Films in London today: EDWARD SCISSORHANDS at The Cinema Museum (19 DEC).
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SCREEN GUIDE DAILY: Films in London today 19.12.19

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

EDWARD SCISSORHANDS 35mm d. Tim Burton, 1990 + Talk by Gareth Jones + Discussion at The Cinema Museum (19 DEC 19:00):

  • Film School presents: “In a castle high on top of a hill lives an inventor’s greatest creation – Edward (Johnny Depp), a near-complete person. The inventor (Vincent Price) died before he could finish Edward’s hands; instead, Edward is left with metal scissors for hands. Since then, he has lived alone, until a kind lady called Peg (Dianne Wiest) discovers him and welcomes him into her home. Screening starts with a talk from Film Studies teacher Gareth Jones, outlining a particular approach to film analysis and ends with a group discussion inspired by that approach.”

NEW AT RADIANT CIRCUS

Films in London: MONOS presented by Wimbledon Film Club at Curzon Wimbledon (11 FEB 2020).

#32BoroughsOfFilm: Following our report from their last screening of 2019 – NINOTCHKA (03 DEC) – we’re delighted to announce the new Spring/Summer 2020 programme at Wimbledon Film Club.

FILMS IN LONDON TODAY

SINGLE-O EXHIBITS

Films in London today: THE DORM THAT DRIPPED BLOOD at BFI Southbank (19 DEC).
Films in London today: THE DORM THAT DRIPPED BLOOD at BFI Southbank (19 DEC).

THE DORM THAT DRIPPED BLOOD aka Pranks d. Stephen Carpenter, Jeffrey Obrow, 1982 at BFI Southbank (19 DEC 20:50):

  • Terror Vision presents: “Four students spend their Christmas vacation clearing out a vacant college dormitory. Unfortunately for this ill-fated gang of perky undergrads, someone else is lurking among the abandoned halls. Lesser known than celebrated seasonal slashers BLACK CHRISTMAS and SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT, this underrated shocker (which made an early appearance on the UK video nasties list) comes filled with festive frights.”

UPSTAIRS PLANET: A FILM ABOUT CLEANERS FROM VENUS d. Graham Bendel + Live Set by Stuart Moxham & DJ Steve Proctor at The Horse Hospital (19 DEC 19:00):

  • “Funny, moving and entertaining, UPSTAIRS PLANET is a story about a relatively unknown cult 80s musician who has been a tremendous influence on many well-known acts (MGMT, XTC, Ariel Pink, John Cooper Clarke, Mac deMarco, etc). We’re talking cassette culture, DIY punk attitudes and intelligent, poetic lyricism that should have found a much wider audience.

More films in London today (A – Z):

  • ATLANTICS aka Atlantique d. Mati Diop at ICA (19 DEC 20:45).
  • EYES WIDE SHUT d. Stanley Kubrick, 1999 at ICA (19 DEC 13:45).
  • LAST CHRISTMAS d. Paul Feig, 2019 + Short: LIBERTÉ d. Dora Paphides at The David Lean (19 DEC 14:30 HOH).
  • MILES DAVIS: BIRTH OF THE COOL d. Stanley Nelson, 2019 at ICA (19 DEC 16:10).
  • MONOS d. Alejandro Landes, 2019 + Short: LIBERTÉ d. Dora Paphides at The David Lean (19 DEC 19:30).
  • THE STREET d. Zed Nelson, 2019 at DocHouse (19 DEC 12:40)

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MUSEUM SHOWS 1 // SEASONS

Films in London today: HAPPY AS LAZZARO, part of CURATOR’S PICKS at Barbican (19 DEC).
Films in London today: HAPPY AS LAZZARO, part of CURATORS’ PICKS at Barbican (19 DEC).

007 ANNIVERSARY SCREENINGS at The Prince Charles (ongoing):

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

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, ELF d. Jon Favreau, 2003 (04 to 24 DEC – various formats/check venue).
  • LOVE ACTUALLY d. Richard Curtis, 2003 (19 DEC 20:40 – some with sparkling wine!/check venue).
  • The Naughty List: LETHAL WEAPON 35mm d. Richard Donner, 1987 (19 DEC 12:30).

CHRISTMAS FILMS at Regent Street Cinema (14 to 24 DEC):

  • CRACKERS d. David Swann, 1998 presented by London Australian Film Society (19 DEC 19:30 + Glass of Aussie Bubbles/Raffle).

CURATORS’ PICKS at Barbican (13 to 19 DEC):

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

MUSEUM SHOWS 2 // FESTIVALS

We don’t think there are any film festivals in London today… but we might have missed something! Let us know…

GRIND SHOWS

Films in London today: THE KINGMAKER at ArtHouse Crouch End (13 to 19 DEC).
Films in London today: THE KINGMAKER at ArtHouse Crouch End (13 to 19 DEC).

ALVA d. Ico Costa, 2019 at ICA (19 DOC 14:10 – LAST CHANCE!):

  • “After committing a crime, a man hides in the forest. Shot in the Portuguese highlands, in 16mm, the film follows Henrique, a solitary man running away from his life and from the world. In a progressively immersive style, you are transported into this space of solitude, in search of what really moves the protagonist.”

AQUARELA d. Victor Kossakovsky, 2018 at DocHouse (19 DEC 18:30):

  • “Set to the backdrop of an original soundtrack by the Finnish symphonic metal band Apocalyptica, AQUARELA’s roving lens takes you on a visceral global journey, allowing you to feel the raw power and beauty of water in startling visual detail.”

FIDDLER: A MIRACLE OF MIRACLES d. Max Lewkowicz, 2019 at JW3 (19 DEC 13:00):

  • “When Fiddler on the Roof opened on Broadway in 1964, it explored themes of tradition, religion, and anti-Semitism against a modern backdrop of radical social change that addressed gender roles, sexuality, and race. Rare archival footage and interviews with musical luminaries explore the legacy of this long-running, award-winning musical.”

THE KINGMAKER d. Lauren Greenfield, 2019 at ArtHouse Crouch End (19 DEC 12:20 & 20:45 – LAST CHANCE!):

  • “Documentary centring on the controversial political career of Imelda Marcos, the former first lady of the Philippines whose behind-the-scenes influence of her husband Ferdinand’s presidency rocketed her to the global political stage.”

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

  • THE CAVE d. Feras Fayyad, 2018 at DocHouse (until 19 DEC). CITIZEN K d. Alex Gibney, 2019 at ArtHouse Crouch End (13 to 19 DEC). HONEY BOY d. Alma Har’el, 2019 at The Castle Cinema (until 24 DEC). THE IRISHMAN d. Martin Scorsese, 2019 at Ciné Lumière (14 DEC to 05 JAN). KNIVES OUT d. Rian Johnson, 2019 at The Lexi (until 18 DEC). LA BELLE ÉPOQUE d. Nicolas Bedos, 2019 at Ciné Lumière (until 03 JAN). THE NIGHTINGALE d. Jennifer Kent, 2018 at Watermans (13 to 19 DEC). PHOTOGRAPH d. Ritesh Batra, 2019 at Whirled Cinema (16 to 18 DEC). PINK WALL d. Tom Cullen, 2019 at Catford Mews (13 to 19 DEC). SO LONG, MY SON d. Wang Xiaoshuai, 2018 at ArtHouse Crouch End (until 19 DEC). THE STREET d. Zed Nelson, 2019 at The Lexi (15 to 18 DEC). THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG aka Les Parapluies de Cherbourg d. Jacques Demy, 1964 at Ciné Lumière (until 07 JAN). THE WOLF’S CALL d. Antonin Baudry, 2019 at Watermans (13 to 19 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+.