THE BALLY #94: What to see in London this week (30 OCT to 05 NOV)

INTERMISSION [back soon…]!

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.

Welcome back Phoenix Cinema. Open from 05 November. Now booking!

The historic venue reopens with IDIOT PRAYER – NICK CAVE ALONE AT ALEXANDRA PALACE (d. Nick Cave & Robbie Ryan, 2020) which sees the artist “playing his songs at the piano in a rarely seen stripped back form” (05 NOV 19:30). You can also see this event almost everywhere that’s open…

It’s a great week for film festivals with the end of the week looking particularly crowded, as if the great programming committee had agreed that 04 & 05 NOV were ideal opening nights. Film Africa, Raindance Film Festival, French Film Festival, London Korean Film Festival and Doc’n Roll Film Festival all open in venues this week whilst several others continue on- and off-line. 

We know not everyone can or feels safe going to the cinema right now. However, subject to further COVID-19 controls, we see it as our primary job to promote venue-based events as the whiff of popcorn and bubble gum seats are what got us started compiling these listings in the first place. For this reason, we also support events like the Protected Group Screenings at Watermans for anyone who requires greater protection in the darkness. The next one of those is, appropriately enough, CINEMA PARADISO on 02 NOV (see daily listings for details).

In drive-ins, Rooftop Film Club’s current programme comes to an end at Alexandra Palace this week as does Luna Cinema’s residency at Copthall Stadium (aka Allianz Park). The Drive-In at Troubadour Meridian Water extends their 50% discount until the end of 2020 (making it a cosy £17:50/car/film).

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 EVENT TO BE AT THIS WEEK, IT WOULD BE…

It’s a screen week packed with memorable dates, and we’ll get to HALLOWEEN in a bit… Two other dates stand out for anyone with an interest in democracy, namely the USA election (03 NOV) and Guy Fawkes Night (05 NOV). You can mark the former with a special Birds’ Eye View Reclaim The Frame screening of RAISE HELL: THE LIFE & TIMES OF MOLLY IVINS at Genesis Cinema (03 NOV) whilst The Prince Charles probably pips other venues to the post for Bonfire Night with their 35MM screening of V FOR VENDETTA (05 NOV). See daily listings for all details. 

Having championed the ROY ANDERSSON season at Curzon Cinemas last week (more dates have been added if you’re curious…), it’s time for the maestro’s final film to get a preview: ABOUT ENDLESSNESS at Genesis Cinema (02 NOV 18:55). We also really like the look of Mark Cousins’ WOMEN MAKE FILM season at BFI with Kira Muratova’s THE ASTHENIC SYNDROME (01 NOV 18:00) being a standout. See SEASONS for info.

And it’s time to turn back to HALLOWEEN… Loads of venues have pulled together extensive programmes this season, so we hope you find something suitable to your screen tastes. Our special mention this week goes to The Celluloid Sorceress for her super-rare screening of The Hughes Brothers’ Jack The Ripper exposé FROM HELL 35MM (31 OCT) in a suitably East End venue, Genesis Cinema (which almost makes it a site-specific event…).

Our Featured Attraction of the Week is the Pitshanger Pictures presentation of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925) with live organ accompaniment by Henry Tozer at St. Barnabas Church W5 (31 OCT). If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you’ll know RADIANT CIRCUS had a catastrophe trying to get to one of their previous events, Fritz’ Lang’s WOMAN IN THE MOON. We are determined not to miss this one!

See you in darkness,

RADIANT CIRCUS

Halloween Scream Guide 2020: best horror films in London this Halloween.
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA presented by Pitshanger Pictures at St Barnabas Church (31 OCT).
Find out what to see in London this week with RADIANT CIRCUS, London's "home of alternative screen culture" (Film London).
IF WE COULD BE OUT EVERY DAY THIS WEEK, WE WOULD SEE…
Find out what to see in London this Friday with RADIANT CIRCUS, London's "home of alternative screen culture" (Film London).

Opening Night European Premiere: THE GHOST & THE HOUSE OF TRUTH d. Akin Omotoso, 2019 + Recorded intro at BFI Southbank (30 OCT 20:40):

  • Film Africa: “Bola Ogun works in Lagos, Nigeria as an intermediary between convicts and their victims; when her 10-year-old daughter disappears after school, she desperately tries to find out what has happened.”
Find out what to see in London this Saturday with RADIANT CIRCUS, London's "home of alternative screen culture" (Film London).

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA d. Rupert Julian, 1925 with Live Organ Accompaniment by Henry Tozer at St Barnabas Church W5 (31 OCT 19:30):

  • Pitshanger Pictures presents: “At the Opera of Paris, a mysterious phantom threatens a famous lyric singer, Carlotta and thus forces her to give up her role (Marguerite in Faust) for unknown Christine Daae. Christine meets this phantom (a masked man) in the catacombs, where he lives. What’s his goal? What’s his secret?”
Find out what to see in London this Sunday with RADIANT CIRCUS, London's "home of alternative screen culture" (Film London).

THE ASTHENIC SYNDROME aka Astenicheskiy sindrom d. Kira Muratova, 1989 part of WOMEN MAKE FILM at BFI Southbank (01 NOV 18:00):

  • “A grieving woman, a whole society that seems to have fallen sick. Stark, beautiful and melancholic, but then a twist. Ukrainian-Russian director Kira Muratova made a lot of great films, but many think this is her masterpiece. It’s not an easy watch, and her animal rights concerns are clear in one unforgettable scene, but this is heartfelt, shocking and revelatory.”
Find out what to see in London this Monday with RADIANT CIRCUS, London's "home of alternative screen culture" (Film London).

ABOUT ENDLESSNESS d. Roy Andersson, 2020 at Genesis Cinema (02 NOV 18:55):

  • Preview: “A reflection on human life in all its beauty and cruelty, its splendor and banality. We wander, dreamlike, gently guided by our Scheherazade-esque narrator. Inconsequential moments take on the same significance as historical events. Simultaneously an ode and a lament, ABOUT ENDLESSNESS presents a kaleidoscope of all that is eternally human, an infinite story of the vulnerability of existence.”
Find out what to see in London this Tuesday with RADIANT CIRCUS, London's "home of alternative screen culture" (Film London).

RAISE HELL: THE LIFE & TIMES OF MOLLY IVINS d. Janice Engel, 2019 + Intro by Keme Nzerem at Genesis Cinema (03 NOV 18:20):

  • Birds’ Eye View #RECLAIMTHEFRAME presents: “Be inspired on US election night by the story of media firebrand Molly Ivins, six feet of Texas trouble who took on the Good Old Boy corruption wherever she found it. Her razor sharp wit left both sides of the aisle laughing, and craving ink in her columns. She knew the Bill of Rights was in peril, and said “Polarizing people is a good way to win an election and a good way to wreck a country.” Molly’s words have proved prescient. Now it’s up to us to raise hell!”
Find out what to see in London this Wednesday with RADIANT CIRCUS, London's "home of alternative screen culture" (Film London).

Opening Night: MAMA WEED aka La Daronne d. Jean-Paul Salomé, 2020 + Recorded Q&A with the director at Ciné Lumière (04 NOV 19:00):

  • French Film Festival: “A French-Arabic police translator (Isabelle Huppert) specialises in phone tapping for the anti-narcotics unit. The job is tough and low-paid, but the Chief Inspector is charming. One day, while listening in to drug dealers, she discovers that one of them is the son of her mother’s devoted carer. She decides to protect him and infiltrates a huge drug trafficking network. When she discovers a huge haul of cannabis, she uses the opportunity to her advantage, becoming the Mama Weed in the title.”
Find out what to see in London this Thursday with RADIANT CIRCUS, London's "home of alternative screen culture" (Film London).

V FOR VENDETTA 35MM d. James McTeigue, 2005 at The Prince Charles (05 NOV 20:30):

  • “Following world war, London is a police state occupied by a fascist government, and a vigilante known only as V (Hugo Weaving) uses terrorist tactics to fight the oppressors of the world in which he now lives. When V saves a young woman named Evey (Natalie Portman) from the secret police, he discovers an ally in his fight against England’s oppressors.”

> Full daily listings at radiantcircus.com

LONDON’S CELLULOID+ SENSATIONS – 8MM/16MM/35MM/70MM
  • AMERICAN PSYCHO 35MM d. Mary Harron, 2000 at Genesis Cinema (03 NOV 21:00).
  • BLADE II 35MM d. Guillermo del Toro, 2002 at The Prince Charles (30 OCT 21:00). 
  • BOYZ N THE HOOD 35MM d. John Singleton, 1991 at The Prince Charles (04 NOV 18:30).
  • BUT I’M A CHEERLEADER 35MM d. Jamie Babbit, 1999 at BFI Southbank (30 OCT 18:10). 
  • CITIZEN KANE 35MM d. Orson Welles, 1941 at BFI Southbank (01 NOV 12:10). 
  • THE EXORCIST – EXTENDED CUT 35MM d. William Friedkin, 1973 at The Prince Charles (30 OCT 15:00 / 01 NOV 12:50 / 02 NOV 14:50 / 03 NOV 12:50 / 04 NOV 14:45). 
  • FROM HELL 35MM d. The Hughes Brothers, 2001 + Intro by The Celluloid Sorceress + Retro Trailers at Genesis Cinema (31 OCT 21:00).
  • THE HAPPY LIFE 35MM d. Lee Joon-ik, 2007 at London Korean Film Festival at Genesis Cinema (05 NOV 18:20).
  • THE LOST BOYS 35MM d. Joel Schumacher, 1987 at The Prince Charles (30 OCT 12:30 / 02 NOV 12:30 / 12:30 / 03 NOV 15:45 / 04 NOV 12:20). 
  • THE MAN WHO WASN’T THERE 35MM d. Joel Coen, 2001 at BFI Southbank (02 NOV 17:50).
  • SHAUN OF THE DEAD 35MM d. Edgar Wright, 2004 at The Prince Charles (01 NOV 15:50). 
  • TENET IMAX 15/70MM d. Christopher Nolan 2020 at BFI IMAX (30 OCT 13:15 & 17:00 / 31 OCT 13:15 & 17:00 / 01 NOV 12:15 & 16:00 / 02 NOV 17:00 / 03 NOV 17:00 / 04 NOV 17:00 / 05 NOV 17:00). 
  • TENET 70MM d. Christopher Nolan, 2020 at The Prince Charles (02 NOV 20:15).
  • V FOR VENDETTA 35MM d. James McTeigue, 2005 at The Prince Charles (05 NOV 20:30).
IF WE COULD DIVE INTO ONE REP. SEASON THIS WEEK IT WOULD BE…

WOMEN MAKE FILM at BFI Southbank (OCT to NOV):

“Filmmaker Mark Cousins, whose epic documentary WOMEN MAKE FILM: A NEW ROAD MOVIE THROUGH CINEMA was released in May, curates a companion season.”

> Full season listings at radiantcircus.com

A LIST OF FILM FESTIVALS IN LONDON THIS WEEK (VIRTUAL & IN VENUES).

> Coming attractions listed at radiantcircus.com

Find out what to see in London this week with RADIANT CIRCUS, London's "home of alternative screen culture" (Film London).
THE LATEST EXHIBITS & ATTRACTIONS AT RADIANTCIRCUS.COM
David Lynch’s ERASERHEAD at BFI Southbank (04 NOV).

We’ve posted a Halloween Scream Guide here at RADIANT CIRCUS for the last few years and we’re not about to let a global pandemic spoil our routine. This guide focuses on screenings in real indie venues as that’s where our heart beats fastest.

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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” //.