What to see in London this week (28 August to 03 September 2020): LE MÉPRIS (1963) at Ciné Lumière.

THE BALLY #87: What to see in London this week (28 AUG to 03 SEP)

Welcome to THE BALLY where we update you on the latest news from across London’s alternative cinema scene & recommend what to see in London this week. Find everything listed in our weekly screen digest at radiantcircus.com*

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Find out what to see in London this week with RADIANT CIRCUS, London's "home of alternative screen culture" (Film London).
NEWS FROM ACROSS LONDON’S ALTERNATIVE CINEMA SCENE.

This week we welcome back ArtHouse Crouch End (from 28 AUG) and BFI Southbank (01 SEP – see SEASONS) to our listings. Looking a little further ahead, Rich Mix will rejoin the fray with TENET (now booking daily) from 04 SEP, and both Kino Bermondsey and The Lexi Cinema have announced a reopening date of 11 SEP.  The Lexi is now taking bookings for their reopening lineup including PARASITE B&W EDITION (11 SEP), THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (12 SEP), and THE MAKING OF MOTOWN (13 SEP).

TENET continues to have a remarkable effect on London’s indie cinema scene. Archlight Cinema and Rio Cinema both resume a full weekly programme thanks to its programming pull, with the latter joining the 35MM club (see our original format listings, below). Combined with the post-shutdown/late summer scheduling, Nolan’s film has rather cleared the decks and there are fewer one-off special events to mention this week (what we call SINGLE-O EXHIBITS). To compensate, we’ve recommended some standout screenings from our venue, festival and repertory season listings.

There’s a clutch of (mostly) online film festivals this week including I Will Tell International Film Festival, World Cinema Film Festival and our DIY friends at Peckham & Nunhead Free Film Festival (see FESTIVALS for links). We’re also starting to get glimpses of the shape of this year’s BFI London Film Festival (07 to 18 OCT): Steve McQueen’s MANGROVE will open the event & Francis Lee’s AMMONITE will close it. The full programme will be announced on 08 SEP and public booking goes live on 21 SEP.

Finally, RADIANT CIRCUS has been a little quiet with our additional posts in the last few weeks… That’s because we’re working on something that we hope will lend further support to London’s DIY, freelance and volunteer exhibitors as they return to the darkness… See NEW AT RADIANT CIRCUS (all the way below…) for some extra details.

Find out what to see in London this week with RADIANT CIRCUS, London's "home of alternative screen culture" (Film London).
IF WE HAD TO PICK JUST ONE SCREEN EVENT TO SEE THIS WEEK, IT WOULD BE…

London’s repertory screenings take a bold step into a COVID-secure future with the return of BFI Southbank this week. Their reopening lineup is packed full of new seasons, with the standout being African Odyssey’s INJUSTICE, a series of powerful documentaries about racial inequality.

On a related and tragically pertinent theme, our special mention of the week goes to Ladj Ly’s LES MISÉRABLES which gets a series of preview screenings on 30 AUG at Curzon Cinemas (see LISTINGS).

Our Featured Attraction Of The Week welcomes the full return of another of our favourite London venues, Ciné Lumière (we adore their main room). Their new season THE MANY FACETS OF MICHEL PICCOLI celebrates the legacy of one of France’s most prolific actors and gives RADIANT CIRCUS a rare opportunity to put a film by Jean-Luc Godard into our headline slot. His LE MÉPRIS (1963) screens on both 30 AUG & 01 SEP this week.

See you in darkness,

RADIANT CIRCUS

LES MISÉRABLES (2019) at Curzon Cinemas (30 AUG).
Find out what to see in London this week with RADIANT CIRCUS, London's "home of alternative screen culture" (Film London).
WHERE WE RECOMMEND WHAT TO SEE IN LONDON THIS WEEK.
Find out what to see in London this Friday with RADIANT CIRCUS, London's "home of alternative screen culture" (Film London).
What to see in London this week: AWAY at Genesis Cinema (28 AUG).

AWAY d. Gints Zilbalodis, 2019 at Genesis Cinema (28 AUG 11:50 to 02 SEP):

  • “Part dream, part reality, AWAY explores our common, universal need to find a connection. AWAY marks a full-length feature debut for animator Gints Zilbalodis, who single-handedly crafted the feature over a period of more than three years.”
  • Also at: Curzon Cinemas & Picturehouse Cinemas.
Find out what to see in London this Saturday with RADIANT CIRCUS, London's "home of alternative screen culture" (Film London).
RADIANT CIRCUS - What to see in London this week: BIG at Olympic Studios (29 AUG).

BIG d. Penny Marshall, 1988 at Olympic Studios (29 AUG 12:00):

  • “After a wish turns 12-year-old Josh Baskin (David Moscow) into a 30-year-old man (Tom Hanks), he heads to New York City and gets a low-level job at MacMillen Toy Company. A chance encounter with the owner (Robert Loggia) of the company leads to a promotion testing new toys. Soon a fellow employee, Susan Lawrence (Elizabeth Perkins), takes a romantic interest in Josh. However, the pressure of living as an adult begins to overwhelm him, and he longs to return to his simple, former life as a boy.”
Find out what to see in London this Sunday with RADIANT CIRCUS, London's "home of alternative screen culture" (Film London).
RADIANT CIRCUS - What to see in London this week: LE MÉPRIS at Ciné Lumière (30 AUG).

LE MÉPRIS aka Contempt d. Jean-Luc Godard, 1963 (30 AUG 14:00 / 01 SEP 18:45).

  • “Unusually cast and playfully shot, Godard’s masterly hymn to cinema features Michel Piccoli and Brigitte Bardot as a couple whose marriage begins to fall apart while they are both on the island of Capri during the shooting of a film directed by Fritz Lang. As Camille, Bardot splendidly chips the male clichés over women in this legendary part.”
  • Part of: THE MANY FACETS OF MICHEL PICCOLI at Ciné Lumière.
Find out what to see in London this Monday with RADIANT CIRCUS, London's "home of alternative screen culture" (Film London).
RADIANT CIRCUS - What to see in London this week: JOAN OF ARC at Ciné Lumière (31 AUG).

JOAN OF ARC aka Jeanne d. Bruno Dumont, 2019 at Ciné Lumière (31 AUG 17:20):

  • “Winner of the Prix Louis-Delluc, Bruno Dumont’s new film reimagines one of France’s founding stories to celebrate the irreducible value of freedom. In 1429, the Hundred Years’ War between France and England had already been going 90 odd years. Believing that God had chosen her, the young Joan is a leader of the army of the King of France and lifts the siege of Orleans. The pop soundtrack by late singer Christophe and the diehard acting of a 10 year-old portray, as sharply as Charles Péguy did in his time, the epitome of a modern-day heroine.”
Find out what to see in London this Tuesday with RADIANT CIRCUS, London's "home of alternative screen culture" (Film London).
RADIANT CIRCUS - What to see in London this week: HOPE GAP at Watermans (01 SEP).

HOPE GAP d. William Nicholson, 2019 + Live streamed Q&A with the director & actor Annette Bening at Watermans (01 SEP 18:30):

  • “Grace (Annette Bening) and Edward (Bill Nighy), married for 29 years, live in a small seaside town near a cove under the cliffs called Hope Gap. When their son Jamie (Josh O’Connor) comes to visit for the weekend, Edward informs him that he plans to leave Grace, that same day. HOPE GAP tracks the unraveling of three lives, through stages of shock, disbelief, and anger, to a resolution of sorts.”
Find out what to see in London this Wednesday with RADIANT CIRCUS, London's "home of alternative screen culture" (Film London).
RADIANT CIRCUS - What to see in London this week: BEAU TRAVAIL at BFI Southbank (02 SEP).

BEAU TRAVAIL d. Claire Denis, 1999 at BFI Southbank (02 SEP 20:50):

  • “Denis’ sensual queer update of Herman Melville’s unfinished tale of mutiny, Billy Budd, Sailor, deconstructs colonialism, masculinity and obsession, and plays out to hypnotic images of the French Foreign Legion photographed against the shimmering Djibouti waters and sands to the sounds of Britten’s opera.”
  • Part of: REDEFINING REBELLION at BFI Southbank.
Find out what to see in London this Thursday with RADIANT CIRCUS, London's "home of alternative screen culture" (Film London).
RADIANT CIRCUS - What to see in London today: LA PELÍCULA INFINITA at BIMI (03 SEP).

LA PELÍCULA INFINITA aka The Endless Film d. Leandro Listorti, 2018 + Q&A with the director, FREE online event by BIMI (03 SEP 19:00):

  • “An expansive multi-layered compilation film assembled in the archives of the Buenos Aires film museum where the filmmaker is employed. This cinematic experiment retrieves fragments of films that were unfinished or lost, investing new life into objects considered incomplete and invisible, were it not for their reappearance in this new artistic context.”
  • How it works: Register online to receive links to the film + Q&A.
  • Followed by: Working With Found Footage – FREE online lecture with Leandro Listorti (04 SEP 18:30).
WHAT’S ON IN LONDON’S INDIE CINEMAS & DRIVE-INS (A-Z BY VENUE).

TENET 35MM / 70MM / IMAX 15

    • BFI IMAX: TENET IMAX 15/70MM (28 AUG 12:00, 16:00, 20:00 & 23:59 / 29 AUG 08:00, 12:00, 16:00, 20:00 & 23:59 / 30 AUG 12:00, 16:00 & 20:00 / 31 AUG 12:00, 16:00 & 20:00 / 01 SEP 12:00, 16:00 & 20:00 / 02 SEP 12:00, 16:00 & 20:00 / 03 SEP 12:00, 16:00 & 20:00).
    • CURZON SOHO: TENET 35MM (28 AUG 14:00 & 21:00 / 29 AUG 14:00 & 21:00 / 30 AUG 17:00 / 31 AUG 14:00 & 21:00 / 01 SEP 17:30 / 02 SEP 14:00 & 21:00 / 03 SEP 17:30). 
    • GENESIS CINEMA: TENET 35MM (28 AUG 19:15 / 29 AUG 19:45 / 30 AUG 19:00 / 31 AUG 19:00 / 01 SEP 19:45 / 02 SEP 21:00 / 03 SEP 21:00).
    • PICTUREHOUSE CENTRAL: TENET 70MM (28 AUG 12:30, 16:00 & 19:30 / 29 AUG 12:00, 15:30 & 19:00 / 30 AUG 11:30, 15:00 & 18:30 / 31 AUG 15:00 & 18:30 / 01 SEP 15:00 & 18:30 / 02 SEP 15:00 & 18:30 / 03 SEP 15:00 & 18:30).
    • RIO CINEMA: TENET 35MM (28 AUG 20:15 / 31 AUG 16:30).
    • THE RITZY: TENET 35MM (28 AUG 16:30 & 20:10 / 29 AUG 16:30 & 20:10 / 30 AUG 12:30 & 16:30 / 31 AUG 16:30 & 20:10 / 01 SEP 16:30 & 20:10 / 02 SEP 16:30 & 20:10 / 03 SEP 16:30 & 20:10).

> Full indie cinema & drive-in listings at radiantcircus.com

Find out what to see in London this week with RADIANT CIRCUS, London's "home of alternative screen culture" (Film London).
NEW EXHIBITS & ATTRACTIONS AT RADIANTCIRCUS.COM

COMING SOON: Over the last three years, our mission at RADIANT CIRCUS has become ever clearer: to help promote and preserve alternative screen culture in London. That screen culture is taking a battering right now… so we must do what we can.

We’re working on a scheme that we hope will support the kind of adventurous, DIY screen programming that normally fills our listings and that started us blogging in the first place. We also want to have some fun with our alternative cinema friends, watching in wonder as they project amazing stories on the wall. Stay tuned…

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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 are subject to change by the venue/organiser. We try to only list events you can book for at the time of posting: however, some events may still be sold out. Please click quickly! // We don’t filter by age/certification: all readers & subscribers should be 18+. // > Remember, always try to follow The Carny Code by “not screwing up anyone else’s game” //.