THE BALLY #98: What to see from London this week (12 FEB 2021+)
Welcome to THE BALLY where we update you on the latest news from across London’s alternative cinema scene.
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This screen week we’ve listed a bunch of diverse streaming events that show how cinema (online or in venues) is always a source of shelter, celebration and community.
Celebrating the Lunar New Year is the Chinese Visual Festival’s online event THREE YEARS IN WUHAN featuring all three parts of the doc and a Zoom Intro/Q&A with director Peng Wenlan (18 FEB). Following that exploration of the socio-economic tides of technological innovation, Bertha DocHouse will stream an event along similar themes from another female filmmaker, iHUMAN with Live Q&A with director Tonje Hessen Schei (25 FEB). We would have listed DocHouse’s next event SONGS OF REPRESSION on 18 FEB, but that looks SOLD OUT!
Whitechapel Gallery’s ongoing multi-country collab Artists’ Film International continues online this month with a free collection of four works by artists from Turkey, Poland, Ireland and the UK (until 28 MAR). If that represents the glass half-full of continental unity, the half-empty version comes from New East Cinema’s streaming presentation of CAT IN THE WALL which includes a recorded Q&A with co-directors Mina Mileva and Vesela Kazakova. “Set in the aftermath of the Brexit vote, it’s a striking and provocative drama that explores social and economic divisions with great passion and wit” (until 28 FEB).
We’ve listed CAT IN THE WALL on Barbican Cinema On Demand as part of our ongoing series of posts about streaming services that reward London’s struggling indie cinema venues. Previous posts have looked at Rio Cinema and Rich Mix. Check those venues out for their latest updates and we’ll continue to roam London’s online platforms for another amazing venue in next week’s edition of THE BALLY.
We continue our coverage of London’s LGBTQ+ screen events with further news of this year’s BFI Flare. Their official programme launch will be broadcast on BFI’s YouTube and Facebook pages on 23 FEB. Latest news has revealed the addition of screen legend Cloris Leachman’s final film JUMP, DARLING (2020) to the lineup.
And finally, a subject close to our hearts, Sex & Syphilis At The Cinema (26 FEB). Well, not exactly just that, more the history of how cinema has been weaponised as both morality message and exploitation entertainment in Birkbeck’s latest free online event. Screening two rare VD danger films – TRIAL FOR MARRIAGE (1936) and TEST FOR LOVE (1937) – the discussion afterwards will explore the social context of their production, distribution and exhibition.
Stay safe and strong. I’ll see you in the darkness soon.
Richard
Barker-In-Chief // RADIANT CIRCUS.
Main featured image: CAT IN THE WALL (d. Mina Mileva & Vesela Kazakova, 2018/Bulgaria) presented by New East Cinema at Barbican Cinema On Demand (until 28 FEB).
- Sine Screen presents Vulnerable Histories at Close-Up & The Garden Cinema (19 to 26 AUG 2023)
Sine Screen presents Vulnerable Histories, an on-going series that explores the representation of historical trauma in East & Southeast Asia. - Lost Reels presents 16mm & 35mm screenings at The Cinema Museum & ICA (19 & 31 AUG 2023)
Lost Reels continues their outstanding run of rarely screened films from rare 16mm & 35mm source materials at The Cinema Museum (19 AUG) & ICA (31 AUG). - The Duke Mitchell Film Club presents DukeFest 2023: A Brave New World (13 to 16 AUG 2023)
DUKEFEST: London’s most irreverent and out-there festival returns for 2023 across four nights in two amazing venues. - Cinema Mentiré launches with OLHAR PERIFERICO season (AUG 2023)
New film club for rare & unique Latin American film, Cinema Mentiré, launches this August with a summer season: OLHAR PERIFERICO. - Token Homo’s BAR TRASH presents MONSTER MAYHEM! at Genesis Cinema & Rule Zero (31 MAY to 13 SEP 2023).
Token Homo unleashes another menagerie of monster mayhem in a brand new Bar Trash season that’s all about cinema’s biggest beasts. - South Asian Heritage Month – ‘Stories To Tell’ at The Garden Cinema (18 JUL to 17 AUG 2023)
The Garden Cinema presents ‘Stories To Tell’, an array of screenings and special events around South Asian Heritage Month 2023.
A Listening Eye – The Films of Mike Dibb (08 JAN to 26 MAR 2021)
A new season of free films & live events streaming from The Whitechapel Gallery. READ MORE
The World of Wong Kar Wai from ICA Cinema 3 (01 – 23 FEB 2021)
A unique retrospective featuring seven new 4K restorations streams from ICA’s virtual Cinema 3 on The Mall. READ MORE
Kino Klassika launches streaming platform Klassiki Online
Kino Klassika Foundation launches Klassiki, a new video-on-demand platform dedicated to classic cinema from Russia & the region (FREE until 04 APR!). READ MORE
Danish Cineclub: THE HUNT
South Social Film Festival’s Cineclub seasons continue this week with the Danish edition (17 FEB 19:00-21:30) & a streaming of THE HUNT (d. Thomas Vinterberg, 2012/Denmark). READ MORE
Newham Community Cinema & WOFFF present Ladies Who Love
A season of four streaming events as part of Newham’s LGBTQI+ History Month celebrations (04 to 25 FEB – FREE!). Next up: THE WATERMELON WOMAN d. Cheryl Dunye, 1996 + THE PASSIONATE PURSUITS OF ANGELA BROWN d. Jennifer Abod, 2018 + Q&A (18 FEB 18:00). READ MORE
Sick, Tired & Angry – Unite!
Other Ways To Care presents a streaming season of films “in solidarity with university communities fighting the hostile environment in neoliberal times” (10 FEB to 19 MAR 2021 – FREE!). Next Up: #2 Struggle – I AM SOMEBODY d. Madeline Anderson, 1970 + UNITED VOICES d. Hazel Falck 2020 (WED 24 FEB 19:30). READ MORE
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- Check out our LISTINGS POLICY (to find out what we list, when & why).
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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. //.