THE BALLY #113: What to see in London this week [02 to 08 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

It seems like a quieter week for single-o exhibits as we get into our second summer of COVID-19, but London’s indie screens are still full of treasures.

Keeping up their programming preoccupation with calendar dates, The Prince Charles has a trio of offerings for THE 4TH OF JULY including screenings of JAWS, NATIONAL TREASURE and, of course, INDEPENDENCE DAY from 35MM (you can also catch that interplanetary Will Smith smash-up at Catford Mews). SAFAR Film Festival continues at venues across London and the London Korean Film Festival returns with some of their excellent amuse-bouche teaser screenings. Doc’n Roll Festival and Queer East continue their summer specials.

It’s a great week for film seasons too, with our Featured Attraction of The Month, T A P E Collective’s BUT WHERE ARE YOU REALLY FROM? picking up pace at BFI where they are joined by a new season devoted to THE CINEMA OF MÁRTA MÉSZÁROS. Everyman Cinemas start a season of FILM4 CLASSICS and Barbican begins another of their short seasons, this one devoted to SPLASH, SCRATCH, DUNK! FILMS MADE BY HAND. Finally, we get WONG KAR WAI at both BFI and ICA. Both venues feature shiny new 4K restorations of some of the maestro’s key works alongside a clutch of 35MM prints to round out his repertoire. Full details at radiantcircus.com.

Whilst we might be down a few drive-ins, London’s outdoor cinema events continue to expand with two new arrivals at the indier end of the spectrum. First up, DMovies and friends launch Sunset Screening Sessions at The Homestead Cafe at Beckenham Park Place (02 JUL to 06 AUG). Their programme devoted to “10 British movies that shine” starts this week with Hitchcock’s 1927 film, THE LODGER: A STORY OF THE LONDON FOG(02 JUL). After that, Archlight Cinema has announced that they will be unpacking the deckchairs again to resume outdoor projections on the Coaling Jetty, Battersea (now booking from 19 JUL to 01 AUG with more dates promised).

Several more screen venues return this week, including the wonderful South London community team at Screen25 Cinema with a special screening of Ousmane Sembène’s MANDABI (07 JUL). After completion of their on-demand service and some uncertainty about their location, it’s great to see them settling back into their established home at Harris Academy in South Norwood. On a similar note, Deptford Cinema is still looking for a new home but resumes indoor events with QUEEN & SLIM at guest host Deptford Lounge (03 JUL).

We’ve already mentioned them, but also returning this week is the splendid ICA which resumes projecting with the UK premiere of Judith Abensour’s FOEDORA complete with a recorded conversation between the director and independent curator, writer and academic Nat Muller (06 JUL).

Our Featured Attraction of the Week is the archive screening of TROTTIE TRUE 35MM aka The Gay Lady + Intro by BFI Curator Josephine Botting at BFI Southbank (06 JUL 18:00). Showing from “a gorgeous 35mm print made by the BFI National Archive” the screening is a celebration of star Jean Kent who “injected some welcome glamour and zest into the bleak post-war years” (BFI). If you aren’t in the mood for “glamour and zest” right now, where have you been for the past 16 months?

See you in the darkness,

Richard // RADIANT CIRCUS

TROTTIE TRUE 35MM aka The Gay Lady + Intro by BFI Curator Josephine Botting at BFI Southbank (06 JUL 18:00).

• “To celebrate the centenary of her birth, we’re screening Jean Kent’s most eye-catching role, and her personal favourite, from a gorgeous 35mm print made by the BFI National Archive. Kent brings vivacity and good-natured humour to this lavish Technicolor salute to the golden age of music hall, with no expense spared on the sumptuous recreation of Edwardian England. Trottie’s progression from working-class girl to stage celebrity echoes Kent’s own journey to stardom, which took her from Windmill Girl at the age of 14 to one of Gainsborough’s leading ladies. This film earned her the tag ‘Britain’s Betty Grable’, and she undoubtedly injected some welcome glamour and zest into the bleak post-war years.” (BFI)

THE CINEMA OF MÁRTA MÉSZÁROS at BFI Southbank (from 05 JUL)

• Includes (check venue for full listings): Introducing Márta Mészáros illustrated talk by season programmer Maggi Hurt + THE GIRL aka Eltávozott nap d. Márta Mészáros, 1968 (05 JUL 17:45); BINDING SENTIMENTS aka Holdudvar d. Márta Mészáros, 1969 (06 JUL 20:50 – featured image); DON’T CRY, PRETTY GIRLS! aka Szép lányok, ne sírjatok! d. Márta Mészáros, 1970 (07 JUL 17:40).

• Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival (17 JUN to 04 JUL).
• Doc’n Roll Festival – Summer Screenings (JUN & JUL).
• London Korean Film Festival – Teaser Screenings (JUL).
• Queer East – Pride Season (JUN to JUL).
• SAFAR Film Festival: Generational Encounters in Arab Cinema (01 to 06 JUL).
• Sohome Horror Fest Pride 2021 (02 to 04 JUL online).

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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. //.