Press room

The Barbican is pleased to add the highly anticipated Barbie to the existing Outdoor Cinema line-up, bringing this joyful new release (in all its pink splendour) to the Sculpture Court Screen. Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding has also been added to the programme, a romantic comedy bursting with vivid colour, toe-tapping music and a huge amount of heart.

Building on the success of the last two editions, this year’s Outdoor Cinema series has a new official drinks’ sponsor Campari, and the Barbican is inviting audiences to enjoy a complimentary Campari Spritz, or a Crodino non-alcoholic aperitivo, with every ticket purchased.

The programme, developed in collaboration with producers and programmers across artforms at the Barbican, has something for all cinematic tastes.

Gali Gold, Head of Cinema, comments:

“From Hollywood classics, big summer new releases and Afro-Futurism, to trailblazing queer milestones, music concerts, animé and musicals, this year’s Outdoor Cinema programme celebrates the rich spectacle that cinema can offer in its full diversity.

We’re delighted to screen these handpicked favourites, side by side, in our unique summer venue in the heart of the city. This is a true celebration of cinema and the collective experience of being immersed in films together.”

Outdoor Cinema begins on Wed 23 Aug with Andrei Tarkovsky’s autobiographical film Mirror (Soviet Union, 1975), a unique and visually striking cinematic poem in which the director reflects upon his rural childhood in the Soviet Union before the Second World War, and the destiny of the Russian people. The film features unforgettable imagery from the start, music by Bach and poetry by the director’s father Arseny Tarkovsky..

Hero (China, 2002) is an Academy-Award nominated martial arts epic, set in ancient China, from director Yimou Zhang (House of Flying Daggers). With stunning visuals from celebrated cinematographer Christopher Doyle and a glittering cast including Tony Leung, Jet Li, Ziyi Zhang and Maggie Cheung, this is a beautiful tale of love, loss and a belief in something greater than oneself.

Legendary director Martin Scorsese’s concert film The Last Waltz (US, 1978) depicts the equally legendary The Band’s farewell concert appearance. The film is a celebration and tribute to the group who came to prominence in the late 1960s. It captures a defining era, with performances and contributions from Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison and Neil Young.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) is a Japanese post-apocalyptic animé fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. This haunting sci-fi garnered widespread critical acclaim and is filled with landscapes and elaborate designs that will contrast well with the brutalist Barbican surroundings. With a wise and strong female lead at the centre, it will surprise and delight the whole family.

One of Alfred Hitchcock’s finest thrillers Rear Window (USA, 1954), stars James Stewart as a man who suspects one of his neighbours may have committed a murder. This is one of cinema’s great studies of voyeurism and remains a captivating thriller nearly 70 years on. Where better to see the film than in the Barbican Sculpture Court, surrounded by apartments, with our residents looking down from above.  

Academy Award nominated writer/director Greta Gerwig brings us Barbie (USA 2023). Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) lives in Barbie Land, in a perfect pink party paradise. All the Barbies are blissfully happy, knowing that their influence on women in the real world has solved their problems…or so they thought! Until one day, when Barbie wakes up with an existential crisis only a trip to the real world can cure.

Aretha Franklin's celebrated 1972 performance at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles is documented in Sydney Pollack’s Amazing Grace (US, 2018). The film is regarded as one of the great concert films and captures Franklin at the height of her powers.

Jennie Livingston’s Paris Is Burning (US 1990) is a chronicle of New York's drag scene in the 1980s, focusing on balls, voguing and the ambitions and dreams of those who gave the era its warmth and vitality. Its importance continues to grow as the years pass; it was a rare film that focused on the lives of queer people of colour, whose charisma shines through in their witty interviews and their fierce routines and performances.

In Ryan Coogler’s Academy-Award winning, big budget, thrill-ride Black Panther (US, 2018) audiences are invited to witness the glorious majesty of Wakanda, the electric cityscapes of Busan, and the magical pinks and blues of the ancestral planes, under the Barbican’s summer night sky. Emotions and adrenaline run high in this beautifully imagined sci-fi epic. 

A stressed father, a bride-to-be, and relatives from around the world create much ado in Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding (India/ US & UK 2002), set in the lead up to an arranged marriage ceremony in India. This joyful BAFTA nominated romantic comedy drama is positively bursting with colour and delightfully portrays the chaos of a large close-knit family, against a backdrop of vibrant colours.

The alfresco fun closes on Sun 3 Sep with the classic Singin’ in the Rain (US, 1951). One of the most beloved of all Hollywood musicals, with career-best performances from Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds, it is packed with showstoppers (Make ‘Em Laugh, Good Morning and the title number) guaranteed to get audiences going, alongside superb performances and a witty script. 

 

LISTINGS

All screenings take place on the Barbican Sculpture Court

Mirror (U)
Soviet Union 1975, Dir Andrei Tarkovsky, 106 min
Wed 23 Aug, 8.30pm

Hero (12)

China 2002, Dir Zhang Yimou, 99 min
Thu 24 Aug, 8.30pm

The Last Waltz (U)
US 1978, Dir Martin Scorsese, 117 minutes

Fri 25 Aug, 8.30pm

Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind (PG)
Japan 1984, Dir Hayao Miyazaki, 117 min

Sat 26 Aug, 8.30pm,

Rear Window (PG)
USA 1954, Dir Alfred Hitchcock, 114 min

Sun 27 Aug, 8.30pm

Barbie (PG)

USA 2023, Dir Greta Gerwig, 114 min
Tue 29 Aug, 8.30pm

Amazing Grace (U)
USA 2018, Dir Sydney Pollack, Alan Elliot, 120 min

Wed 30 Aug, 8.30pm

Paris is Burning (15)
USA 1990, Dir Jennie Livingston, 78 min
Thu 31 Aug, 8.30pm

Black Panther (12A)
USA 2018, Dir Ryan Coogler, 134 min
Fri 1 Sep, 8.15pm

Monsoon Wedding
India/ USA & UK 2002, Dir Mira Nair, 110 min
Sat 2 Sep, 8.15 pm

Singin' in the Rain (U)

USA 1951, Dir Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly, 103 min
Sun 3 Sep, 8.15pm