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

TO TOKYO d. Caspar Seale Jones, 2018 + Q&A with special guests at Everyman Muswell Hill (30 SEP 19:30 – Currently looking SOLD OUT!):

“Challenged by her step-sister to return home, a young woman hiding from her past in a remote Japanese village, is abducted into a fantastic wilderness and pursued by a monster, with only four nights to escape to Tokyo and face her demons.”

NEW AT RADIANT CIRCUS

LUNCHTIME FILM SOCIETY is a brand new popup cinema screening daily programmes of bitesize films for busy City workers at the Bridewell Theatre in the City Of London (22 OCT to 01 NOV 2019). Bring your own lunch, relax & refocus as you feast on a world of inspiring short film drama, documentary & animation.

> Now booking: sbf.org.uk/whats-on

Online at radiantcircus.com: Raindance Film Festival 2019 happened (18 to 29 SEP) & we blogged about it. Read our latest writeups: MACABRE / DARK, ALMOST NIGHT / SANDPAPER. More to come!

#32BoroughsOfFilm: We started our yearlong tour of community cinema with a visit to Richmond Film Society to see Hirokazu Kore-eda’s SHOPLIFTERS (24 SEP 2019). Our Leytonstone Loves Film (27 to 29 SEP) writeup is coming soon.

FILMS IN LONDON TODAY

SINGLE-O EXHIBITS

THE FAREWELL d. Lulu Wang, 2019 + Q&A with actor Awkwafina at Curzon Soho (30 SEP 18:20 – Currently looking SOLD OUT!):

“Billi (Awkwafina) is called back from New York to her native China because her beloved grandmother is facing her last days. Yet, in accordance with tradition, this news is kept from the matriarch herself. Keeping up the pretence of a family wedding while reconnecting and grieving, we follow Billi on a funny, deeply moving exploration of the meaning of home and family.”

THE LAST TREE d. Shola Amoo, 2019 with the director in attendance at Peckhamplex (30 SEP 20:30):

“Femi is a British boy of Nigerian heritage who, after a happy childhood in rural Lincolnshire, moves to inner London to live with his mum. Struggling with the unfamiliar culture and values of his new environment, teenage Femi has to figure out which path to adulthood he wants to take.”
Enjoys a grind show run at the same venue.

TITO & TITA, GYM LUMBERA AND AN IMAGINED PAST + Q&A with Gym Lumbera at Regent Street Cinema (30 SEP 18:30):

Tito & Tita present: “A screening of works by Tito & Tita and collective member, Gym Lumbera. Often working with formats such as Super 8 and 16mm their films interrogate the possibilities of photographic media and its various histories.” Part of American Export.

More films in London today (A – Z):

BONNIE & CLYDE d. Arthur Penn, 1967 part of EF Arts Festival at Phoenix Cinema (30 SEP 15:30).
HITSVILLE: THE MAKING OF MOTOWN d. Benjamin Turner & Gabe Turner, 2019 at Barbican (30 SEP 18:15).
HITSVILLE: THE MAKING OF MOTOWN d. Benjamin Turner & Gabe Turner, 2019 at DocHouse (30 SEP 18:30).
HITSVILLE: THE MAKING OF MOTOWN d. Benjamin Turner & Gabe Turner, 2019 at ArtHouse Crouch End (30 SEP 20:30).
HITSVILLE: THE MAKING OF MOTOWN d. Benjamin Turner & Gabe Turner, 2019 at Rich Mix (30 SEP 20:45).
INNA DE YARD d. Peter Webber, 2019 at The Lexi (30 SEP 15:00).
THE MUSTANG d. Laure De Clermont-Tonnere, 2019 at Regent Street Cinema (30 SEP 20:50)

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MUSEUM SHOWS 1 // SEASONS

Films in London today: THE LAST OF ENGLAND, part of CLOSE-UP ON DEREK JARMAN at Close-Up (30 SEP).

70mm PRESENTATIONS at The Prince Charles (ongoing):

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY d. Stanley Kubrick, 1968 (30 SEP 20:15).

ANGELA BASSETT: QUEEN OF THE SCREEN at BFI Southbank (SEP):

SUNSHINE STATE 35mm d. John Sayles, 2002 (30 SEP 20:15).

ANIME’S HUMAN MACHINES at Barbican Centre (12 to 30 SEP):

PAPRIKA d. Satoshi Kon, 2006 + Intro (30 SEP 20:45 – Currently looking SOLD OUT!).

BIG SCREEN CLASSICS: TURMOIL! at BFI Southbank (SEP):

SUMMER WITH MONIKA d. Ingmar Bergman, 1953 (30 SEP 18:20).

CARY GRANT: BRITAIN’S GREATEST EXPORT at BFI Southbank (AUG to SEP):

THE BISHOP’S WIFE d. Henry Koster, 1947 (30 SEP 18:00).
NORTH BY NORTHWEST d. Alfred Hitchcock, 1959 (30 SEP 20:20).

CLOSE-UP ON DEREK JARMAN at Close-Up (18 to 30 SEP):

THE LAST OF ENGLAND d. Derek Jarman, 1987 (30 SEP 20:15).

DANCE ON SCREEN at Ciné Lumière (SEP to NOV):

ONE DAY PINA ASKED d. Chantal Akerman, 1983 (30 SEP 19:30).

THE FILMS OF DAVID FINCHER at The Prince Charles (15 AUG to 21 NOV):

FIGHT CLUB d. David Fincher, 1999 (30 SEP 15:25).

IT’S… MONTY PYTHON AT 50 at BFI Southbank (SEP):

YELLOWBEARD d. Mel Damski, 1983 (30 SEP 20:30).
Post-Python Picks: NOT THE NINE O’CLOCK NEWS At 40 + Discussion (30 SEP 18:10).

ROOFTOP FILM CLUB various roofs (SEP):

ALADDIN (2019) (30 SEP 21:00 – Shoreditch).

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MUSEUM SHOWS 2 // FESTIVALS

Film festivals in London today include:

BECTU Future Filmmakers Festival (30 SEP).
Scalarama (01 to 30 SEP).

GRIND SHOWS

Films in London today: AMERICAN PSYCHO at The Prince Charles (27 SEP to 03 OCT).

AMERICAN PSYCHO 35mm d. Mary Harron, 2000 at The Prince Charles (30 SEP 18:25):

In New York City in 1987, a handsome, young urban professional, Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), lives a second life as a gruesome serial killer by night. The cast is filled by the detective (Willem Dafoe), the fiance (Reese Witherspoon), the mistress (Samantha Mathis), the coworker (Jared Leto), and the secretary (Chloë Sevigny). This is a biting, wry comedy examining the elements that make a man a monster.

THE LAST TREE d. Shola Amoo, 2019 at Peckhamplex (30 SEP 17:50 & 20:30):

“Femi is a British boy of Nigerian heritage who, after a happy childhood in rural Lincolnshire, moves to inner London to live with his mum. Struggling with the unfamiliar culture and values of his new environment, teenage Femi has to figure out which path to adulthood he wants to take.”

NORMAL d. Adele Tulli, 2019 at ICA (30 SEP 14:45 – Not screening today/check back tomorrow!):

“Through a series of wry and acerbic vignettes, Italian filmmaker Adele Tulli’s Normal playfully exposes the spectacle of gender in our everyday lives. Featuring quotidian scenes shot throughout Italy, the film observes individuals – from childhood to adulthood – navigating normative gendered behaviour.”

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

AD ASTRA d. James Gray, 2019 at The Lexi (until 03 OCT). BAIT d. Mark Jenkin, 2019 at ICA (until 03 OCT). BOOKSMART d. Olivia Wilde, 2019 at Whirled Cinema (30 SEP to 06 OCT). CIELO d. Alison McAlpine, 2018 at ICA (27 SEP to 02 OCT). CURTIZ d. as Yvan Topolanszky, 2018 at JW3 (02 to 10 OCT). THE FAREWELL d. Lulu Wang, 2019 at Barbican (until 03 OCT). FOR SAMA d. Waad Al-Khateab & Edward Watts, 2019 at The Castle Cinema (until 03 OCT). THE GOLDFINCH d. John Crowley, 2019 at Phoenix Cinema (27 SEP to 03 OCT). HONEYLAND d. Tamara Kotevska, Ljubomir Stefanov, 2019 at DocHouse (until 03 OCT). HOTEL MUMBAI d. Anthony Maras, 2019 at Rio Cinema (27 SEP to 03 OCT). HUSTLERSd. Lorene Scafaria, 2019 at Genesis Cinema (until 03 SEP). THE LAUNDROMAT at ArtHouse Crouch End d. Steven Soderbergh, 2019 (27 SEP to 03 OCT). ONCE UPON A TIME IN… HOLLYWOOD 35mm d. Quentin Tarrantino, 2019 at Genesis Cinema (until 03 OCT – Check schedule for formats). ONE CHILD NATION d. Zhang Lynn & Nanfu Wang, 2019 at Barbican (27 SEP to 01 OCT). ON THE PRESIDENT’S ORDERS d. James Jones & Olivier Sarbil, 2019 at DocHouse (27 SEP to 03 OCT). PAIN AND GLORY d. Pedro Almodóvar, 2019 at The Prince Charles (until 02 OCT). SEA OF SHADOWS at Ciné Lumière (27 SEP to 03 OCT). SKIN d. Guy Nattiv, 2018 at Genesis Cinema (27 SEP to 03 OCT). THE SOUVENIR d. Joanna Hogg, 2019 at The Prince Charles (until 03 OCT).

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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+.