THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE at Tufnell Park Film Club (27 July 2021).

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!).

BOOKING NOW at Eventbrite. Event sponsored by our monthly subscribers at Patreon to help indie exhibitors #ReviveTheDark.

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.”
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FRIDAY

BABY BOY d. John Singleton, 2001 + social presented by Black Ink Cinema at Genesis Cinema (23 JUL 19:30+).

This is a film still from DIARY FOR MY CHILDREN, screening at BFI Southbank today (24 JULY 2021).

SATURDAY

  • DIARY FOR MY CHILDREN 4K aka Napló gyermekeimnek d. Márta Mészáros, 1984 + Recorded Intro by Márta Mészáros at BFI Southbank (24 JUL 14:10).
  • DIARY FOR MY LOVES aka Napló szerelmeimnek d. Márta Mészáros, 1987 at BFI Southbank (24 JUL 17:30).
  • DIARY FOR MY FATHER AND MOTHER aka Napló apámnak, anyámnak d. Márta Mészáros, 1990 at BFI Southbank (24 JUL 20:45).
  • Joint ticket available for all three DIARY trilogy films: £24, concs £18 (Members pay £3 less). Joint tickets can only be booked by calling the box office, 11.30am-8.30pm daily on 0207 928 3232.
This is a film still from ANDREI RUBLEV, screening at Close-Up Film Centre today (25 July 2021).

SUNDAY

ANDREI RUBLEV d. Andrei Tarkovsky, 1966 at Close-Up (25 JUL 19:00).

This is a film still from THE GRANDMASTER, screening at BFI Southbank today (26 July 2021).

MONDAY

THE GRANDMASTER aka Yi dai zong shi d. Wong Kar Wai, 2013 at BFI Southbank (26 JUL 20:50).

THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE at Tufnell Park Film Club (27 July 2021).

TUESDAY

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

This is a film still from IF IT WERE LOVE, screening at ICA today (28 JUL 2021).

WEDNESDAY

IF IT WERE LOVE d. Patric Chiha, 2020 at ICA (28 JUL 18:30).

This is a film still from THE SPARKS BROTHERS, showing across London today (29 July 2021).

THURSDAY

THE SPARKS BROTHERS d. Edgar Wright, 2021 + Live satellite Q&A with the director and Ron & Russell Mael of Sparks, broadcast from Sundance Film Festival – London 2021: 

SOLARIS d. Andrei Tarkovsky, 1972 at ICA (25 JUL 20:20).

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).

GIRLFRIENDS d. Claudia Weill, 1978

  • Daily: JW3 (not 24 JUL).

TAXI DRIVER 35MM d. Martin Scorsese, 1976

This is a film still from DON'T LOOK NOW, screening outdoors at Archlight Cinema (28 July 2021).

DON’T LOOK NOW d. Nicolas Roeg, 1973 at Archlight Cinema on the Coaling Jetty, Battersea (28 JUL 20:30).

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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. //.