This is a film still from MARIUPOLIS dir Mantas Kvedaravičius, 2016.

SCREEN GUIDE: What’s on in London this week [15 to 21 APR 2022]

Our RADIANT CIRCUS guide to what’s on in London this week across DIY, indie & alternative cinema, including one-off screen events, film seasons, film festivals & new releases.

By RADIANT CIRCUS // Twitter @radiantcircus / Instagram @radiantcircus

Book now for the next screening event supported by #ReviveTheDark, RADIANT CIRCUS’ audience-backed campaign for distinctive/DIY cinema! Sonic Cinema presents AUSTRIAN SYNAESTHETIC CINEMA at Cafe OTO (06 MAY 20:00).

Welcome to another screen week! It’s Easter, but there’s still a lot going on…

In venue news, the headline from their newsletter couldn’t be clearer, THE RIO IS RISEN! Phase One of Rio Cinema’s building works to create a new bar and foyer area, and restore some original features, is complete. Things will seem a little strange with the closure of their stalls in Screen One continuing into next week, but it’s great to welcome them back to our listings. Can’t wait to see what’s been built…

This week’s special events from indie exhibitors start on Friday with Black Ink Cinema and NEW JACK CITY at Genesis Cinema (15 APR). The Cinema Museum has another busy weekend with Blinking Buzzards celebrating Buster Keaton on Saturday (16 APR), and Sappho’s Cinema and Lesflicks creating a space for singles to mingle with their pro-social screening of PROFESSOR MARSTON AND THE WONDER WOMEN on Sunday (17 APR). For another cinematic snuggle, The Prince Charles screens HARVEY on Easter Sunday (also 17 APR).

Deeper Into Movies owns your Monday with dual screenings of Charli XCX: ALONE TOGETHER at Moth Club and JEFF BUCKLEY LIVE IN CHICAGO at Farr’s Dalston (18 APR). Adam Feinstein gives an expert into for the 80th Anniversary screening of Michael Curtiz’s CASABLANCA at The Cinema Museum, and Tufnell Park Film Club screens GODZILLA aka Gojira in tribute to Akira Takarda at The Lord Palmerston (both 19 APR).

On Wednesday, Pinc. presents THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT at The Castle Cinema, Kennington Noir screens T-MEN from 16mm at The Cinema Museum, and Pitshanger Pictures has a busy day with both EASTER PARADE and BLINDED BY THE LIGHT at St Barnabas Church (all 20 APR). A special screening of THE MOTHER AND THE WHORE from 35mm with an intro by Françoise Lebrun – who stars in Gaspar Noé’s new film VORTEX – at Picturehouse Central is also worthy of serious note (also 20 APR, tickets selling fast!).

As has become usual, Thursday is awash with great options including Sara Fattahi’s CHAOS at Austrian Cultural Forum, Crofton Park Pictures’ presentation of FEAR & LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS at Rival Ballroom, Deeper Into Movies’ return to raise the roof on the revamped Rio with THE SCARY OF SIXTY-FIRST, and Lobotomy Room Film Club’s free presentation of WOMEN’S PRISON at Fontaine’s Bar (all 21 APR).

Rep seasons continue pretty much as they have been, with ANIME and LIV ULLMANN: FACE TO FACE at BFI Southbank and CLOSE-UP ON JOHN CASSAVETES at Close-Up grabbing most of our attention. Everyman continues their commitment to films from 35mm at the Screen On The Green with a run of three by PAUL VERHOEVEN. THE WORLD OF WONG KAR WAI gets a reboot at The Prince Charles (with some in shiny 4K).

I couldn’t narrow down my choice of this week’s new releases, so I’ve highlighted four that I really want to see: Verhoeven’s BENEDETTA (again…), Kiro Russo’s THE GREAT MOVEMENT, Robert Eggers’s THE NORTHMAN, and Laura Wandel’s PLAYGROUND. ICA also has an exclusive/limited engagement with Mantas Kvedaravičius’s 2016 film, MARIUPOLIS which I’ve made my Featured Attraction of the Week.

See you in the darkness, and stay safe.

Richard // RADIANT CIRCUS

MARIUPOLIS d. Mantas Kvedaravičius, 2016 at ICA (16 APR 19:00 / 17 APR 14:50 / 20 APR 13:00 / 21 APR 14:05):

“The images emerging from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol have horrified the world. Released in 2016, Lithuanian director Mantas Kvedaravičius’s film captures his adopted home city as it was, set against the backdrop of an earlier stage in the Russian onslaught – and this haunting time capsule is made even more poignant by the death this month of its director, killed by Russian forces while fleeing the city on 2 April 2022.”

Mariupolis is less a film about war than a film about trying to live a normal life while war rages behind you. Bus drivers plan shifts; a cobbler repairs shoes; a steel mill continues making the stuff of industry; the conflict is largely off-screen. 

“‘[The] basic premise … is that aesthetics and politics are intrinsically intertwined, [and] any choice within cinematic language is already a claim. Yet it considers that long-term cinematic observation of the minutiae of everyday life could precisely unravel the complex historicity and cultural forces at work in a transformation of the polity,’ said Kvedaravičius.”

“With Kvedaravičius’s tragic death, that task of long-term cinematic observation now falls to others.” (ICA)

FRIDAY 15 APR

  • ALL THAT JAZZ d. Bob Fosse, 1979 at The Garden Cinema (15 APR 20:30).
  • THE GREAT MOVEMENT aka El Gran movimiento d. Kiro Russo, 2021 + Intro by Sofia Serbin de Skalon at Ciné Lumière (15 APR 20:25).
  • THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY d. John Mackenzie, 1980 at The Prince Charles (15 APR 15:40 / 20 APR 15:15).
  • NEW JACK CITY d. Mario Van Peebles, 1991 presented by Black Ink Cinema at Genesis Cinema (15 APR 20:30).
  • NAVALNY d. Daniel Roher, 2022 + Q&A with co-editor Maya Daisy Hawke at ICA (15 APR 18:45).
  • NIGHTMARE ALLEY d. Edmund Goulding, 1947 at The Garden Cinema (15 APR 18:00 / 18 APR 20:20 / 21 APR 16:00).
  • REVOLUTION OF OUR TIMES d. Kiwi Chow, 2021 at ActOne Cinema (15 APR 14:30 / 16 APR 14:30 / 17 APR 14:30).
  • STILL HERE d. The Reids, 2022 + Intro at The Prince Charles (15 APR 21:00).

SATURDAY 16 APR

SUNDAY 17 APR

MONDAY 18 APR

TUESDAY 19 APR

WEDNESDAY 20 APR

THURSDAY 21 APR

  • ALI & AVA d. Clio Barnard, 2021 at The David Lean (21 APR 14:30 & 19:30).
  • CHAOS d. Sara Fattahi, 2018 part of CineClub at Austrian Cultural Forum (21 APR 19:00 – FREE!).
  • FEAR & LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS d. Terry Gilliam, 1998 presented by Crofton Park Pictures at Rioli Ballroom (21 APR 19:30).
  • Film Talks Live: William Raban and John Smith film screening + Q&A with the filmmakers at Close-Up (21 APR 20:15).
  • THE FULL MONTY d. Peter Cattaneo, 1997 presented by Sydenham Film Club at The Sydenham Centre (21 APR 19:30).
  • Preview: HAPPENING d. Audrey Diwan, 2022 + Panel discussion at Picturehouse Central (21 APR 18:30).
  • Short: THE LAST CUCKOO d. Mark Chaudoir + supporting programme & live performance at ActOne Gallery (21 APR 19:30).
  • MANNEQUIN d. Michael Gottlieb, 1987 + Intro by Rose Matafeo at The Prince Charles (21 APR 18:40).
  • NIGHTMARE ALLEY d. Edmund Goulding, 1947 at The Garden Cinema (21 APR 16:00).
  • PLAYGROUND d. Laura Wandel, 2021 + Q&A with the director at BFI Southbank (21 APR 18:10).
  • THE ROOM d. Tommy Wiseau, 2003 at The Prince Charles (21 APR 21:10).
  • THE SCARY OF SIXTY-FIRST d. Dasha Nekrasova, 2021 + Q&A with the director & actors Madeline Quinn & Betsey Brown presented by Deeper Into Movies at Rio Cinema (21 APR 20:30).
  • STARSHIP TROOPERS d. Paul Verhoeven, 1997 presented by Truman’s at Genesis Cinema (21 APR 20:55 – With a FREE pint of Truman’s).
  • WOMEN’S PRISON d. Lewis Seiler, 1955 presented by Lobotomy Room Film Club at Fontaine’s Bar N16 (21 APR 20:00 – FREE!).
  • YOJI YAMADA’S SAMURAI TRILOGY at The Calder Bookshop & Theatre SE1 (21 APR 19:00 / 28 APR 19:00 – Donation requested!).

35MM PRESENTATIONS at The Prince Charles

70MM PRESENTATIONS at The Prince Charles

007 SEASON at The Prince Charles

  • Includes (check venue for full listings): MOONRAKER d. Lewis Gilbert, 1979 (16 APR 15:10 4K / 21 APR 15:45 4K).

1982 SEASON at The Prince Charles

  • Includes (check venue for full listings)GREASE 2 d. Patricia Birch, 1982 (15 APR 18:15).

ANIME at BFI Southbank

ANIME at The Prince Charles

AKIRA KUROSAWA at The Prince Charles

BEST OF CÉSAR at Ciné Lumière

BIG SCREEN CLASSICS: A QUESTION OF FAITH at BFI Southbank

BLACK & WHITE MOVIES at The Prince Charles

CELEBRATING MARLON BRANDO at The Garden Cinema

CLOSE-UP ON JOHN CASSAVETES at Close-Up

FROM THE MIND OF PAUL SCHRADER at The Prince Charles 

  • Includes (check venue for full listings): RAGING BULL d. Martin Scorsese, 1980 (16 APR 17:55); BLUE COLLAR 35mm d. Paul Schrader, 1978 (20 APR 18:00).

THE GOLDEN AGE OF FRENCH CINEMA at The Garden Cinema

  • Includes (check venue for full listings):  LE JOUR SE LÈVE d. Marcel Carné, 1939 (17 APR 15:00); LA BELLE ET LA BÊTE d. Jean Cocteau, 1946 + Intro by Ginette Vincendeau (21 APR 18:30).

IN FOCUS: ROSINE MBAKAM at ICA

  • Includes (check venue for full listings): PRISM aka Prisme d. Rosine Mfetgo Mbakam, An van Dienderen & Éléonore Yaméogo, 2021 (19 APR 18:15).

JOACHIM TRIER’S OSLO TRILOGY at ICA 

JOACHIM TRIER’S OSLO TRILOGY at The Prince Charles 

LIV ULLMANN: FACE TO FACE at BFI Southbank

MARTIN SCORSESE: DIRECTOR. WRITER. PRODUCER. ACTOR. at The Prince Charles

  • Includes (check venue for listings): RAGING BULL d. Martin Scorsese, 1980 (16 APR 17:55).

NIGHTMARES AND DAYDREAMS: A CENTENARY CELEBRATION OF SCREENWRITER NIGEL KNEALE at BFI Southbank

PAUL VERHOEVEN 35MM LATE NIGHTS at Everyman Screen On The Green

  • Includes (check venue for listings)ROBOCOP 35mm d. Paul Verhoeven, 1987 (16 APR 22:30 / 20 APR 10:30).

SCREWBALL COMEDY at The Prince Charles

  • Includes (check venue for full listings): HOLIDAY 35mm d. George Cukor, 1938 (19 APR 15:45).

SEASCAPES: OUR OCEANS ON SCREEN at Ciné Lumière

STANLEY KUBRICK ON FILM at The Prince Charles

THE WORLD OF WONG KAR WAI at The Prince Charles

This is a film still from: BENEDETTA dir Paul Verhoeven, 2021.

BENEDETTA d. Paul Verhoeven, 2021:

THE GREAT MOVEMENT aka El Gran movimiento d. Kiro Russo, 2021 at:

PLAYGROUND d. Laura Wandel, 2021:

  • Various venues, inc: BFI / ICA

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*THE SMALL PRINT: Opinions author’s own. // As accurate as we could make it. Apologies for any errors. Updates & corrections will be made to the online version only. // Event dates/times/formats are subject to change by the venue/organiser. Events may already be sold out at the time of posting, so please click quickly. // We try to list as many original format screenings as we can (8 to 70MM), but sometimes formats change due to age of the print, availability, logistics etc, so please check ahead with your venue if the format is your thing. // All images are used in the spirit of fair use for reporting & review – no ownership is implied or intended / unless otherwise credited to RADIANT CIRCUS as the original rights holder. We will remove any images immediately upon request – just get in touch. // We don’t filter our listings by age/certification: all readers & subscribers should therefore be 18+. // Finally, we always try to follow The Carny Code by “not screwing up anyone else’s game”, but everyone can make mistakes… If something does go wrong, we will always do our best to put it right. //.