THE BALLY #180: What to see in London this week [25 NOV to 01 DEC 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 plenty going on this week, with a welcome return to public screenings by Deptford Cinema (despite continuing to search for a new home!). The award-winning volunteer-led cinema is showing horror movie LAMB with live music from Stergin at St Swithun’s Church (26 NOV). Their event is supported with National Lottery Funding as part of the BFI’s blockbuster horror programme, IN DREAMS ARE MONSTERS (which is also the name of their sensational season on BFI Southbank). 

The end of the week explodes into glitter with the start of December so these pages will soon be festooned with merry Christmas tinsel titles… I’ll post an epic roundup of the month’s rep seasons in the next few days. If you want to see where Christmas comes from, the always-excellent Architecture On Film strand at Barbican, curated by the Architecture Foundation, presents MERRY CHRISTMAS, YIWU, a documentary about the 600 dedicated festive factories in Yiwu, China (30 NOV).

01 DEC is World AIDS Day and so I’ve chosen documentary XIMEI at The Garden Cinema as my Featured Attraction of the Week. Also for World AIDS Day, Rio Cinema is showing Bill Sherwood’s PARTING GLANCES as part of their weekly Pink Palace LGBTQ+ strand (30 NOV). Congratulations to Andrew Woodyatt and the team at the Rio for this work being Highly Commended at the Big Screen Awards in the Diversity & Inclusion Initiative category.

See you in the darkness, and stay safe.

Richard // RADIANT CIRCUS

XIMEI d. Gaylen Ross & Andy Cohen, 2019 presented by Dokbox for World AIDS Day at The Garden Cinema (01 DEC 18:30).

“During a government-sponsored blood campaign, peasants from China’s Henan Province queued in front of vans to sell their blood for approximately 5 dollars, a month’s wages. 300,000 people were infected with HIV from contaminated equipment and transfusions, sparking a full-blown epidemic, followed by a scandalous cover up.”

“Ximei, a victim of this Black Blood economy, fights against the injustice while fighting the disease. Even as local officials try to terrorize Ximei into silence, sequester her in an AIDS Village, and close down her halfway house for victims and their orphans, she single-handedly fights for her fellow patients to receive medical treatment and to overcome social and work discrimination.”

“Ximei’s courageous actions and fiery character transform the tragedy of Henan’s HIV-infected outcasts into lives of hope and dignity.” (The Garden Cinema)

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Full daily listings in this week’s SCREEN GUIDE.

IN DREAMS ARE MONSTERS at BFI Southbank 

• Includes (check venue for full listings):
• Zombie: PET SEMATARY 4K d. Mary Lambert, 1989 (25 NOV 18:15 / 28 NOV 20:40); 28 DAYS LATER d. Danny Boyle, 2002 (26 NOV 20:45); PONTYPOOL d. Bruce McDonald, 2008 (27 NOV 12:20); US d. Jordan Peele, 2019 (29 NOV 20:40);
• Beast: JENNIFER’s BODY 35mm d. Karyn Kusama, 2009 + Recorded Q&A with the director (25 NOV 20:45); FRANKENSTEIN d. James Whale, 1931 (27 NOV 13:00); POSSESSION 4K Restoration d. Andrzej Zuławski, 1981 (27 NOV 15:30); GOOD MANNERS aka As Boas Maneiras d. Juliana Rojas & Marco Dutra, 2017 (27 NOV 18:10 / 30 NOV 20:25).
• Vampire: BLACULA 35mm d. William Crain, 1972 (26 NOV 13:00); GANJA & HESS d. Bill Gunn, 1973 (26 NOV 15:20); DEF BY TEMPTATION 35mm d. James Bond III, 1990 (26 NOV 18:10).
• Witch: INFERNO d. Dario Argento, 1980 (26 NOV 18:20); THE AUTOPSY OF JANE DOE d. André Øvredal, 2016 (26 NOV 20:40).
• Ghost: OUIJA: ORIGIN OF EVIL d. Mike Flanagan, 2016 (28 NOV 18:10); UNDER THE SHADOW d. Babak Anvari, 2016 (29 NOV 18:10); A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET d. Wes Craven, 1984 (30 NOV 20:50); THE UNINVITED d. Lewis Allen, 1944 (01 DEC 18:05); KWAIDAN 35mm aka Kaidan d. Masaki Kobayashi, 1964 (01 DEC 20:00 / 13 DEC 17:40).
• Relaxed screening: THE FLY d. David Cronenberg, 1986 + Intro/discussion hosted by Ethan Lyon, co-host of the Autism Through Cinema podcast (28 NOV 18:00).

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

• British Urban Film Festival (26 NOV to 03 DEC).
• French Film Festival (02 NOV to 15 DEC).
• London International Animation Festival (25 NOV to 04 DEC).
• London Migration Film Festival (24 to 30 NOV).
• London Surf Film Festival (25 NOV to 02 DEC).
• Made In Prague (07 to 29 NOV).
• Romanian Film Festival London (24 to 28 NOV).
• Sofia Cinema Showcase (13 to 27 NOV).
• UK Film Festival London (23 to 26 NOV / online 23 to 27 NOV).
• UK Jewish Film Festival (10 to 20 NOV / online 21 to 27 NOV).

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. //.