THE BALLY #112: What to see in London this week [25 JUN to 01 JUL 2021]

Welcome to THE BALLY where we help you find what to see in London this week across DIY, indie & alternative cinema events, online, outdoors & in venues.

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

Film festivals continue to provide a great deal of new content across London’s indie screens this week, with SERET International Israeli Film Festival and the London Indian Film Festival going strong. Doc’n Roll Festival continues to make up for lost time, joined this week by London Short Film Festival with programmes showcasing the best of their 2021 online event at venues across London. New festival arrivals include Rooftop Film Club’s Roofstock weekender at their Peckham location (25 to 27 JUN), and SAFAR Film Festival: Generational Encounters in Arab Cinema which opens at Barbican (01 to 06 JUL).

We publish on the cusp of a new month, so there’ll be new seasons to list in our next monthly roundup (which we hope to get posted at the weekend…). In the meantime, we welcome CLOSE-UP ON ANDREI TARKOVSKY to a newly reopened Close-Up Film Centre (from 26 JUN), and T A P E Collective’s BUT WHERE ARE YOU REALLY FROM? at BFI Southbank (from 01 JUL). BFI also continues their hardy perennial Big Screen Classics season, with a new focus on the theme of TOGETHERNESS (from 01 JUL). Which is nice.

If you enjoy watching your movies outdoors, then the return of The Luna Cinema to venues across London this summer will be your thing. We’ve spotted them in Brockwell Park from 01 JUL, but other venues in their busy forward schedule include Clapham Common, Dulwich Park, the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, and Westminster Abbey. Booking now. 

Speaking of the great outdoors, Archlight Cinema will be heading back outside for another season of films on the Coaling Jetty at Battersea. The first wave of events goes on sale from 29 JUN. In other venues news, as well as welcoming Close-Up back to the darkness, Regent Street Cinema also reopens from 25 JUN. To celebrate, they’re currently offering £2 off every cinema ticket until 01 SEP.

The coronavirus has prompted all sorts of contortions in usual cinema business, but we were drawn to this stern warning from The Prince Charles from their booking pages for THE ROOM (currently screening without Tommy Wiseau):

“NO SPOONS (of any kind) and NO SHOUTING ALLOWED! Due to Health & Safety concerns for our staff and customers during the COVID-19 pandemic, we will not be able to allow Spoon Throwing or Quoting Along during performances of this film this year. All performances will be standard film screenings. Any customers seen throwing spoons or shouting out during this performance will be asked to leave. We understand that this is a part of the show, but during this time we ask you to please cooperate with us.”

THE PRINCE CHARLES CINEMA.

We know this is deadly serious, but we couldn’t help but smile… in the spirit of COVID cooperation, let’s hope normal spoon tossing business can resume again soon.

Whilst Tommy Wiseau might be the patron saint of DIY filmmakers, we remain obsessed with DIY exhibitors, the people hacking the screen industries to give cinema meaning. No Planet B has been inspiring eco activism through cinema for a while now and gets two outings this week. First up, founder and programmer Julia Brow will be interviewed by Birds Eye View’s Mia Bays following a #ReclaimTheFrame screening of GUNDA at Genesis Cinema (29 JUN). Then, No Planet B will project Agnès Varda’s THE GLEANERS AND I at Catford Mews (01 JUL), which becomes our Featured Attraction of the Week.

See you in the darkness,

Richard // RADIANT CIRCUS

THE GLEANERS & I aka Les glaneurs et la glaneuse d. Agnès Varda, 2000 + Intro presented by No Planet B at Catford Mews (01 JUL 20:15).

• “In this idiosyncratic, self-reflexive documentary, Varda explores the world of modern-day gleaners: those living on the margins who survive by foraging and scavenging for what society throws away. Varda likens her filmmaking to the gleaning of ideas and images from interior and exterior journeys and admits to being a gleaner herself, which gives her a special connection with the subjects of this honest and intriguing documentary.”
• No Planet B is an environmental film club inspiring activism through cinema.

BUT WHERE ARE YOU REALLY FROM? presented by T A P E Collective at BFI Southbank (from 01 JUL):

“A season of films celebrating filmmakers who redefine, reject and re-establish identity and heritage labels.”

• Includes (check venue for full listings): EYIMOFE aka This is My Desire d. Arie Esiri & Chuko Esiri, 2020 at BFI Southbank (01 JUL 20:30 / 09 JUL 17:40).

• Architecture Film Festival London (02 to 27 JUN).
• Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival (17 JUN to 04 JUL).
• Doc’n Roll Festival – Summer Screenings (JUN to JUL).
• Queer East – Pride Season (JUN to JUL).
• Roofstock weekender at Rooftop Film Club, Peckham (25 to 27 JUN).
• SAFAR Film Festival: Generational Encounters in Arab Cinema (01 to 06 JUL).
• SERET International Israeli Film Festival (21 to 28 JUN).

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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. //.