a social parable about a humble man who gets unwillingly promoted and ends up sacrificed.

REY screens at ArtHouse Crouch End (05 to 11 JAN)

Chilean director Niles Atallah is back with a film rich in symbolism and experimental techniques that tells the story of the lost kingdom of Patagonia. Other screens available.


Join the hunt for adventurous moving pictures.

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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+. We only include events you can book for at the time of posting. Please click quickly!

Featured image: FIELD NIGGAS (2015).