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

THE SPIRITUALIST d. Bernard Vorhaus, 1948 + Supporting Programme at The Cinema Museum (13 NOV 19:30):

Kennington Noir presents: “The fabulous chiaroscuro cinematography of master lensman John Alton brings a fairy tale atmosphere to this entertaining REBECCA-style tale of hokum and deception. “Have you ever heard of [director] Bernard Vorhaus? … Highly inventive, with a real love for film, and as clever as a wagonload of monkeys” – David Lean, 1985”

NEW AT RADIANT CIRCUS

Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Fest continues at venues across East London (12 to 17 NOV). We’ve had a look at the programme and chosen our top ten recommendations for this year’s festival. Please note the unexpected change of hub venue!

To help you plan ahead, we’ve posted our epic roundup of London’s repertory seasons & film festivals for the month of November.

Screen25 in South Norwood has achieved its target of 100 champions & will now be keeping its doors open. Carry on supporting this vibrant community cinema with our juicy discount.

FILMS IN LONDON TODAY

SINGLE-O EXHIBITS

ONE CHILD NATION d. Nanfu Wang & Jialing Zhang, 2019 + Q&A with BBC Storyville commissioning editor Mandy Chang at Frontline Club (13 NOV 19:00):

“China’s ‘one-child’ policy lasted from 1979 to 2015. In her latest film, screening at Frontline ahead of its broadcast on BBC Storyville on November 18th, first-time mother and filmmaker Nanfu Wang uncovers the untold history of the policy and the generations of parents and children forever shaped by this social experiment.”

SHAFT d. Gordon Parks, 1971 + Afterparty at Everyman King’s Cross (13 NOV 19:45):

Spiritland presents: “Cool black private eye John Shaft is hired by a crime lord to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter. After the film, head straight down to SUPERMAX, the secret disco basement for an afterparty with Anne Frankenstein DJing funk and soul until late.”

More films in London today (A – Z):

ALEXANDER’S RAGTIME BAND d. Henry King, 1938 at Regent Street Cinema (13 Nov 12:00 & 15:30).
Discovery: ONLY YOU d. Harry Wootliff, 2018 presented by Screen25 at Harris Academy South Norwood (13 NOV 19:45 – Use promo code “CIRCUS19” to book & save!).
THE FALL d. Peter Whitehead, 1969 at ICA (13 NOV 20:20).
THE LOBSTER d. Yorgos Lanthimos, 2015 + Live Score by the Solem Quartet at The Gate (13 NOV 20:00).
MILES DAVIS: BIRTH OF THE COOL d. Stanley Nelson, 2019 at ICA (13 NOV 12:45).
TONITE LET’S ALL MAKE LOVE IN LONDON d. Peter Whitehead, 1967 at ICA (13 NOV 17:00).
WHERE WE SEE JOÃO PEDRO RODRIGUES Short Film Programme presented by Queer Lisboa at Deptford Cinema (13 NOV 19:30).
WINGS OF DESIRE d. Wim Wenders, 1987 at Picturehouse Greenwich (13 NOV 18:00 – Other Picturehouses available!).

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MUSEUM SHOWS 1 // SEASONS

Films in London today: LEGEND OF THE WITCHES, part of HERE BE WITCHES at The Prince Charles (13 NOV).

21ST CENTURY ŽILNIK at Close-Up, Goldsmiths, LUX & Birkbeck Cinema (12 to 17 NOV):

Workshop with Želimir Žilnik (13 NOV 14:00 – at Goldsmiths).
THE OLD SCHOOL OF CAPITALISM d. Želimir Žilnik, 2009 (13 NOV 20:15).

AMERICAN INDEPENDENT: A FOCUS ON SHIRLEY CLARKE at BFI Southbank (OCT to NOV):

PORTRAIT OF JASON d. Shirley Clarke, 1967 (13 NOV 20:30).

BIG SCREEN CLASSICS: REAL TO REEL at BFI Southbank (OCT to NOV):

POOR COW d. Ken Loach, 1967 (13 NOV 20:40).

THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL at DocHouse (08 to 15 NOV):

MEETING GORBACHEV d. Werner Herzog & André Singer, 2018 (08 to 14 NOV).

HERE BE WITCHES at The Prince Charles (31 OCT to 21 NOV):

LEGEND OF THE WITCHES d. Malcolm Leigh, 1970 + Panel Discussion (13 NOV 18:15).

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

THE SOUND OF MUSIC 4K d. Robert Wise, 1965 (13 NOV 14:00 BFI IMAX).
THE GREATEST SHOWMAN d. Michael Gracey, 2017 (13 NOV 18:00 BFI IMAX).

Singalongs: Singalong: GREASE d. Randall Kleiser, 1978 + intro with actor Jane Horrocks (13 NOV 20:30 BFI IMAX).

THE TALENTED MR DELON at Ciné Lumière (20 OCT to 26 NOV):

LA PISCINE d. Jacques Deray, 1969 (13 NOV 20:30).

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MUSEUM SHOWS 2 // FESTIVALS

Films in London today: TERROR NULLIUS, part of Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Fest at Genesis Cinema (13 NOV 21:00).

Film festivals in London today include:

Czech Velvet 1989-2019 (01 to 29 NOV inc. Made In Prague Film Festival 08 to 11 NOV).
Doc’n Roll Festival (01 to 17 NOV).
Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Fest (12 to 17 NOV).
London Korean Film Festival (01 to 14 NOV).
UK Jewish Film Festival (06 to 21 NOV).
We The Peoples Film Festival (10 to 26 NOV).

GRIND SHOWS

Films in London today: THE IRISHMAN at Rio Cinema (until 19 NOV).

THE CROW 35mm d. Alex Proyas, 1994 at The Prince Charles (13 NOV 13:00 & 20:45):

“The night before his wedding, musician Eric Draven (Brandon Lee) and his fiancée are brutally murdered by members of a violent inner-city gang. On the anniversary of their death, Eric rises from the grave and assumes the gothic mantle of the Crow, a supernatural avenger.”

THE IRISHMAN d. Martin Scorsese, 2019 at Rio Cinema (13 NOV 14:15):

“Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci star in Martin Scorsese’s monumental mobster masterpiece THE IRISHMAN, an epic saga that is poignant, funny, and a majestic elegy on mortality.”

MEETING GORBACHEV d. Werner Herzog & André Singer, 2019 at The Castle Cinema (13 NOV 16:45 & 20:45):

“Leading the Soviet Union through its period of greatest change, Mikhail Gorbachev was the architect of its democratisation, introducing perestroika and glasnost, but ultimately resigning as, against his wishes, its collapse became inevitable.”

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

A DOG CALLED MONEY d. Seamus Murphy, 2019 at ICA (08 to 14 NOV). BLADE RUNNER : THE FINAL CUT d. Ridley Scott, 1982 at The Prince Charles (until 13 NOV). BY THE GRACE OF GOD d. Francois Ozon, 2018 at Watermans (08 to 14 NOV). DOCTOR SLEEP d. Mike Flanagan, 2019 at Rich Mix (until 14 NOV). THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO d. Joe Talbot, 2019 at ICA (until 14 NOV). LUCE d. Julius Onah, 2019 at Rio Cinema (08 to 14 NOV). MONOS d. Alejandro Landes, 2019 at ICA (until 14 NOV). SORRY WE MISSED YOU d. Ken Loach, 2019 at Peckhamplex (until 14 NOV). TRANSIT d. Christian Petzold, 2018 at Whirled Cinema (11 to 17 NOV). TRIXIE MATTEL: MOVING PARTS d. Nick Zeig-Owens, 2019 at DocHouse (until 13 NOV). YVES SAINT-LAURENT: THE LAST COLLECTIONS d. Olivier Myron, 2018 at ICA (until 14 NOV).

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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+.