THE BALLY #142: What to see in London this week [25 FEB to 03 MAR 2022]

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

Welcome to another screen week. There’s a lot going on…

In venue news, the opening programme at new indie The Garden Cinema (from 26 MAR) is starting to appear with, amongst other delights, seasons celebrating Marlon Brando and Soviet Cinema. In what must be a relief to the owners, Tower Hamlets Council has been ordered to pay Genesis Cinema‘s considerable legal fees after a “botched prosecution” for alleged breaches of the now-abandoned COVID regs.

We switch from one month to the next mid-week, so prepare to be entertained by the sight of new seasons coming into focus. BFI launches THE CAMERA IS OURS: BRITAIN’S WOMEN DOCUMENTARY MAKERS and transitions their regular big screen classics strand into an examination of the art of PUTTING ON A SHOW. OTHER MODERNISMS, OTHER FUTURES: GLOBAL ART CINEMA 1960-80 opens at Barbican whilst OSCAR & BAFTA NOMINEES at The Prince Charles and REWARDING DOCS at Bertha DocHouse focus on the race for success. Along similar lines, but not listed here, you can also enjoy IN THE RACE FOR THE OSCARS at Genesis Cinema and AWARDS SEASON at Everyman. 

I’ve spotted three film festivals this week, Cinema Made in Italy at Ciné Lumière (03 to 07 MAR), and the Glasgow Film Festival which gets a few screenings at venues across town (02 to 13 MAR). Kendal Mountain Film Festival Tour gets another outing, this week at Rio Cinema (03 MAR).

In special events, Stow Film Lounge starts your screen week with a tribute screening of Peter Bogdanovich’s WHAT’S UP, DOC? at Creative Works E17 (25 FEB). On Saturday, 888 Films returns with a subtitled screening of Joe Wright’s CYRANO followed by a Q&A with Fats Timbo and Club Night with DEAF RAVE at Picturehouse Stratford, whilst Exploding Cinema takes over The Cinema Museum for another wild night of projections (both 26 FEB). We Are Parable are back with a Q&A screening of Cherish Oteka’s short THE BLACK COP at Rich Mix (27 FEB) as part of their national touring TESTIMONIES programme about Black British women and non-binary documentary filmmakers. On the same day, Club des Femmes screen more of the Hackney Archive with SOMEWHERE IN HACKNEY at Rio Cinema, and Highgate Film Society projects Mike Leigh’s TOPSY-TURVYat the Highgate Literary & Scientific Institution (both 27 FEB). 

The Batty Mama will brighten up your Monday with LORRAINE HANSBERRY: SIGHTED EYES/FEELING HEARTS at Stanley Arts, and Korean Film Nights from London Korean Film Festival return with AN EXPERIENCE TO DIE FOR at Genesis (both 28 FEB). Barbican presents a 30th Anniversary screening of “landmark gay sex ed documentary” THE GAY MAN’S GUIDE TO SAFER SEX with Terrence Higgins Trust, and Tufnell Park Film Club continues their wonderfully eclectic programme at The Lord Palmerston with Roger Corman’s THE RAVEN (both 01 MAR). You might also still be able to get tickets for Jane Campion’s intro for THE POWER OF THE DOG  at Everyman Screen On The Green… Wednesday’s highlight is Rebel Reel Cine Club’s special presentation of WHO ARE YOU, POLLY MAGGOO? at Rio Cinema, complete with an Anti-Fashion Fashion Show in which you’re invited to be the star (02 MAR). Then, round off your screen week with a special #ReclaimTheFrame presentation of Clio Barnard’s ALI & AVA plus Q&A at Barbican, or enjoy Mila Araoz Ellis’s short FILMS OF FURY, the winner of the Critics Choice Award at the EFN Short Film Festival, when it screens before STUDIO 666 at Genesis (03 MAR).

I’ve chosen as my pick of this week’s new releases, the 4K Restoration of Francis Ford Coppola’s THE GODFATHER which gets a pick ‘n’ mix of engagements across town (check your fave venue for dates and times!), Fred Baillif’s LA MIF (aka The Fam), and Max Currie’s RŪRANGI. Both CYRANO and THE DUKE get extensive releases, so you probably won’t need my help to find a screening near you…

Now, I wasn’t planning on choosing an event I’m involved as my Featured Attraction of the Week. But then, stuff happens… We could never have imagined when programming FRANKENSTEIN – a film made in the nightmare shadows of one world war and standing in opposition to the fascist beliefs that would lead to a second – that we would be screening it in the context of further war in Europe. As we watch James Whale’s haunting appeal for compassion with our audience on Sunday at The Castle Cinema, we will do so in solidarity with everyone who stands for peace, and mourn all loss and suffering at the hands of tyranny and oppression.

See also Ciné Lumière’s screening of THE GREAT DICTATOR on the same day (27 FEB). 

See you in the darkness, and please stay safe.

Richard // RADIANT CIRCUS

Queer Horror Nights: FRANKENSTEIN d. James Whale, 1931 + Intro & Bar Social co-hosted by Token Homo & Last Frame Club at The Castle Cinema (27 FEB 17:00).

“Queer Horror Nights is a new film club devoted to screening queer, cult and classic horror cinema in London. We start in LGBT History Month with “The Daddy of all monster movies”, James Whale’s 1931 film, FRANKENSTEIN. One of the most subversive horror films of all time, Whale’s macabre masterpiece was brutally censored for almost 50 years and only partially restored in 1985, reviving its revolutionary message. We are proud to present this powerful “allegory of social exclusion” and “the first great American horror film” as the first of our Queer Horror Nights and the launch of our Q-RATED! season.”

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Full daily listings in this week’s SCREEN GUIDE.

THE CAMERA IS OURS: BRITAIN’S WOMEN DOCUMENTARY MAKERS at BFI Southbank

• Includes (check venue for full listings): From Beside the Seaside to The English Inn: Restoration Programme 1 + Intro by BFI curator Ros Cranston (03 MAR 18:15); FOR SAMA d. Waad Al-Kateab & Edward Watts, 2019 + Intro by director Waad Al-Kateab (03 MAR 20:30).

More rep seasons listed in this week’s SCREEN GUIDE.

• Cinema Made in Italy (03 to 07 MAR).
• Glasgow Film Festival (02 to 13 MAR).
• Kendal Mountain Film Festival Tour (03 MAR).

More new releases in this week’s SCREEN GUIDE.

• 
  Sine Screen presents Vulnerable Histories at Close-Up & The Garden Cinema (19 to 26 AUG 2023)
• 
  Lost Reels presents 16mm & 35mm screenings at The Cinema Museum & ICA (19 & 31 AUG 2023)
• 
  The Duke Mitchell Film Club presents DukeFest 2023: A Brave New World (13 to 16 AUG 2023)
• 
  Cinema Mentiré launches with OLHAR PERIFERICO season (AUG 2023)

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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. //.