Press room

Seasons, Festivals and Special Events:

• Queer 60s: LGBTQ+ Cinema in the Decade before Stonewall – Tue 9 June – Tue 7 July 
• Cinema Restored: Flemish Film Classics – Sun 14 June + Mon 15 June
• Animation in Love + Refugee Week: Flee + Panel Discussion with Jonas Poher Rasmussen – Fri 19 June
• Nightcleaners + ScreenTalk – Sat 27 June 

Regular Programmes:

• Family Film Club: 
• Tiddler + The Snail and the Whale – Sat 6 June 
• Discovery Festival: Shorts for Wee Ones – Sat 13 June
• Safety Last! + Live musical accompaniment – Sat 20 June
• The Magic Faraway Tree – Sat 27 June 
• Senior Community Screenings: 
• No Other Choice – Mon 8 June
• The Queen – Mon 22 June 
• Relaxed Screenings:
• The Drama – Sun 7 June
• Akira – Mon 15 June 

Event Cinema:  

• NT Live: Les Liaisons Dangereuses – Thu 25 June

During Pride month in June the Barbican travels back in time with Queer 60s: LGBTQ+ Cinema in the Decade before Stonewall, a major season that looks back at this decade of seismic social change, which culminated in the 1969 Stonewall riots. 

Despite homosexuality still being illegal in many countries around the world during the 1960s, filmmakers managed to create fearless works, sometimes openly, sometimes coded, that dared to show a variety of LGBTQ+ lives on screen.

Also in June, Cinema Restored presents Flemish Film Classics, offering audiences the chance to see key works from Flemish cinema, the programme spans poetic realism, animation and modern arthouse and has been brought together as part of a wider celebration of Belgium’s rich film heritage.

Barbican Cinema’s year-long Animation in Love strand also continues with a screening of the animated Flee and panel discussion with the director Jonas Poher Rasmussen. 
This is an extraordinary story of the desperate lengths a gay Afghan man was forced to go to, to escape persecution, and is also a powerful testament to human endurance.

Further highlights include a screening of the groundbreaking Nightcleaners + ScreenTalk, made in 1974, this documentary investigates the exploitation of women office cleaners and follows their fight to gain union recognition and achieve better pay and conditions. 

Festivals, Seasons and Special Events

Queer 60s: LGBTQ+ Cinema in the Decade before Stonewall 
Tue 9 June – Tue 7 July 2026 
Cinema 1 + 2 

 

The Queen + ScreenTalk (15*)
US 1968, Dir Frank Simon, 68min
Tue 9 Jun, 6.20pm, Cinema 1 

Frank Simon’s classic documentary follows the run-up to a 1967 New York drag pageant, featuring a barnstorming appearance by the legendary Crystal LaBeija. 

Diferente + introduction by curator Alex Davidson (15*)
Spain 1962, Dir Luis María Delgado, 91min 
Wed 10 Jun, 6.20pm + Sun 14 Jun, 6pm, Cinema 1 

Made, incredibly, under the repressive regime of Franco’s Spain, Luis María Delgado’s spectacular melodrama stars Alfredo Alaria as a gay rich kid with a great love of dance and showmanship.

Persona + introduction (15*)
Sweden 1966, Dir Ingmar Bergman, 84min
Thu 11 Jun, 6.30pm + Mon 22 Jun, 6.30pm, Cinema 1 

A nurse and an actress who has suddenly stopped speaking form a deep, intimate connection in Ingmar Bergman’s brilliant psychological drama.

Film Rarities and the Films of Edward Owens + Live piano and electronic accompaniment by the Guildhall School
Sun 14 Jun, 3pm, Cinema 1 

A selection of queer movies from South Africa, the UK and the USA, culminating in three short films by gay African American filmmaker Edward Owens, with a new live score.

Bits and Bobs from the 1960s + Recorded Introduction by curator Jenni Olson
Tue 16 Jun, 6.20pm, Cinema 1 

A lucky dip of rare queer film curios from the 1960s, including a charming home movie, a revealing interview with a group of trans women and a South African amateur comedy shorts by a gay botanist.

The Boy and the Wind (O Menino e o Vento) [35mm] + introduction by curator Alex Davidson (15*)
Brazil 1967, Dir Carlos Hugo Christensen, 104min 
Wed 17 Jun, 6.20pm, Cinema 1 

A boy disappears in a rural Brazilian community and all fingers point to a stranger in town in Carlos Hugo Christensen’s extraordinary magical realist drama.
Il Mare [35mm] + introduction (15*)
Italy 1962, Dir Giuseppe Patroni Griffi, 110min
Thu 18 June, 6.20pm + Sun 28 Jun, 3pm, Cinema 1 

A boy disappears in a rural Brazilian community, and all fingers point to a stranger in town in Carlos Hugo Christensen’s extraordinary magical realist drama.

Gay Erotica from the 1960s + ScreenTalk
Tue 23 Jun, 6.20pm, Cinema 1 

Fun, sun and naked men – dive into the world of 60s gay erotica, at a time when pornography was illegal, with a celebration of works by Bob Mizer, Pat Rocco and Peter de Rome. 

The Colour of Pomegranates (Sayat-Nova) + introduction by curator Alex Davidson (PG)
Soviet Union 1969, Dir Sergei Parajanov, 73min 
Wed 24 Jun, 6.30pm + Mon 29 Jun, 6.30pm, Cinema 1 

Sergei Parajanov’s hugely influential masterpiece is an unorthodox biopic of 18th century Armenian poet Sayat-Nova, featuring stunning imagery and queer resonances.

A Taste of Flesh + ScreenTalk with Jaye Hudson and Selina Robertson (18*)
USA 1967, Dir Doris Wishman, 73min 
Fri 26 Jun, 6.30pm, Cinema 2 

Three women, including a sinful lesbian, are held hostage by two violent criminals in Doris Wishman’s deliriously trashy noir. 

Chained Girls + intro by Selina Robertson (18*)
USA 1965, Dir Joseph P. Mawra, 65min 
Fri 26 Jun, 8.40pm, Cinema 2 

There’s something to outrage everyone is this jaw-dropping exploitation film about lesbians from 1965.

Portrait of Jason + live poetry by Stanley Iyanu (15*)
USA 1967, Dir Shirley Clarke, 105min 
Tue 30 Jun, 6.20pm, Cinema 1 

Charismatic gay club performer Jason Holliday talks about his life to camera in Shirley Clarke’s documentary.

Queer Britain on Screen in the 1960s + introduction by archivist Simon McCallum
Wed 1 Jul, 6.20pm, Cinema 1 

Explore the Sixties in the UK through a queer lens, featuring British queer archive shorts made before and after the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality. 

Winter Kept Us Warm + Introduction (15*)
Canada 1965, Dir David Secter, 81min 
Tue 7 Jul, 6.30pm, Cinema 1 

Celebrated as Canada’s first queer feature film, this intimate drama explores connection and desire between two male students at the University of Toronto.

Cinema Restored: 
Flemish Film Classics
Sun 14 June – Mon 15 June 

Including a 35mm presentation and developed in collaboration with Flanders House and other Belgian cultural institutions, this two-day programme of screenings invites audiences to experience rarely seen films in their original format while discovering the breadth of a film culture that has long bridged the local and the international.

Rosie (35mm) + A Greek Tragedy + introduction
Belgium 1998, Dir Patrice Toye, 90min
A Greek Tragedy, Belgium 1985, Dir Nicole Van Goethem, 7min
Sun 14 Jun, 1pm, Cinema 3

Shot with an unflinching intimacy, Toye’s debut feature captures the fragility of childhood on the margins, as Rosie drifts between temporary homes and uncertain attachments, searching for a sense of belonging in a world that offers little security. Both tender and unsentimental, the film stands as one of the most affecting works of late 1990s Flemish cinema.

Screening alongside Rosie is A Greek Tragedy, the Academy Award-winning animated short by Nicole Van Goethem. The film reimagines classical antiquity through a sharply observed comic lens, as three caryatids struggle to hold up the ruins around them. The film exemplifies the wit and craftsmanship that have made Belgian animation internationally celebrated.

The Man Who Had His Hair Cut Short + 1001 Films + Harpya
Belgium 1966, Dir André Delvaux, 95min
1001 Films, Belgium 1989, Dir André Delvaux, 10min
Harpya, Belgium 1979, Dir Raoul Servais, 9min
Mon 15 Jun, 6.30pm, Cinema 2 

A cornerstone of Flemish cinema, André Delvaux creates a defining work of cinematic magical realism. The film traces the psychological unravelling of a reserved teacher whose obsessive love leads him into a world where memory, desire and reality blur. 

Delvaux's later short 1001 Films (1989) offers a more playful reflection on the medium itself, exploring cinema's capacity to accumulate images, stories and histories across time.

Raoul Servais's Harpya (1979), winner of the Palme d'Or for Best Short Film, combines live action with animation and is a darkly surreal fable in which a man's encounter with a mythological creature spirals into a disturbing allegory of power and control.

Animation in Love + Refugee Week:
Flee + Panel Discussion with Director Jonas Poher Rasmussen (15)
Denmark, France, Norway, and Sweden 2021, Dir Jonas Poher Rasmussen, 89min 
Fri 19 Jun, 6.10pm, Cinema 3 

Flee tells the story of a young man as he grapples with a painful secret he has kept hidden for 20 years, one that threatens to derail the life he has built for himself and his soon to be husband. 

Recounted through animation to director Jonas Poher Rasmussen, he tells for the first time the story of his extraordinary journey from Afghanistan. Rasmussen uses animation to preserve the anonymity and privacy of “Amin,” while doing justice to his friend’s traumatic separation from his family, and his search for stability, freedom and a sense of belonging. 

This ever-relevant film received nominations in the Documentary, Animated Feature and International Feature categories at the Academy Awards – the first in the Oscars history.

Nightcleaners + ScreenTalk (12)
UK 1975, Dir Berwick Street Film Collective, 90min 
Sat 27 Jun, 4.30pm, Cinema 1 

In London, in the early seventies, a group of women had begun to leaflet cleaners who worked at night to encourage them to form a union. This labour organisation became the central action of the documentary.

Completed in 1975, Nightcleaners is the combined work of Marc Karlin, Mary Kelly, James Scott and Humphry Trevelyan, together known as the Berwick Street Film Collective. The film quickly became known for its innovative structure. 

Regular Programme Strands

Family Film Club 
Every Sat, 11 am 

Tiddler + The Snail and the Whale (U)

Sat 6 June, 11am, Cinema 2
UK 2024 Dirs. Alex Bain & Andy Martin 24min

UK 2019 Dirs Max Lang & Daniel Snaddon 25min

A chance to celebrate the upcoming World Ocean Day with this double bill of underwater delights! Tiddler follows the titular fish, telling his tall tales about his adventures, which is followed by The Snail and the Whale, a story of bravery, kindness and an unlikely friendship that spans the ocean.
Age suggestion: 3+

 

Discovery Festival: Shorts for Wee Ones (U*)

Sat 13 June, 11am, Cinema 2 
Various countries, 2023-2024 

A shorts programme full of fun curated by the internationally renowned Discovery Film Festival in Dundee. These films focus on friendship and accepting difference; as well as promoting cooperation and understanding. 

Age suggestion: 3+

Safety Last! (U) + Live musical accompaniment

US 1923 Dir Fred C Newmeyer and Sam Taylor 67min

Sat 20 June 11am, Cinema 3 

A fun-filled silent-comedy classic, starring the legendary Harold Lloyd, with live musical accompaniment from John Sweeney. 

Age suggestion: 6+

 

The Magic Faraway Tree (U)
UK 2026, Dir. Ben Gregor, 110min   

Sat 27 June, 11am, Cinema 2
A delightful new adaptation of this children’s classic story, boasting lively performances from an all-star cast including Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy, Rebecca Ferguson, and Jennifer Saunders.

Age suggestion: 6+

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

No Other Choice (15)
South Korea 2025, Die Park Chan-wook, 139min

Mon 8 Jun, 11am, Cinema 2 

Park Chan-wook's darkly comic state-of-a-nation thriller about a family man who resorts to desperate measures to secure a new job.

Senior Community Cinema + Queer 60s: The Queen + Jazmin (15)

US 1968, Dir Frank Simon, 68min
Mon 22 Jun, 11:00am, Cinema 2

Frank Simon’s classic documentary follows the run-up to a 1967 New York drag pageant, featuring a barnstorming appearance by the legendary Crystal LaBeija. 

Relaxed Screenings
A relaxed screening takes place in an environment that is specially tailored for a neurodiverse audience, as well as those who find a more informal setting beneficial. 

The Drama (15)

USA 2026, Dir Kristoffer Borgli, 106min
Sun 7 Jun, 12pm 
Cinema 3 

Zendaya and Robert Pattinson's lives begin unravelling on the week of their wedding, in this acclaimed and popular black comedy from Kristoffer Borgli (Sick of Myself).

Akira 

Japan 1991, Dir Katsuhiro Otomo, 124min
Mon 15 Jun, 6.10pm 
Cinema 3 

Thirty-five years since its first appearance on UK screens, this is the chance to relive Katsuhiro Otomo's landmark cyberpunk classic set in post-World War III Neo-Tokyo. 

Event Cinema 

NT Live: Les Liaisons Dangereuses

Thu 25 Jun, 7.30pm, Cinema 2 

Lesley Manville joins Aidan Turner in a striking new staging of the classic novel, where amongst the glittering salons one misstep can mean ruin.