THE BALLY #116: What to see in London this week [23 to 29 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

WONG KAR WAI season at the BFI has obviously been a huge seller (in these capacity-limited times…) with their programming strategy recently resorting to “let’s squeeze another one into the Studio”… Needless to say, most of these additional dates have also already sold out. But we’re trying to keep up…

I don’t know if the parallel season THE WORLD OF WONG KAR WEI at ICA has been as popular, but they are adding to the veritable banquet of arthouse cinema favourites in this reopening era with seasons launching this week devoted to ANDREI TARKOVSKY and AGNÈS VARDA. Also in seasons, BFI starts screening Márta Mészáros’s DIARY trilogy, starting on Saturday with DIARY FOR MY CHILDREN (24 JUL). Call the BFI box office for a discounted joint ticket. Full details of these delights and more in our FILM SEASONS section.

The big opening this week is undoubtably Sundance Film Festival London at Picturehouse Central which beams its special Q&A screening of Edgar Wright’s THE SPARKS BROTHERS almost everywhere on 29 JUL. We’ve listed as many screenings as we could spot. And, as one door opens… Ciné Lumière goes on their summer break this week, starting 23 JUL and reopening again on 25 AUG: bonnes vacances!

As to new releases, and as a lifelong horror-head, I’m really excited by the great reviews OLD is getting (and why not see it at your favourite indie venue?). Then, JW3 gives the new restoration of GIRLFRIENDS a good run, and The Prince Charles has TAXI DRIVER on 35MM for the full week. Check out all the new indie openings – of which there’s a bunch – in our GRIND SHOW section.

We often hear about blended futures, but it’s never quite clear what that means in practice…. Watermansbuilds on their successful online lockdown film club, No Ticket Required, with a new programme of Polish films screening in IRL in the venue and then followed by an online talk and discussion with expert Michael Brooke. The programme launches with Piotr Domalewski’s I NEVER CRY (various screening dates listed below, the talk is on 28 Jul).

Finally, you might also like the 50th Anniversary screening of Mike Hodges’ GET CARTER at Olympic Studios (27 JUL), where the original score was recorded. There’s a handy link to a video of Roy Budd playing his classic theme in Studio One on the booking page…

For our Featured Attraction Of The Week, I’ve chosen THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE presented by Tufnell Park Film Club at The Lord Palmerston (27 JUL). The film was selected by their audience using the club’s unique programming system, where “every film we show is somehow connected to the previous one screened – sort of like a perpetual double bill”. That means audiences decide what comes next by voting for one of three films linked to the previous one by a theme. The winner of their first post-lockdown chain vote is linked to previous film UMBERTO D by the theme of ‘mature protagonists’. You can scroll back through time with their wonderful Chain post.

See you in the darkness,

Richard // RADIANT CIRCUS

PS – You might have seen this… but we’ve launched the first sponsored screening as part of our #ReviveTheDark initiative… Zodiac Film Club will present Jane Campion’s “criminally under-watched erotic thriller” IN THE CUT (2003) at Mama Shelter on 07 SEP 2021 with our help. Revive The Dark is an audience-backed initiative to support and celebrate alternative screen culture in London, powered by funding from subscribers at RADIANT CIRCUS. Basically, we’re helping expert DIY exhibitors get back out there… Subscribe at patreon.com/radiantcircus to help RADIANT CIRCUS back more indie events like this one (and get a great bunch of rewards!).

THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE d. Peter Yates, 1973 presented by Tufnell Park Film Club at The Lord Palmerston (27 JUL 20:00).

• “In one of the best performances of his legendary career, Robert Mitchum plays world-weary, small-time gunrunner, Eddie ‘Fingers’ Coyle. Living hand to mouth, Coyle works the sidelines of the seedy Boston underworld. But when he finds himself facing a second stretch of hard time, he’s forced to weigh loyalty to his criminal colleagues against snitching to stay free.”
• Tufnell Park Film Club shows “a great film every Tuesday in the upstairs room of The Lord Palmerston, a long-established pub, just a short walk from Tufnell Park tube. The club was set up in July 2012 by Nigel Smith and Wayne Gooderham.”

ANDREI TARKOVSKY at ICA

• Includes (check venue for full listings): IVAN’S CHILDHOOD d. Andrei Tarkovsky, 1962 (23 JUL 20:40); ANDREI RUBLEV d. Andrei Tarkovsky, 1966 (24 JUL 20:00); SOLARIS d. Andrei Tarkovsky, 1972 (25 JUL 20:20); MIRROR d. Andrei Tarkovsky, 1975 (27 JUL 20:55); STALKER d. Andrei Tarkovsky, 1979 (28 JUL 18:05); NOSTALGHIA d. Andrei Tarkovsky, 1983 (29 JUL 18:10).

• Chinese Visual Festival (15 to 25 JUL).
• I-D-E-N-T-I-T-I-E-S Latin American Film Festival (24 to 25 JUL).
• Sundance Film Festival (29 JUL to 01 AUG).
• Wonderous Stories Film Festival (23 to 25 JUL).

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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. //.