NOW SHOWING: LONDON SCREEN GUIDE w/c 16.02.18
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 16 to 22 FEB 2018.
FRI 16 // SAT 17 // SUN 18 // MON 19 // TUE 20 // WED 21 // THU 22
Welcome to our weekly screen guide where we recommend moving pictures that might excite you.
Before we get started, regular stars of these posts – and the only original format projectionists we know with a cult following – CINÉ-REAL 16mm are consulting over which film to screen next. Vote on Instagram and then reap the rewards at The Castle Cinema on 07 MAR.
Back to this week… BFI FLARE launches its programme with a sold out event at BFI Southbank (21 FEB). We’ll be there looking for down list gems to rival last year’s tentacular oddity, THE UNTAMED.
As BLACK PANTHER continues to blaze a trail, head to Genesis Cinema for discussion with: Orbital Comics Podcast Team (17 FEB 18:00); Black History Walks/African Odysseys (18 FEB various and 22 FEB 18:00); and, star of the movie, Letitia Wright (20 FEB 18:00).
Elsewhere, you can revisit some of cinema’s earlier black superstars with Soul Jazz Record’s screening of HELL UP IN HARLEM (16 FEB) at Regent Street and SHAFT + INTRO at BFI (21 FEB 18:10).
For a splendid Sunday, do the DIY double at Ciné Lumière as part of their SOUND OF MUSIC season. THE SHAPE OF WATER with talk by composer Alexandre Desplat is followed by PEAU D’ÂNE aka Donkey Skin (18 FEB). See our MUSEUM SHOWS section for details.
And finally, we profiled the Save The Cinema Museum fundraisers (17 FEB) in our monthly roundup, so our featured attraction of the week is a double-bill close to our homocore hearts: Deeper Into Movies presents BURROUGHS: THE MOVIE and NAKED LUNCH at Moth Club (18 FEB). We look forward to seeing you there.
> We launched our new monthly memberships this week. Get great rewards and help us continue to expand our coverage of London’s alternative screen attractions at Patreon.
#SCREENGUIDE: We highlight up to three SINGLE-O EXHIBITS (one-off events) each day and link to others in our LONDON EVENTS listing. There’s 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 16
HELL UP IN HARLEM + LIVE DJ SETS screens at Regent Street Cinema (19:30):
The underworld king of Harlem works his rackets like a Robin Hood; doing continuous battle with dishonest politicians, the police and people in his employ… even his father and ex-wife. Head to the bar early for special drinks offers and live DJ sets from Soul Jazz Records.
SAT 17
ARTISTS’ FILM CLUB: I HEARD YOU LAUGHING + PANEL screens at ICA (18:00):
I HEARD YOU LAUGHING is an ongoing project conceived by curators and writers Myriam Ben Salah and Martha Kirszenbaum. This screening features selected music videos from iconic Middle Eastern musicians of the 1950s, 60s and 70s. I HEARD YOU LAUGHING: LIVE follows at 20:00 with music and performances.
FRENCH IMPRESSIONS: A WOMAN’S LIFE + TALK screens at Watermans (13:00):
A woman’s life is an elegant and intriguing adaption of a Maupassant story that shows how far the French costume drama has come this century. Jon Davies explains how this happened with other superb examples of French heritage cinema in a talk before the film.
SAVE THE CINEMA MUSEUM CAMPAIGN FUND presents JACK L. WARNER: THE LAST MOGUL and THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD at The Cinema Museum (15:00 & 18:15):
A rare screening of a feature length documentary about the man whose studio created many of Hollywood’s timeless classics and, one of those classics projected from a 35mm print. Buy tickets for both and get an exclusive LOONY TOONS SHOW for free! All proceeds go to the Save The Cinema Museum Campaign Fund.
> Looking for an alternative? Find more great screens in our LONDON EVENTS listing.
SUN 18
BURROUGHS: THE MOVIE + NAKED LUNCH screens at Moth Club (15:30):
Deeper Into Movies presents a celebration of the legend. BURROUGHS: THE MOVIE is a one-of-a-kind nonfiction portrait that features appearances by fellow artists including Allen Ginsberg, Herbert Huncke, Patti Smith and Terry Southern. NAKED LUNCH is Cronenberg’s adaptation of Burroughs’s hallucinatory, once-thought-unfilmable novel.
Hang around for A CLOCKWORK ORANGE at 20:00.
EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL IS FAR AWAY screens at Rio Cinema (13:00):
An exclusive preview of the LA Film Festival award-winning independent feature debut of the writer/director/design team of Pete Ohs & Andrea Sisson. A film which has plenty to say as it quietly unfolds its minimalist odyssey of a man, a woman and a robot.
GUILTY OF ROMANCE screens at Deptford Cinema (17:00):
The first of Sion Sono’s work to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, this neon-noir is a feast for the senses, a murder investigation with hallucinatory visuals and tricksy narrative swings that take in love, sex, shame, domesticity and death. The final part of Sion Sono’s Hate Trilogy.
> Looking for an alternative? Find more great screens in our LONDON EVENTS listing.
MON 19
HAROLD & MAUDE screens at The Prince Charles (18:35):
This cult classic pairs Bud Cort as a dead-pan disillusioned 20-year-old obsessed with suicide and Ruth Gordon as a fun-loving 80-year-old eccentric. They meet at a funeral, and develop a taboo romantic relationship, in which they explore the tired theme of the meaning of life with a fresh perspective.
THE SONG OF COTTON screens at BFI Southbank (18:20):
UK premiere of Zhu Yuancheng’s thoughtful and moving tale about a young woman who takes on a job as carer of an ageing boxer suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
THIRTEENTH FLOOR + TALK ‘MIND UPLOADING’ screens at The Institute Of Light (19:15):
Science Fiction Theatre presents “One of the most beautiful science fiction thrillers ever filmed, and one of the most absorbing” (San Diego Union-Tribune). The film will be preceded by a talk from Murray Shanahan, who will consider whether consciousness really can be transferred from one medium (such as the human body) to another (such as a computer).
> Looking for an alternative? Find more great screens in our LONDON EVENTS listing.
TUE 20
IL COLORE NASCOSTO DELLE COSE screens at Regent Street Cinema (19:30):
CinemaItaliaUK presents a poignant and moving story by Silvio Soldini – a further step into the world of blind people after his successful documentary PER ALTRI OCCHI aka Different Eyes. Followed by a Q&A with the acclaimed director.
COMING OF AGE: A New History Of British Animation Part Two screens at BFI Southbank (18:15):
In post-WWII Britain animation flourished as both an industry and an art form. This programme highlights the work of Halas & Batchelor and Bob Godfrey alongside some less familiar players.
RIFIFI screens at The Prince Charles (20:45):
Out of prison after a five-year stretch, jewel thief Tony (Jean Servais) turns down a quick job his friend Jo (Carl Mohner) offers him, until he discovers that his old girlfriend Mado (Marie Sabouret) has become the lover of local gangster Pierre Grutter (Marcel Lupovici) during Tony’s absence.
> Looking for an alternative? Find more great screens in our LONDON EVENTS listing.
WED 21
THE EXTRA GIRL + INTRO + SHORTS screens at The Cinema Museum (19:30):
Kennington Bioscope presents a 1923 comedy starring Mabel Normand, directed by F. Richard Jones and produced by Mack Sennett. Normand plays a small town girl who travels to Hollywood to escape marriage, who dreams of becoming a motion picture star. Screening from a 16mm print and introduced by Kevin Brownlow. A programme of silent shorts precedes the main film.
HOW TO MAKE A PEARL + Q&A screens at Union Chapel (19:00):
Guardian Docs & Doc Heads present a preview screening of HOW TO MAKE A PEARL and a selection of other Guardian Docs including: DEARBORN, MICHIGAN; THE VALLEY REBELS; SECOND INNINGS; and, ERICA: MADE MAN. The Q&A features filmmakers and Charlie Phillips, Head of Documentaries at The Guardian.
NO NEWS TODAY: AYO AKINGBADE screens at ICA (18:45):
London-based artist-filmmaker Ayo Akingbade’s new film STREET 66 (2018) profiles the late Dora Boatemah, a Ghanaian housing activist from South London. The recently completed STREET 66 is shown alongside other short works selected by the artist and is followed by a conversation with Akingbade.
THE WORLDLY CAVE + Q&A with Zhou Tao screens at Tate Modern (18:30):
Chinese artist Zhou Tao presents the UK premiere of his stunningly surreal film THE WORLDLY CAVE [Fán Dòng], a series of eye-catching shots of communities of Hakka people positioned within vast natural and man-made landscapes around the globe.
> Looking for an alternative? Find more great screens in our LONDON EVENTS listing.
THU 22
PUNK & THE PISTOLS + Q&A with Paul Tickell & Jon Savage screens at Regent Street Cinema (19:30 & 20:00):
Heavenly Films in association with BBC Arena present the first cinema screening in over a decade of the 1995 Arena classic PUNK & THE PISTOLS. This is the rarely seen (and never broadcast) uncensored version. Followed by a Q&A with director Paul Tickell and Jon Savage, author of England’s Dreaming.
ROGER & ME screens at Phoenix Cinema (10:30):
This multi award-winning documentary is a highly personal, wryly humorous look at the closing of several General Motors plants in Flint, Michigan, the hometown of filmmaker Michael Moore, which resulted in the elimination of 35,000 jobs.
THE SECRETARY + INTRO + SALON screens at Genesis Cinema (18:50):
Nick Walker of Rochester Kino introduces the film and then follows it up with a discussion in the bar. Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a young woman with a history of severe emotional problems, is released into the care of her overbearing parents and begins a sadomasochistic relationship with her boss (James Spader).
> Looking for an alternative? Find more great screens in our LONDON EVENTS listing.
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. The exhibition will officially launch on 17 FEB with special opening event “Upon a strange path you are going” featuring a musical performance with Irish Traveller Thomas McCarthy (14:00 to 17:00).
IAN GILES: AFTER BUTT screens at Chelsea Space (until 02 MAR):
Chelsea Space presents a new film by Ian Giles exploring the cultural and social legacy of BUTT magazine (2001-2011); a publication made by and for gay men, noted for its iconic pink pages and candid interviews.
PATRICK HOUGH, JOHN SKOOG, and ØRJAN AMUNDSEN screens at The Whitechapel Gallery (until 01 APR – FREE, check for times):
A new selection of artists from The Whitechapel’s ARTISTS’ FILM INTERNATIONALpartnership 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.
patten: 3049 shows at Tenderpixel (until 03 MAR – FREE, check for times):
London duo patten reconfigures fragmentary background elements of film, literature, sound and set design collected from the world of modern sci-fi into a hallucinogenic and immersive audiovisual environment. The resulting space sets the stage for a positive future, asking; ‘how do we make it to 3049?’.
NOW SHOWING: MUSEUM SHOWS
SEASONS & FESTIVALS (by event/venue)
This complete retrospective finished a while ago but ICA seem to have slipped in a couple of extras. Grab them while you can: SOLARIS (17 FEB 20:20); MIRROR (21 FEB 21:00).
ANDREY ZVYAGINTSEV screens at BFI Southbank (until 22 FEB):
LOVELESS concludes its grind show run (until 22 FEB).
CLAIRE DENIS screens at Deptford Cinema (11 FEB to 18 MAR):
The seasons dedicated to the French filmmaker continues with BEAU TRAVAIL (18 FEB 19:30).
CULTURES OF RESISTANCE screens at Deptford Cinema (until 21 FEB):
Deptford concludes this short season with SYNTHETIC PLEASURES (21 FEB 20:00): “Is reality obsolete? Conceived as an electronic road movie, SYNTHETIC PLEASURES, directed by Iara Lee, investigates cutting-edge technologies and their influences on our culture.”
FOCUS ON BELGIAN CINEMA screens at Ciné Lumière (22 to 25 FEB):
This short season lifts the lid on Belgium’s “multicultural, environmentally conscious, at times cynical society, to portray an altogether modern view on the world we live in”. Things get kicked off with LET THE CORPSES TAN + Q&A with directors Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani (22 FEB 18:30).
GIRLFRIENDS screens at BFI Southbank (FEB & 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: COME BACK TO THE 5 & DIME JIMMY DEAN, JIMMY DEAN (16 FEB 18:10); ME WITHOUT YOU (17 & 20 FEB); and, ROMY & MICHELE’S HIGH SCHOOL REUNION (17 FEB 20:50).
INGMAR BERGMAN screens at BFI Southbank (until end MAR):
Celebrating 100 years since the master filmmaker’s birth, this ‘definitive’ season covers both big and small screen outings. Screenings are divided into strands reflecting Bergman’s preoccupations.
Followers of THE HUMAN CONDITION – “how humans cope with suffering, injustice, mortality and uncertainty” – should pick from: TORMENT (16 FEB 18:20); FROM THE LIFE OF THE MARIONETTES (16 FEB 20:40); IT RAINS ON OUR LOVE (17 FEB 18:20); THE SEVENTH SEAL (18 & 19 FEB); PRISON (22 FEB 20:30).
If WOMEN IN LOVE – “the experiences and emotional lives of women” – suits you more, pick from: CRIES AND WHISPERS (18 & 20 FEB); and, SO CLOSE TO LIFE (20 FEB 18:20). There’s also a free talk on this theme: BERGMAN’S PORTRAITS OF WOMEN (20 FEB 18:30).
Always fond of a double-bill, we like the look of docs FÅRÖ DOCUMENT & FÅRÖ DOCUMENT 1979 which get back-to-back outings (18 & 21 FEB). There’s a discount for doing the double.
MICHAEL HANEKE screens at Close-Up (until 28 FEB):
Close-Up continues a season dedicated to the Austrian auteur – “one of cinema’s most original, daring and controversial filmmakers” – which includes a lot of 35mm. Choose from: FUNNY GAMES (16 FEB 19:30); HIDDEN (17 FEB 17:00); HAPPY END (17 FEB 20:00); CODE UNKNOWN (18 FEB 15:00); THE PIANO TEACHER (18 FEB 20:00); TIME OF THE WOLF (20 FEB 19:30); 71 FRAGMENTS OF A CHRONOLOGY OF CHANCE (22 FEB 19:30).
If you’re Haneke crazy, the Picturehouse chain is screening HAPPY END as their next DISCOVER TUESDAY (20 FEB 18:30 Picturehouse Central – other Picturehouses available).
THE SOUND OF MUSIC screens at Ciné Lumière (until 25 FEB):
A series of screenings featuring film scores by French composers. A frontrunner at this year’s Academy Awards, the special screening of THE SHAPE OF WATER is preceded by a discussion with composer Alexandre Desplat (18 FEB 14:00). Also this week: LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (17 FEB 16:00); PEAU D’ÂNE aka Donkey Skin (18 FEB 17:00); COCO BEFORE CHANEL (18 FEB 20:00); and, THE GHOST WRITER (21 FEB 21:00).
There’s a similar emphasis on film music over at BFI where their always-on SCREEN CLASSICS strand focuses on films notable for their original soundtracks.
NOW SHOWING: GRIND SHOWS
REGULAR RUNS & MAINSTREAM MARVELS (by title)
BEFORE SUMMER ENDS screens at Bertha DocHouse (16 to 22 FEB):
A warm-hearted buddy movie and a comedy that deftly mixes documentary with improvised fiction, BEFORE SUMMER ENDS is also a tender portrait of young Iranian men as you’ve never seen them depicted before.
THE COLOUR OF POMEGRANATES screens at ICA (17 to 22 FEB):
One of cinema’s most revered and beautiful films, this masterpiece is not a conventional biography but a cinematic expression of the life and work of 18th century Armenian poet Sayat Nova, the ‘King of Songs’.
MAKALA screens at Bernie Grant Arts Centre (16 to 23 FEB):
A French documentary film directed by Emmanuel Gras, MAKALA follows the tribulations of a 28-year old farmer named Kasongo who earns a living through the back-breaking work of making charcoal. He dreams of being able to build a house for his wife, Lydie. A strikingly cinematic depiction of life in rural Congo.
SHALOM BOLLYWOOD: THE UNTOLD STORY OF INDIAN CINEMA screens at JW3 (22 to 28 FEB):
UKJF presents a feature length documentary about the all singing, all dancing history of the world’s largest film industry. When Indian cinema began 100 years ago it was taboo for Hindu and Islamic women to perform on screen, so Indian Jewish women took on female lead roles. However, because of their stage names people thought they were Muslims or Christians. Until now….
YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU screens at ICA (16 to 22 FEB):
In a therapist’s office, an estranged mother and daughter slowly begin to speak. As the conversation continues, old wounds and deeply buried emotions gradually surface. The therapist guides them carefully throughout, bridging the distance between them.
Join the hunt for adventurous moving pictures.
Never miss a frame with a new monthly membership at Patreon.
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for daily updates.
#shelterfromthestorm
*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: BURROUGHS: THE MOVIE (1983).