An angelically beautiful Catherine Deneuve was launched to stardom by this dazzling musical heart-tugger from Jacques Demy. She plays an umbrella-shop…
The provocative Italian filmmaker Elio Petri’s most internationally acclaimed work is this remarkable, visceral, Oscar-winning thriller. Petri maintains a tricky balance…
Set in a dystopian near-future Tokyo, Neo Sora’s striking debut fiction feature explores a group of teenagers rebelling against societal expectations.…
An angelically beautiful Catherine Deneuve was launched to stardom by this dazzling musical heart-tugger from Jacques Demy. She plays an umbrella-shop…
The provocative Italian filmmaker Elio Petri’s most internationally acclaimed work is this remarkable, visceral, Oscar-winning thriller. Petri maintains a tricky balance…
Set in a dystopian near-future Tokyo, Neo Sora’s striking debut fiction feature explores a group of teenagers rebelling against societal expectations.…
The 2025 FAFF programme celebrates bold, boundary-pushing animated documentaries. These 2025 films are thoughtful, provocative and often playful, inviting audiences to…
Various Directors , Various Countries , Various Years, 90m.
A curated selection of artists films that explore how language, communication and meaning circulates around disability, deafness, and chronic illness. Shifting…
Various Directors, Various Countries, Various Years, 64m.
Wim Wenders pays loving homage to rough-and-tumble Hollywood film noir with The American Friend, a loose adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel Ripley’s Game. Dennis Hopper oozes quirky menace as an amoral American art dealer who entangles a terminally ill German everyman, played… Read More
As Charlotte, Bergman arguably gives the best performance of her career. Autumn Sonata marked the actor’s final on-screen appearance before she lost her battle with cancer just a few years later. In fact, she received her diagnosis at the beginning of filming, which… Read More
Ball of Fire was proposed by our member Ed Gutteridge, who writes: 'After seeing and adoring Stella Dallas at the BFI the other day, I’d love to see some more Barbara Stanwyck on the big screen. A season would be great since she has… Read More
Our screening on Thursday 22 January will be introduced by Alastair Phillips (University of Warwick), and followed by a post film discussion group in the Atrium Bar. Cinematic anthropologist extraordinaire Shohei Imamura won his first Palme d'Or at the 1983 Cannes… Read More
The forest comes alive with Bambi, the critically acclaimed coming-of-age story that has thrilled and entertained generations of fans. This grand adventure is full of humour, heart, and some of the most beloved characters of all time: Bambi, the wide-eyed fawn, his… Read More
On the evening of 31 March, 1943, legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart confronts his shattered self-confidence in Sardi’s bar as his former collaborator Richard Rodgers celebrates the opening night of his ground-breaking hit musical Oklahoma! The Garden Cinema View: This tremendously witty and… Read More
Coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the tragic passing of David Bowie (January 2026), this film will reveal how Bowie’s last chapter became a resurrection, culminating in the haunting and transformative Blackstar, an album that redefined his legacy and offered a profound… Read More
Brazil is screening as part of our Christmas programme and also in memory of the late playwright and screenwriter Tom Stoppard. Low-level bureaucrat Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) escapes the monotony of his day-to-day life through a recurring daydream of himself as a… Read More
Based on the first of the classic series of novels by CS Lewis, this fantasy adventure film follows four siblings: Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. Evacuated to the countryside during World War II, the children find a way into another world -… Read More
Our screening on Saturday 31 January will be introduced by Tom Cunliffe (UCL), and will be followed by a post film discussion group in the Atrium Bar. The Kobayashi family finally are able to move out of their tiny, cramped Tokyo apartment… Read More
Guillermo Del Toro's classic ghost story returns in a new restoration for Christmas. Spain is being torn apart by the Civil War. Abandoned in a grim and isolated orphanage, newcomer Carlos, 12, faces hostility and violence from his fellow inmates - led… Read More
Our screening on Thursday 5 February will be introduced by Irene González-López (Birkbeck), and will be followed by a post film discussion group in the Atrium Bar. Conceived by Shohei Imamura, Kazuo Hara’s infamous and audacious documentary follows Kenzo Okuzaki, an ageing… Read More
Ingmar Bergman’s dreamlike chronicle of an extended family in early 20th-century Sweden. One tumultuous year in the life of the Ekdahl family is viewed through the eyes of ten-year-old Alexander, whose imagination fuels the magical goings-on leading up to and following the… Read More
This screening will be introduced by Victor Fan (KCL), and will be followed by a post film discussion group in the Atrium Bar. It’s death, Japanese style, in the rollicking and wistful first feature from maverick writer-director Juzo Itami. In the wake… Read More
Join GP Surgery and Ecstatic Truths in The Atrium Bar for a special event titled ‘In the Deep End’, a night of exploring water, memory, and the power of healing through reflection. Our main film, which will be projected on 16mm film,… Read More
In India Donaldson’s insightful, piercing debut, 17-year-old Sam (Collias) embarks on a three-day backpacking trip in the Catskills with her dad, Chris (Le Gros) and his oldest friend, Matt (McCarthy). As the two men quickly settle into a gently quarrelsome brotherly dynamic,… Read More
An epic fantasy adventure based on the timeless Arthurian legend, The Green Knight tells the story of Sir Gawain (Dev Patel), King Arthur's reckless and headstrong nephew, who embarks on a daring quest to confront the eponymous Green Knight, a gigantic emerald-skinned stranger… Read More
1580 England. Impoverished Latin tutor William Shakespeare meets free-spirited Agnes, and the pair, captivated by one another, strike up a torrid affair that leads to marriage and three children. Yet as Will pursues a budding theatre career in far-away London, Agnes anchors… Read More
Meeting your girlfriend's family for the first time can be tough, especially at Christmas. When Abby (Kristen Stewart) learns that Harper (Mackenzie Davis) has kept their relationship a secret from her family, she begins to question the girlfriend she thought she knew.… Read More
Into the world of the Emperor Penguins, who find their soul mates through song. A young penguin called Mumble is unable to sing but instead has a gift for tap dancing. His mother thinks his ability is cute, but his father is… Read More
Set in a dystopian near-future Tokyo, Neo Sora’s striking debut fiction feature explores a group of teenagers rebelling against societal expectations. The film offers a vivid coming-of-age portrait, following best friends Yuta and Kou as they confront a world where AI surveillance… Read More
Our screening on Thursday 19 February will be introduced by season curator George Crosthwait, and will be followed by a post film discussion group in the Atrium Bar. Nobuhiko Obayashi (Hausu) takes on the Bōsōzoku (youth bike gang) genre with a poetic and… Read More
When the winter break arrives in December 1970, Paul Hunham, a teacher at a prestigious New England boarding school, is forced to remain on campus to babysit a ragtag group of students who have nowhere else to go. Twenty years after Sideways,… Read More
The evening screening on Thursday 23 October will be introduced by Professor Lucy Bolton who will share her insights on Bergman's extraordinary career and the films featured throughout the season. Ingrid Bergman was wooed to Hollywood by David Selznick after he witnessed her… Read More
The provocative Italian filmmaker Elio Petri’s most internationally acclaimed work is this remarkable, visceral, Oscar-winning thriller. Petri maintains a tricky balance between absurdity and realism in telling the Kafkaesque tale of a Roman police inspector (a commanding Gian Maria Volontè) investigating a… Read More
Bringing to life the much-loved story by British poet Ted Hughes, The Iron Giant takes place in a quiet American town in the 1960s. The tale begins when a young boy named Hogarth follows a trail of huge footprints leading from his house… Read More
Winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes, It Was Just an Accident is a fearless tour-de-force from cinematic luminary Jafar Panahi. Both urgently political and deeply humane, this new moral classic confronts truth and uncertainty, revenge and mercy, head-on. When auto mechanic Vahid… Read More
When a warlord dies, a peasant thief is called upon to impersonate him, and then finds himself haunted by the warlord’s spirit as well as his own ambitions. In his late colour masterpiece Kagemusha, Akira Kurosawa returns to the samurai film and… Read More
A stunning ensemble cast brings to life this gorgeous sophomore directorial feature from Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird, Barbie). Drawing on both the classic novel and the writings of Louisa May Alcott, 2019's Little Women is a sweeping retelling of a timeless classic for… Read More
Kristina Dufková, Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, 2024
Winner of many awards, including at Annecy Film Festival, the largest animation film festival in the world, Living Large is an honest exploration of puberty, first love and the difficult relationship with our bodies.The film’s gorgeous visual world is created using stop-motion puppet animation… Read More
Our screening on Tuesday 13 January will be introduced by independent curator Yuriko Hamaguchi. This lyrical adaptation of the beloved novel by Junichiro Tanizaki was a late-career triumph for director Kon Ichikawa. Structured around the changing of the seasons, The Makioka Sisters follows… Read More
Marty Mauser, a young man with a dream no one respects, goes to hell and back in pursuit of greatness. The Garden Cinema View: There's no time to rest in this angsty 2.5 hour saga made with exceptional filmmaking craft by Josh… Read More
The well-off Smith family leads a comfortable, happy existence in St. Louis, a city set to welcome the 1904 World’s Fair. Seventeen-year-old Esther Smith has fallen in love with the boy who has just moved next door, though he hardly notices her… Read More
Founded in 1930 in central France, the Troisgros family restaurant has been holding 3 Michelin stars for 57 years over four generations. Michel Troisgros, the third generation to head the restaurant, has turned over the responsibility for the cuisine to his son… Read More
Our screening on Wednesday 21 January will be introduced by film journalist James Balmont. David Bowie stars in Nagisa Oshima's 1983 Palme d'Or-nominated portrait of resilience, pride, friendship and obsession among four very different men confined in the stifling jungle heat of… Read More
This gem of a musical was nominated for eleven Oscars - winning five and its popularity is undimmed nearly 50 years after its stage premiere. Based on Charles Dickens' famous novel about the adventures of a Victorian orphan who falls in with… Read More
After leaving her pop idol group and starting a new life as an actress, Mima soon finds herself overwhelmed by a wave of provocative offers - including photo shoots and roles in a TV drama - that go against her wishes. But… Read More
In 1974, famed photographer Peter Hujar describes the routines and rituals that define an artist's life, capturing a single day's activities from interactions with cultural icons of the day, including Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs and Susan Sontag, and the texture and… Read More
Colin (Harry Melling) leads a humdrum existence until he meets the impossibly handsome Ray (Alexander Skarsgård), a mysterious biker he is soon desperately devoted to. As Colin submits to Ray and enters an exciting new world of desire, he must decide the… Read More
One of the most important and influential film makers in cinematic history, Akira Kurosawa directed 30 films in a career spanning 57 years. His final masterpiece, Ran, is a reimagining of Shakespeare’s King Lear set in feudal Japan. Ran tells the story of Lord… Read More
Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada, 2021, United States
A young warrior princess named Raya (voiced by Kelly Marie Tran) tries to reunite her kingdom by finding the last survivor of the race of dragons that used to protect her people. This computer-animated fantasy adventure is a visual feast inspired by… Read More
Members are invited to join us on Saturday 17 January to help us serve up our new season of 1980s Japanese cinema: The Lost Decade. To celebrate in style, we'll be raising a glass of sake (or sparkling jasmine tea from Saicho)… Read More
Joachim Trier, 2025, Norway, France, Germany, Denmark
Following the success of global phenomenon The Worst Person in the World, Academy Award-nominee Joachim Trier reunites with BAFTA nominee Renate Reinsve for their universally acclaimed follow-up, Sentimental Value. Winner of the prestigious Cannes Grand Prix award, and featuring career-best performances from… Read More
Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) becomes winter caretaker at the isolated Overlook Hotel in Colorado, hoping to cure his writer's block. He settles in along with his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and his son, Danny, who is plagued by psychic premonitions. As Jack's… Read More
Winner of the 10th Anniversary L’Oeil d’or prize, Cannes Film Festival 2025 and winner of the first-ever Golden Globe Award for Documentary, The Six Billion Dollar Man reveals the real story behind WikiLeaks - a tense, high-stakes investigation into truth, power, and the… Read More
Now beautifully restored for its 75th anniversary, Billy Wilder's classic tinseltown satire returns to cinemas. Narrated in flashback by the corpse of luckless screenwriter Joe Gillis (William Holden) floating facedown in a Los Angeles swimming pool, Wilder’s audaciously dark examination of the… Read More
The tale of an eccentric band of culinary ronin who guide the widow of a noodle-shop owner on her quest for the perfect recipe, this rapturous 'ramen western' by Japanese director Juzo Itami is an entertaining, genre-bending adventure underpinned by a deft… Read More
Our screening on Thursday 26 February will be introduced by Mark Player, author of Japanese Cinema and Punk, and will be followed by a post film discussion group in the Atrium Bar. A strange man known only as the 'metal fetishist', who seems… Read More
Our screening on 12 February will be introduced by Alexander Jacoby (Oxford Brookes), and will be followed by a film discussion group in the Atrium Bar. Newly restored, Shinji Somai’s beloved cult film Typhoon Club is widely heralded as the director’s seminal feature… Read More
An angelically beautiful Catherine Deneuve was launched to stardom by this dazzling musical heart-tugger from Jacques Demy. She plays an umbrella-shop owner’s delicate daughter, glowing with first love for a handsome garage mechanic, played by Nino Castelnuovo. When the boy is shipped… Read More
Burst City is an explosive Molotov cocktail of dystopian sci-fi, Mad Max-style biker wars against yakuza gangsters and the police, and riotous performances from members of the real-life Japanese punk bands The Stalin, The Roosters, The Rockers and INU. In a derelict industrial… Read More
This autumn, The Garden Cinema presents the essential films by the spellbinding Ingrid Bergman. With a career spanning over five decades, Bergman combined an arthouse sensibility that made European auteurs trust her with complex…
As the Garden Cinema audience has been especially nice this year, we’re stuffing your stockings with celebratory celluloid treats to get you in the festive mood. We’ve gone through your letters to Santa…
The 1980s were the zenith of Japan’s bubble economy, an era which saw the accumulation of vast wealth, alongside rapid technological and commercial growth. City centres sprouted neon-emblazoned shrines to multinational capitalism, built upon the…
It’s time for the most prestigious vote of awards season: The Garden Cinema annual staff picks poll! Our team has voted on their favourite films, new and old, from our 2025 programme, with…
Events for members only, including free bi-weekly screenings for Garden Cinema Members with films chosen for members, by members. Selected films are added regularly, so keep an eye on this page for updates.…
Join us every Saturday & Sunday morning and on weekdays during the school holidays for some of our favourite family classics. For cinema lovers of all ages. On Sundays the films are followed…
Events for members only, including free bi-weekly screenings for Garden Cinema Members with films chosen for members, by members. Selected films are added regularly, so keep an eye on this page for updates.…
A chance for parents and carers with babies of twelve months and under to see the latest releases in a relaxed environment. These screenings will have raised lighting, reduced volume levels, and captions/subtitles…
The Garden Cinema’s new strand of nature and environment-focused screenings. We have curated a selection of international films that span many genres, themes and countries to tell stories of resilience and resistance…
Dear Italy is The Garden Cinema’s love letter to Italian Cinema. We are delighted to showcase films not only widely considered classics but also the most beloved by audiences and critics alike. This…
Select Japan is an initiative from The Garden Cinema to showcase the best of Japanese cinema, classic and contemporary, with a focus on titles and filmmakers which have been rarely screened in the…
Composing Cinema celebrates the bespoke musical contributions made by composers to the world of film – with an initial focus on British artists. Hosted by Oscar-nominated composer Gary Yershon. …
The Chinese Cinema Project is an exhibition initiative presented by The Garden Cinema. It showcases works from emerging and under-represented Chinese filmmakers via regular screenings, exploring auteurship and cinematic beauty in its various…
Factual Animation Film Festival (FAFF) is the world’s longest running film festival dedicated to championing short animated documentaries and factual animation.…
