Press room

December 2024 ScreenTalks: 

• ScreenTalk with Director Sean Baker + Anora screening – Mon 9 Dec
• Preview: We Live in Time + ScreenTalk with Director John Crowley – Tue 17 Dec 

Barbican Cinema continues its run of high profile new release events in December with a ScreenTalk with writer and director Sean Baker (The Florida Project), in conversation with Barbican Cinema Curator Sonia Zadurian, before a screening of Anora, his Palme d’Or-winning comedy drama. Baker is best known for digging into the underbelly of the not-so-glamorous side of Hollywood and America more widely, and this hit film is his fourth feature.    

Later in the month the Barbican also presents a special preview of We Live in Time + ScreenTalk with Director John Crowley in conversation with Barbican Cinema Curator Sonia Zadurian. Starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, this unconventional love story about a couple brought together by a surprise encounter is a deeply moving romance.

For all Barbican Cinema ScreenTalk event information please visit:
www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2024/series/screentalks    
 

January 2025

Festivals, Seasons and Special Events:

• New East Cinema: The Editorial Office + ScreenTalk with Director Roman Bondarchuk & Producer Dar'ya Averchenko – Fri 24 Jan

• Silent Film & Live Music: Steamboat Bill, Jr – Sun 26 Jan 

   

Regular Programme strands:

• Family Film Club: Relaxed Screening The Flight of Dragons + Draw Along with Illustrator Rikin Parekh – Sat 18 Jan + Kensuke’s Kingdom – Sat 25 Jan
• Cinema Restored: Frauen in Berlin – Thu 30 Jan
• Senior Community Screenings: Lee – Mon 6 Jan + Black Dog – Mon 20 Jan
• Relaxed Screenings: Firebrand– Mon 13 Jan + The Queen of My Dreams
• Fri 31 Jan
• Pay What You Can Screenings – Every Fri 

Event Cinema:

• Royal Ballet & Opera Live: The Tales of Hoffman – Sun 19 Jan 
• MET Opera Live in HD: Aida– Sat 25 Jan 

Barbican Cinema is delighted to begin the new year with a New East Cinema screening of the Ukrainian film The Editorial Office, followed by a Screentalk with director Roman Bondarchuk and producer Dar'ya Averchenko. Set and shot just before the Russian invasion, this skilfully crafted satire follows a young biologist Yura, who is looking for an endangered species of marmot on the wild steppes of Southern Ukraine, where he witnesses arsonists starting a forest fire. When he takes his photographs into the editorial office of the local newspaper, he quickly realises that no-one is interested in pursuing justice. 

This month’s Silent Film & Live Music’s screening of Steamboat Bill, Jr (1928), one of Buster Keaton’s finest comedies, will help fend off the January blues with great gags and stunts alike. The film tells the story an overly refined son of a cantankerous riverboat captain who comes back home to join his father's crew to help take on a rival boat firm, and screens here with live piano accompaniment from John Sweeney.

January’s Cinema Restored presents a rare screening of Frauen in Berlin; this is Chetna Vora's ethnographic portrait of East German women living in Berlin in the early 80s, which was almost destroyed. Her ability to capture the quiet resilience and everyday lives of these women offers a rare glimpse into a world rarely seen through such a nuanced perspective.

The ever-popular Family Film Club returns in January with a special relaxed screening of the rarely seen 1982 animation The Flight of Dragons, and a draw along from the Illustrator Rikin Parekh; plus a screening of Kensuke's Kingdom, a captivating animation adapted from the former Children’s Laureate Michael Morpurgo’s novel. 

Senior Community Screenings include Lee, the story of renowned America photographer Lee Miller; and Black Dog, a British indie film about two boys who embark on a road trip to the north of England and Scotland.

Relaxed screenings in January include the period film Firebrand, set in blood-soaked Tudor England, this is about the life of Katherine Parr and her marriage to King Henry VIII; and The Queen of My Dreams, a comedy drama, about a young woman’s sexual awakening and coming of age in rural Canada. 

January ’25 Festivals, Seasons and Special Events 

New East Cinema: The Editorial Office (15) + ScreenTalk with Director Roman Bondarchuk and Producer/Co-writer Dar'ya Averchenko

Ukraine 2024, Dir. Roman Bondarchuk, 127min
Fri 24 Jan, 6.30pm 
Cinema 2 

A young scientist travels across the Ukrainian steppe with a photo camera hoping to find an endangered species of marmot, but comes across a crime that will change the trajectory of his life.

Trying to expose the truth about an arson, Yura (Dmytro Bahnenko) starts work at a local newspaper that, instead of helping him deliver justice, will send him through a rabbit hole and show him a society permeated by corruption. Fake news, local oligarchs, rigged elections, and bizarre cults are all framed by a looming war. 

After his acclaimed debut narrative feature Volcano (2018), director Roman Bondarchuk returns to his native Southern Ukraine, and to what is now recognisably his signature style, to deliver a masterfully crafted absurdist and timely satire.

Silent Film & Live Music: Steamboat Bill, Jr (U)
USA 1928, Dir Charles Reisner, 70min 

Sun 26 Jan, 3pm, 
Cinema 1 

‘Steamboat Bill’ Canfield captains a dilapidated steamer from a small Mississippi town. When news comes that his estranged son (Buster Keaton) is returning home, he hopes for a strapping lad to help him with business. 

But Junior turns out to be a college-educated city-slicker with no sea legs. And worse, his sweetheart is the daughter of Canfield’s deadly rival – the successful, luxury riverboat owner JJ King. Junior tries and fails to win his father’s approval, until a cyclone hits and the weedy urbanite gets a chance to prove himself.

Featuring some of Keaton’s finest stunts on camera and perhaps one of the most iconic scenes in all silent cinema – famously revisited by Steve McQueen in his 1997 film Deadpan – in which a house’s façade falls on the oblivious performer. 

Presented in association with MimeLondon.

Regular Programme Strands

Family Film Club 

Every Sat, 11am 
Cinema 2  

Relaxed screening: The Flight of Dragons (U) + Draw Along with illustrator, Rikin Parekh – Age suggestion: 6+

US 1982, Dirs Arthur Rankin Jr & Jule Bass, 92min

Sat 18 Jan, 11am 
Cinema 2 

This often-overlooked film, from US director duo Rankin & Bass, is a beautiful hand drawn story of wizards and magic and features the voice talent of James Earl Jones in a dastardly performance that rivals his work as Darth Vader!

A young board game enthusiast, Peter Dickinson, is transported from his life in present day (1980s Boston), to a magical realm of elemental wizards, knights, princesses, forest outlaws and – of course – dragons. Once there, he must join a quest to retrieve the Red Wizard Ommadon’s crown before humankind is destroyed. Along the way, he falls in love with the beautiful Princess Melisande and discovers a strength that he never knew he had.  

Kensuke's Kingdom (PG) – Age suggestion: 7+

UK 2023, Dirs Neil Boyle + Kirk Hendry, 84min

Sat 25 Jan, 11am 
Cinema 2 

A young boy finds himself washed ashore on an island in the Pacific in this animated adaptation of former Children’s Laureate Michael Morpurgo’s novel. 

The story of a family looking for a fresh start sailing across the Pacific Ocean, when their young son Michael is swept away in a storm. Finding himself on a deserted island, Michael soon discovers that he and his dog are not the only ones out there. 

With a rich, emotional score by Stuart Hancock, this beautifully drawn story celebrates harmony with nature and the fierce power of friendship. 

It also features the vocal talents of (Cillian Murphy, Sally Hawkins, Raffey Cassidy and Ken Watanabe.

Cinema Restored: Frauen in Berlin (12*)
GDR 1982, Dir Chetna Vora, 140min
Thu 30 Jan, 6pm
Cinema 3

Chetna Vora's ethnographic portrait of East German women living in Berlin in the early 80s, a film which was almost destroyed.

In 1982, Indian born filmmaker Chetna Vora was studying at the Academy of Film and Television in Potsdam-Babelsberg and set out to create her diploma project. However, after refusing to cut her film down to 40 minutes, the only working copy was confiscated by the University and destroyed. 

What remains is a secretly recorded VHS, an imperfect document of what it would have been. Its raw and unfinished state adds an additional layer of poignancy and reflects an intimate engagement with the domestic lives of women in the GDR.

This screening is part of Film Undone – Elements of Latent Cinema.

Senior Community Screenings:
Welcoming 60+ cinema goers to watch the latest new releases every other Monday morning: 

Lee (15) 

UK 2023, Dir Ellen Kuras, 116min 

Mon 6 Jan, 11am
Cinema 2 

Lee tells the story of the American photographer Lee Miller (Kate Winslett). Determined to document the truth of the Nazi regime, and in spite of the odds stacked against female correspondents, Lee captured some of the most important images of World War II, for which she paid a considerable personal price.

Black Dog (15) 
UK 2023, Dir George Jaques, 96min
Mon 20 Jan, 11am 
Cinema 2

Two teenage boys from very different London backgrounds embark on a road trip North together, in George Jaques UK debut feature. Nathan is running away from his foster home in search of his sister in Scotland, while Sam is heading to the North-East to see his mum. As their impromptu adventure together takes an unexpected turn, the boys begin to open up and learn they have far more in common than they first thought.

Relaxed Screenings
Relaxed screenings take place in an environment that is specially tailored for a neurodiverse audience, as well as those who find a more informal setting beneficial:

Firebrand (15) 

UK 2023, Dir      Karim Aïnouz, 120min

Mon 13 Jan, 6.15pm 
Cinema 3 

In Tudor England, Katherine Parr reluctantly agrees to become the sixth wife of the tyrannical King Henry VIII. Her consent to marry him carries great personal risk, given her predecessors are either vanquished, beheaded or dead. Perceived as a threat by Henry's courtiers, they start to cast doubts about her fidelity and turn the increasingly paranoid king against her.

The Queen of My Dreams (12A) 
Canada/ Pakistan 2024, Dir Fawzia Mirza, 99min 

Fri 31 Jan, 
Cinema 3

Azra is worlds apart from her conservative Muslim mother. Following a tragedy, Azra finds herself on a Bollywood-inspired journey to Pakistan - guided by memories of her mother's youth in Karachi and her own coming-of-age in rural Canada.

Pay What You Can Screenings
Every Friday one of the new release film screenings is priced Pay What You Can. 
This is for customers where ticket price may be a barrier, or for those who want to help others enjoy a visit to the cinema; audience members are invited to pay between £3-£15.

Event Cinema 

Royal Ballet & Opera Live 24-25: The Tales of Hoffman (12A)

Sun 19 Jan, 2pm
Cinema 3 

Four women: four curious love stories. Juan Diego Flórez leads a fantastic cast in Offenbach's dream-like opera.
 

MET Opera Live in HD: Aida (12A)

Sat 25 Jan, 5.30pm 
Cinema 1 

American soprano Angel Blue headlines as the Ethiopian princess torn between love and country in a new production of Verdi’s Aida by Michael Mayer that brings audiences inside the towering pyramids and gilded tombs of ancient Egypt, with intricate projections and dazzling animations.