RADIANT CIRCUS is your handcrafted guide to London’s DIY, indie & alternative movie nights, film events & gallery screenings. Our DAILY UPDATE helps you find great films in London today*.

Find films in London today by: SINGLE-O EXHIBITS (one-off attractions) // MUSEUM SHOWS (several exhibits under one roof – seasons & festivals) // GRIND SHOWS (a selection of regular runs).

FEATURED ATTRACTION

RESPIRI d. Alfredo Fiorillo + Q&A with the director & producer Angela Prudenzi at Regent Street Cinema (12 MAR 19:30):

CinemaItaliaUK presents: “Following a mysterious incident, Francesco, a forty-year-old engineer, moves to his family villa on Lake Iseo with his young daughter. It is here that he discovers a mysterious presence in the house, thanks to the echo of the respirator that keeps it alive. But other, no less disturbing presences, seem to move around the villa…”

NEW AT RADIANT CIRCUS

Essay Film Festival: Filmemigration aus Nazi-Deutschland (1975) — Essay Film Festival: Filmemigration aus Nazi-Deutschland (01 APR).

Now approaching its fifth edition, The Essay Film Festival (22 MAR to 04 APR) is an essential element of London’s indie film calendar, offering fresh, surprising and often beguiling takes on documentary and experimental filmmaking. Read our guide to what’s still booking!
RADIANT CIRCUS is celebrating our first year of subscriber support by sharing some of our favourite discoveries from our voyages around London’s independent cinema scene. From pop-ups in gin palaces to floating cinemas & historic buildings, London is full of alternative places to catch a film (or two). Discover more #LDNindieFILM.

FILMS IN LONDON TODAY

SINGLE-O EXHIBITS

More Than Likely: A Celebration Of THE LIKELY LADS d. Michael Tuchner, 1976 + Q&A with Dick Clement & Ian La Frenais at The Prince Charles (12 MAR 18:30):

Includes a screening of the restored feature film THE LIKELY LADS (1976) and two recently recovered episodes from the original BBC TV series: A STAR IS BORN and FAR AWAY PLACES.

OUR WORLD — GAZA DREAMS d. Christine Garabedian, 2018 + Q&A with the director & series producer Linda Sills at The Cinema Museum (12 MAR 19:30):

The Kennington Bethlehem Link presents: “A powerful film about mental health in Gaza. With nearly two million people living in miserable conditions in Gaza, the Israeli blockade has taken its toll on mental health there. The film was produced for BBC Arabic and BBC World News.”

More films in London today (A – Z):

BLACKOUT Private View + INTRO by Julian Ross + Artist Tour at Ambika P3 (12 MAR 18:00 – Free!).
Born Digital + PANEL short film programme at BFI (12 MAR 15:30).
BOY ERASED d. Joel Edgerton, 2018 at JW3 (12 MAR 18:05).
CONEY ISLAND d. Walter Lang, 1943 at Phoenix Cinema (12 MAR 12:00).
THE FAVOURITE d. Yorgos Lanthimos, 2018 at ICA (12 MAR 16:10).
HIDDEN FIGURES d. Theodore Melfi, 2016 presented by Richmond Film Society at The Exchange (12 MAR 20:00).
IN BETWEEN d. Maysaloun Hamoud, 2016 presented by Wimbledon Film Club at Curzon Wimbledon (12 MAR 20:30).
LOLITA d. Stanley Kubrick, 1962 presented by Tufnell Park Film Club at The Lord Palmerston (12 MAR 20:00).
MASTER AND TATYANA d. Giedre Zickyte, 2014 at DocHouse (12 MAR 18:00).
SAUVAGE d. Camille Vidal-Nacquet, 2019 presented by Fringe! Flings at Genesis Cinema (12 MAR 18:30).
WAR MADE EASY: HOW PRESIDENTS & PUNDITS KEEP SPINNING US TO DEATH d. Loretta Alper & Jeremy Earp, 2007 + SHORTS presented by London Socialist Film Co-op at Bolivar Hall (12 MAY 11:00).

MUSEUM SHOWS 1 // SEASONS

Films in London today: CHRONICLE OF ANNA MAGDALENA BACH at BFI (12 MAR).

AND THE NOMINEES ARE… OSCARS 2019 at The Prince Charles (until 04 MAY):

FREE SOLO d. Jimmy Chin & Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, 2018 (12 MAR 13:30 & 16:00).
SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE d. Rodney Rothman, Bob Persichetti & Peter Ramsey, 2018 (12 MAR 13:00).

BIG SCREEN CLASSICS: AND THE ACADEMY AWARD DIDN’T GO TO… at BFI Southbank (FEB):

RESERVOIR DOGS d. Quentin Tarantino, 1992 (12 MAR 20:55).

DEREK JARMAN SELECTROSPECTIVE at The Prince Charles (until 16 APR):

JUBILEE d. Derek Jarman, 1978 (12 MAR 18:25).

THE FILMS OF JEAN-MARIE STRAUB AND DANIÈLE HUILLET Goethe-Institut & partners’ epic season continues at BFI Southbank & King’s College London (MAR to JUN):

CHRONICLE OF ANNA MAGDALENA BACH 35mm d. Jean-Marie Straub & Danièle Huillet, 1967 + INTRO by Misha Donat (12 MAR 18:20).

HAYAO MIYAZAKI AND THE LEGENDARY STUDIO GHIBLI at Genesis Cinema (01 to 24 MAR):

CASTLE IN THE SKY d. Hayao Miyazaki, 1986 presented by Trumans (12 MAR 21:00 – includes a beverage!).

JOHN CARPENTER: A RESTORATION RETROSPECTIVE at Deptford Cinema (03 MAR to 02 APR):

ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK d. John Carpenter, 1981 (12 MAR 19:00).

MUSEUM SHOWS 2 // FESTIVALS

We don’t think there are any film festivals in London today. DM if we’ve missed you!

GRIND SHOWS

Radiant Circus Screen Guide - Films in London today: RAY & LIZ at ICA (until 21 MAR). — Films in London today: RAY & LIZ at ICA (until 21 MAR).

BORDER d. Ali Abassi, 2018 at Arthouse Crouch End (12 MAR 15:30 & 20:45):

“Customs officer Tina is known for her extraordinary sense of smell. It’s almost as if she can sniff out the guilt on anyone hiding something. But when Vore, a suspicious-looking man, walks past her, her abilities are challenged for the first time ever.”

RAY & LIZ d. Richard Billingham, 2018 at ICA (12 MAR 16:20 & 18:35):

“Photographer Richard Billingham makes his feature debut, a fragmentary story of a family barely getting by in Thatcher’s Britain. Ray, isolated in a tower block, recalls moments of his earlier life as he (Justin Salinger) and Liz (Ella Smith) spend his redundancy pay, smoking, drinking and seldom leaving the house.”

SHAKESPEARE WALLAH d. James Ivory, 1965 at BFI (12 MAR 20:30):

“Perhaps the most accurate account ever made of British India in its death-throes, SHAKESPEARE WALLAH (newly restored) remains a firm favourite in the Merchant-Ivory canon. Their second film with writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is a portrait of a group of travelling players trying to keep Shakespeare alive in the sticks.”

More films in London this week (A – Z):

THE AFTERMATH d. James Kent, 2019 at JW3 (08 to 14 MAR). ALIEN d. Ridley Scott, 1979 New Restoration at The Prince Charles (until 14 MAR). BOY ERASED d. Joel Edgerton, 2018 at Watermans (08 to 14 MAR). BURNING d. Lee Chang-dong, 2018 at ICA (until 14 MAR). CAPERNAUM d. Nadine Labaki, 2018 at Rich Mix (08 to 14 MAR). EVERYBODY KNOWS aka Todos lo Saben d. Asghar Farhadi, 2018 at Ciné Lumière (08 to 21 MAR). FOXTROT d. Samuel Maoz, 2017 at JW3 (10 to 14 MAR). THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT d. Lars Von Trier, 2018 at Whirled Cinema (11 to 17 MAR). IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK d. Barry Jenkins, 2018 at Watermans (08 to 14 MAR). THE KINDERGARTEN TEACHER d. Sara Colangelo, 2018 at Rio Cinema (08 to 14 MAR). MAIDEN d. Alex Holmes, 2018 at The Castle Cinema (08 to 14 MAR). OF LOVE & LAW d. Hikaru Toda, 2017 at DocHouse (until 12 MAR). THE PONDSd. Patrick McLennan & Samuel Smith, 2018 at ArtHouse Crouch End (until 21 MAR – Q&A on 09 & 10). SAUVAGE d. Camille Vidal-Naquet, 2018 at ICA (until 14 MAR). SHOPLIFTERS d. Hirokazu Kore-eda, 2018 at ICA (until 14 MAR).

And that’s the meat of it…

Follow RADIANT CIRCUS to discover more #LDNindieFILM:

Twitter @radiantcircus | Instagram @radiantcircus

Sign up for free Friday emails packed full of handpicked highlights.

Support #LDNindieFILM

RADIANT CIRCUS is patron powered, supported by readers’ monthly subscriptions, which start at just £2.99/month. With enough subscribers backing us, we will be able to: 1) establish RADIANT CIRCUS as a permanent resource; 2) fund a site rebuild to make our listings fully searchable; and, 3) stage free events for subscribers as our way of saying a huge thank you! Our target? One thousand passionate film fans sharing what they love so that many more can discover it. Join the circus at patreon.com/radiantcircus

“A lot of love, time & effort being put into these really useful & comprehensive listings.” (A fan, via Twitter).

*THE SMALL PRINT: As accurate as we could make it. Apologies for any errors. Apologies if we have missed your event. Updates & corrections will be made to the online version. Event dates/times are subject to change by the venue/organiser. We try to only list events you can book for at the time of posting: however, some events may still be sold out. Please click quickly! We don’t filter by age/certification: all readers & subscribers should be 18+.