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

E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL 16mm d. Steven Spielberg, 1982 + Intro at The Castle Cinema (12 DEC 19:30 + 15 DEC 13:45):

Ciné-Real 16mm Film Club presents: “This tearjerking tale of a young boy’s friendship with a stranded space alien may technically be a sci-fi movie, but it also represents a very personal account of director Steven Spielberg’s down-to-earth feelings of childhood isolation and anxiety following his parents’ divorce. A wonderful script by Melissa Mathison and a surging score by John Williams help this to pack a mighty emotional punch. (Mark Kermode)”

NEW AT RADIANT CIRCUS

#32BoroughsOfFilm: The latest leg of our 2019-2020 odyssey around London’s alternative cinema scene took RADIANT CIRCUS to Wimbledon Film Club for a pre-Christmas screening of NINOTCHKA – “Garbo laughs!” – complete with intro by Lubitsch expert & author, Nick Smedley. Here’s what we found…

FILMS IN LONDON TODAY

SINGLE-O EXHIBITS

SISTERS d. Petra Bauer, 2011 + Intro at Peckhamplex (12 DEC 20:30):

DISPATCH FMI presents: “Celebrating 40 years of service, the Southall Black Sisters were founded in 1979 in order to support Black (Asian and African-Caribbean) women threatened by gender-based violence. This 2011 film by Swedish artist Petra Bauer documents the life of the organisation over one week and poses questions about feminism and the political landscape in contemporary society.”

Things from Other Worlds: Adapting, Transforming and Translating The Thing with Instructor Laura Mee at The Horse Hospital (12 DEC 19:00):

The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies presents: “This lecture explores the rich narrative universe of The Thing, using its various iterations to examine the multi-platform and serial nature of contemporary genre storytelling. While John Carpenter’s 1982 film remains the best-known (and most widely celebrated) version, the tale of the eponymous alien ‘thing’ which invades and imitates its host body has its origins in a 1938 novella (John W. Campbell, Jr.).”

More films in London today (A – Z):

ALVA d. Ico Costa, 2019 + Q&A with the director at ICA (12 DEC 18:30).
ATLANTICS d. Mati Diop, 2019 at ICA (12 DEC 20:55).
Election Night at Catford Mews (12 DEC 21:00 – FREE!).
FIRST A GIRL 35mm d. Victor Saville, 1936 + Intro by John Oliver at BFI Southbank (12 DEC 18:00).
HARRIET d. Kasi Lemmons, 2019 at Genesis Cinema (12 DEC 20:45).
I AM (NOT) A MONSTER d. Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian, 2019 Preview at BFI Southbank (12 DEC 20:20).
OFFICIAL SECRETS d. Gavin Hood, 2019 at The David Lean (12 DEC 14:30 HOH & 19:30).
PARASITE d. Bong Joon-ho, 2019 + Intro by actor Song Kang-ho at Picturehouse Ritzy (12 DEC 18:00).
THE STREET d. Zed Nelson, 2019 + Q&A with the director at Regent Street Cinema (12 DEC 20:00)

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MUSEUM SHOWS 1 // SEASONS

Films in London today: SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT, part of CHRISTMAS AT GENESIS at Genesis Cinema (08 to 17 DEC).

70mm PRESENTATIONS at The Prince Charles (ongoing):

DIE HARD 70mm d. John McTiernan, 1988 (12 DEC 21:00).

A WORM’S TAIL VIEW IS OFTEN THE TRUE ONE: FILMS BY PERE PORTABELLA at ICA, Whitechapel Gallery, Close-Up, Cafe Oto & Brixton Prison (26 NOV 2019 to 15 FEB 2020):

Pere Portabella: with Joan Miró and after Federico García Lorca (12 DEC 19:00 – Whitechapel Gallery).

BAFTA SCREENWRITERS LECTURE SERIES at Curzon Cinemas (30 NOV to 12 DEC):

Bong Joon-ho (12 DEC 18:15 – Currently looking SOLD OUT!/Check venue).

BIG SCREEN CLASSICS: GETTING TOGETHER at BFI Southbank (DEC):

AFTER LIFE aka Wandafuru Raifu d. Hirokazu Koreeda, 1998 (12 DEC 18:10).

CHRISTMAS AT GENESIS at Genesis Cinema (08 to 17 DEC):

SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT d. Charles E. Sellier Jr, 1984 + Intro/Salon with Nick Walker presented by Cult Classic Collective (12 DEC 18:40).

CHRISTMAS AT THE PCC at The Prince Charles (NOV to DEC):

Grind shows: THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL d. Brian Henson, 1992 (01 to 24 DEC – various formats/check venue); IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE 35mm d. Frank Capra, 1946 (01 to 24 DEC – some digital/check venue); and, GREMLINS 35mm d. Joe Dante, 1984 (06 to 12 DEC – check venue).
EYES WIDE SHUT d. Stanley Kubrick, 1999 (12 DEC 12:35).
CAROL 35mm d. Todd Haynes, 2015 (12 DEC 18:15).

CHRISTMAS POP-UP CINEMA presented by Crofton Park Pictures at Rivoli Ballroom (11 to 13 DEC):

HOME ALONE d. Chris Columbus, 1990 (12 DEC 16:00).
HARRY POTTER & THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE d. Chris Columbus, 2001 (12 DEC 19:00).

MUSICALS! THE GREATEST SHOW ON SCREEN at BFI Southbank (OCT to DEC):

FIRST A GIRL 35mm d. Victor Saville, 1936 + Intro by John Oliver (12 DEC 18:00).
Re-releases: THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG aka Les Parapluies de Cherbourg d. Jacques Demy, 1964 (06 to 30 DEC).

MUSEUM SHOWS 2 // FESTIVALS

Film festivals in London today include:

French Film Festival (07 NOV to 14 DEC).

GRIND SHOWS

Films in London this week: BUDDIES at ICA (07 to 12 DEC). — Films in London today: BUDDIES at ICA (07 to 12 DEC).

BUDDIES d. Arthur J. Bressan Jr, 1985 at ICA (12 DEC 15:15 – LAST CHANCE!):

“Written, produced and directed by the late filmmaker Arthur J. Bressan Jr., BUDDIES (1985) was the first narrative feature film about the AIDS epidemic. Recently restored in 2k from its original 16 mm negative, this landmark film is now screening widely for the first time following its brief theatrical release in 1985.”

HONEY BOY d. Alma Har’el, 2019 at Genesis Cinema (12 DEC 17:10 – LAST CHANCE!):

“From a screenplay by Shia LaBeouf, based on his own experiences, award-winning filmmaker Alma Har’el brings to life a young actor’s stormy childhood and early adult years as he struggles to reconcile with his father through cinema and dreams. Fictionalising his childhood’s ascent to stardom, and subsequent adult crash-landing into rehab and recovery, LaBeouf takes on the therapeutic challenge of playing a version of his own father, an ex-rodeo clown and a felon.”

SO LONG, MY SON d. Wang Xiaoshuai, 2018 at ArtHouse Crouch End (12 DEC 12:30):

“Packing a powerful emotional punch, SO LONG, MY SON traces the lives of two families over three decades of social, political and human upheaval in China. Following the loss of a child in a tragic accident,paths separate, destinies ebb and flow, and fortunes are transformed under the impact of a country’s changing face. Yet even as their lives diverge, a common search for truth and reconciliation around the tragedy remains. But sometimes it can take a lifetime to say farewell…”

THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG aka Les Parapluies de Cherbourg d. Jacques Demy, 1964 at Ciné Lumière (12 DEC 18:20):

“Guy, an auto mechanic, has fallen in love with Geneviève, who works in her mother’s chic umbrella shop. Before Guy is to leave for a tour of combat, the two share a passionate night. Winner of the Palme d’Or in Cannes 1964, Jacques Demy’s visually intoxicating ‘film in song’ pays homage to the Hollywood musical and is a major influence on directors including Damien Chazelle and Wes Anderson.”

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

THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM d. John Chester, 2018 at DocHouse (06 to 12 DEC). THE CAVE d. Feras Fayyad, 2018 at DocHouse (06 to 12 DEC). FOR SAMA d. Waad al-Kateab & Edward Watt, 2019 at ICA (07 to 12 DEC). HARRIET d. Kasi Lemmons, 2019 at Catford Mews (until 12 DEC). IN FABRIC d. Peter Strickland, 2018 at Whirled Cinema (09 to 15 DEC). JONATHAN AGASSI SAVED MY LIFE d. Tomer Heymann, 2018 at ICA (06 to 12 DEC). KNIVES OUT d. Rian Johnson, 2019 at The Lexi (06 to 12 DEC). LA BELLE ÉPOQUE d. Nicolas Bedos, 2019 at Ciné Lumière (until 03 JAN). MARRIAGE STORY d. Noah Baumbach, 2019 at ICA (until 12 DEC). MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN d. Edward Norton, 2019 at Rich Mix (06 to 12 DEC). ORDINARY LOVE d. Lisa Barros D’Sa & Glenn Leyburn, 2019 at Phoenix Cinema (06 to 12 DEC). SHOOTING THE MAFIA d. Kim Longinotto, 2019 at ICA (until 11 DEC). THE STREET d. Zed Nelson, 2019 at The Castle Cinema (06 to 12 DEC). THE WOLF’S CALL d. Antonin Baudry, 2019 at Ciné Lumière (06 to 12 DEC).

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*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+.