‘Pussy Galore’, ‘Car Wash’, zombies and more great film events happening this week
Each week, we round up the most exciting film events happening in London over the coming week, from pop-ups and one-offs to regular film clubs, outdoor screenings and festivals. Here’s this week’s top five…
1. The Power of Summer: ‘In the Mood for Love’
Summer in London is always packed with outdoor cinema options, but few of them offer the ultra-cool industrial cache of actually being inside Battersea Power Station. Organised by the Everyman group, ‘The Power of Summer’ is a season of films clearly trying to buck the usual trend of just showing ‘Top Gun’ and ‘The Goonies’ on a loop – this inaugural week offers such delights as ‘Pulp Fiction’, ‘Wayne’s World’, ‘Escape to Victory’ (followed by the World Cup Final) and this flawless Taiwanese anti-romantic masterpiece, which was voted Time Out’s No. 1 film of the 2000s . Every charged frame of the film pulses with the central contradiction between repression and emotional abandon. Battersea Power Station, SW8 4NN. 7pm, Mon Jul 14. £10-£25.
2. Car Wash
A night of funky soul with music from The Live 45s and DJ Steve Cee, plus a screening of this sprawling multi-character comedy about a day in the life of an LA car washing joint. ‘Car Wash’ is a wonderfully sprightly film, demonstrating that work is a four-letter word (especially if you happen to be black or underprivileged). It’s concerned partly with the variety of excretory messes that have to be dealt with and partly with the flights of ribald fancy indulged in by the employees in an effort to while away the hours till closing time. The remarkable thing is the way characters, jokes and meaning are dovetailed into a single rhythmic flow. Highly enjoyable. Stow Film Lounge, 73 Orford Rd, E17 9QR. 8.30pm, Fri Jul 11. £8, £6 concs.
3. Andrew Kötting: ‘By Our Selves’ in progress
Filmmaker Andrew Kötting, authors Iain Sinclair and Alan Moore, actor Toby Jones and one large straw bear travelled through the English countryside from Epping Forest to Northamptonshire for ‘By Our Selves’, the latest psychogeographical headscratcher from the one-of-a-kind director of ‘Gallivant’ and ‘Swandown’. Sadly, the film needs a few more quid to get finished, so Kötting has organized both an online Kickstarter project and a series of screenings to drum up the cash. At this event, the director will introduce exclusive unfinished footage accompanied by words from the great Sinclair. Hackney Picturehouse, 270 Mare St, E8 1HE. 6.45pm, Wed Jul 9. £7.
4. The Nomad: ‘Goldfinger’
James Bond’s finest outing? You be the judge at this outdoor screening in the park opposite the American embassy. The film is remembered fondly for a number of reasons: Birley Shassey’s screamer of a theme; Bond’s shocking use of a beautiful girl as a human shield; bullion-obsessed baddie Auric Goldfinger’s top hat-wielding henchman, Oddjob; Honor Blackman’s risquely monikered Pussy Galore; and, above all, Bond’s stupendous, gadget-infested silver Aston Martin DB5, the car that spurred a thousand Corgi purchases. Presented here in a digital print, it should look especially swish on the big screen. Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, W1K 6JP. 8pm, Thu Jul 10. £15 – £23.
5. Alibi Film Club: ‘Dawn of the Dead’
It was number ten on Time Out’s 100 Best Horror Movies poll, and 1978’s ‘Dawn of the Dead’ is the zombie movie to end ‘em all. Starting roughly where its predecessor ‘Night of the Living Dead’ ended, the film builds mercilessly on its vision of a USA engulfed and decimated by murderous flesh-eating corpses. The horror/suspense content is brilliant enough to satisfy the most demanding fan, and the film uses superb locations like a huge shopping mall to further its Bosch-like vision of a society consumed by its own appetites. But take no munchies. The Alibi, 91 Kingsland High St, E8 2PB. 8pm. Mon Jul 14. FREE
Find more fantastic film events in the capital this week here.