Press room

Curated by the Barbican:

• Watermelon Man + Cinq cents balle
• Autism and Cinema: An Exploration of Neurodiversity
• Preview: Oliver Sacks: His Own Life + Virtual Panel Discussion
• Family Film Club

Festivals:

• Japanese Avant-garde and Experimental Film Festival 2021: Bodies
• Leytonstone Loves Film

Event Cinema:

• NT Encore: Follies
• Mick Fleetwood & Friends
• Walden
• Oasis Knebworth 1996
• Romeo & Juliet

New Releases

• No Time to Die, Annette, Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings, Respect, The Story of Looking and The Many Saints of Newark

The Barbican continues to present the best in contemporary and world cinema in September and is also pleased to return back to full seating capacity in all the auditoriums. Highlights include Autism and Cinema: An Exploration of Neurodiversity, a season which shows how cinema can be changed by autistic perspectives.

Further highlights include screenings of Watermelon Man, a classic of 70s African-American cinema by the legendary Melvin Van Peebles and his rarely screened early short Cinq cent balles. There’s also a preview of Oliver Sacks: His Own Life + Panel Discussion, an inspiring documentary about the life and career of the renowned neurologist and author Dr. Oliver Sacks.

September also sees the third year of the Japanese Avant-garde and Experimental Film Festival which this year considers the body and sensation.

Through Barbican Communities and Neighbourhoods the Cinema team continues its contribution to Leytonstone Loves Film, a celebration of the London borough’s vibrant film culture through an exciting programme of outdoor, indoor and film screenings, talks and workshop and virtual events.

Made by local creatives and residents in partnership with the Barbican and supported by London Borough of Waltham Forest and Arts Council England, the free community-powered programme is built by a growing collective of local filmmakers, film exhibitors and film enthusiasts with more than 20 local programming partners contributing to this year’s Leytonstone Loves Film.

In addition to a series of feature and short film screenings, Leytonstone Loves Film will host a range of talks, activities and workshops across the week.

In September families can also enjoy a Show and Tell Intro + Spectacular Shorts, a collection of short films about unlikely friendships, a screening of The Croods: A New Age, about the adventures of this loveable pre-historic family and a free drop-in-workshop in the Benugo Café; as well as the beautiful hand-drawn animation Wolfwalkers, set in 17th century Ireland.  

Event Cinema screenings include: the National Theatre Encore’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s Follies (starring Imelda Staunton), a celebration of the early years of Fleetwood Mac with a screening of the concert Mick Fleetwood & Friends, the legendary Oasis Knebworth 1996 concerts from the booming Cool Britannia years; and Ian Rickson’s compelling production of Walden (starring Gemma Arterton and Amy Berryman).

As the evening’s draw in Barbican Cinema also screens the best in new release titles including: No Time to Die, Annette, Shang-Chi and The Legend Of The Ten Rings, Respect, The Many Saints of Newark and The Story of Looking.  
 

Curated by the Barbican:

Watermelon Man (15) + Cinq cent balles
USA 1970, Dir Melvin Van Peebles, 98 mins
Thu 9 Sep, 6.10 pm, Barbican Cinema 1

A classic of 70s African American cinema, Watermelon Man is the second feature film by the legendary director Melvin Van Peebles.

Best known for Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (US 1973), Van Peebles’ career has always been informed by a strong commitment to the spirit of independent cinema and despite being a studio picture, his distinct approach is apparent throughout.

Watermelon Man tells the story of a bigoted white American man (expertly played by stand-up comic Godfrey Cambridge, donning whiteface for the role) who wakes up to discover - to his horror - that he has turned into a Black man. The film takes this fantastical concept and manages to infuse both a sense of empathy for the predicament of the central character alongside functioning as a social critique of US race relations and Black radicalism.

Cinq cent balles (France Dir Melvin Van Peebles 1961, 12 mins) is a rarely screened early short by Van Peebles made during his time in Paris which tells the story of a child trying to retrieve a 500 francs note.

Autism and Cinema: An Exploration of Neurodiversity
Thu 16 – Tue 28 Sep, Barbican Cinema 3

Barbican Cinema and the Centre for Film and Ethics, Queen Mary University, London are pleased to present Autism and Cinema: An Exploration of Neurodiversity; a season that debates new ideas arising from the relationship between autism and cinema.

The programme brings together a diverse selection of films, ranging from documentary to animation, and genre-twisting fiction to experimental filmmaking, from within the autistic community; it asks how the language of cinema can be challenged and changed by autistic perspectives.

A cinema reflective of autism and the experience of neurodiversity is rare. Yet it has much to offer our understanding of inner and outer life, ushering in new sensory and relational ways of being in the world.

The season opens with a free screening of Temple Grandin (US 2010, Dir Mick Jackson), a biopic of the accomplished autistic thinker and advocate who transformed the cattle farming industry.

Further highlights include the documentary Life Animated (US 2016, Dir Roger Ross Williams), which examines the place of animation in the evolving mind map of a child, where the medium of film becomes a toolkit and a shared vocabulary; and Project Art Works’ Illuminating the Wilderness (UK 2018, Dirs Kate Adams & Tim Corrigan), an exploratory film describing a unique trip to Glen Affric in the Scottish Highlands. Project Art Works have been nominated for this year’s Turner Prize, in recognition of their practice, which celebrates and raises awareness of the contribution neurodiverse artists make to society and culture.

Autism and Cinema: An Exploration of Neurodiversity is supported by Wellcome and is presented in collaboration with the Centre for Film and Ethics at Queen Mary University of London.

View the full press release here
and Trailer here: https://bit.ly/3CEkkOP

Preview: Oliver Sacks: His Own Life (15) + Virtual Panel Discussion
USA 2019, Dir Ric Burns, 114 min
Mon 20 Sep, 6.30pm, Barbican Cinema 1

This inspiring documentary tracks the life and career of the renowned neurologist and author, Dr. Oliver Sacks; from his earlier years as an outlier from the scientific community, to his later life as an accepted and revered visionary in his field.

Family Film Club
Every Saturday 11am, Barbican Cinema 2

Family Film Club returns on Sat 11 Sep with Show and Tell Intro + Spectacular Shorts, a collection of the best short films the Curators could find about the greatest of unlikely friendships; highlights include: The Pig on the Hill (USA 2018, Dir John Helms), based on the children’s picture book by John Kelly and the award-winning The Witch and the Baby ((Russia 2020), by the UK based animator and illustrator Evgenia Golubeva, author of I am Not a Mouse.

Other family delights include a screening of The Croods: A New Age (US 2020 Dir. Joel Crawford) (Sat 18 Sep), about the adventures of this loveable pre-historic family – and features big name Hollywood players including: Emma Stone, Nicholas Cage and Kelly Marie-Tran. There’s also a free drop-in-workshop in the Benugo Café (Sat 25 Sep) and a screening of Wolfwalkers (Ireland/Luxembourg/France/US 2020, Dir Tomm Moore), a beautiful hand-drawn animation, with deep and striking colours, about a family of wolf hunters in 17th century Ireland.

In September Parent & Baby screenings will continue every Monday and Saturday at 11.15am; please visit here for further programme information.

Festivals:

Leytonstone Loves Film
Various venues, Leytonstone, London E11
Wed 15 – Sun 19 Sep

Leytonstone Loves Film will return for a third year to celebrate film culture and Leytonstone’s vibrant cinema community through an exciting programme of outdoor and indoor film screenings, talks and workshops, and virtual events.

Made by local creatives and residents in partnership with the Barbican and supported by London Borough of Waltham Forest and Arts Council England, the free community-powered programme is built by a growing collective of local filmmakers, film exhibitors and film enthusiasts with more than 20 local programming partners contributing to this year’s Leytonstone Loves Film.

In addition to a series of feature and short film screenings, Leytonstone Loves Film will host a range of talks, activities and workshops across the week.

More information about the official festival programme and how to register for free tickets will be announced soon. A list of all festival partners involved can be found at leytonstonelovesfilm.com

Japanese Avant-garde and Experimental Film Festival 2021: Bodies
16–19 Sep, Barbican Cinema 2&3

This third edition of the Japanese Avant-garde and Experimental Film Festival considers the body and sensation, and features work from directors including: Kon Ichikawa, Toshio Matsumoto, Susumu Hani, Chiaki Nagano, Takahiko Iimura, Tatsumi Kumashiro, Shuji Terayama and more.

Inspired by the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, the lockdown, and a loss of ‘truth’, JAEFF 2021: Bodies presents a line-up of features and shorts that examine the body triumphant, and the body in crisis – through dance, performance, sport, exercise, and more.

Highlights include: Nanami: The Inferno of First Love (Japan 1968), a rare 16mm screening of new wave master Susumu Hani’s endlessly inventive web of young love and seedy underworld forces; the UK premiere of Nippon Express Carries the Olympics to Tokyo (Japan 1964 Dir Shinkichi Noda and Toshio Matsumoto), a showcase of the behind-the-scenes detail and labour required to host a mass sporting spectacle; and  Record of a Marathon Runner (Japan 1963) – another UK first – in which Kazuo Kuroki documents the Olympic preparations of young athlete Kimihara Kenji, capturing the monotonous rhythms of training whilst pushing cinematic form into abstraction.

For further information: www.jaeff.org/2021%3A-bodies-1

Event Cinema:

National Theatre Encore: Follies (12A)
2017 UK Dir Dominic Cooke 135 min
Sun 5 Sep, 2 pm, Barbican Cinema 3

A special screening of Stephen Sondheim’s legendary musical, staged for the first time at the National Theatre. 

New York, 1971. There’s a party on the stage of the Weismann Theatre. Tomorrow the iconic building will be demolished. Thirty years after their final performance, the Follies girls gather to have a few drinks, sing a few songs and lie about themselves.

Tracie Bennett, Janie Dee and Imelda Staunton play the magnificent Follies, in this new production.

Mick Fleetwood & Friends (12A)
2020 UK 145 min (no interval)
Tue 7 Sep, 7 pm, Barbican Cinema 3

Mick Fleetwood enlists a stellar cast of musicians for a once-in-a-lifetime concert event honouring the early years of Fleetwood Mac, celebrating its founder, Peter Green.

With a line-up featuring Neil Finn, Noel Gallagher, Billy Gibbons, David Gilmour, Kirk Hammett, Jonny Lang, John Mayall, Christine McVie, Pete Townshend, Steven Tyler and Bill Wyman, this once-in-a-lifetime concert event that was captured at The London Palladium in Feb 2020.

Walden #
UK 2021, Dir Ian Rickson, 105 min
Wed 8 Sep, 6pm, Barbican Cinema 1

Old wounds resurface as two sisters attempt to pick up the pieces of the rivalry that broke them apart.
Walden is a ‘fresh and ambitious’ (★★★★ Telegraph) debut play by Amy Berryman, starring Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace), Fehinti Balogun (Juliet, Naked) and Lydia Wilson (The Duchess of Malfi). Filmed for the big screen at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London’s West End, director Ian Rickson’s compelling production ‘bursts with big ideas’ (Evening Standard).

Oasis Knebworth 1996 (#)
UK 2021, Dir Jake Scott, 108 min
Fri 24 Sep, 8.35pm, Barbican Cinema 2

On 10 & 11 Aug 1996, 250,000 music fans converged on Knebworth Park to see Oasis play two era defining shows. The landmark concerts sold out in under a day with over 2% of the UK population attempting to buy tickets.  A surging confidence in arts and culture ushered in Cool Britannia and Oasis meteoric rise reflected the country's new-found conviction and swagger.

Featuring a set list packed from beginning to end with stone cold classics, including Champagne Supernova, Wonderwall and Don’t Look Back In Anger, the Knebworth concerts were both the pinnacle of the band’s success and the landmark gathering for a generation.

It is told through the eyes of the fans who were there and features extensive concert and exclusive never-before seen footage, this is a joyful and at times poignant cinematic celebration of one of the most important concert events of the last 25 years.

Romeo & Juliet (#)
UK 2020, Dir Simon Godwin, 90 min
Tue 28 Sep, 7pm, Barbican Cinema 1

This bold new film brings to life the remarkable backstage spaces of the National Theatre in which desire, dreams and destiny collide to make Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy sing in an entirely new way.

Jessie Buckley (Wild Rose, Judy) and Josh O’Connor (The Crown, God’s Own Country) play Juliet and Romeo. The award-winning cast includes Tamsin Greig, Fisayo Akinade, Adrian Lester and Lucian Msamati.

New Releases

** Please note these are subject to change **

Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings #
USA 2021, Dir Destin Daniel Cretton, 120 min
From Fri 3 Sep

In the latest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Martial-arts master Shang-Chi confronts the past he thought he left behind when he’s drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization.

Annette #
France /Mexico/ United States/ Switzerland 2021, Dir Leos Carax, 139 min
From Fri 3 Sep

Marion Cotillard and Adam Driver star in this musical drama about an acclaimed opera singer and a stand-up comedian who have their first child, and find their lives are completely changed.

Respect #
Canada/ USA 2021, Dir Liesl Tommy, 145 min
From Fri 10 Sep

Jennifer Hudson stars as Aretha Franklin, in this powerful biographical musical drama that charts the singer’s meteoric rise to become an international musical super-star and legend.

The Story of Looking #
UK 2021, Dir Mark Cousins, 90 min
From Fri 17 Sep

This personal meditation sees filmmaker Mark Cousins prepare for surgery to restore his vision. Cousins explores the role that visual experience plays in our individual and collective lives.

The Many Saints of Newark #
USA 2021, Dir Alan Taylor, 120 min
From Fri 24 Sep

In this prequel to iconic drama series The Sopranos, a young Anthony Soprano grows up in one of the most tumultuous eras in Newark, as rival gangsters rise-up to challenge the DiMeo crime family.

No Time to Die #
UK/ USA 2021, Dir Cary Joji Fukunaga, 203 min
From Thu 30 Sep

Daniel Craig stars in the long anticipated next instalment in the James Bond franchise. With an all-star ensemble cast, the globetrotting Bond is recruited to help bring down a mysterious villain.

Barbican Cinema On Demand

This month Cinema On Demand offers an international and diverse programme with films from Mongolia and Chechnya that tackle difficult and challenging subjects.

Black Milk (Germany/Mongolia 2020) tells the story of a Mongolian woman, who after years of living in Germany returns to her native country and family home in the steppes and experiences a new sexual liberation. In Silent Voice (France/Belgium 2020), a young martial arts fighter flees Chechnya, after his brother discovers that he is gay and threatens to kill him. This is a tremendously brave and moving story and film festivals in Russia have cancelled screenings of the film, following threats and complaints about the promotion of ‘LGBT values’.

Box office: The Barbican believes in creating space for people and ideas to connect though its international arts programme, community events and learning activity. To keep its programme accessible to everyone, and to keep investing in the artists it works with, the Barbican needs to raise more than 60% of its income through ticket sales, commercial activities and fundraising every year.
Donations can be made here: barbican.org.uk/donate