Idealistic young lawyer Arthur Kirkland (Al Pacino) is determined to bypass the topsy-turvy madness of the US legal system and do his best for his clients. However, Arthur's idealism takes a battering when he is pressured to defend a judge (John Forsythe) he knows to be guilty of raping a young girl. Arthur now has to make the most important choice of his life - the choice between his career and his conscience. Directed by Norman Jewison, with a screenplay by husband-and-wife writing team Barry Levinson and Valerie Curtin.

In their small London flat, Dalmatians Pongo and Perdy, and their human 'pets' Roger and Anita, are overjoyed by the arrival of 15 puppies. But when the spotted-fur-loving Cruella De Vil and her clumsy cohorts, Jasper and Horace, dognap the litter---along with every other Dalmatian pup in London---Pongo and Perdy must rally the town's animals to the rescue. The plan hurls them towards a thrilling climax, filled with uproarious moments as the puppies attempt to outwit their captors and bring on a final showdown with Cruella. Packed with one of the largest and cutest collections of puppies ever brought to film, 101 Dalmatians also features a superb cast of talented humans, including Glenn Close, Jeff Daniels, Joely Richardson and Joan Plowright.

On Sunday mornings our Family Screenings are followed by a free activity for Children.

The screening is Pay What You Can, which means you’re free to pay as much or as little as you can afford. By paying for a ticket, you will enable us to keep offering Pay What You Can screenings to families struggling with the cost of living. Thank you  

With an introduction from Chris Berry (KCL).

After 24 years of absence, director A-Liang Elvis Lu returns home to his family in a rural area of southwestern Taiwan. His elder brother is a psychic that communicates Taoist deities’ career advice to villagers but repeatedly fails in his own entrepreneurial ventures in agriculture. Their father, an underground lottery gambler, interprets everything around him through lucky numbers. What holds the indebted family together is their mother, who, embittered in mind and increasingly enfeebled, finds her only consolation in their Taoist altar at home and a continuous stream of religious rituals performed there.  

This estranged family slowly comes closer together through A-Liang’s lens. A Holy Family is an intimate journey of homecoming, a portrait of rekindled family bonding despite differences in religious beliefs, and an unflinching tale of self-discovery through filmmaking.

With a recorded introduction from director Geng Zihan.

Harbin, north-east China: after her mother goes abroad for work, 15-year-old Xian is forced to live with her father, a free-spirited photographer whom she has barely seen since her parents' divorce. He’s in a relationship with his assistant, who has an 18-year-old Chinese-Korean daughter called Mingmei. A restless summer ensues, as the lonely, shy Xian becomes utterly intoxicated with the extroverted, worldly Mingmei: this will be a summer she will never forget. A Song Sung Blue is an exhilarating coming-of-age story, brought to life by vivid cinematography and exceptional performances from young actors Kay Huang and Jing Liang, who perfectly capture the complexities of the girls’ friendship and attraction. A testament to the innocence and impulses of youth, Geng Zihan’s debut feature signals the arrival of a powerful voice in queer cinema.

In collaboration with CinemaItaliaUK we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Marcello Mastroianni and Sophia Loren's 90th birthday, with the screening of A Special Day (Una Giornata Particolare) by Golden Globe winner and five-time Oscar nominee Ettore Scola.

Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni deliver two of the finest performances of their careers in this moving, quietly subversive drama. Though it’s set in Rome on the historic day in 1938 when Benito Mussolini and the city first rolled out the red carpet for Adolf Hitler, the film takes place entirely in a working-class apartment building, where an unexpected friendship blossoms between a pair of people who haven’t joined the festivities: a conservative housewife and mother tending to her domestic duties and a liberal radio broadcaster awaiting deportation. Scola paints an exquisite portrait in muted tones, a story of two individuals helpless in the face of Fascism’s rise.

CinemaItaliaUK's Mission is to raise awareness of Italian culture by promoting Italian films that go beyond the traditional genres, and to ultimately stimulate and encourage cultural integration.

Our screening on Sunday 8 September will feature a short introduction from season co-curator George Crosthwait.

Widely regarded as the greatest martial arts epic of all time, A Touch of Zen won awards worldwide (including at Cannes), smashed box-office records and had an incalculable influence on the genre as a whole.

An unambitious painter named Gu (Shih Jun) lives with his mother in the vicinity of an abandoned mansion rumoured to be haunted. In actuality, the mansion has become a hiding place for the warrior Yang (Hsu Feng) and her own mother, both taking refuge following the assassination of their loyal minister father by the wicked eunuch Wei of East Chamber. After the eunuch sends an army to pursue the escapees, the group fortify the mansion with traps and false intimations of the terrifying ghosts within. But even after, things take yet more unsettling turns…

To celebrate the English language release of The Last Dream, Pedro Almodóvar’s genre-defying short story collection, Foyles is delighted to partner with The Garden Cinema for a special screening of Bad Education (La mala educación), followed by a Q&A with acclaimed translator Frank Wynne chaired by Adam Mars-Jones.

Including a primary version of the story behind Bad Education, the playful and inventive stories in The Last Dream offer a fascinating and wildly entertaining glimpse into the creative mind of a legendary film-maker. The translator of the English language edition of The Last Dream, Frank Wynne, joins us for a post-screening Q&A to discuss his experience translating the stories and to consider what they might tell us about Almodóvar’s artistry.

Bad Education:

Almodóvar’s powerful and passionate semi-autobiographical story was the first Spanish film to open the Cannes Film Festival. When actor Ignacio (Gael García Bernal) brings filmmaker Enrique Goded (Fele Martínez) a semi-autobiographical script chronicling their adolescence, Enrique is forced to relive his traumatic youth spent at a Catholic boarding school. In traditional Almodóvar fashion, memory is called into question, fact and fiction are blended together and the past and present interweave, resulting in a rich melodrama of moral corrosion. Bad Education showcases Almodóvar’s radical filmmaking style and signature themes of queer identities and desire at their best.

Frank Wynne is an award-winning literary translator from French and Spanish. Wynne has translated a wide variety of authors, including Michel Houellebecq, Patrick Modiano, Emiliano Monge, Alice Zeniter and Virginie Despentes. His translation of Vernon Subutex One was shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize 2018 and his translation of Standing Heavy was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2023. He has twice been awarded both the Scott Moncrieff Prize for translation from the French and the Premio Valle Inclán for translation from Spanish.

The post-screening Q&A will be hosted by writer and critic Adam Mars-Jones. His fiction includes Box Hill, Batlava Lake, Pilcrow, Cedilla and, most recently, Caret. His writing on film regularly appears in the TLS.

Foyles will be running a bookstall at The Garden Cinema on the evening of the event with copies of The Last Dream on sale.

Tickets: £12 General Admission / £10 Foyalty & Garden Cinema members

Trigger Warning: The film includes themes of sexual abuse

Uprooted from Los Angeles following her mother's cancer diagnosis, 13-year-old Fen struggles to adjust to life in Taipei. As she navigates her way through school and reconnects with her estranged father, her turbulent bond with her mother worsens. Set during the 2003 SARS outbreak, American Girl is a sincere and moving dramatisation of director Fiona Roan's own childhood.

Courtesy of Media Asia Film Distribution (HK) Limited.

Amnesty International UK present this one-off fundraiser screening of There Is No Evil with an introduction by activist and actress Elika Ashoori, which will offer an insight into the death penalty in Iran. Organised by Iran Country Coordinator Nils Scott (AIUK).

Winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2020, There Is No Evil tackles Iran's use of the death penalty through four moral tales about men faced with a simple yet unthinkable choice. The four distinct chapters centre around conscription and the death penalty, through various angles, creating the sense that the consequences are universally felt.

100% of profits from ticket sales will be donated to Amnesty International UK Section Charitable Trust. A charity registered in England and Wales (1051681) and Scotland (SC039534).

Produced by Steven Spielberg, this animated Western musical is voiced by James Stewart, John Cleese and Amy Irving. Fievel - the little mouse who travelled from Russia to America to escape persecution by cats - is lured out west with his family by a smooth talking con-man cat to become a lawman. However, he soon realises that there are dastardly plans afoot to turn him and his family into a mouse meal. With the help of his dog friends fievel takes on the cats.

On Sunday mornings our Family Screenings are followed by a free activity for Children.

The screening is Pay What You Can, which means you’re free to pay as much or as little as you can afford. By paying for a ticket, you will enable us to keep offering Pay What You Can screenings to families struggling with the cost of living. Thank you

And Life Went On is the first London Animation Club event at The Garden Cinema, with special guest speaker Maryam Mohajer.

It is an event in two halves: in part one BAFTA Award-winning animator Maryam Mohajer presents a selection of her work and discusses reconciling animation with work and parenthood. In part two we present an anthology of work by celebrated London Animation Club contributors which displays both an accessibility and an independent spirit.

Part One

The Girl with Short Hair (Maryam Mohajer/UK/2006)

And Life Went On (Maryam Mohajer/UK/2007)

Phantasm (Maryam Mohajer/UK/2012)

Red Dress. No Straps. (Maryam Mohajer/UK/2018)

Grandad Was A Romantic (Maryam Mohajer/UK/2019)

And Granny Would Dance - the making of (Maryam Mohajer/UK/2024)

And Granny Would Dance - trailer (Maryam Mohajer/UK/2024)

Part Two

An anthology of work by celebrated London Animation Club contributors, including Kate Jessop, Stuart Pound and Rob Munday.

Maryam Mohajer is a British-Iranian, BAFTA Winning animator-director who was born in Tehran, Iran just before living through revolution, war and immigration. With a background in painting, she discovered animation after moving to UK in year 2000. She got her MA degree in animation from Royal college of art. Her short films have been screened at many International festivals. She lives and works as an animator, writer, director in London.

London Animation Club is a monthly event for animators and people interested in animation in the capital. Club members and regular guests meet and present their work in informal surroundings conducive to talking and sharing ideas. Our guests range from well known figures, such as Phil Davies, the producer of Peppa Pig, and Peter Firmin, the co-creator of Bagpuss, through to award-winning independent animators like Lizzy Hobbs, along with experimental filmmakers and academics, with much in between. Most popular are our group screenings, in which regular members present new work. We also do group events with institutions such as the Royal College of Art and enjoy a modest international following.

This is London Animation Club's first ticketed cinema event.

Four years ago, Tony D'Amato's (Al Pacino) Miami Sharks were at the top. Now, his team is struggling with three consecutive losses, sliding attendance, and aging heroes, particularly 39-year-old quarterback Jack 'Cap' Rooney (Dennis Quaid). Off the field, D'Amato is struggling with a failed marriage and estranged children, and is on a collision course with Christina Pagniacci (Cameron Diaz), the young president/co-owner of the Sharks organisation.

The UK premiere of the new restoration of The Outcasts will be followed by a Q&A with Robert Wynne-Simmons and BFI Flipside's Vic Pratt. This previously unavailable Irish folk horror was written and directed by Robert Wynne-Simmons, the writer of The Blood on Satan’s Claw.

This eerie folklorish tale is set in 19th‑century Ireland amid an isolated rural community where poverty and superstition are rife. Maura (Mary Ryan), an introverted farm girl suspected of witchcraft, discovers a mystical world of the imagination through ‘a wild, ungodly man’ – the mysterious wanderer Scarf Michael (Mick Lally). Director Robert Wynne-Simmons combines horror, earthy drama, dreamlike fantasy and tragedy to produce this intelligent and visually stunning directorial debut.

Once billed as the first Irish feature film in 50 years, but hardly seen in the last 40 years, this marks the first time that this new 2K restoration by the Irish Film Institute has been screened in the UK.

The Outcasts is released on Blu-ray on 23 September.

BFI Flipside is dedicated to rediscovering the margins of British and Irish film, reclaiming a space for forgotten movies and filmmakers who would otherwise be in danger of disappearing from our screens forever. It is a home for UK cinematic oddities, offering everything from exploitation documentaries to B-movies, countercultural curios and obscure classics, If it's weird, British and forgotten, then it's Flipside.

Bass Culture is presented by Black Music Research Unit at the University of Westminster in partnership with Westminster University and Camden Council.

Bass Culture plugs into UK Soundsystem culture as it retraces origins of grime through the genres that preceded it. Those more familiar with the genre will know this success is hard-won. But for those less familiar this music’s history, the film provides new insights to the efforts of an underground, predominantly black British music community, that continues to defy the industries assessments of its potential. Bass Culture documentary presents a success story that demonstrates the complexity and diversity of the British music industry. It also showcases a journey fuelled by enterprise, entrepreneurialism and creativity

The film was produced by Fully Focused Community (FFC), a youth led media organisation that uses the power of film to raise awareness, challenge perceptions and transform lives.

This screening is part of Camden Council's Black History Season which runs from October - December, to celebrate the incredible and wonderful achievements and contributions of Black people across Camden and the UK.

The screening is Pay What You Can and all proceeds will be donated to a local charity chosen by Camden Council.

The London Australian Film Festival – in partnership with Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery – present the European premiere of Bromley: Light After Dark, a warts and all documentary portrait of one of Australian art’s most celebrated, and polarising, figures.

The iconic pop art stylings of David Bromley may well be familiar, even if you don’t recognise the name. Behind the proliferation of spray-can splatters and dayglo imagery, however, lies an individual grappling with the highs and lows of pain, love, and creativity. This intimate documentary, shot over five years, peels back the layers of anxiety, phobias, and self-destruction to embrace the humour and energy that lies beneath.

Through an intense partnership with his wife Yuge, we witness the precariousness of Bromley’s world and his state of mind, while interviews with friends, critics and musicians add insights on mental health, the creative process, and the commercialisation of art. As the man himself says, “art saved my life” – but that’s just the beginning of this story…

Australian snacks and sweets will be on sale, and a raffle will be held before the screening.

Presented in partnership with Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery, and with thanks to 12.01 Productions and Cathartic Pictures.

“Ratbag, larrikin, outlaw of art, David Bromley is a unique and playful character… Observing his life, art practice, and resilience makes for an entertaining couple of hours.” – Richard Cotter, Sydney Arts Guide

With a recorded introduction from director Isao Fujisawa.

Until the 2018 discovery of a film negative in a warehouse, Bye Bye Love was long considered lost: a new print gives audiences a rare chance to revisit this radical work from 1974. Following two young people, Utamaro and Giko, on a doomed summer road trip through Japan, Isao Fujisawa’s poetic, surreal work reflects on the dissipating promise of 1960s counterculture and free love. The film is stylistically influenced by the French New Wave and American New Cinema, notably Jean-Luc Godard and Arthur Penn. Yet the main character’s name - Utamaro - also suggests a rethinking of Japanese artistic traditions, especially male perspectives on feminine beauty. Here, romantic love transcends gender, sexuality, and even the body; a queer challenge to conventional understandings of relationships that adds to the political charge of this rediscovered classic.

Al Pacino reunites with his Scarface director Brian De Palma for this tough-minded thriller about a gangster looking for salvation down the mean streets of 1970s New York City.

Carlito Brigante (Pacino) gets released early from prison thanks to the work of his lawyer, Kleinfeld (Sean Penn). Vowing to go straight, Carlito nonetheless finds dangers waiting for him in the outside world. As Carlito works toward redemption, Kleinfeld sinks into cocaine-fuelled corruption. When Kleinfeld crosses the mob, Carlito gets caught in the crossfire and has to face a hard choice: remain loyal to the friend who freed him or protect a new life with the woman he loves (Penelope Ann Miller). With enemies closing in from all sides, Carlito must find his way before it’s too late.

Also starring John Leguizamo, Luis Guzmán, and Viggo Mortensen, Carlito’s Way has come to be regarded as among De Palma’s most accomplished films. A hard-hitting gangster noir laced with romance and melancholy, powerful performances and nail-biting suspense.

A psychopath is scouring New York City gay clubs and viciously slaying homosexuals. Detective Steve Burns (Al Pacino) is ordered to don leather attire, hang at the city's S&M joints and keep an eye out for the killer. But as Steve becomes immersed in club hopping, he begins to identify with the subculture more than he expected. Meanwhile, Steve behaves distantly around his girlfriend, Nancy (Karen Allen), the police force's homophobia becomes apparent and the killer remains at large.

Our screening on 9 September will be followed by an in-person q&a with the iconic actor and filmmaker Lee Kang-sheng to mark the launch of the Blu-Ray edition of Days from Second Run DVD. Tickets for this screening will also include a complimentary drink at the bar during our reception event (18:45-19:45), supported by the Ministry of Culture, Taiwan.

Our second screening on 1 October will be introduced by Second Run DVD founder Mehelli Modi.

Taiwanese titan Tsai Ming-liang continues his exquisite examinations of alienation, isolation, and the fleeting beauty of human connection in one of his sparest and most intimate works. The director’s longtime muse Lee Kang-sheng once again stars as a variation on himself, wandering through a lonely urban landscape and seeking treatment in Hong Kong for a chronic illness; at the same time, a young Laotian immigrant working in Bangkok (Anong Houngheuangsy) goes about his daily routine. These two solitary men eventually come together in an unforgettable moment of healing, tenderness, and sexual release. Among the most cathartic entries in Tsai’s filmography ,Days is a work of longing, constructed with the director’s customary visual rigour and shot through with profound empathy.

This film was proposed by our members Marzia Castelli, Carmen Rodriguez, and Marianna Barcenas. Marzia writes: 'I watched this film only once on the big screen and its charm and elegance still resonate with me after many years. The slow pace, the meditation on beauty, obsession and decay, the magnificence of the costumes, Gustav Mahler’s music and Venice: overwhelming beauty is in every single frame that composes this masterpiece by Luchino Visconti. A true gem so hard to find in cinemas.'

Based on the classic novella by Thomas Mann, this late-career masterpiece from Luchino Visconti (The Leopard) is a meditation on the nature of art, the allure of beauty, and the inescapability of death.

A fastidious composer reeling from a disastrous concert, Gustav von Aschenbach (Dirk Bogarde, in an exquisitely nuanced performance) travels to Venice to recover. There, he is struck by a vision of pure beauty in the form of a young boy (Björn Andrésen), his infatuation developing into an obsession even as rumours of a plague spread through the city.

Setting Mann’s story of queer desire and bodily decay against the sublime music of Gustav Mahler, Death in Venice is one of cinema’s most exalted literary adaptations, as sensually rich as it is allegorically resonant.

Please note, the screening on Tuesday 10 September is our Free Members' Screening, and the screening on Wednesday 18 September is a general public screening.

A small town singer, Ali (Christina Aguilera), moves to the big city for her chance at stardom where she is enchanted by Burlesque, a glamorous nightclub packed with dancers, sizzling music, and an owner (Cher) in need of a star. This very campy musical was mostly panned by critics but struck a chord with audiences who felt its feelgood factor, songs, and spirit to overcome its flaws and turn it into a fun, guilty-pleasure viewing experience.

This is the second Divas Do Film screening. It will be followed by a panel with curator Rōgan Graham discussing how some elements in the film connect with wider themes, such as the future of music venues and the destruction of London nightlife by greedy landlords.

We encourage the audience to sing along to the film's tunes!

On one of the hottest days of August 1972, three amateur bank robbers plan to hold up a Brooklyn bank. A nice simple robbery: Walk in, take the money, and run. Unfortunately, the supposedly uncomplicated heist suddenly becomes a bizarre nightmare as everything that could go wrong does. Sidney Lumet’s film, based on a true story, is driven by a legendary performance from Al Pacino, ably supported by John Cazale.

In 2008, during the last month of summer before high school begins, an impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy learns what his family can’t teach him: how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love your mom.

In his striking directorial debut, Sean Wang takes us on a kinetic ride through the ups and downs of adolescence, mining personal experience to share a joyful, funny, and deeply affecting ode to first-generation teenagers navigating the beauty and pain of cultural heritage in a sea of conformity. Wang confidently steers us through the freewheeling early days of social media, where AIM emoticons and MySpace rankings carry the weight of heartbreak and friendships forged and broken. Both a moving love letter to immigrant parents and a playful examination of our uncertain paths to adulthood, Dìdi (弟弟) reminds us that growing up and growing into better versions of ourselves are often one and the same.

Dìdi had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2024, where it won the Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic and U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award: Ensemble

A mesmerising exploration of the legendary Moroccan band Nass El-Ghiwane, dubbed the nation's soul music by director Ahmed Maanouni and the "Rolling Stones of Africa" by ardent fan Martin Scorsese.

Their acoustic traditional instruments, entrancing polyrhythmic percussion and poetic socially resonant lyrics hypnotises, delivering listeners to ecstatic heights. Part-concert documentary, part experiment in sound and image, Maanouni’s film is a sonic journey into the soul of a nation by way of a band like no other.

Restored in 2007 by Cineteca di Bologna/L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, in association with The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, Ahmed El-Maanouni, and Izza Genini. Restoration funded by Armani, Cartier, Qatar Airways and Qatar Museum Authority.

Filum Film Club screens cinema from all over the world.

Doc'n Roll Film Festival presents the World Premiere of Four Strings Good. A feature documentary celebrating a musical life well lived, capturing a live concert celebrating the music and life of multi-instrumentalist, producer and renowned session musician Mo Foster (1944-2023).

Featuring performances by by Ray Russell, Simon Phillips, Tony Hymas, Judie Tzuke, Deborah Bonham, Jimmy Helms, Kim Goody, Moon Williams, Phil Hilborne and others, the event captured Mo's enduring influence, musical legacy and great humour.

A revered figure in the London music scene, Foster played with artists including Jeff Beck, Gil Evans, Phil Collins, Gerry Rafferty, Joan Armatrading and Gary Moore. Fellow session legend Ray Russell, who shared the stage with Foster in the esteemed RMS band, took the initiative to commemorate his friend’s legacy via this musical evening. Four Strings Good captures that event, along with footage of interviews and talks that Foster hosted.

Doc'n Roll Film Festival presents the UK Premiere of Garland Jeffreys: The King of In Between + director Q&A.

Hubris, anger, prejudice...doo-wop, reggae, rock...expectations, heartbreak, transformation...Garland Jeffreys: The King of In Between examines the fifty-year career of this genre-bending, biracial singer-songwriter. An enigmatic performer since his start in the Greenwich Village clubs, Jeffreys never reached the success predicted for him. The film asks why and explores how his commitment to writing about race in America is more relevant now than ever.

Adapted for the screen by David Mamet from his Pulitzer Prize-winning play, the compelling, witty, and endlessly quotable script is delivered with razor-sharp precision by an ensemble cast at the height of their powers.

A group of Chicago real-estate salesmen-cum-con artists live on the edge. Life is good for the one on a roll. For the rest, life hangs in the balance. There is no room for losers. A-B-C: Always Be Closing, sell or go under, is the salesman’s mantra. With the pressure on, so begins a rainy night of cutthroat business and shattered lives. Delivering an Academy Award nominated performance. Al Pacino plays the fast-talking Ricky Roma, alongside Jack Lemmon giving a phenomenal performance as the veteran Shelley 'The Machine' Levene, struggling to keep his neck above water.

Michael Mann's classic crime thriller Heat was released in 1995 and stars Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro as two men on opposite sides of the law whose live become tangled and destabilised in an intense game of cat-and-mouse. When one heist led by master thief Neil McCauley (DeNiro) is compromised due to a clue left behind, LAPD Lieutenant Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) finds himself obsessed with pursuing them in an ever-escalating war - one that may cause significant collateral damage.

Twenty-something Aden (Nabhaan Rizwan) dreams of becoming a successful actor, but the nightmarish grind of the audition circuit, with its callous rejections and upsetting micro-aggressions, is starting to take its toll. His flatmate, junior doctor Bo (Rory Fleck Byrne) is also stressed to the point of burnout. But then, newcomer Conrad (Amir El-Masry) joins them, and - inspired by Conrad’s optimism and assurance - Aden takes it upon himself to find a new part to play.

As The Garden Cinema members community is not just made up of cinema enthusiasts, but also covers a large range of film creatives, we like to help connect our members working across all departments of the industry.

For our regular industry panels, we invite knowledgeable speakers to discuss their specific branch of the industry, leaving plenty of time for asking questions. After the discussion, we all head into the Garden Bar, to network with fellow members.

On Wednesday 2 October we will be joined by casting directors Rebecca Wright (Chuck Chuck Baby, Call the Midwife) and Lucy Jordan (The Lesson, Poor Things). They will discuss their respective careers and approaches to casting, and explain a bit more about what happens behind the scenes.

Tickets are restricted to 1 per member, and available for just £5, which includes a token for a complimentary house wine, beer or soft/hot drink.

About the speakers:

Rebecca Wright CDG CSA

Rebecca has worked in the entertainment industry for over 30 years. Starting out as an Assistant Director in TV and Film, she moved into the wonderful world of casting in 1998. After gaining invaluable experience working alongside some of the most esteemed Casting Directors in the UK, she set up her own company, Rebecca Wright Casting, in 2011. She casts for TV and Film, and has cast many TV dramas including Call The Midwife, Sanditon, Britannia, Rillington Place and Thirteen. More recently she has cast independent feature films Chuck Chuck Baby and Madfabulous.

https://www.rebeccawrightcasting.com / @beccawrightcdg

Lucy Jordan

Lucy is a casting director with over a decade in the industry. She has frequently collaborated with director Yorgos Lanthimos, including on the Academy Award-winning The Favourite and critically acclaimed Poor Things, as well as on Lanthimos' newest feature Kinds of Kindness. Lucy was casting director for Alice Troughton’s The Lesson, and most recently on Meta’s first ever scripted VR series The Villa, for Eli Roth’s Crypt TV. In 2023 Lucy partnered up with fellow casting director Shenae Rae to form Jordan & Rae Casting, working in TV and film with some of the UK’s top production companies.

Check out our Youtube channel for videos of our previous industry panels, which have included:

Animation, with Michaël Dudok de Wit (The Red Turtle) and Alexandra Sasha Balan (The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse)

Cinematography, with Evelin van Rei (Passenger), Bebe Dierken (Midas Man) and Nanu Segal (Hoard)

Costume, with Joanna Johnston (Lincoln) and Charlotte Finlay (Barbie)

Documentary, with Edward Lovelace (Name Me Lawand) and Tom Howson (Dogwoof)

Film festivals, with Christina Papasotiriou (Raindance Film Festival) and Philip Ilson (London Short Film Festival)

Film journalism, with Jacob Stolworthy (The Independent) and Jack Shepherd (Total Film)

Production, with Georgia Goggin (Pretty Red Dress) and Susan Simnett (Fadia's Tree)

From acclaimed director Chris Nolan comes the story of a veteran police detective (Al Pacino) who is sent to a small Alaskan town to investigate the murder of a teenage girl. Forced into a psychological game of cat-and-mouse by the primary suspect (Robin Williams), events escalate and the detective finds his own stability dangerously threatened.

A joyous adventure that celebrates science and nature, Journey to the Beginning of Time sends four schoolboys on an awe-inspiring expedition back through time, where they behold landscapes and creatures that have long since vanished from the earth. Combining live action with stop motion, puppetry and animatronics, visionary filmmaker Karel Zeman evokes worlds of wonder and discovery to produce his most beguiling and magical work.

Rated one of the best children‘s adventure films of all time, it is also a pioneering work of world cinema. Described as the ‘Czech Méliès’, Zeman has been a profound influence on generations of film artists including Jan Švankmajer, Tim Burton, the Quay Brothers and Wes Anderson.

Screening in partnership with the 28th Made in Prague Festival.

Digitally restored as part of Cistíme svet fantazie / Restoring the World of Fantasy, a joint project of the Karel Zeman Museum, the Czech Film Foundation and Czech Television.

On Sunday mornings our Family Screenings are followed by a free activity for Children.

The screening is Pay What You Can, which means you’re free to pay as much or as little as you can afford. By paying for a ticket, you will enable us to keep offering Pay What You Can screenings to families struggling with the cost of living. Thank you  

London Breeze Film Festival 2024 is delighted to be bringing two screenings of this summer's British animation feature film, Kensuke's Kingdom, to The Garden Cinema as part of our Impact Day and Youth & Family Day programmes within our 5-day festival (23rd to 27th October) at venues around London.

Both screenings are pay-what-you-can:

On Saturday 26th October, come and meet the film's co-directors and animators, Neil Boyle and Kirk Hendry, who will join us for a Q&A following the screening. Have your questions ready! We will especially want to hear from children in the audience.

On Sunday 27th October 11am the screening will be followed by a FREE children's craft activity.

Based on the much-loved, best-selling children’s novel by Michael Morpurgo, and adapted for screen by Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Kensuke's Kingdom tells the epic adventure of Michael, a young boy, shipwrecked on a remote island, who must adapt to life alone. Over time, he feels another presence, learning that this world is home to both unimaginable danger and beauty, in this gripping animated adaptation of a beloved novel. Kensuke's Kingdom features the voices of Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy, Oscar-nominated Sally Hawkins, Ken Watanabe, Raffey Cassidy, and Aaron MacGregor.

Of the 80,000 native Irish speakers, 6,000 live in the North of Ireland and three of them became a rap group called Kneecap. This is the real-life story of how this anarchic Belfast trio became the unlikely figureheads of a civil rights movement to save and reinvigorate their mother tongue.

The Garden Cinema View:

Coming off a summer of Festival buzz, Kneecap (the fictionalised film account of their formation) is about to send Kneecap (the Irish-language rap group) stratospheric. Director Rich Peppiatt captures a Trainspotting-esque kinetic energy, albeit without Irvine Welsh's nihilism or judgement. Rather, Kneecap is cheerfully amoral, with likeable performances from the band as themselves. The narrative might be formulaic, but it breezes past on adrenaline (and drug) fuelled musical sequences that bring the action to joyous and exhilarating crescendos.

Gillian Armstrong's heartfelt adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's classic novel about love, family and the female spirit, stars Winona Ryder, Kirsten Dunst, Christian Bale, Claire Danes, and Susan Sarandon.

With her husband off at war, Marmee (Sarandon) is left alone to raise their four daughters, her Little Women. There is the spirited Jo (Ryder); conservative Meg (Trini Alvarado); fragile Beth (Danes); and romantic Amy (played at different ages by Kristen Dunst and Samantha Mathis). As the years pass, the sisters share some of the most cherished and painful memories of self-discovery, as Marmee and Aunt March (Mary Wickes) guide them through issues of independence, romance and virtue.

On Sunday mornings our Family Screenings are followed by a free activity for Children.

The screening is Pay What You Can, which means you’re free to pay as much or as little as you can afford. By paying for a ticket, you will enable us to keep offering Pay What You Can screenings to families struggling with the cost of living. Thank you  

London Pakistani Film Festival presents Zindagi Tamasha (Circus of Life). The screening will be followed by a Zoom Q&A with director Sarmad Khoosat, moderated by Assad Khan .

A devout Muslim who writes composes, and even records hymns praising the Prophet, Muhammad Rahat Khawaja is a respected elderly man who works in real estate and takes care of his bedridden wife. One day, he attends the wedding of a friend’s son, where he inadvertently shows off a dance in front of his friends and family. His dance gets recorded and then uploaded to all social media platforms, which then also gets broadcasted on television. And the chaos begins to ensue in his quiet life. Other than his wife, no one else in the world understands Rahat’s circumstance. His daughters and neighbors criticize him, his friends turn their backs on him. Circus of Life provides a calm and detailed picture of challenging issues in a strict Muslim society and the search for the identity of an elderly man who gradually comes to realize his “minoritiness."

The London Pakistani Film Festival (LPFF) is an annual celebration of films and drama’s from or about the Pakistani Diaspora. The festival will be held in London with special guest and talks, followed by a red carpet film awards ceremony, thus making it the largest Pakistani films and Pakistani drama’s festival in the world, outside of Pakistan.

Our goal is to bring the rich artistic and modern culture of Pakistan and experiences & contacts of the Pakistani diaspora portrayed through film to the mainstream platform.

A keen observer of America’s social fabric, writer-director John Sayles uncovers the haunted past buried beneath a small Texas border town in this sprawling neo-western mystery. When a skeleton is discovered in the desert, lawman Sam Deeds (Chris Cooper), son of a legendary local sheriff, begins an investigation that will have profound implications both for him personally and for all of Rio County, a place still reckoning with its history of racial violence. Sayles’ masterful film - novelistic in its intricacy and featuring a brilliant ensemble cast, including Joe Morton, Elizabeth Peña, and Kris Kristofferson - quietly subverts national mythmaking and lays bare the fault lines of life at the border.

New digital restoration.

It’s 1930s London and everyone’s favourite nanny has returned - Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt) is ready to spread joy and magic in the much-anticipated sequel to the 1964 classic. This time, she finds that the Banks children have grown up and found themselves in need of a friendly face - as well as a little bit of magic. A Disney musical and sequel starring Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Ben Wishaw, along with Dick Van Dyke, Emily Mortimer, Colin Firth, and Meryl Streep.

On Sunday mornings our Family Screenings are followed by a free activity for Children.

The screening is Pay What You Can, which means you’re free to pay as much or as little as you can afford. By paying for a ticket, you will enable us to keep offering Pay What You Can screenings to families struggling with the cost of living. Thank you

You may have noticed some new hops-based additions to our bar menu recently. To help you get a bit more familiar, our wonderful friends from Lost and Grounded Brewers will be traveling down from Bristol on Friday 13 September, to teach us a thing or two about their delicious lagers and Belgian-inspired ales.

During the tasting, you'll get to try all the varieties currently on our menu, as well as a few others in their range. As per the brewers' suggestion, there will be a tasty cheese pairing for each of the beers, supplied by the lovely Soho Dairy, who you may remember from our previous wine tastings. Their stall can be found over on Berwick Street Market (W1F 0PH) and is worth seeking out, as they are fiercely independent and community-orientated, and offer an excellent assortment of prize-winning cheeses, straight from independent UK dairy producers.

After the tasting there's no need to resort to lighter fluid - you'll be able to pick your favourite lager or ale from the menu to take into the screening of cult classic & a popular members' suggestion: Withnail and I.

Timings:

19:00  Beer tasting with cheese pairings

21:00  Screening of Withnail and I

22:55  Expected finish

Tickets are £25 and include a space for the tasting event and the screening, as well as a beer to take into the screen. Tickets are restricted to 2 per member, meaning you can bring a date or a mate, even if they're not a member.

Please note that all beer varieties in the tasting will contain gluten, and there are no non-alcoholic versions available. All cheeses will contain dairy, and some might be produced with animal rennet, meaning not all offerings will be vegetarian-friendly.

About the film:

Withnail and I was requested by our members Felicity Taylor and Irina Boicu. Felicity writes: 'A total classic, impeccable casting (obviously Richard E Grant is fabulous but Richard Griffiths as Monty as well as Ralph Brown’s Danny steal every scene they’re in), painfully dry yet on point British humour with nary an unquotable line.'

London. The 1960s. Two unemployed actors—acerbic, elegantly wasted Withnail (Richard E. Grant) and the anxiety-ridden "I" (Paul McGann)—drown their frustrations in booze, pills, and lighter fluid. When Withnail's Uncle Monty (Richard Griffiths) offers his cottage, they escape the squalor of their flat for a week in the country. They soon realize they’ve gone on holiday by mistake when their wits—and friendship—are sorely tested by violent downpours, less than hospitable locals, and empty cupboards.

If you'd like to just attend the Withnail and I screening, without joining for the tasting, you can buy a separate ticket for this here.

The Handmade Films company and/or brand and the film Withnail and I are in no way associated with Lost and Grounded Brewers or Soho Dairy.

Our screening on Thursday 5 September will be introduced by Tony Rayns.

A stylish and seductive submersion into the techno-scored neon nightlife of Taipei, Hou’s much-misunderstood marvel stars Shu Qi as an aimless bar hostess drifting away from her blowhard boyfriend and towards Jack Kao’s suave, sensitive gangster. Structured as a flashback to the then-present from the then-future of 2011, it’s a transfixing trance-out of a movie, drenched in club lights, ecstatic endorphin-rush exhilaration, and a nagging undercurrent of ennui.

New digital restoration.

For Halloween we're screening the family friendly monster film: Monsters Inc.

James Sullivan 'Sulley' and Mike Wazowski are monsters. They earn their living scaring children and are the best in the business… even though they’re more afraid of the children than they are of them. But when Sulley accidentally lets a little human girl into Monstropolis, life turns upside down and she teaches Sulley and Mike that laughter is more powerful than a scream.

On Sunday mornings our Family Screenings are followed by a free activity for Children.

The screening is Pay What You Can, which means you’re free to pay as much or as little as you can afford. By paying for a ticket, you will enable us to keep offering Pay What You Can screenings to families struggling with the cost of living. Thank you

Since her husband’s death and her daughter’s departure for Europe, Mahin has been living alone in Tehran, until an afternoon tea with friends leads her to break her solitary routine and revitalise her love life. But as Mahin opens herself up to new romance, what begins as an unexpected encounter quickly evolves into an unpredictable, unforgettable evening.

The Garden Cinema View:

Mahin’s daily routines would seem listless even for Jeanne Dielman (for at least she had potatoes to peel). But when, inspired by her friends, she decides to leave her cocoon of isolated non-existence, she embarks on a gently humorous and surprisingly righteous search for companionship. Eventually encountering taxi driver Faramarz (like a depressed version of Perfect Days’ Kōji Yakusho), My Favourite Cake settles into a kind of septuagenarian spin on Before Sunrise. And it’s wonderful. That is until the filmmakers make a highly controversial narrative choice in the film’s final act. Sure to be a controversial decision, for this viewer a potential modern masterpiece is severely undermined by its ending.

To launch the Al Pacino season in style, we're organising a murder mystery party full of secrets & intrigue. Members can book up to 2 tickets, meaning you can bring a friend - two brains are better than one, after all.

You'll be welcomed with a complimentary cannolo, which will be freshly filled for you by our friends at ETNACOFFEE. Their shop on 54 Baker Street, which is run by Catanian brothers Gaetano and Enrico, is the go-to place for authentic Sicilian street food in London.

After this delicious treat, it's time to put your detective hat on (fedoras are encouraged!) and try to crack the case by piecing together hints, and interviewing our suspects - but know that some of them can't be trusted..

We'll work our way up to a grandiose reveal, after which you can relax again in our comfy seats, and enjoy the screening of the enigmatic Sea of Love.

Timings:

18:30  Arrival with complimentary cannolo

19:00  Murder mystery start

20:15  Reveal & screening of Sea of Love

22:30  Expected finish

About the film:

Troubled New York City detective Frank Keller (Al Pacino) investigates a serial killer who finds victims using personal ads in a magazine and leaves the song "Sea of Love" playing at his crime scenes. With the help of his partner, Sherman Touhey (John Goodman), Frank concocts a plan to find the killer using his own personal ads. But when Frank falls for one of his chief suspects, Helen Cruger (Ellen Barkin), he struggles to reconcile his personal life and his professional duty.

About Etnacoffee:

Etnacoffee is a multi-award-winning Sicilian street food café located at 54 Baker Street in London. This charming coffee shop specializes in serving authentic Italian coffee, providing a true taste of Italy in every cup. Etnacoffee is renowned for its delicious Cannoli Siciliani, a traditional Sicilian pastry filled with sweet ricotta cheese, and Arancini, the famous Sicilian rice balls. With a focus on authenticity and quality, Etnacoffee offers a genuine Sicilian experience in the heart of London.

https://www.etnacoffee.net / @etnacoffee

In a working-class area of Sweden, sisters Laura (16), Mira (12) and Steffi (7), get by on their own, left to their own devices by their absent mother. With summer on the way and no parents around, life is wild and carefree, vivacious and anarchic. But when social services call a meeting, Laura has to find someone to impersonate their mother, or the girls will be taken into foster care and separated. Laura keeps the threat a secret, so as not to worry her younger sisters. But as the moment of truth draws closer, new tensions arise, forcing the three sisters to negotiate the fine line between the euphoria of total freedom and the harsh realities of growing up.

The Garden Cinema View:

The structure of Paradise is Burning is so loose that the complex process of directing feels almost arbitrary. Yet, it is remarkably precise in its presentation of the complicated dynamics between three underage sisters as they grapple with their abandonment by their mother. Ultimately, the film observes women at different stages of their lives, from childhood, to preteen years, to late adolescence, motherhood, and older aunthood, sensitively highlighting their conflicts and camaraderie with honesty and humour.

Paradise is Burning also serves as an unconventional representation of Sweden - often depicted as a social welfare haven. Yet in this case, these children have fallen through the cracks of the system (although admittedly, their estate house looks significantly better than the UK equivalent).

As the script does not firmly commit to any specific arc, the characters and relationships grow organically, without resorting to the heavy-handed melodrama occasionally encountered in social realist cinema. The exceptional performances by the non-actor children contribute to the power of the film, which deservedly won best debut feature awards at the Venice and London film festivals.

London Palestine Film Festival 2024 presents Real Visions (shorts session). This selection of non-fiction shorts play cross images, dreams, realities and memories. What proof do images reveal? How do visible truths affect our understanding of actualities, and our future existence?

The Bride and The Dowry

1979, Ibrahim Abu Nab, 26’

This rich historical documentary from Palestinian filmmaker, Ibrahim Abu Nab (1931 - 1991), narrates the aftereffects of the 1967 War on the people of the West Bank. From powerful testimonials from lawyers, academics and victims of displacement, to the chronicling of the story of a Palestinian leader targeted as he demands justice for his people, we understand the impact of Israeli occupation on Palestinian life, and the consequences of attempting to defy it. Environmental degradation, land seizures, and resource control are used as tools of oppression. Central to the narrative is the metaphor of a bride and dowry, used by an Israeli human rights lawyer to describe the cruel tactics employed to force Palestinians into submission. The film emphasizes the ongoing resilience of the Palestinian people, despite these relentless pressures.

Trigger warning: harrowing testimonials of torture and other violence

Nazareth

2021, Mike Halboom, 7’

A single photo from 1948: A return to the fateful year of 1948 in Israel, reframed by a single photograph that is taken up one face at a time. Four figures on a hillside bear witness to the revolutionary society, the new state, the new law. Like too many moments of catastrophe it is filled with invisibility charms and ghost relations. How to speak of what can’t be put into words, how to show what cannot be seen?

Gaza Atelier

Palestine, 2023, Montaser Alsabe, 11’

Ahlam, a young Palestinian fashion designer plans to open her own atelier in Gaza city. With the opening date approaching, things take a different path than what she is planning. But with a name like Ahlam, meaning dreams in Arabic, her ambitions won’t fade.

The Poem we Sang

Canada/Palestine, 2024, Annie Sakkab, 20’

This dream-like documentary meditates on love and longing: the love of one’s family and the longing for one’s home. Photojournalist Annie Sakkab strings together found footage, images, poems and memories to contemplate how to overcome the trauma of losing a family home and forced migration. Through this nostalgic journey, Sakkab transforms lifelong regrets into a healing journey of creative catharsis and bearing witness.

Man Number 4

UK, 2024, Miranda Pennell, 10'

Gaza, December 2023: a photograph shows men in a berm, soldiers in mid-distance and ghostly apartment blocks. A confrontation with this disturbing photograph on social media triggers questions about what it means to be an onlooker.

Kelly-Anne wakes up every morning by the courthouse to secure a seat at the high-profile trial of Ludovic Chevalier, a serial killer she is obsessed with. As days go by, the young woman bonds with another groupie, which momentarily breaks her out of her loneliness. But as the proceedings drag on and she spends more time in the courtroom with the victims’ families, Kelly-Anne finds it increasingly difficult to maintain her psychological balance and retain her morbid fixation with the killer. She will then do whatever it takes to get her hands on the

final piece of the puzzle: the missing video of a murdered 13- year-old girl, to whom Kelly-Anne bears a disturbing resemblance.

The Garden Cinema View:

By this point French-Courtroom-Drama seems to be the most prevalent genre in cinema. Well adding to this, albeit with a Québécois twist (perhaps Francophone-courtroom-drama is more accurate), and upping the stakes, is Pascal Plante’s genuinely disturbing Red Rooms. Picking up in similar fashion to Alice Diop’s magnificent Saint Omer, Red Rooms positions us alongside an observer at a trial. Whilst Diop’s film expanded into a compassionate exploration of post-colonial France, Plante slides us incessantly deeper into the most depraved recesses of human action, whilst simultaneously toying with voyeurism and obsession. Including several unique shot sequences, a queasily realistic depiction of online transgression and solitude, this is an impressive and nightmarish suggestive experience.  

Oscar-winning superstars Gene Hackman and Al Pacino star as two born losers - one a gruff ex-con who dreams of owning his own carwash and the other, a clowning, likable ex-seaman Just out of jail after serving time on an assault rap, Max (Gene Hackman) is headed for Pittsburgh to open a deluxe car wash. Back from five years at sea, Lion (Al Pacino) wants to hit Detroit and visit the child he's never seen. Co-winner of the 1973 Cannes Film Festival Grand Prize, Scarecrow features moving performances of Hackman and Pacino, and glowing landscape cinematography of Vilmos Zsigmond.

After getting a green card in exchange for assassinating a Cuban government official, Tony Montana stakes a claim on the drug trade in Miami. Viciously murdering anyone who stands in his way, Tony eventually becomes the biggest drug lord in the state, controlling nearly all the cocaine that comes through Miami. But increased pressure from the police, wars with Colombian drug cartels and his own drug-fueled paranoia serve to fuel the flames of his eventual downfall.

Frank (Al Pacino in an Oscar winning performance) is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the US army. He's blind and impossible to get along with. Charlie is at school and is looking forward to going to college. To help pay for a trip home for Christmas, he agrees to look after Frank over Thanksgiving. Frank's niece says this will be easy money, but she didn't reckon on Frank spending his Thanksgiving in New York.

Discover the stunning restoration of a New Hollywood classic from director Sidney Lumet – the true story about a cop who blew the whistle on rampant corruption in the police force. In New York in 1971, an honest policeman, Serpico (Al Pacino in a ferocious and career changing performance), investigates corruption among his fellow workers. In the course of his inquiries, he becomes increasingly isolated but more convinced of their guilt until finally he decides to reveal all to the New York Times.

Divine G (Colman Domingo), imprisoned at Sing Sing for a crime he didn’t commit, finds purpose by acting in a theatre group alongside other incarcerated men, including wary newcomer Clarence 'Divine Eye' Maclin, in this stirring true story of resilience, humanity, and the transformative power of art, starring an unforgettable ensemble cast of formerly incarcerated actors.

The Garden Cinema View:

Possibly the best amalgamation of fiction and reality since Chloé Zhao’s The Rider, Sing Sing is a superb demonstration of its own aims. That is to say, a film about the empowering possibilities of theatre, as well as the psychological processing embedded in performance, all enacted by prison inmates, often playing versions of themselves. This reflexivity is anchored by a warm and intelligent turn by Colman Domingo; a role that will cement his reputation as one of the most charismatic and likeable actors in Hollywood. Sing Sing is an uplifting film that doesn’t feel mawkish, and is a clear-sighted depiction of the US prison system which doesn’t descend into cruelty. It’s a sure-fire contender come awards season next Spring, but a late Summer treat for UK cinemagoers.   

After the events of Into the Spider-Verse, Miles Morales is trying his best to settle into his new life as a friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man. However, school, family and crimefighting is not an easy balance to strike. When a strange entity known as ‘The Spot’ turns up at his local mini-mart, it sets off a chain of events that sees Miles not only reuniting with his multi-verse crush Spider-Gwen but also encountering a world where a seemingly infinite number of Spider-People exist. Whilst this initially seems like an exciting prospect, Miles soon finds that, under the leadership of Spider-Man 2099, these heroes harbour an unforgiving secret that threatens everything precious to him. With a dazzling array of styles, colours, heroes and villains, this follow-up sequel to the groundbreaking original animation also expands on its themes of responsibility, heroism and the importance of family.

On Sunday mornings our Family Screenings are followed by a free activity for Children.

The screening is Pay What You Can, which means you’re free to pay as much or as little as you can afford. By paying for a ticket, you will enable us to keep offering Pay What You Can screenings to families struggling with the cost of living. Thank you

1970s, rural Yorkshire. Richard and Juliette Willoughby’s seemingly idyllic family life is thrown into turmoil when their young son Owen starts acting out of character. A sudden, tragic event brings grief and drives a wedge between the once happy couple. At Starve Acre, their remote family home, academic archaeologist Richard buries himself in exploring a folkloric myth that the ancient oak tree that once stood on their land is imbued with phenomenal powers. While Juliette turns to the local community to find some kind of peace, Richard obsessively digs deeper. An unexpected discovery soon occupies the couple's attention and dark and sinister forces, unwittingly allowed into their home, offer a disturbing possibility of reconnection between them.

The Garden Cinema View:

Seemingly a radically different film than Daniel Kokotajlo’s Jehovah’s Witness drama Apostasy, Starve Acre is nonetheless, at root, another study of how the tendrils of our upbringing and communal belief systems can wrap themselves tightly around our core. Starve Acre is embedded in British Folk Horror genre conventions, and whilst the narrative beats are fairly predictable, the occasionally surprising imagery and unjudgmental tone keep things fresh. Shot in anamorphic widescreen, this is a wonderful film to look at, and astute location and period detail conjure a rich atmosphere. Kokotajlo strays a little close to his influences (Don’t Look Now, Lamb), but Starve Acre provides plenty of perverse pleasures to appease your inner pagan.

A stunning tribute to the resilience of Native people and their way of life, Sugarcane, the debut feature documentary from Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, is an epic cinematic portrait of a community during a moment of international reckoning.

In 2021, evidence of unmarked graves was discovered on the grounds of an Indian residential school run by the Catholic Church in Canada. After years of silence, the forced separation, assimilation and abuse many children experienced at these segregated boarding schools was brought to light, sparking a national outcry against a system designed to destroy Indigenous communities. Set amidst a groundbreaking investigation, Sugarcane illuminates the heartbreak and beauty of a community breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma and finding the strength to survive.

The Garden Cinema View:

Although Sugarcane explores a real and very much ongoing tragedy, which emerges from deeper historical atrocities, it is made with a warmth and generosity of spirit which brings levity amongst the air of sadness. The subjects and victims filmed here are admirably patient and kind, and scenes of community celebration, small acts of connection, or even just the beautiful British Columbia landscape, feel uplifting. That is not to say that the sense of anger and injustice is not pervasive. When the credits roll you’ll likely also feel that the conciliatory words of popes and politicians are not sufficient compensation for this pain.

Sugarcane might be considered as part of a small recent movement of cinematic excavation that would include Annina van Neel’s documentary of her efforts to memorialise unmarked slave burial grounds in Saint Helena in A Story of Bones, as well as RaMell Ross’ dramatisation of reform school abuse cover ups in the upcoming Nikel Boys. What tethers these works together is sense of filmmaking and viewing being part of a collective response and processing effort. An element which makes each watch a valuable act in itself.

Our screening on 21 September will be introduced by Victor Fan (KCL).

In 8th century China, 10-year-old general's daughter Nie Yinniang is handed over to a nun who initiates her into the martial arts, transforming her into an exceptional assassin charged with eliminating cruel and corrupt local governors. One day, having failed in a task, she is sent back by her mistress to the land of her birth, with orders to kill the man to whom she was betrothed - a cousin who now leads the largest independent military region in North China.

In his final feature film, Hou Hsiao-hsien reunites with leading actress Shu Qi (Millennium Mambo, Three Times) for a sublime and impressionistic refraction of wuxia cinema. Working within this most commerical of Chinese genres, Hou spins a dense yet profoundly rewarding tale, in a style that is uniquely his.  

Based on the first of the classic series of novels by CS Lewis, this fantasy adventure film follows four siblings: Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. Evacuated to the countryside during World War Two, the children find a way into another world - through the back of an old wardrobe. Entering the strange world of Narnia, the children discover a land in thrall to the White Witch (Tilda Swinton), where it's winter all year round, but never Christmas, and where magical creatures live in fear of her cruelty. In order to break her wintry spell, the brothers and sisters must join forces with Aslan the Lion, and fulfil their destinies. This wonderful film brings the magic, myths and sheer excitement of CS Lewis' story to life.

On Sunday mornings our Family Screenings are followed by a free activity for Children.

The screening is Pay What You Can, which means you’re free to pay as much or as little as you can afford. By paying for a ticket, you will enable us to keep offering Pay What You Can screenings to families struggling with the cost of living. Thank you

Aspiring Florida defense lawyer Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves) accepts a high-powered position at a New York law firm headed by legal shark John Milton (Al Pacino). As Kevin moves up in the firm's ranks, his wife, Mary Ann (Charlize Theron), has several frightening, mystical experiences that begin to warp her sense of reality. With the stakes getting higher with each case, Kevin quickly learns that his mentor is planning a far greater evil than simply winning without scruples.

Filmed over a decade, “the Fisherman and the Banker” is modern-day David and Goliath documentary that chronicles the struggle of a fishing community in India’s Gulf of Kutch who take on one of the world’s most powerful institutions, The World Bank Group, after it funded a coal-fired power plant on their coast.

In Gujarat, the fishermen and their movement, MASS, have long been fighting against power plants that threaten their way of life. Then in 2015, they join forces with EarthRights International, a Washington DC-based NGO, and file a lawsuit against the World Bank’s private lending arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), after it provided a critical loan to the Tata Mundra power plant, despite recognising it as high risk project. As the legal challenge progresses to the US Supreme Court in 2018, the film documents the community’s pursuit of justice.

Through a poetic and observational lens, the film captures not just the legal battle but the profound connection between the community and their environment. Will these indomitable fishermen succeed in rewriting international law to protect their heritage and environment, or will the might of the IFC prevail?

The film was nominated for best feature film at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival.

"Moving and Necessary. A David-vs-Goliath story for an age that desperately needs such stories” – Yanis Varoufakis

Both screenings will be followed by a Q&A with director Sheena Sumaria, policy expert, Petra Kjell Wright from Recourse, and Dr. Bharat Patel.

Petra Kjell Wright is a Campaigns Manager at Recourse, an organisation focused on influencing development finance for sustainable, socially just, and inclusive development. Petra has previously worked with the Bank Information Center and the Bretton Woods Project, addressing the World Bank’s impact on climate, environment, and human rights. She holds an MSc in Development Studies from SOAS, University of London.

Sheena Sumaria, a British-Gujarati documentary filmmaker, transitioned from a career in international development to filmmaking. With degrees in Economics and Development Studies from Cambridge and SOAS, her passion for social justice drives her work. She began with “Still Standing,” highlighting life in Medellin’s slums, followed by films on the Chilean student uprising and the 2002 Gujarat pogrom. Her short films address various social issues, including Brexit and homelessness.

Dr. Bharat Patel is one of the film’s protagonists, and is the Research Lead for the Centre for Policy Research-Namati Environmental Justice Program in Gujarat. He has been instrumental in mobilising and amplifying the voices of fishing communities in Gujarat on rights based and social development issues, and since 2008 he has served as General Secretary of MASS, the fish workers’ rights association in Kutch. Bharat holds a PhD focused on the impact of new fishing technologies on fishing communities.

The first instalment of what would become Francis Ford Coppola’s epic trilogy chronicling the vicissitudes of the Corleone clan sees patriarch Don Vito navigating an expansion into narcotics and the unexpected ascent of his youngest son Michael. From an inter-family war that erupts on the streets of New York and an attempt to edge in on the lucrative entertainment world of Las Vegas to life in a Sicilian pastoral idyl, the machinations of a complex and far-reaching crime syndicate are never far away in this exemplary mob drama.

Sequels had not yet become the Hollywood norm when Francis Ford Coppola signed up for a continuation to his hugely successful 1972 adaptation of Mario Puzo’s novel The Godfather, but this second film set a high standard for follow-ups in the way that it enriches and deepens the Corleone family narrative.

Ranging over multiple locations, Coppola’s film ambitiously intertwines two time periods: the story of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) becoming increasingly consumed and isolated by his new power as head of the family, and flashbacks to his father Vito Corleone’s (Robert De Niro) arrival as an immigrant in New York, and his gradual ascent to power.

The project’s ambition did not go unrecognised: like the first film, it won best picture at the 1974 Academy Awards.

Our first screening on Saturday 28 September will be followed by an online q&a with director Huang Hsin-yao.

Provincial friends Pickle and Belly Button idle away their nights in the security booth of a Buddha statue factory, where Pickle works as a guard. One evening, when the TV is on the fritz, they put on video from the boss's dashcam - only to discover illicit trysts and a mysterious act of violence. Huang Hsin-yao's fiction feature debut The Great Buddha+ (the plus sign cheekily nodding to the smartphone model) is a stylish, rip-roaring satire on class and corruption in contemporary Taiwanese society.

The film will be preceded by Huang's original short film, The Great Buddha (2014), which serves as a prelude to the story of the main feature.

The London Australian Film Festival continues with the London Premiere of the utterly unhinged adult animation, The Greatest Surf Movie in the Universe.

In 2033, after the memory of surfing has been completely washed away following a global apocalypse, the God of Waves (WSL commentator Ronnie Blakey) must enlist the greatest surfers in the Universe to revive the sport once and for all. An intergalactic stop-motion animated adventure comedy, interspersed with wave-based live-action, this is a surf movie like no other!

Presented by Luke Hemsworth, and starring world champion surfers Mick Fanning and Kelly Slater – alongside cult faves Craig Anderson, Mason Ho, Griffin Colapinto, Jack Freestone and Matt Wilkinson - this very adult film needs to be seen to be believed. Think “Team America” meets “Point Break”, with a particularly Aussie approach to ‘vernacular’ language, and you’ll get the idea

Best leave the kids (and your brains) at home for this one!

Australian snacks and sweets will be on sale, and a raffle will be held before the screening.

With thanks to Central City Media.

“If this movie was on VHS you would tape over it.” – Malcolm77 (Letterboxd)

“Humongously bad…too much lousy animation.” – New York Times

After seeking the expertise of former Big Tobacco executive Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe), seasoned TV producer Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino) suspects a story lies behind Wigand's reluctance to speak. As Bergman persuades Wigand to share his knowledge of industry secrets, the two must contend with the courts and the corporations that stand between them and exposing the truth. All the while, Wigand must struggle to maintain his family life amidst lawsuits and death threats.

The June Givanni Pan African Cinema Archive presents: Shorts by Amani Naphtali + Q&A

The June Givanni PanAfrican Cinema Archive, in collaboration with the Garden Cinema, are pleased to present a screening of short films followed by a discussion between writer and director, Amani Naphtali and film curator Dr June Givanni.

Le Bohemian Noir et le Renaissance de l'Afrique (1990) 26 mins

A stylised docudrama which looks at the emergence of an Afrikan movement among black British artists in the 1980s. This film evidences that creativity cannot be prescribed, predicted or contained within established artistic conventions. The panel will discuss the decades that followed and how they  determined to change the terms of the game and their place within it.

The Rural Black History Project (2021) 18 mins

Working with professional and community artists, The Rural Black History Project has built fictionalised biographies for those in the records, that are presented alongside a broader exploration of the region's

Black British history.

Circles of Fire (1997) and (2022) 17 mins

A ritualistic folk tale which first opened at The British Short Film Festival (1997). This surrealist fiction short was reedited and remastered in (2022). The story revolves around a family of nomads, two women have been kidnapped by a violent male aggressor. The nomads under the leadership of a strong matriarch, respond by initiating her youngest son into the rites of the Circle of Fire. His task is to confront the aggressor with the ancient mystical sciences of his ancestors, the power of the eternal disk, and the circle of fire, a spherical talisman that has the ability to destroy and to regenerate forms of life. Shot in black and white by Russian cinematographer Alexander Ilkovski and edited in Moscow at the state television centre.

The film exemplifies Amani's love for African films such as Yeelen (1987, Souleymane Cissé) and Yaarba (1989, Idrissa Ouedraogo) and his admiration for the films of Sergei Eisenstein, and the wonderful creative steps made at Mosfilm.

Amani Naphtali is a trained dramatist, writer, director, and filmmaker. He was the founder member and Artistic Director of the ground-breaking Double Edge Theatre Company. He is a dedicated exponent of the African Ritualistic genre and a pioneer of Multi Genre interdisciplinary practice. Naphtali has directed musicals, films, and dance productions, including his seminal reggae musical, Ragamuffin, which was first staged at Oval House. Amani also wrote the book for the West End musical Daddy Cool. In addition to Ragamuffin, his theatre productions also include The Remnant, Valley of the Blind, Song of Songs, and Vibes from the Scribes.

The June Givanni Pan African Cinema Archive holds a unique collection of artefacts and archival material that has at its core the interest of Pan-African cinema and its relationship to Black British cinema and culture. JGPACA's events and projects reveal histories and ideas in African and African diasporic film, bringing together the work of filmmakers, artists and writers around a wide range of themes, debates and interests.

In the irreverent spirit of fun that made The Lego Movie a worldwide phenomenon, the self-described leading man of that ensemble—Lego Batman—stars in his own big-screen adventure. But there are big changes brewing in Gotham, and if he wants to save the city from The Joker’s hostile takeover, Batman may have to drop the lone vigilante thing, try to work with others and maybe, just maybe, learn to lighten up.

On Sunday mornings our Family Screenings are followed by a free activity for Children.

The screening is Pay What You Can, which means you’re free to pay as much or as little as you can afford. By paying for a ticket, you will enable us to keep offering Pay What You Can screenings to families struggling with the cost of living. Thank you  

Our screening on 13 October is the latest in our discussion series, In the Works, hosted by Oscar nominated composer Gary Yershon. Gary's guest is the writer and director Jeremy Brock. Jeremy first rose to prominence as the co-creator of Casualty. He was BAFTA nominated for his screenplay for Mrs Brown (1997), and alongside Peter Mogan, he won the BAFTA for Best Adaptated Screenplay for The Last King of Scotland in 2007, which also won the BAFTA for Outstanding British Film.  

About the film:

Young Scottish doctor, Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) decides it’s time for an adventure after he finishes his formal education, so he decides to try his luck in Uganda, and arrives during the downfall of President Obote. General Idi Amin (a towering and Academy Award winning performance from Forest Whitaker) comes to power and asks Garrigan to become his personal doctor.

We’ve dug deep into the LIAF archives and have selected 12 of the best short animated films full of visually dazzling joy from all around the world, for kids of all ages and the whole family.

Here you will meet charismatic characters and encounter amazing tales such as the man whose job it is to make sure each new day starts on time, a Japanese boy Jiro who unexpectedly catches cat flu and how you should never take gravity for granted.

Animation is the most imaginative and engaging of all art forms and is the perfect platform to enthral and inspire the wide-open imaginations of kids. This programme, carefully selected with our youngest audience in mind, is always popular, and not a toy ad in sight.

For more information about the London International Animation Festival and our programmes please look at the website at www.liaf.org.uk

Films Screening:

Heroes

Glory is at our fingertips!

Argentina, 2018, Dir: Juan Pablo Zaramella, 3min

Link

Two characters are linked by their hair. They influence each other with every move they make.

Germany, 2017, Dir: Robert Loebel, 8min

Pearfall

Beware of pearfall. It happens suddenly so you have to be prepared.

Estonia, 2017, Dir: Leonid Schmelkov, 3 min

The Hunt

The disappointment of a harmless hunter and his compatriot - a rabbit.

France, 2017, Dir: Alexey Alekseev, 6 min

Kuap

A tadpole somehow misses out on becoming a frog and is left behind, alone. A little story about growing up.

Switzerland, 2018, Dir: Nils Hedinger, 8 min

Rules of Play

A group of tired playground visitors meet at night for a last contest.

Germany, 2018, Dir: Merlin Flugel, 8 min

Vivat Musketeers!

The world is on the verge of abyss and there is no hope until the musketeers arrive. Long live the musketeers!

Russia, 2017, Dir: Anton Dyakov, 5 min

Cat Days

Jiro, a little boy, feels sick. His father takes him to the doctor. She diagnoses a harmless condition, but it shakes the core of the boy's identity.

Germany/Japan, 2018, Dir: Jon Frickey, 11 min

Mind Games

The adventures of a wandering mind.

USA, 2018, Dir: Jiaqi Yan, 2 min

Flipped

The absurdity of a world where the roles of kids and adults are switched.

UK, 2018, Dir: Hend Esmat & Lamiaa Diab, 5 min

The Theory of Sunset

Deep at night, a dedicated cyclist traverses the wintry forest. The challenge: make sure this new day gets off to a fresh and timely start.

Russia, 2017, Dir: Roman Sokolov, 9 min

Herman Brown is Feeling Down

Herman's quiet, colourful world is suddenly interrupted by something loud and stressy.

UK, 2018, Dir: Dan Castro, 6 min

This 2005 film version of the classic 1960s children's television series sees the return of beloved animated characters Dougal the dog, Ermintrude the cow, Brian the snail, Dylan the rabbit, and of course, magician-on-a-spring, Zebedee. When Zebedee's evil brother ZeeBad tries to freeze the whole world, it's up to sugar-loving Dougal, voiced by pop star Robbie Williams, to save the day.

On Sunday mornings our Family Screenings are followed by a free activity for Children.

The screening is Pay What You Can, which means you’re free to pay as much or as little as you can afford. By paying for a ticket, you will enable us to keep offering Pay What You Can screenings to families struggling with the cost of living. Thank you  

Rona, fresh out of rehab, returns to the wild Orkney Islands after more than a decade away. As she reconnects with the dramatic landscape where she grew up, memories of her childhood merge with the more recent challenging events that have set her on the path to recovery.

The Garden Cinema View:

Many acclaimed films (The Lost Weekend, Leaving Las Vegas) have explored the detrimental effects of addiction and the success or failure of rehabilitation. What sets The Outrun apart is how truthfully and diligently it presents the relentless, everyday challenge of staying sober without the numbing effects of other substances to ease the pain. Can an ex-addict ever be happy? The film relentlessly explores this question, depicting a mind shaped by years of alcoholism. This journey is the emotional core of the film, brought to life through Saoirse Ronan's most powerful performance to date. The wildly beautiful Orkney Islands provide a stunning backdrop that mirrors the protagonist's internal life.

The Outrun is not flawless, (there are some on-the-nose scenes and a few nature metaphors that don't quite work), yet this doesn't take away from the overall powerful impact. Although The Outrun shares several elements with Nora Fingscheidt's previous works such as System Crasher (2019), it provides an in-depth exploration of its themes that elevates above these earlier films.

Bobby (Al Pacino) is a heroin addict who lives in 'Needle Park', the nickname for an area on the Upper West Side of Manhattan where junkies congregate. He meets Helen (Kitty Winn), a lonely homeless girl, and they fall in love. However, Bobby also introduces Helen to heroin, and she eventually becomes addicted, too. As Bobby and Helen become more and more dependent on each other and on heroin, their need for money to feed their habit grows, resulting in crime, desperation and betrayal

Our screening on 11 September will be followed by an in-person q&a with the iconic actor and filmmaker Lee Kang-sheng.

In director Tsai Ming-Liang's shockingly subversive family drama, Hsiao-Kang gets roped into participating in a film shoot, in which he plays a dead body floating in the Tamsui River in Taipei. But the polluted, dirty water provokes a health crisis, as Hsiao-Kang is suddenly struck by debilitating neck pain. His concerned parents attempt various ways of alleviating his discomfort, but to no avail and soon, the son’s misery causes the troubled family unit to further disintegrate.

Unveiling domestic secrets and repressed emotions, this uncomfortable work of slow cinema offers a sly, queer critique of the nuclear family and the values it represents. Shot in Tsai’s signature minimalist style and starring his muse Lee Kang-Sheng, this controversial work repelled some audiences and confirmed the director’s place as a uniquely rebellious voice in queer cinema.

Presented in partnership with Queer East, The River was one of the highlights of the 2024 festival edition in April.

London Palestine Film Festival 2024 presents The Roller, The Life, The Fight + virtual screen talk.

 Hazem arrives in Belgium after a painful journey from Gaza. At the same time, Elettra arrives in Brussels to study documentary film. Their first moments together reveal a triggering desire to know each other , the camera becomes the tool they share for understanding. Through the images of their lives, we are plunged into the meeting of two worlds. The displacements they endure strengthen their wish to resist a divided society; the act of recording is a commitment to justice. Being confronted to the rigidity of Hazem’s asylum procedure, they embark on an exile, an inner migration to reach a place where gazes are softer and more just.

This screening will be followed by a virtual screen talk with directors, Elettra Bisogno and Hazem Alqaddi.

Our screening on Tuesday 10 September will be introduced by Angela Allen, who was the script supervisor on The Third Man. 

Directed by Carol Reed from an original script by acclaimed novelist Graham Greene, The Third Man won the Grand Prix at Cannes and the BAFTA for Best British film and is beloved by filmmakers the world over from Martin Scorsese to Ben Wheatley. Oscar-winning cinematography showcasing the shadowy underbelly of a bombed-out Vienna, an endlessly quotable performance by Orson Welles and an iconic soundtrack from zither player Anton Karas, a Viennese busker plucked from obscurity by Reed, all combine to make one of the most memorable thrillers of all time.

In celebration of the film's 75th anniversary, The Third Man will be entering the Garden Cinema's programme this September, allowing audiences to (re)connect with this timeless classic. But if you're looking for particularly special experience, book your ticket for the screening on Sunday 8 September. Prior to the film, Natalie Lurie will perform some of the film's iconic score. As concert zither players are hard to come by in the UK, and Anton Karas' skills on the instrument are unparalleled, Natalie will indulge us with her rendition, performed on the pedal harp instead.

Members tickets are £12.50 and restricted to 2 per member, meaning you can bring a friend at the same rate, even if they're not a member. Regular tickets are £14.50 each. Only members can now book during the presale, with general sales opening on Thursday 15 August at 18:00.

Please note, to avoid disturbance, we ask that you are seated for the performance start at 19:20 sharp. Latecomers will not be admitted to the screen until after the musical performance has finished.

About the film:

Directed by Carol Reed from an original script by acclaimed novelist Graham Greene, The Third Man won the Grand Prix at Cannes and the BAFTA for Best British film and is beloved by filmmakers the world over from Martin Scorsese to Ben Wheatley. Oscar-winning cinematography showcasing the shadowy underbelly of a bombed-out Vienna, an endlessly quotable performance by Orson Welles and an iconic soundtrack from zither player Anton Karas, a Viennese busker plucked from obscurity by Reed, all combine to make one of the most memorable thrillers of all time.

About Natalie Lurie:

Hailed as a harpist “who really nails experimental pop music" (Paste Magazine), Natalie Lurie is a classically-trained harpist, composer, arranger and session harpist based in London, UK. With a versatile background in different genres, she has command of the stage whether at the Royal Festival Hall or The Bluebird in Nashville. Natalie began her studies on the harp at age seven and completed her Bachelor's degree at the Jacob's School of Music Indiana University and her Master's degree at the Royal Academy of Music. A recipient of a fellowship with the London Philharmonia, Natalie's classical freelance career in London has included engagements with the London Contemporary Music Festival Orchestra, the King’s College Boys Choir, and the Guernsey Symphony Orchestra. Her debut pop harp EP, which she wrote and recorded in Nashville, was premiered by the Huffington Post, and most recently had a song featured on the season finale of Netflix's Grace and Frankie.

https://www.natalielurie.com / @harpbreaker

The Water Rats captures the adventures of twelve strangers who, coming from diverse walks of life; mixed ages, ethnicity and interests, unite over the coronavirus lockdown to continue cold water swimming during and in spite of the first Lockdown in 2020.

At first, editor, director and writer Greig Coetzee and award winning photographer Jillian Edelstein had planned to write a six part TV drama - they had met in Esther Freud’s writing group - but, later, decided to make a documentary using all the material gathered, including visuals -stills, drone footage, B roll film and interviews with the members of the Water Rats group.

The group continued to swim together through the Pandemic, becoming a motley crew of outlaws visiting various wild cold waters locations around Hampstead Heath.

The film explores the power of the human connection arising from such a unique and challenging experience within the natural scenarios of some of London’s best-kept-secret natural locations.

In July 2022, The Water Rats was awarded two Impact Awards for Originality/Creativity and merit award for Feature Documentary.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Greig Coetzee and Jillian Edelstein.

Jillian Edelstein works in both portrait and documentary photography. An Honourable Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society, her book Truth and Lies: Stories from South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission was published in 2002 and won the Kobal Book Award & the Visa D’Or in the same year. The National Portrait Gallery have collected over one hundred of her portraits. In 2018 she was Included in The Royal Photographic Society’s list of 100 International Photographic Heroines.

Greig Coetzee has over 15 years’ experience writing and editing scripts for South African television, covering both drama and comedy. More recently he has retrained as a film editor and documentary film maker. In South Africa he worked as Head Writer on four different television productions. His radio play, Banana Republic (BBC Radio 4), received a Sony Radio Academy Award in the Drama category. Greig has also enjoyed an international career as a playwright and stage actor.

Hou Hsiao-hsien explores the ever-repeating pattern of love in this romantic trilogy. The three separate love stories are set in three different times: 1911, 1966 and 2005 - but feature the same two actors in the leading roles. In 'Episode 1 - A Time for Love', Chen (Chang Chen), a young man about to embark on his national service, falls in love with May (Shu Qi), who works at the pool hall he frequents. He decides to track her down, only to discover that she has left her job with no forwarding address. In 'Episode 2 - A Time for Freedom', a beautiful young courtesan (Shu Qi) is caught between the attentions of a rich tea plantation owner and his son. In 'Episode 3 - A Time for Youth', singer Jong (Shu Qi), who suffers from both epilepsy and failing sight, becomes an object of attraction for photographer Zhen (Chen Chang). But as each of the pair is in a relationship with another woman, things start to get complicated.

Video Bazaar presents a special anniversary screening of Threads, the harrowing 1984 made-for-TV drama that left audiences across the nation stunned into silence.

Screening at The Garden Cinema 40 years to the exact day it was originally broadcast on the BBC, this landmark of British television, directed by Mick Jackson and written by Barry Hines, remains one of the most chilling and realistic depictions of nuclear war ever committed to the screen.

Set in the industrial city of Sheffield, Threads follows the lives of ordinary people as the unthinkable unfolds - a nuclear conflict that shatters society and plunges survivors into a nightmarish struggle for post-fallout existence. With its documentary-style approach, the film explores the horrifying consequences of nuclear war in gruesome detail, making it just as relevant today as it was four decades ago.

Commissioned by the BBC in response to growing public anxiety about nuclear war during the Cold War, Threads was first broadcast on 23 September 1984. This anniversary screening offers a chance to transport yourself back to that same evening, to the living rooms of British families during the heightened tensions of the 1980s, when the looming threat of nuclear conflict felt all too real.

This screening will also feature a pre-recorded video introduction by Bob Mielke, Professor of English at Truman State University and author of the 2023 book Threads, which 'examines the film through the lens of history, pop culture, and horror. Mielke’s impeccable research, sharp analysis, life experience, and gallows humor bring new insight into what makes this film so disturbing - and disturbingly enduring.'

This screening is presented by the cult film collective Video Bazaar, this event showcases rarely screened films and is dedicated to bringing the weird and obscure to London audiences at The Garden Cinema. Please note that this event will feature an introduction and carefully curated pre-show material.

This rare cinema screening of a 'Walker' film will be followed by a Zoom q&a with director Tsai Ming-liang.

Since 2012, Tsai Ming-liang's 'Walker' series of films has followed the glacial perambulations of a monk (Lee Kang-sheng) around global cities such as Hong Kong, Marseille, Tokyo, and Washington D.C. In the most recently released entry, Where (2022), the Monk finds himself at The Centre Pompidou in Paris, where he finds time to participate in the making of an artwork with Anong Houngheuangsy (Lee's co-star from Days).

This film was requested by our members Felicity Taylor and Irina Boicu. Felicity writes: 'A total classic, impeccable casting (obviously Richard E Grant is fabulous but Richard Griffiths as Monty as well as Ralph Brown’s Danny steal every scene they’re in), painfully dry yet on point British humour with nary an unquotable line.'

London. The 1960s. Two unemployed actors—acerbic, elegantly wasted Withnail (Richard E. Grant) and the anxiety-ridden 'I' (Paul McGann)—drown their frustrations in booze, pills, and lighter fluid. When Withnail's Uncle Monty (Richard Griffiths) offers his cottage, they escape the squalor of their flat for a week in the country. They soon realize they’ve gone on holiday by mistake when their wits—and friendship—are sorely tested by violent downpours, less than hospitable locals, and empty cupboards.

Please note, this screening is open to members only, and seating will be unallocated. Members wishing to attend this screening with the preceding beer tasting can book a ticket here.