Press room

Barbican Cinema, Barbican Centre
Jul/Aug 2019 highlights
barbican.org.uk/whats-on/cinema

Curated by the Barbican:  

• New East Cinema: Volcano + ScreenTalk
• Architecture on Film: The Hidden City (London premiere)
  + Under Night Streets
• After the Wave: Young French Cinema in the 1970s – part 2  
• Forbidden Colours: Retablo + Introduction
• Heat of the Moment: Turning Points on Film
• Come Together: Live Music on Film
• New East Cinema: Ruben Brandt, Collector + intro

Also Screening at the Barbican:

• Shubbak: A Window on Contemporary Arab Culture
• Pavarotti + Q&A with exclusive content

Event Cinema:

• NT Encore: All My Sons
• Glyndebourne: The Barber of Seville
• ENO Encore: Mike Leigh’s Pirates of Penzance
• NT Live: The Lehman Trilogy
• NT Encore: All My Sons
• RSC Live: Measure for Measure
• Glyndebourne: The Magic Flute
• ENO Encore: The Mikado

Curated by the Barbican:

New East Cinema: Volcano (15*) + ScreenTalk
Ukraine, Germany & Monaco 2019, Dir Roman Bondarchuk, 104 min
Mon 1 Jul 6.10 pm, Cinema 1

A military interpreter becomes stranded in a small southern Ukrainian town in Roman Bondarchuk’s brilliant, surreal black comedy, with hints of David Lynch’s surrealism and Emir Kusturica’s bawdiness, followed by a ScreenTalk with the director.

Architecture on Film: The Hidden City (London premiere) + Under Night Streets (12A*)
Spain, France, Germany, 2018, Victor Moreno, 80 mins
Tue 2 Jul 6.45pm, Cinema 1

‘One of the outstanding documentary discoveries of the year.’
– Jonathan Romney, Screen Daily

A sensorial, suburban symphony, Victor Moreno’s Hidden City transforms Madrid’s vast underground infrastructure into an alien, cinematic baroque.

What at first looks intergalactic, is gradually revealed to be the universe beneath the viewer’s feet, on a journey of space exploration into the physical and psychic depths of the man-made guts of a metropolis – a place where the subterranean and subconscious meet.

Under Night Streets
UK, 1958, Ralph Keene, 19 mins

Sixty years prior to The Hidden City, the celebrated, award winning British Transport Films unit depict a 1950s night on the London Underground, presenting the drama of the nocturnal labour required to keep the daytime city on the move. Narrated with great panache by actor Gordon Jackson (Upstairs, Downstairs, The Professionals). Screening from a 35mm print.
Curated by the Architecture Foundation in partnership with the Barbican - www.architecturefoundation.org.uk

After the Wave: Young French Cinema in the 1970s
4 – 25 Jul, Cinema 3

The second instalment in this season that showcases the films of the younger, radical generation of directors who emerged in France in the wake of the New Wave and of the events of May ’68.

The 1970s brought a new frankness about sex, an interest in the cultural fall-out of May ’68, and, above all, a foregrounding of regional, working-class and female protagonists.

Screenings in July begin with La Salamandre (Alain Tanner, France/ Switzerland 1971) a film about a Rosamunde - a post-hippie, pre-punk modern working class woman - which follows her drifting through life in a series of dead-end jobs; there is no celebrated collective political struggle here; instead her rebellion is one of small disruptions to bourgeois French society. This is followed with Peppermint Soda (France 1977) - by the then unknown 29-year-old Diane Kurys - a refreshing female take on the coming-of-age story, in a sensitive portrayal of a year in the lives of two teenage sisters; which was a great success and France’s highest grossing film that year.

Other highlights in July include Jacque Doillon’s Touched in the Head (France 1974), a charming film that follows the fortunes of a young baker’s apprentice as he navigates a bitter work dispute and an awkward love triangle; and Loulou (France 1980) starring a young Gerard Depardieu and Isabelle Huppert, who burn up the screen in a story of class-and-culture-defying passion from filmmaker Maurice Pialat, who, himself, was the son of a lorry driver, and made films grounded in a working class reality.

For more information: www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/series/after-the-wave
To view the full press release:
www.barbican.org.uk/our-story/press-room/after-the-wave-young-french-cinema-in-the-1970s
 

Forbidden Colours: Retablo (18*) + Introduction
Peru/Germany/Norway 2017 Dir Alvaro Delgado Aparicio, 95 min
9 Jul 2019, 18:30, Barbican Cinema 2

Barbican Cinema is pleased to present Forbidden Colours, a new strand which celebrates rarely seen queer-focused films from places where LGBTQ+ people still suffer societal oppression and struggle for equality.

Opening on 9 July – with the Peruvian film Retablo – this series offers an opportunity for these stories and points of view to be seen on the big screen.

Despite huge progress made for LGBTQ+ equality, homosexuality remains illegal in more than 70 countries - as identified by Stonewall - with Brunei briefly joining the ranks of nations where gay sex is punishable by death.

Alvaro Delgado Aparicio’s powerful drama Retablo features excellent performances, especially from Junior Bejar as the conflicted teen Segundo, living in an Andes village, struggling with complex emotions in an oppressive environment where male vulnerability is held in contempt.

Segundo is a young apprentice learning how to make retablos – artisan story-boxes depicting personal scenes – under the tutelage of his adored father. One day, he finds out that his father has been unfaithful to his wife with other men.

In a community defined by traditional values, Segundo decides to keep this revelation a secret, even as it threatens to tear his world apart.

This screening is introduced by David Edgar, Film Officer at the Royal Anthropological Institute.

www.barbican.org.uk/our-story/press-room/forbidden-colours

Heat of the Moment: Turning Points on Film
1–29 Aug, Cinema 3

The boiling heat of summer is a catalyst for personal, political and social change in this selection of films, screening every Thursday in August. The programme to date includes: Stonewall (US/UK 1996, Dir Nigel Finch) and Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing (US 1989).
Part of the Cinema Summer Special.

Come Together: Live Music on Film
2–30 Aug, Cinemas 1 & 3

Every Friday in August, Barbican Cinema offers a festival experience on screen, with a season of concerts on film. The line-up to date includes: Monterey Pop (US 1968, Dir D.A. Pennebaker) and Laurie Anderson’s Home of the Brave (US 1986).
Part of the Cinema Summer Special.
 

New East Cinema: Ruben Brandt, Collector + intro
Hungary 2018, Dir Milorad Krstic, 96 min
Wed 28 Aug 6.30pm, Cinema 2

A famous psychotherapist is forced to steal art from the world's most renowned museums and private collections in this dazzling Hungarian animation.

‘The Collector’ quickly becomes the most wanted criminal in the world. Gangsters and headhunters chase him around the world while the reward for his capture keeps rising. A cartel of insurance companies entrusts Mike Kowalski, a private detective and leading expert on art theft, to solve the case.

Also Screening at the Barbican:

Shubbak – A window on contemporary Arab culture
3-7 Jul, Cinemas 2 & 3

The fifth edition of the Shubbak Festival starts 28 June bringing exciting, bold, poignant and urgent work by Arab artists questioning the norm to London’s stages, concert halls, Barbican Cinema, galleries and museums. Curated and produced by the BAFTA-nominated Elhum Shakerifar (A Syrian Love Story, 2015), Shubbak’s film programme (screening exclusively at the Barbican) looks to questions of identity, nationality and notions of borders through a selection of recent titles.

Highlights include the London premiere of Sofia (France & Morocco 2018, dir Meryem Benm'Barek-Aloïsi) – winner of the 2018 Best Screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival – about a young girl’s unexpected pregnancy and the ever sliding scale of women’s rights; and the London premiere Panoptic (Lebanon 2017, Dir Rana Eid) a letter from a daughter to her deceased father, a former general in the Lebanese army, in an attempt to reconcile with her country’s turbulent past.

Other notable events include Arab British Filmmakers Panel Discussion, which brings together a multi-award winning panel of Arab-British directors – including Amrou Al Kadhi (Run(a)way Arab, Anemone), Sally El Hossaini (My Brother The Devil), Naziha Arebi (Freedom Fields) and Saeed Taji Farouky (The Runner) – who will explore how they interpret their hyphenated identities and the way it impacts on the stories they tell; and Arab British Shorts, an eclectic array of short films that examines questions of identity, faith, gender and everything in between.

For further information please contact Anna Arthur at Anna Arthur PR:
[email protected]    tel: 07973 264373

website: www.shubbak.co.uk
 

Pavarotti (#) + Q&A with exclusive content
US/ UK 2019, Dir Ron Howard, 210 min
Sat 13 Jul 7.00 pm, Cinema 1

Ron Howard celebrates the life of beloved opera star Luciano Pavarotti who sold over 100 million records in his lifetime.

The 1990 World Cup in Italy was the moment opera hit the masses. Pavarotti joined fellow tenors Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras on stage in a rendition of 'Nessun Dorma' watched by 1.4 billion worldwide, and Pavarotti realised his long-held dream of bringing opera to the mainstream.

Through unique access to the Pavarotti family archives, home videos, behind the scenes and extensive live music footage, we see Pavarotti’s personal story emerge: from his humble beginnings in Northern Italy through to global superstardom.

Event Cinema

NT Encore: All My Sons (12A)
Relaxed screening: Fri 12 Jul 2pm, Cinema 3
& Sun 28 Jul 2pm, Cinema 3

Broadcast live from The Old Vic in London, Academy Award-winner Sally Field (Steel Magnolias) and Bill Pullman (The Sinner, Independence Day) star in Arthur Miller’s blistering drama All My Sons.

America, 1947. Despite hard choices and even harder knocks, Joe and Kate Keller are a success story. They have built a home, raised two sons and established a thriving business.

But nothing lasts forever and their contented lives, already shadowed by the loss of their eldest boy to war, are about to shatter. With the return of a figure from the past, long buried truths are forced to the surface and the price of their American dream is laid bare.

Glyndebourne: The Barber of Seville #
Sun 14 Jul 5.30pm, Cinema 3

Annabel Arden’s stylish and surreal new production, streaming live from Glyndebourne Festival. Danielle de Niese stars as Rosina in Giacomo Rossini’s treasured commedia del’arte.

ENO Encore: Mike Leigh’s Pirates of Penzance
Sun 21 Jul 3.15pm, Cinema 3

Presenting Palme d'Or winner and 5 time Oscar nominee Mike Leigh's directorial debut of an opera-for-the-stage.

Gilbert & Sullivan’s popular comic opera features much-loved favourites including ‘A Policeman’s Lot is not a Happy One’ and ‘I am the Very Model of a Modern Major General’.

NT Live: The Lehman Trilogy #
Thu 25 Jul 6pm, Cinema 1

Directed by Sam Mendes, and starring Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley and Ben Miles, this three-part epic tells the extraordinary story of a family’s arrival at Ellis Island, the founding of their firm – Lehman Brothers – and its shocking downfall.

RSC Live: Measure for Measure (12A)
Wed 31 Jul 7pm, Cinema 3

The RSC's Artistic Director Gregory Doran directs Shakespeare's surprisingly relevant tale of corruption and abuse. 

When a young novice nun is compromised by a corrupt official, who offers to save her brother from execution in return for sex, she has no idea where to turn for help. When she threatens to expose him, he tells her that no one would believe her.

Glyndebourne: The Magic Flute
Sun 4 Aug 5.30pm, Cinema 3

For the first time in ten years, Mozart’s enchanting comedic romance is performed at Glyndeboune Festival, starring Sofia Fomina as Pamima, and Björn Bürger as Papageno. Direction and design comes from Barbe and Doucet.

ENO Encore: The Mikado (#)
Sun 11 Aug 3pm, Cinema 3

Set in an ever-so-English 1930's seaside hotel, ENO’s iconic production of The Mikado is a popular hit with audiences of all ages.

Experience Gilbert and Sullivan’s irresistible combination of virtuosic wit, memorable melodies and hilarious antics in this much-loved production from Jonathan Miller.

New Releases:

Midsommar
US/ Sweden 2019, Dir Ari Aster, 97 min
From Fri 5 Jul
Horror’s new visionary Ari Aster (Hereditary) follows up his breakout hit with a  cinematic Scandi horror. A grieving young couple on the verge of breaking up fall prey to pagan misdeeds in a small Swedish village.

The Dead Don’t Die
US 2019, Dir Jim Jarmusch, 103 min
From Fri 12 Jul
An A-list undead comedy from the irreverent mind of Jim Jarmusch. Bill Murray, Chloë Sevigny, and Adam Driver are the citizens of sleepy Centerville defending their town from flesh-eating zombies.

The Brink
UK 2019, Dir Alison Klayman, 95 min
From Fri 12 July
Alison Klayman’s fly-on-the-wall documentary follows Trump’s former strategist Stephen K. Bannon as he tries to unify the USA’s far right during the 2018 midterms. Unnervingly watchable and necessary viewing.

The Lion King
US 2019, Dir Jon Favreau, 89 min
From Fri 19 Jul
Disney’s live action remake of the classic musical promises all the charm and melodrama of the original, with Donald Glover voicing Prince of the Pride Lands, Simba. The star-studded supporting cast includes Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Seth Rogen and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Transit
Germany 2018, Dir Christian Petzold, 101 min
From Fri 2 Aug
German filmmaker Christian Petzold excavates parallels of anti-immigration sentiment and neo-Nazism in this modern-dress Holocaust drama. A love story set amidst a refugee crisis in an austere, reimagined France.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
US 2019, Dir Quentin Tarantino, 165 min
From Wed 14 Aug
For this ninth, and allegedly penultimate, feature, Quentin Tarantino turns his distinctive lens to the cult of Hollywood, the Manson family murders and the summer of ‘69. Featuring an eclectic ensemble with Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate and Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt as actor best mates.

Pain and Glory
Spain 2019, Dir Pedro Almodovar, 113 min
From Fri 23 Aug
Pedro Almodovar casts Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz in this loosely autobiographical, stylized summary of his life and work. Film director Salvador (Banderas) reflects on the choices he’s made in the past as his present comes crashing around him.

FAMILIES
Barbican Family Film Club
FFC returns in September, with screenings every Saturday morning at 11am, plus a free monthly workshop before a film and the regular Show and Tell introductions.

Parent and Baby Screenings
Specially tailored screenings of the best new films every Monday and Saturday mornings for parents and carers with babies of twelve months and under.
For more information please go to: www.barbican.org.uk/parentandbaby.
 

** Cinema Summer Special – throughout Jul & Aug **

Throughout July and August, film goers can book a film and enjoy a beer, wine or soft drink for the combined price of £13*

Valid for all screenings, including Thursday Heat, After the Wave, and Friday Music Films, except: ScreenTalks, Festivals and Event Cinema.* plus booking fee