NOW SHOWING: LONDON SCREEN GUIDE w/c 03.11.17

RADIANT CIRCUS hunts out the best independent movies, film events and gallery screenings in London for the week ahead*. Here’s our SCREEN GUIDE for the week 03 NOV to 09 NOV 2017.


NOW SHOWING: This week (as every week!), there are some excellent screenings from indie promotors and programmers across London. We (really) like the look of Science Fiction Theatre’s anniversary screening of QUATERMASS AND THE PIT (07 NOV) – which becomes our featured film event of the week – and Heavenly Films’ night with Kendo Nagasaki, Sir Peter Blake and Mary Dickinson, MASTERS OF THE CANVASS (09 NOV). All details below.

QUICK LINKS: SINGLE-O EXHIBITS (one-off film events) // MUSEUM SHOWS (exhibitions, seasons & festivals) // GRIND SHOWS (regular runs & mainstream marvels).

> Let us know what you’ll be seeing – and anything we’ve missed – in the comments.


Before we go any further…

URGENT: The Cinema Museum is under threat as their landlords have put the building and surrounding site up for sale. Show your support by signing the petition HERE or by making a donation HERE. Thank you.


NOW SHOWING: SINGLE-O EXHIBITS

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

NOW SHOWING: CRUEL INTENTIONS screens at Prince Charles Cinema (03 NOV).
CRUEL INTENTIONS screens at Prince Charles Cinema (03 NOV).

FRIDAY 03 NOVEMBER 2017

Prince Charles Cinema: CRUEL INTENTIONS (21:00)

Grab yourself a free beverage and start your screen week in style with this acerbic cult classic. The definition of ‘guilty pleasure’.

NOW SHOWING: MATINEE screens at Genesis Cinema (04 NOV).
MATINEE screens at Genesis Cinema (04 NOV).

SATURDAY 04 NOVEMBER 2017

BFI: CAT PEOPLE + THE CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE (15:45).

A double-bill of a B-movie landmark and its lyrical ‘sequel.’ Repeats later in the month with a special intro from BFI Programmer & Final Girl, Anna Bogutskaya (21 NOV 20:15).

BFI: THE FILMS OF EXPO67 + DISCUSSION (20:15)

Footage from Montreal’s World Exhibition, as well as two new films inspired by the expo, screens as part of BFI’s always-adventurous EXPERIMENTA strand (‘artist film and alternative moving image culture’).

Close-Up: FOR EXAMPLE, THE PHILIPPINES (04 & 05 NOV)

A one-off weekender dedicated to American documentary director John Gianvito who will be present to talk about his work. VAPOR TRAIL (CLARK) (04 NOV 13:00) and WAKE (SUBIC) (05 NOV 13:00) will be followed by a FREE master-class on political cinema and an ‘in conversation’ event (06 NOV – both at the Centre for Film & Ethics, Queen Mary University of London).

Genesis Cinema: REEL LOVE: A DAY OF MOVIES ABOUT MOVIES (from 11:50)

Spend a day indulging your love of cinema. Screenings include THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO, ED WOOD and CINEMA PARADISO. There’s also a bar screening of RADIANT CIRCUS favourite, Joe Dante’s MATINEE. All-in tickets cost £15.

ICA: FAR FROM HOME (16:00)

This screening of the Iranian exile’s 1975 film is a prelude to SOHRAB SHAHID SALESS: EXILES, a new season taking place at Goethe-Institut London and Close-Up (9 NOV to 19 JAN 2018).

Moth Club: AKIRA + GHOST IN THE SHELL (13:00)

Deeper Into Movies projects two essential animes.

Stow Film Lounge: HIT SO HARD (20:00).

A screening by local musician Amie McBye to encourage more women to get into drumming. The doc focuses on Hole drummer Patty Schemel and features rare footage of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love. Grab yourself a slice of pizza.

Whitechapel Gallery: PALESTINE NOW: DOCUMENTS OF A DISAPPEARANCE 1917-2017 (11:30)

This event marks 100 years since the Balfour Declaration by tracing the legacy of colonialism through films, readings, and special guest presentations.

NOW SHOWING: THE EX-MRS BRADFORD screens at The Cinema Museum (05 NOV).
THE EX-MRS BRADFORD screens at The Cinema Museum (05 NOV).

SUNDAY 05 NOVEMBER 2017

The Cinema Museum: THE EX-MRS BRADFORD (14:30)

A 1936 comedy-mystery from RKO starring William Powell and Jean Arthur.

NOW SHOWING: OF GREAT EVENTS & ORDINARY PEOPLE screens at The Institute of Light (06 NOV).
OF GREAT EVENTS & ORDINARY PEOPLE screens at The Institute of Light (06 NOV).

MONDAY 06 NOVEMBER 2017

The Alibi: FANTASTIC MR FOX (19:00)

Grab yourself a freebie c/o the regular film club night in Dalston.

The Institute of Light: OF GREAT EVENTS & ORDINARY PEOPLE (19:00)

Otherfield offer a FREE screening of Raoul Ruiz’s 1979 documentary, a film they say is “like a cool shower that blows away the cobwebs and refreshes the eyes and ears”.

LUX: Roman Štětina: DAYS, WEEKS, YEARS (14:30)

A FREE talk & screening from LUX artist in residence Roman Štětina about his artistic practice.

Picturehouse Central: ETERNITY & A DAY in 35mm (18:30)

Another chance to sink into the long films of Greek maker Theo Angelopoulos (also enjoying a three film retrospective at Deptford Cinema). This Palme d’Or winner is part of Picturehouse’s Bruno Ganz retrospective.

NOW SHOWING: THE FLORIDA PROJECT screens at BFI (07 NOV).
THE FLORIDA PROJECT screens at BFI (07 NOV).

TUESDAY 07 NOVEMBER 2017

BFI: PREVIEW: THE FLORIDA PROJECT (18:20)

Spilling over from the London Film Festival, TANGERINE director Sean Baker’s latest film is a “pastel-coloured ode to a forgotten America”.

BFI: THE CAMERAMAN (18:30)

100 years since his first collab with Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, settle down with Buster Keaton’s “funny tale of a newsreel cameraman’s forlorn attempts to impress a girl”.

Genesis Cinema: BRINGING IMAGE TO LIFE WITH CHU-LI SHEWRING AND ZHE WU (18:30)

From Film London and The Wapping Project, a conversation about “the hidden labours of sound designers” featuring two women shortlisted for the 2017 Jules Wright Prize for Female Creative Technician.

ICA: COMUNISMO FUTURO + INTRO + Q&A with director Andrea Gropplero and journalist Ash Sarkar (18:30)

Mark the centennial anniversary of the Soviet Revolution with this international premiere of a new documentary.

Prince Charles Cinema: QUATERMASS & THE PIT (20:45)

Science Fiction Theatre kicks off this anniversary screening with a talk from Andy Murray, FIVE MILLION YEARS TO BOREHAMWOOD, about the “genesis of Professor Bernard Quatermass and the many TV serials and spin-off cinematic incarnations that bear his name”.

NOW SHOWING: THE RIVER screens at BFI (08 NOV).
THE RIVER screens at BFI (08 NOV).

WEDNESDAY 08 NOVEMBER 2017

BFI: THE RIVER + INTRO by Geoff Andrew (18:10)

Jean Renoir’s coming-of-age film centres on the teenage daughter of an English family living in Bengal.

The Cinema Museum: THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS (19:30)

Clarence Brown and Maurice Tourneur’s silent classic includes live accompaniment and extra shorts.

DocHouse: THE LAST ANIMALS + Q&A with director Kate Brooks plus guests (18:30)

This new doc about the killing of African elephants and rhinos is “a sweeping and sobering exposé of an underreported crisis”.

NOW SHOWING: BOBBY YEAH screens at The Horse Hospital (09 NOV).
BOBBY YEAH will be discussed at The Horse Hospital (09 NOV).

THURSDAY 09 NOVEMBER 2017

BFI: PREVIEW: INGRID GOES WEST (18:15);

Another graduate of the London Film Festival, this features Aubrey Plaza and Elizabeth Olsen in a “dark satire on the cult of social media”.

The Cinema Museum: CASTE in 35mm (19:30)

A rare screening of Michael Powell’s long-forgotten first feature.

Genesis Cinema: THE WICKER MAN + DON’T LOOK NOW (18:45)

A double bill from the Folk Horror Cinema Club.

The Horse Hospital: THE MISKATONIC INSTITUTE: OF HORROR STUDIES – INTO THE DARK: THE MONSTERS AND NIGHTMARES OF HORROR ANIMATION (19:00)

Head underground for the next Miskatonic instalment presented by Nag Vladermersky (London International Animation Festival) looking at the oft-ignored subject of animated scares.

Regent Street Cinema: MASTERS OF THE CANVAS + Q&A with Kendo Nagasaki, Sir Peter Blake and Mary Dickinson (20:00).

Heavenly Films’ bonkers but brilliant sounding evening revisits pop artist Peter Blake’s fantasy about being the mysterious masked wrestler Kendo Nagasaki.

Whirled Cinema: DAISIES (19:00)

No Bollocks Film Club takes over at Loughborough Junction for their inaugural screening of a 1966 slice of countercultural avant-garde cinema. Hang around afterwards for a drink and discussion about their programme.


NOW SHOWING: MUSEUM SHOWS

EXHIBITIONS / SEASONS / FESTIVALS (by event/venue)

NOW SHOWING: KINETTA screens at ICA (04 NOV).
KINETTA screens at ICA (04 NOV).

BFI: Headline thriller WHO CAN YOU TRUST? includes an Asian cinema double bill of HIGH & LOW // MEMORIES OF MURDER (05 NOV 16:50 & 19:50). INDIA ON FILM now shifts focus to DEATH & DECEPTION with NH10 (04 & 08 NOV), an “edge-of-your-seat feminist thriller”.

Barbican: The excellent CINEMA MATTERS strand comes to an end with a focus on TIME, MEMORY, DREAM. This week’s screening is Chantal Akerman’s JEANNE DIELMAN, 23, QUAI DU COMMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLES (05 NOV 14:00),an epic feminist story set over three days. PURPLE is a multi-screen video work about climate change by John Akomfrah and can be seen for FREE in the Curve exhibition space (until 07 JAN 2018).

Doc’n Roll Film Festival (until 19 NOV): The fourth London edition of the music doc fest includes plenty of delicious screenings + Q&As. We (really) like the look of London premiere THE DOOM DOC – “An extreme film about extreme music” – (05 NOV 15:30, Hackney Picturehouse), SUZANNE CIANI – A LIFE IN WAVES + Q&A with the electronic music pioneer (07 NOV 18:30, The Institute of Light), and REVOLUTION OF SOUND: TANGERINE DREAM (08 NOV 20:30, Barbican) which gets a UK premiere.

Close-Up: head to Shoreditch for a new retrospective CLOSE-UP ON ANDREI TARKOVSKY (07 to 21 NOV). Screening this week are: STALKER (7 NOV 19:00) and IVAN’S CHILDHOOD (09 NOV 19:30).

Crystal Palace International Film Festival (until 18 NOV): Big top attractions include SHORT FILM NIGHT (03 NOV 19:30) Anerley Town Hall), ANIMATION NIGHT (04 NOV 19:30, Stanley Halls) – billed as their best ever! – and feature (plus more shorts) UNDOCUMENT (08 NOV 19:30, Stanley Halls), for four stories of “longing, love, immigration & identity”.

Film Africa (until 05 NOV):  We like the look of the following… I WILL NOT BEAR TOMORROW (03 NOV 19:00, Bernie Grant Arts Centre) is about an Ethiopian football coach struggling to train his team as government oppression increases. I SING OF A WELL (04 NOV 18:00, Rich Mix) tells of a young African prince struggling to come to terms with the shame of having his kingdom sold to slave traders. FATMA 75 (04 NOV 19:00, South London Gallery) is the first non-fiction work by a woman from Tunisia and a feminist essay-film.

French Film Festival (until 17 DEC): There’s a (really) strong focus on French creativity at this year’s festival (screenings listed here at Ciné Lumière). You can probably guess what you’re getting with: RODIN (03 NOV 20:45), GAUGIN (05 NOV 16:20), MARIE CURIE: THE COURAGE OF KNOWLEDGE + Q&A with director Marie Noëlle (07 NOV 18:30) and new doc THE PARIS OPERA (08 NOV 18:30). THE WORKSHOP (04 NOV 16:00) is about a writing workshop for young people in a social inclusion programme. REDOUBTABLE (08 NOV 20:40) dramatises Jean-Luc Godards’ crisis following the critical reception of his film LA CHINOISE. Finally, BARBARA (09 NOV 18:00) is a film about the making of a film about the titular icon of French song (got that?).

ICA: YORGOS LANTHIMOS FOCUS (04 to 12 NOV) is a new retrospective featuring all four of the Greek director’s earlier works. Up this week are KINETTA (04 NOV 15:30) and DOGTOOTH (05 NOV 15:30). SETH PRICE CIRCA 1981 continues exhibition of the American artist’s film and video work (daily until 07 JAN 2018.

Korean Film Festival (until 08 NOV): Close-Up continues its engagement with director Bae Chang-ho for a Q&A after his classic film THE DREAM (03 NOV 20:00). Their focus then shifts to Jung Yoon-suk, a documentary maker acclaimed for NON FICTION DIARY (04 NOV 19:30) – which screens with several shorts – and BAMSEOM PIRATES SEOUL INFERNO (05 NOV 19:30). New K-horror THE MIMIC (07 NOV 21:10) gets screaming at Regent Street Cinema where you can also find two programmes of short films from the Korean MIS-EN-SCENE FESTIVAL (05 NOV 18:30 & 20:30– book the double bill to get a discount). LUX’s programme of artists’ video concludes with KOO DONGHEE (04 NOV 14:00). Back at Regent Street, A DIRTY CARNIVAL (07 NOV 18:30) immerses you in the festival’s focus on KOREAN NOIR and there are still tickets for the Closing Night Gala, THE FIRST LAP (08 NOV 18:30).

Tate Modern: TROPICÁLIA AND BEYOND: DIALOGUES IN BRAZILIAN FILM HISTORY (09 to 12 NOV) is one of Tate’s COUNTER HISTORIES. This one explores “Brazil’s cinematic past in fresh conversation with the present” and is inspired by the short-lived Brazilian cultural movement known as Tropicália. There are seven programmes: a series ticket is available (£35).


NOW SHOWING: GRIND SHOWS

REGULAR RUNS & MAINSTREAM MARVELS (by title)

NOW SHOWING: THE MAESTRO, IN SEARCH OF THE LAST MUSIC screens at JW3.
THE MAESTRO, IN SEARCH OF THE LAST MUSIC screens at JW3.

THE MAESTRO, IN SEARCH OF THE LAST MUSIC at JW3 (05 to 09 NOV)

A doc about Francesco Lotoro, a professional pianist who has scoured Europe to discover and record the music from more than 4000 scores composed clandestinely in World War II camps.

THELMA at ICA (03 to 09 NOV)

“A supernatural thriller about a young woman who, upon falling in love for the first time, discovers that she has terrifying and inexplicable powers.”

WET WOMAN IN THE WILD at ICA (03 to 07 NOV)

“A free-associative sex comedy that includes a burlesqued threesome and a coupling that literally brings down the house.”


Join the hunt for adventurous moving pictures.

More places to #shelterfromthestorm in next week’s GUIDE.


*THE SMALL PRINT: As accurate as we could make it. Apologies for any mistakes. Updates & corrections to the online version only. We try to only include events you can get tickets for at the time of posting. Please click quickly.

Featured image: QUATERMASS AND THE PIT (1967).