OCTOBER 2022: What’s on in London this month

Explore what’s on in London this month with our regular epic roundup of repertory film seasons & festivals.

By RADIANT CIRCUS // Twitter @radiantcircus / Instagram @radiantcircus

This epic roundup is rather late, so let’s cut to the headlines!

October is Black History Month, with season offerings including BLACK HISTORY MONTH at The Garden Cinema, BLACK PARIS: FACT & FICTION at Ciné Lumière, and TNB BHM 2022 at Stratford East Picturehouse, alongside my featured attraction of the month (see below). Expect more films centred around Black voices as the month continues (and check my weekly screen guides for updated information about one-off events).

Halloween is almost upon us, and there’s a significant uptick in horror film programming across town. The Prince Charles goes all in – as usual! – with their HORROCTOBER season (which surely includes a shipping container’s worth of 35mm), but the BFI plays them good game with the first of a two-part hymn to the monster in all of us, IN DREAMS ARE MONSTERS. Other seasons include pre-code lineup CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT from Movies on Weekends at Chiswick Cinema, my very own BAR TRASH / TRASH PLANET season of 70s eco-horror at Genesis Cinema and Rule Zero, and a bunch of suitably titled Halloween programmes at Chiswick Cinema, Genesis Cinema, and Picturehouse Cinemas. Again, I expect this list to spawn… so check back for updates.

Other new rep seasons this month include A LIFE ON THE FILM SET at The Garden Cinema which does what I hope many more programmes would do; look beyond a narrow obsession with film directors by celebrating other creative contributors. Here the focus is on Angela Allen’s illustrious career as a script supervisor. But then to contradict myself almost entirely, we also have fascinating series devoted to the works of JOHN SMITH (at ICA and Close-Up) and PATRICIO GUZMÁN (at Bertha DocHouse). BFI returns to normal after their main party of the year with new showcases devoted to GARY OLDMAN, GUY MADDIN, PETER GREENAWAY and RYAN COOGLER. The excellent MIKE LEIGH IN CONVERSATION season continues with the director talking about a second chronological run of his films at The Garden Cinema.

Outdoor seasons wrapped at both Rooftop Film Club venues at the start of the month. Doubtless a few diehard outdoor DIY popups will appear during the Autumn months, and I’ll do my best to keep track of those in my weekly screen guides

If festivals are your thing, it’s time to embrace the BFI London Film Festival (05 to 16 OCT), which will also be director Tricia Tuttle’s last (many best wishes and congratulations!). Picking up this month’s signature themes, smaller festivals include Ethiopian Film Week (14 to 16 OCT), Film Africa (28 OCT to 06 NOV), FrightFest Halloween (29 OCT), Misty Moon International Film Festival which has a jury packed with horror film industry pros (22 OCT), and Unrestricted View Horror Film Festival (30 OCT to 05 NOV).

Viola Davis – star and producer of Gina Prince-Bythewood’s epic THE WOMAN KING – has been talking about the urgent need for more Black filmmakers to be able to tell their stories and for them to be able to tell any story they wish. For my Featured Attraction of the Month I’ve chosen WOMEN’S STORIES FROM THE GLOBAL SOUTH (& TO WHOM THEY BELONG) at ICA – part of Cinema Rediscovered on Tour – which tackles a further part of that narrative, the never-ending struggle to get filmmakers’ stories seen and shared.

See you in the darkness, and stay safe.

Richard // RADIANT CIRCUS

WOMEN’S STORIES FROM THE GLOBAL SOUTH (& TO WHOM THEY BELONG) at ICA

“This compelling season covers 42 years, five countries, and five recently restored or digitised features, each linked to a uniquely challenging story of ownership and distribution. Together, these five features highlight imbalances of power within film cultures, particularly as they are imposed on female storytellers – hindering access to the narratives they create and share.”

“The season includes Sarah Maldoror’s SAMBIZANGA (Angola 1971), one of the first features shot in Africa by a woman of African descent; Sara Gómez’s DE CIERTA MANERA (Cuba 1974-77 – main featured image), the first Cuban feature directed by a woman; Margot Benacerraf’s landmark documentary ARAYA (Venezuela 1959); Farida Benlyazid’s rarely-seen drama A DOOR TO THE SKY (Morocco, 1989); and MAANGAMIZI: THE ANCIENT ONE (Tanzania 2001), adapted from a story by Queenae Taylor Mulvihill.” (ICA)

35MM PRESENTATIONS at The Prince Charles

IMAX PRESENTATIONS at BFI IMAX

A LIFE ON THE FILM SET at The Garden Cinema

  • Includes (check venue for full listings): THE MISFITS d. John Huston, 1961 + Q&A with Angela Allen (02 OCT 17:30); PANDORA AND THE FLYING DUTCHMAN d. Albert Lewin, 1951 + Q&A with Angela Allen (07 OCT 18:00); THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING d. John Huston, 1975 + Q&A with Angela Allen (09 OCT 19:00); WOMEN IN LOVE d. Ken Russell, 1969 + Q&A with Angela Allen (14 OCT 18:00); MACBETH d. Roman Polanski, 1971 + Q&A with Angela Allen (16 OCT 19:30).

ANIME at The Prince Charles

  • Includes (check venue for full listings): INU-OH d. Masaaki Yuasa, 2022 (30 SEP 12:15 / 03 OCT 15:30 / 06 OCT 15:55 / 11 OCT 13:50 / 13 OCT 13:40); BELLE aka Ryû to sobakasu no hime d. Mamoru Hosoda, 2021 (03 OCT 12:00); PERFECT BLUE d. Satoshi Kon, 1997 (22 OCT 13:15).

ANNIVERSARY SEASON at Everyman Belsize Park

  • Includes (check venue for full listings): SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN d. Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly, 1952 (02 OCT 14:00 / 03 OCT 20:30); DR. NO d. Terrence Young, 1962 (08 OCT 18:00).

BAR TRASH / TRASH PLANET at Genesis Cinema & Rule Zero

  • Includes (check venue for full listings): OCTAMAN dir Harry Essex, 1971 + Intro, film chat, prize giveaways & themed drinks at Genesis Cinema (11 OCT 20:30); BUG dir Jeannot Szwarc, 1975 + Intro, film chat, prize giveaways & themed drinks at Rule Zero (19 OCT 20:30); NIGHT OF THE LEPUS dir William F. Claxton, 1972 + Intro, film chat, prize giveaways & themed drinks at Genesis Cinema (25 OCT 20:30).
  • Presented by TOKEN HOMO.

BFI’S 100 BBC TV GAMECHANGERS at BFI Southbank

BIG SCREEN CLASSICS: FATEFUL MOMENTS IN TIME! at BFI Southbank

BLACK HISTORY MONTH at The Garden Cinema

BLACK PARIS: FACT & FICTION at Ciné Lumière

BLACK & WHITE MOVIES at The Prince Charles

BOWIE: SOUND AND VISION at Picturehouse Cinemas

  • Includes (check venue for full listings): THE HUNGER d. Tony Scott, 1983 (30 SEP various / 01 OCT various / 05 OCT various); MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE d. Nagisa Ôshima, 1983 (08 OCT various / 12 OCT various); LABYRINTH d. Jim Henson, 1986 (15 OCT various / 16 OCT various).

CAROLEE SCHNEEMANN FILM SERIES at Barbican 

CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT at Chiswick Cinema

CLOSE-UP: RYAN COOGLER at BFI Southbank

  • Includes (check venue for full listings): FRUITVALE STATION d. Ryan Coogler, 2013 (22 OCT 12:30 / 29 OCT 16:15 / 14 NOV 20:50); CREED d. Ryan Coogler, 2015 (22 OCT 20:25 / 13 NOV 18:00).

ESSENTIAL CINEMA at Close-Up

  • Includes (check venue for full listings): THE 400 BLOWS d. François Truffaut, 1959 (01 OCT 18:20 / 09 OCT 20:15); JULES AND JIM d. François Truffaut, 1962 (01 OCT 20:15 / 09 OCT 18:15); WOMAN OF THE DUNES d. Hiroshi Teshigahara, 1964 (02 OCT 17:30 / 16 OCT 19:30); PERSONA d. Ingmar Bergman, 1966 (02 OCT 20:15 / 08 OCT 20:15); EL SUR d. Víctor Erice, 1983 (08 OCT 18:25 / 23 OCT 18:25); THE SEVENTH SEAL d. Ingmar Bergman, 1957 (15 OCT 20:00 / 23 OCT 20:15); THEOREM d. Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1968 (16 OCT 17:45 / 22 OCT 18:15 / 29 OCT 18:00); WOMAN OF THE DUNES d. Hiroshi Teshigahara, 1964 (16 OCT 19:30); CRÍA CUERVOS d. Carlos Saura, 1976 (21 OCT 20:15 / 29 OCT 18:00).

EXPERIMENTS IN FILM at Barbican

THE FILMS OF DAVID LYNCH at The Prince Charles 

THE FILMS OF QUENTIN TARANTINO at The Prince Charles

FRAMEBURN at Hackney Brewery & High Hill Taproom

  • Includes (check venue for full listings): LAST SUNRISE d. Wen Ren, 2019 + Edible Insect Tasting (13 OCT 19:00).

FRAMES OF MIND: THE FILMS OF PETER GREENAWAY at BFI Southbank

GARY OLDMAN at BFI Southbank

GUY MADDIN at BFI Southbank

HALLOWEEN at Chiswick Cinema

HALLOWEEN at Everyman Screen On The Green

HALLOWEEN at Genesis Cinema

  • Includes (check venue for full listings): BAR TRASH presents OCTAMAN dir Harry Essex, 1971 + Intro, film chat, prize giveaways & themed drinks (11 OCT 20:30); Evolution of Horror Presents… Campfire Stories in the Yard (12 OCT 19:00) + URBAN LEGEND d. Jamie Blanks, 1998 (12 OCT 21:00); HATCHING d. Hanna Bergholm, 2022 (13 OCT 21:00); AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON d. John Landis, 1981 + Intro/Salon with Nick Walker, presented by Cult Classic Collective (20 OCT 18:30); THE LOST BOYS d. Joel Schumacher, 1987 presented by Signature Brewery (20 OCT 21:00 – with a free pint!); BAR TRASH presents NIGHT OF THE LEPUS dir William F. Claxton, 1972 + Intro, film chat, prize giveaways & themed drinks (25 OCT 20:30); POLTERGEIST d. Tobe Hooper, 1982 (26 OCT 21:00); NOSFERATU d. F.W. Marnau, 1922 + Live score by Grok (30 OCT 15:00); THE THING d. John Carpenter, 1982 (31 OCT 21:00).

HALLOWEEN at Picturehouse Cinemas

HORROCTOBER – A MONTH OF THRILLS, CHILLS & SPILLS at The Prince Charles

IMITATIONS OF LIFE: DECONSTRUCTING ‘CAMP’ IN CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD at The Cinema Museum 

IN DREAMS ARE MONSTERS at BFI Southbank

JOHN SMITH: INTROSPECTIVE (1972–2022) 50 FILMS FROM 50 YEARS at ICA & Close-Up

KINUYO TANAKA: A LIFE IN FILM at BFI Southbank

MAD MAX ON 35MM at Everyman Screen on the Green

  • Includes (check venue for full listings): MAD MAX: FURY ROAD 35mm d. George Miller, 2015 (01 OCT 23:00 / 05 OCT 10:30).

MASAKI KOBAYASHI’S ‘THE HUMAN CONDITION’ TRILOGY at The Prince Charles

MIKE LEIGH IN CONVERSATION at The Garden Cinema

  • Includes (check venue for listings): MEANTIME d. Mike Leigh, 1983 + Mike Leigh in conversation (19 OCT 19:00); NAKED d. Mike Leigh, 1993 + Mike Leigh in conversation (20 OCT 19:10); CAREER GIRLS d. Mike Leigh, 1997 + Mike Leigh in conversation (21 OCT 19:00); TOPSY-TURVY d. Mike Leigh, 1999 + Mike Leigh in conversation (23 OCT 18:00); HAPPY-GO-LUCKY d. Mike Leigh, 2008 + Mike Leigh in conversation (26 OCT 19:00); MR. TURNER d. Mike Leigh, 2014 + Mike Leigh in conversation (27 OCT 18:30); PETERLOO d. Mike Leigh, 2018 + Mike Leigh in conversation (30 OCT 18:00).

MOVIE MARATHONS at The Prince Charles

NEW GERMAN CINEMA at The Garden Cinema

PAM GRIER at Picturehouse Cinemas

  • Includes (check venue for listings)FRIDAY FOSTER d. Arthur Marks, 1975 (02 OCT 17:00).

PAM GRIER: FOXY, FIERCE & FEARLESS at BFI Southbank 

  • Includes (check venue for listings)FOXY BROWN d. Jack Hill, 1974 (03 OCT 18:10); IN TOO DEEP 35mm d. Michael Rymer, 1999 (03 OCT 20:50); BONES 35mm d. Ernest Dickerson, 2001 (04 OCT 18:20).
  • Re-release: JACKIE BROWN d. Quentin Tarantino, 1997 (01 OCT 14:50 / 02 OCT 15:00 & 17:50).

PARK CHAN WOOK at Picturehouse Cinemas 

PATRICIO GUZMÁN CHILE TRILOGY at Bertha DocHouse

SEASON OF CHAN at The Prince Charles

SOUND AND VISION at BFI IMAX & Southbank

SPOTLIGHT ON ISABELLE HUPPERT at Ciné Lumière

THROWBACK at Everyman Cinemas

  • Includes the following films (check venue for listings): IN BRUGES d. Martin McDonagh, 2008 (02 OCT various).

TNB BHM 2022 at Stratford East Picturehouse

  • Includes (check venue for listings): AFRICAN REDEMPTION:THE LIFE & LEGACY OF MARCUS GARVEY d. Roy T. Anderson, 2022 + Q&A with Brother Hakim (06 OCT 19:00 – FREE!); QUEEN OF GLORY d. Nana Mensah, 2021 + Panel + Performance (13 OCT 19:00 – FREE!); BEAST d. Baltasar Kormákur, 2022 + Panel + Performance (20 OCT 19:00 – FREE!); NOPE d. Jordan Peele, 2022 + Panel + Performance (27 OCT 19:00 – FREE!).

TWO FILMS BY KOGONADA at The Prince Charles

  • Includes (check venue for listings): AFTER YANG d. Kogonada, 2022 (04 OCT 15:45).

TWO FILMS BY RUBEN ÖSTLUND at The Prince Charles

TWO FILMS BY TI WEST at The Prince Charles

  • Includes (check venue for full listings): THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL d. Ti West, 2009 (16 OCT 20:45); X d. Ti West, 2022 (19 OCT 21:00).

UNIVERSAL CLASSIC MONSTERS at The Prince Charles 

WOMEN’S STORIES FROM THE GLOBAL SOUTH (& TO WHOM THEY BELONG) at ICA

WORLD CINEMA E-PASSPORT at Everyman Belsize Park

  • Includes (check venue for listings): 81/2 d. Federico Fellini, 1963 (09 OCT 14:00 / 10 OCT 20:30); TOKYO STORY d. Yasujirô Ozu, 1953 (16 OCT 14:00 / 17 OCT 20:30); PIERROT LE FOU d. Jean-Luc Godard, 1965 (23 OCT 14:00 / 24 OCT 20:30); M d. Fritz Lang, 1931 (30 OCT 14:00 / 31 OCT 20:30).

THE WORLD OF WONG KAR WAI at The Prince Charles

ROOFTOP FILM CLUB at Bussey Building, Peckham

ROOFTOP FILM CLUB at Roof East, Stratford

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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. //.