Free films, unexpected places

By Walter Albertin, World Telegram staff photographer (Public domain) via Wikimedia Commons

“Cinema,” opined Fellini, “is an old whore, like circus and variety, who knows how to give many kinds of pleasure.” Recently, it seems that the whore in question sets her prices quite high. To view a film at, say, Odeon or any of the main cinema behemoths will cost anywhere between £6 and £11.

That’s hard to justify in these times of woe and want, even if you do enjoy folding yourself into a DVT-inducing seat and gawping at the increasingly omnipresent Helen Mirren.

So, it is with great pleasure and pride that we list the growing number of colourful venues scattered around the borough that are offering free film nights and screenings in a variety of different settings.

The Duke of Wellington on Balls Bond Road is first up with its bi-monthly Film Club that takes place every alternate Sunday (usually the first and third of the month, check website for details). The start of October saw a Buster Keaton double-header and in November Jean-Luc Goddard’s dystopian, sci-fi film noir Alphaville will be screening, accompanied by a live score. The pub also intermittently hosts the work of local independent film makers.

The Duke of Wellington
119 Balls Pond Road
N1 4BL

Across town in Homerton, the Kenton has been running a regular film night every Monday. Recent selections range from Neapolitan mob drama Gomorrah to dark mockumentary Man Bites Dog. All showings are free, usually start around 9pm and (very sensibly) include free popcorn.

The Kenton
38 Kenton Road
E9 7AB

If you find yourself at a loose end on a Monday night and the Kenton film offerings aren’t to your liking, it might be worth popping into the Alibi on Kingsland High Street. Regulars of the subterranean nightspot have already been delighted by such cinematic gems as Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus, Heavy Metal Parking Lot and R Kelly’s seminal piece, Trapped in the Closet. Films start around 9pm and, towards the end, grab a beer before you get swept up by the clubbers galloping down the staircase to bop to the DJ set.

The Alibi
91 Kingsland High Street
E8 2PB

Newcomer Junction Room is the third contender for the coveted Monday night film slot. Deceptively spacious and evoking an eccentric’s living room at the back, the red curtains are drawn around 7ish and an array of short, independent and classical films are screened every week. A robust cocktail list will make those dramatic moments fly by. The location, beside the sparkling new Overground stop, means that even if you happen to dwell in the nether regions of West Croydon, your cultural appetite can be satiated and you can still catch the last train home.

The Junction Room
578 Kingsland Road
E8 4AH

The Others has a selection of visual nights that range from dedicated screening/audiovisual events through to cabaret-style shows that include screenings. Previous highlights at The Others have included the first annual Hackney Film Festival, which involved giant screens, multi projector setups and comfy leather sofas for acts such as The Light Surgeons to entertain the great turnout.

Future screening events include:

Variety Box Fri 26 Nov 2010
Doors 7pm
Show starts at 8pm always includes audio visual performance as part of its programming.

Electrovision on Friday 3 Dec 2010
Doors 7pm
Screenings from 8pm

The Others
6-8 Manor Road
N16 5SA

Bar 23 does not currently run a regular night but we have been assured that, once refurbishments on the back yard are complete, they will get their projector running.

The Drop, the dark, clammy basement underneath the Three Crowns on Stoke Newington Church St, was the setting for the closing night of the highly successful Hackney Film Festival last month. Its monthly Switchblade event, a previously free night of intriguing cinema and music, seems now to be open only to an elusive, cloaked, guestlisted few. Plans are afoot for a regular film night but we’ve heard nothing as yet.

To herald its recent arrival on the Dalston scene, The Nest, was host to a riotously eclectic series of events that included a screen adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe’s Morella, by the theatre collective Seventh Storey. Expect further abstract pieces in the coming months.

With cinema prices continuing to rocket and temperatures beginning to plummet, more and more establishments in the Hackney area are offering the chance to while away the cold nights watching films, both mainstream and offbeat, beer in hand.

But you don’t have to stick to the pubs and spaces listed. There are a raft of venues that don’t offer such services but have more than enough space to do so – exercise your democratic punter rights and lobby your nearest ale house to start up a film night. Or start one up yourself. It’s a great excuse to save money and enjoy a shared experience of what Godard called “the most beautiful fraud in the world”.