NOW SHOWING: LONDON SCREEN GUIDE w/c 09.03.18
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 09 to 15 MAR 2018.
FRI 09 // SAT 10 // SUN 11 // MON 12 // TUE 13 // WED 14 // THU 15
Welcome to our weekly digest where we recommend moving pictures that might excite you.
We love it when screens do good. This week, you can help raise funds for women’s equality (09 MAR, Classic Cinema Club Ealing – see Hit The Road in MUSEUM SHOWS), young people in Palestine (09 MAR, Flip Out at Folklore), and immigrants in Wales (13 MAR, People’s Film Club at Genesis), all just by buying a ticket and sitting in the dark.
Along very similar lines, a huge shout out to Kennington Bioscope for their SILENT LAUGHTER weekender which raises funds to save The Cinema Museum (10 & 11 MAR). If we weren’t knee-deep in family affairs, we’d be there. You should go, because we all need more laughter in our lives right now.
New seasons opening this week include WALERIAN BOROWCZYK: OBSCURE PLEASURES and ESSENTIAL CINEMA XI (both at Close-Up) whilst Prince Charles begins a JODIE FOSTER SELECTROSPECTIVE (10 MAR to 21 APR) where almost everything screens in 35mm.
Art screens get good coverage with new exhibitions of work by JOAN JONAS (Tate Modern from 14 MAR) and TACITA DEAN (National Portrait Gallery from 15 MAR) as well as “non-academic lectures” from Lebanese playwright and artist Rabih Mroué (13 & 14 MAR at ICA).
The month continues to be a busy one for film festivals with Women in Activism (until 24 MAR), Cinema Made In Italy (until 11 MAR), Human Rights Watch (until 16 MAR), Kinoteka (until 29 MAR), Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour (13 to 24 MAR), DYSPLA International Moving Image Festival (14 to 18 MAR), and UK Asian Film Festival (14 to 25 MAR) all screening this week. Find out what’s projecting where with our handy festivals guide.
Our featured attraction of the week is STRAIN ANDROMEDA THE at Close-Up Centre (14 MAR), Anne McGuire’s version of THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN which completely reverses Robert Wise’s film, cut by cut. There you seeing to forward look we 😉
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#SCREENGUIDE: We highlight up to three SINGLE-O EXHIBITS (one-off events) each day and a quick roundup of others. There’s also a summary of MUSEUM SHOWS (divided into exhibitions and seasons & festivals) and GRIND SHOWS (regular runs) 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 before we post: please click quickly!
NOW SHOWING: SINGLE-O EXHIBITS
ONE-OFF MOVIE NIGHTS, FILM EVENTS & GALLERY SCREENINGS (by date/event)
FRI 09
EPICLY PALESTINE’D screens at Folklore (18:30):
Flip Out for SkatePal invites you to: “watch a doc about the birth of skateboarding in the West Bank; listen to jazz, blues and old-school rock’n’roll disguised as Cordingley, Island Girl, Too Much Talking and Just Like Fruit; and, wiggle your leg to some funky tunes and Italo Disco played by PMP and Ugetboyed!” All proceeds go towards SkatePal.
INSHA’ALLAH DEMOCRACY + Q&A with director Mohammed Naqvi screens at BFI Southbank (20:20):
UK Premiere: Filmmaker Mo Naqvi will vote for the first time during Pakistan’s elections, but he has a tough choice – either vote for religious hardliners or for the secular liberal leader Pervez Musharraf, who happens to be a former military dictator. Follow one voter’s journey to see if democracy is achievable in a country undergoing political and religious upheaval.
Looking for something different? MEMENTO 35mm at The Prince Charles (20:45).
SAT 10
THE PAST IS NOT OUR FUTURE: WALTER RODNEY’S STUDENT YEARS + DISCUSSION screens at BFI Southbank (13:00):
Rare photos, re-enactments, personal writing and archive film are complied in this documentary exploring the early life of Walter Rodney, a renowned Guyanese revolutionary, from his university years to his emergence as a political radical in the 1960s. Part of African Odysseys.
A PROMINENT PATIENT + DISCUSSION screens at The Gate (17:45):
Czech diplomat Jan Masaryk tries to overcome his inner demons and relive the dramatic events leading to WWII in Julius Ševčík’s persuasive historical drama about a man who stood up for his betrayed country while feeling betrayed himself. Presented by the Czech Centre. Part of Projecting Czech History: 1918 – 2018 marking the 100th anniversary of founding Czechoslovakia.
SILENT LAUGHTER: A Weekend of (Mostly) Silent Comedy screens at The Cinema Museum (10:00 to 22:00, 10 & 11 MAR):
Kennington Bioscope presents another full weekend of (mostly) silent comedies, once again in association with Kevin Brownlow. Key silent comedy names Buster Keaton, Laurel & Hardy and Charlie Chaplin are supported by the considerable talents of Charley Chase, Beatrice Lillie, Monty Banks and many more. All films have musical accompaniment. Sunday comes with extra Roy Hudd. Chose from either SAT or SUN programmes, or get a weekend pass.
Looking for something different (A–Z)? SUBMARINE at Everyman Screen On The Green (23:30). WOUBI CHERI at Bernie Grant Arts Centre (19:00).
SUN 11
ERASE & FORGET + Q&A with Andrea Luka Zimmerman screens at Rio Cinema (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 another screening of ERASE & FORGET at Curzon Soho (14 MAR 18:40).
EXTRACTED & CIRCULATED: MATERIAL EXCHANGE screens at Close-Up (18:00):
The second edition of the Extracted and Circulated screening series. It is a series “as compilation, as assembly, as a production of new work where each video folds and unfolds into the next and where the hierarchies of found, processed, and produced material dissolve”. Beny Wagner and Graeme Arnfield will be in conversation with Sasha Litvintseva following the screening.
THE WOMAN UNDER OATH 35mm + INTRO by Pamela Hutchinson screens at BFI Southbank (16:30):
Eleven angry men and one angry woman try a boy for the murder of his employer, a serial abuser of women. This rarely-seen film, specially programmed around International Women’s Day, is directed with the elegant efficiency for which John Stahl became known.
SILENT LAUGHTER: A Weekend of (Mostly) Silent Comedy continues at The Cinema Museum (10:00 to 22:00) – See SAT 10 MAR for details.
Looking for something different (A–Z)? BEING BLACKER + Q&A with Molly Dineen & Blacker Dread at Lexi Cinema (14:30). BLACK PANTHER + Q&A presented by Black History Walks at Genesis Cinema (12:00). THE EXORCIST 35mm at Prince Charles (20:45). FANTASTIC MR FOX at Picturehouse Central (13:00). KUNG FU HUSTLE at Genesis Cinema (18:00 – free!) part of Chinese New Year. MORVERN CALLAR at Deptford Cinema (16:30). STRANGE FRUIT presented by Stand Up To Racism and United East End at Genesis Cinema (13:30).
MON 12
AN EVENING OF PHILIP GLASS + KOYAANISQATSI screens at Moth Club (19:00):
Concert pianist Boram Choi will perform Philip Glass’ legendary solo Metamorphosis piano pieces from 1989. The performance will be followed by a screening of the Glass scored KOYAANISQATSI (1983).
THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU + INTRO + PERFORMANCE screens at The Institute Of Light (19:00):
SUPAKINO presents: Waris Ahluwalia is “Vikram Ray, 28, cameraman. Born on the Ganges.” In this original adventure-comedy, famous oceanographer Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) and his crew hunt down the elusive Jaguar Shark that killed Zissou’s partner during the filming of their latest adventure. Singer-songwriter Florence Glen will perform Seu Jorge’s arrangements of classic David Bowie songs from the film’s soundtrack. Part of Turbans Seen On Screen (TSOS).
THROUGH LOTTE’S LENS + Q&A with director Tony Britten screens at Phoenix Cinema (18:30):
Screened on the exact eightieth anniversary of the Anschluss – Hitler’s annexing of Austria on 12 MAR – this is the extraordinary story of the ‘Hitler Émigrés’: the refugees – mainly Jewish – who escaped the Nazi regime in the 1930s and found refuge in the UK. Told through Austrian portrait photographer, Lotte Meitner-Graf, this is a story which is both engaging and thought provoking.
Looking for something different (A–Z)? THE 400 BLOWS 35mm (18:25) + CELINE & JULIE GO BOATING 35mm (19:45) at the Prince Charles. DARK RIVER + Q&A with Clio Barnard presented by Birds Eye View at Picturehouse Central (18:30). LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM at The Alibi (19:00 – free!).
TUE 13
CAUGHT BY THE RIVER screens at The Horse Hospital (19:00):
This evening of film, music and spoken word includes DEAD FLOWS THE DON: “mixing moving image, original music and story telling, David Bramwell takes a musical journey up the Don to uncover the occult secrets of our waterways”.
PRIDE + PANEL screens at Genesis Cinema (20:40):
The People’s Film Club, Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Fest and Genesis present a special screening of PRIDE: “an incredible story of queer solidarity in Thatcher’s Britain”. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion focusing on “Queer solidarity: the 1980s and now” featuring the original activists from Lesbians & Gays Support the Miners whose characters feature in the film, as well as activists from Lesbians & Gays Support the Migrants, who do similar activist work.
THE SERVANT + Q&A screens at Wimbledon Film Club (20:20):
A story of the British class system and signs of the erosion of its rigidity in 1960’s London as manservant Barrett insinuates himself in the life of aristocratic Tony and begins to exert control – will Tony be able to stand up to the increasing menace of his servant? Q&A with film historian Melvyn Stokes.
Looking for something different (A–Z)? HELLRAISER at Deptford Cinema (19:30). I GOT LIFE! + Q&A at Picturehouse Central (18:30). MAKALA at Picturehouse Central (18:30). OUTSIDE THE LAW at Richmond Film Society (20:00).
WED 14
KEVIN BROWNLOW’S 9.5mm SHOW screens at The Cinema Museum (19:30):
Kennington Bioscope present a further sampling from Kevin Brownlow’s extensive collection of vintage 9.5mm prints. Programme includes a five-reel print of CASANOVA (1927), directed by Alexandre Volkoff and starring Ivan Mozzhukhin, Suzanne Bianchetti and Diana Karenne. This spectacular production was shot on location in Venice and was one of the few tinted prints ever released by 9.5mm distributor Pathescope. It’s also quite risqué for the time!
THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER screens at Screen25 (19:45):
Yorgos Lanthimos returns with a disturbing thriller inspired by Greek mythology. THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER is a dark comedy hinging on a extremely individualistic family, whose apparent perfection is cracked by the sinister intentions of a mysterious young man.
STRAIN ANDROMEDA THE screens at Close-Up (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).
Looking for something different (A–Z)? CALL ME BY YOUR NAME presented by Deeper Into Movies at Moth Club (19:30). REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE presented by Crofton Park Pictures at Rivoli Ballrooms (20:30). YOU’VE GOT MAIL 35mm at The Prince Charles (20:45).
THU 15
THE LEGACY OF RICHARD MATHESON’S ‘I AM LEGEND’ screens at The Horse Hospital (19:00):
Richard Matheson’s novel I Am Legend (1954) is a recognized classic of science fiction and horror. It has been adapted many times in films such as THE LAST MAN ON EARTH (1964), THE OMEGA MAN (1971), and I AM LEGEND (2007). Instructor Stacey Abbott considers how this text marks a key transformative moment within the evolution of the horror genre on film.
PERFORMANCE 35mm + INTRO + SALON screens at Genesis Cinema (18:40):
After killing a rival in self-defense, hoodlum Chas (James Fox) must flee both from the law and from his boss, Harry Flowers. He eventually moves into a house owned by Turner (Mick Jagger), a former rock star who lives with female companions Pherber (Anita Pallenberg) and Lucy (Michele Breton). Chas and Turner initially clash, but Turner becomes fascinated with Chas’ life as a criminal. Through drugs and a series of psychological battles with Turner, Chas emerges a different man. Presented by Rochester Kino.
THE RED SHOES screens at The Castle Cinema (20:45):
CINE-REAL 16mm presents the Powell & Pressburger classic, handpicked by their audience. Under the authoritarian rule of charismatic ballet impressario Boris Lermontov, his proteges realize the full promise of their talents, but at a price: utter devotion to their art and complete loyalty to Lermontov himself. Under his near-obsessive guidance, young ballerina Victoria Page is poised for superstardom, but earns Lermontov’s scorn when she falls in love.
Looking for something different (A–Z)? DARK RIVER + Q&A with Clio Barnard presented by Birds Eye View at Genesis Cinema (20:30). DAZED & CONFUSED at Deptford Cinema (19:30). FIGHT CLUB presented by Crofton Park Pictures at Rivoli Ballrooms (20:30). MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA at Phoenix Cinema (10:30). PROUD MARY presented by The New Black at Stratford Picturehouse (20:30). SAFETY LAST! at The Prince Charles (18:45). WOMAN OF THE DUNES at BFI (20:40).
NOW SHOWING: MUSEUM SHOWS
EXHIBITIONS (by event/venue)
BL CK B X: SEAMUS HARAHAN – SHINEY WET STONES screens at LUX Moving Image (until 10 MAR 2018 – FREE, check for times):
A body of video works by 2015 Jarman Award-winning artist, Seamus Harahan.
LUX and Catalyst Arts present LOOKING ASIDE (10 MAR 15:00 – tickets £5/£3 concs.), a screening programme curated by Catalyst Arts and Seamus Harahan on the occasion of his BL CK B X exhibition.
COUNTER INVESTIGATIONS: FORENSIC ARCHITECTURE at ICA (until 06 MAY):
There are two exciting “non-academic lectures” this week by Lebanese playwright and artist Rabih Mroué. PIXELATED REVOLUTION (13 MAR 18:15) address the impact of the viral sharing of mobile phone documentation after the Arab Spring of 2011. SAND IN THE EYES (14 MAR 18:15) explores the image politics of Islamist recruitment videos.
HE XIANGYU: EVIDENCE screens at White Cube Bermondsey (until 08 APR – FREE, check for times):
White Cube presents an exhibition of He Xiangyu at Bermondsey, including his feature length film, THE SWIM (2017), as well as new installation, sculpture and video. THE SWIM will be screened twice daily in the auditorium (TUE to SAT at 11:00 & 15:00 and once on SUN at 15:00).
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. Installations include Lines in the Sand, The Juniper Tree and Reanimation.
IAN CHENG screens at the Serpentine Galleries (until 28 MAY – FREE, check with the gallery for opening days/times):
Artist Ian Cheng likens his live simulations to ‘a computer game that plays itself’, testing the capacity of humans to relate to continual change. Meet his new AI species, BOB (evolving in real time from 6 March to 22 April).
PATRICK HOUGH, JOHN SKOOG, and ØRJAN AMUNDSEN screens at The Whitechapel Gallery (until 01 APR – FREE, check for times):
A selection of artists from The Whitechapel’s ARTISTS’ FILM INTERNATIONAL partnership of moving image galleries. The 2018 edition focuses on the theme of truth. Each of the selected artists explore the relationship between fact and fiction.
SANDRA PERRY: TYPHOON COMING ON screens at Serpentine Galleries (until 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.
TACITA DEAN: PORTRAIT screens at the National Portrait Gallery (15 MAR to 28 MAY – Tickets £14/£12.50 concession, check with the gallery for opening days/times):
This major new exhibition will focus on portraiture primarily through the medium of 16mm film. The exhibition will be the first in the gallery’s history to be devoted to the medium of film, and also reveals Tacita Dean’s own longstanding and personal interest in portraiture as a genre.
NOW SHOWING: MUSEUM SHOWS
SEASONS (by event/venue)
ANIMATION 2018 screens at BFI Southbank (until DEC):
BFI continues a yearlong celebration of animation with WALLACE & GROMIT: THE RESTORED SHORTS + Q&A with Aardman Co-Founder David Sproxton (11 MAR 13:30).
CLAIRE DENIS screens at Deptford Cinema (until 11 MAR):
The season dedicated to the French filmmaker continues with WHITE MATERIAL (11 MAR 19:00).
DZIGA-VERTOV GROUP screens at Close-Up (until 27 MAR):
This programme features seven films that serve as examples of Jean-Luc Godard and Jean-Pierre Gorin’s revolutionary project to combine documentary, formal innovation and radical politics. Screening this week: STRUGGLE IN ITALY (15 MAR 19:30).
ESSENTIAL CINEMA XI screens at Close-Up (10 to 29 MAR):
Close-Up resurrects their much-loved Essential Cinema programme, an ongoing series of films that have shaped the history and art of cinema. Projecting this week are: a Jean Vigo double-bill TAKE TWO: L’ATALANTE / ZÉRO DE CONDUITE (10 MAR 19:00); and, AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD (11 MAR 20:00).
GIRLFRIENDS 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 short and there’s a good smattering of 35mm. This week, you can try: POISON IVY + INTRO by Anna Bogutskaya & Olivia Howe (09 MAR 20:30); HAPPY HOUR + INTRO by Kate Taylor & Pascale Moyse (10 MAR 13:30); GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (11 MAR 18:00); NOW & THEN (11 MAR 20:20); GIRLFRIENDS (11 & 13 MAR); DAISIES (16 MAR 20:20).
HEDY LAMARR ON SCREEN screens at BFI Southbank (until 18 MAR):
Following the hugely popular premiere of BOMBSHELL: THE HEDY LAMARR STORY (which enjoys a grind show run until 15 MAR), BFI screens a limited run of her movies, including: ECSTASY (09 & 17 MAR); EXPERIMENT PERILOUS (11 & 14 MAR); and, MY FAVOURITE SPY (12 & 18 MAR).
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 this week’s THELMA & LOUISE (09 MAR 19:00), screened in partnership with the Women’s Equality Party Ealing.
INGMAR BERGMAN screens at BFI Southbank (until end MAR):
Celebrating 100 years since the master filmmaker’s birth, this ‘definitive’ season starts to draw to a close. This month’s theme is PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS… which looks at the artist’s role in the world and continues with a screening of SAWDUST & TINSEL (14 MAR 20:25). THE MAGIC FLUTE returns for a grind show run (15 to 21 MAR).
JODIE FOSTER SELECTROSPECTIVE screens at The Prince Charles (10 MAR to 21 APR):
Prince Charles celebrates “the brilliant career of one of cinema’s most talented of all time”. First up are TAXI DRIVER 35mm (10 MAR 15:30) and ALICE DOESN’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE 35mm (13 MAR 20:45), which is also a PCC Member’s Event if that applies to you…
VAULT FESTIVAL screens at VAULT (until 18 MAR):
This year’s Vault festival includes a number of excellent film events including LONDON SHORT FILM FESTIVAL SHOWCASE (11 MAR 15:00).
WALERIAN BOROWCZYK: OBSCURE PLEASURES screens at Close-Up (09 to 23 MAR):
Close-Up begins a new season dedicated to “master craftsman, Dadaist prankster, and unrepentant sensualist” Walerian Borowczyk. This week, you can see STORY OF SIN + THE PHONOGRAPH (09 MAR 19:30) and an evening of WALERIAN BOROWCZYK SHORTS (13 MAR 19:30).
#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.
NOW SHOWING: MUSEUM SHOWS
FILM FESTIVALS (by date/duration)
Film festivals projecting this week:
- Women in Activism (03 to 24 MAR)
- Cinema Made In Italy (07 to 11 MAR)
- Human Rights Watch (07 to 16 MAR)
- Kinoteka (07 to 29 MAR)
- Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour (13 to 24 MAR)
- DYSPLA International Moving Image Festival (14 to 18 MAR)
- UK Asian Film Festival (14 to 25 MAR)
Find out what’s on where with our handy roundup.
NOW SHOWING: GRIND SHOWS
REGULAR RUNS & MAINSTREAM MARVELS (by title)
BOMBSHELL: THE HEDY LAMARR STORY screens at Bertha DocHouse (09 to 15 MAR):
Hollywood star Hedy Lamarr was known as the world’s most beautiful woman – Snow White and Cat Woman were both based on her iconic look. However, her arresting looks and glamorous life stood in the way of her being given the credit she deserved as an ingenious inventor whose pioneering work helped revolutionize modern communication. Other cinemas available.
PLOT 35 screens at ICA (09 to 22 MAR):
Director Eric Caravaca explores a place that was never mentioned in his family, a place where his elder sister, who died aged three, is buried. Caravaca’s parents never spoke about her, never mentioned her to the rest of the family, never kept a single photograph of her. A chronicle of a forgotten life turns into a gripping investigation of a painful family past and a universal exploration of existence, death and intimacy.
SWEET COUNTRY screens at Bernie Grant Arts Centre (09 to 05 MAY):
An aged Aboriginal farmhand kills a white man in self-defence and flees with his family across the harsh and rugged outback – but will they be able to outrun the posse hunting them down? A visually ravishing film about frontier justice in Australia.
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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: STRAIN ANDROMEDA THE (1992).