THE BALLY #170: What to see in London this week [09 to 15 SEP 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

Please note, some venues may now be closed following the death of the Queen. Check ahead for changes to their schedules.

Start your cinema week with a special screening of HALLELUJAH: LEONARD COHEN, A JOURNEY, A SONG at Picturehouse Central (09 SEP), or for something a little lighter, The Garden Cinema continues their musicals strand with LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (09 & 10 SEP). The Independent Cinema Office (ICO) starts a new streaming event on Friday as part of their ongoing THE CINEMA OF IDEAS project. In collaboration with No Planet B, Life In The Woods features Philip Trevelyan’s THE MOON & THE SLEDGEHAMMER and Lucile Hadžihalilović’s DE NATURA (from 09 to 13 SEP), followed by a live event (13 SEP). 

For your weekend, I’d recommend the opportunity to see one of three 35mm screenings of David Cronenberg’s VIDEODROME on Saturday at ICA ahead of his latest release (10, 11 & 13 SEP). Bohemia Media continues their free Cinema Sunday screenings at The Apple Tree with the acclaimed trans rights doc, DONNA. Postponed from earlier in the year, the TLC (aka Trans-Led Cinema) project led by Rebecca del Tufo returns to The Lexi with MAGIC MIRROR on Monday (12 SEP). Deeper Into Movies presents Scott Hicks’ GLASS: A PORTRAIT OF PHILIP IN TWELVE PARTS on the same day at Farr’s Dalston.

In addition to our featured attraction of the week (see below!), a busy Tuesday brings you A TRIBUTE TO JORDAN + PUNK & THE PISTOLS at Rio Cinema, Sands Films Cinema Club’s in-venue and online presentation of F.W. Murnau’s HERR TARTÜFF, and Ida Lupino’s THE HITCH-HIKER at Tufnell Park Film Club (all 13 SEP). A special Tuesday mention too for the always-excellent Architecture on Film strand at Barbican which continues with RIOTSVILLE USA featuring a virtual Q&A with director, Sierra Pettengil. If talks are more your thing, The Miskatonic Institute’s An Exploration of the Evolution of the Monstrous-Feminine at The Horse Hospital comes highly recommended.

On Wednesday, I’d love to invite you to the next of our Queer Horror Nights, this time at Genesis Cinema with Stewart Thorndike’s LYLE, but if horror directed by women isn’t your thing, how about catching another F-Rated delight, Sally Potter’s THE PARTY presented in a double-bill with Martin McDonagh’s SIX SHOOTER by Pitshanger Pictures at St Barnabas Church, Ealing (both 14 SEP)? Finally, I’d suggest wrapping your week by heading to The Castle Cinema for a Jellied Reels presentation of DIRTY WORK (15 SEP).

It’s a great week for new releases and restorations, including Halina Reijn’s BODIES BODIES BODIES, David Cronenberg’s CRIMES OF THE FUTURE(…finally!), the 50th Anniversary/4K Restoration of Luis Buñuel’s THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE, and Tom George’s SEE HOW THEY RUN. Lots of smaller scale releases too, with ICA and Bertha DocHouse continuing to be good choices for exclusives you won’t see elsewhere. Picturehouse Cinemas appear to be the indie venues of choice if you want your encounter with JAWS 3D, whilst the BFI has rubbery Bruce in glorious IMAX. Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the cinema…

Two directors I admire release new work this work. Werner Herzog’s virtual appearance at Barbican for THE FIRE WITHIN: REQUIEM FOR KATIA & MAURICE KRAFFT (14 SEP) is looking sold out, so I’ve chosen Peter Strickland’s in-person presentation of FLUX GOURMET + Short: BLANK NARCISSUS at Curzon Soho (13 SEP) as my Featured Attraction of the Week. 

See you in the darkness, and stay safe.

Richard // RADIANT CIRCUS

FLUX GOURMET + Short: BLANK NARCISSUS d. Peter Strickland, 2022 + Q&A with the director at Curzon Soho (13 SEP 18:00).

FLUX GOURMET: “Welcome to the Sonic Catering Institute, a creative retreat for artists whose work occupies a place somewhere between avant-garde music and outré cuisine. Run by the eccentric Jan Stevens (Gwendoline Christie, Game of Thrones), the three-week workshop is playing host to a three-piece outfit comprising the severe and unbending Elle di Elle (Strickland regular Fatma Mohamed), the troubled Lamina Propria (Ariane Labed, The Souvenir, The Lobster) and Jan’s soon-to-be lover Billy Rubin (Asa Butterfield, Sex Education). Their journey at the institute is documented by photographer Stones (Makis Papadimitriou, Suntan), whose digestive troubles are as turbulent as the creations his subjects are producing. But relations between the bandmembers are deteriorating quicker than the concoctions they conjure up, their host’s psyche is unravelling and the in-house doctor’s obsession with classical texts is driving everyone to distraction.” (Curzon)

BLANK NARCISSUS: “A UK short film drama in which the director of gay male adult films in the 1970s provides an audio commentary over one of his productions.” (BBFC)

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Full daily listings in this week’s SCREEN GUIDE.

BBC CENTENARY LGBTQ+ SCREENINGS at The Cinema Museum 

• Includes (check venue for full listings): TWO OF US d. Roger Tonge, 1987 + Q&A (10 SEP 19:30).
• Our Featured Attraction of the Month.

CHANNEL 4: 40 YEARS OF REVOLUTION at BFI Southbank

• Includes (check venue for full listings): Channel 4’s TV Drama Revolution + Discussion/Q&A with creative team & actors, Robert Lindsay & Lindsay Duncan (11 SEP 14:15); A VERY BRITISH COUP d. Mick Jackson, 1988 3 x 50 minute episodes + Intro by author Chris Mullin (11 SEP 16:30); Diversity (12 SEP 18:15); Out and Proud (15 SEP 18:15).
• Our Featured Attraction of the Month.

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

• Everyman Music Film Festival (01 to 30 SEP).
• Open City Documentary Festival (07 to 13 SEP).
• Peckham & Nunhead Free Film Festival (08 to 18 SEP).
• Portobello Film Festival (01 to 18 SEP).
• Wild Indie Sci-fi & Fantasy Film Festival (10 SEP).

More outdoor events in this week’s SCREEN GUIDE.

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. //.