This August, the Garden Cinema welcomes you to revel in Divine Trash: The Films of John Waters. With a filmography spanning from the late 1960s to early 2000s, the films of John Waters are unapologetically queer, subversive, and outrageous.
A patron saint of the profane, Waters made a career out of transforming bad taste into high art, casting outsiders and deviants as icons, and lovingly ridiculing the nuclear family, bourgeois ideals, and the conservative American dream. In this season, we trace his evolution from underground provocateur to outsider auteur, with each film a rallying cry for weirdos everywhere.
The season will start its Cavalcade of Perversion with the punky, low-budget Multiple Maniacs, before journeying into the feral and legendary ‘Trash Trilogy’ – Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble, and Desperate Living – and finish with the provocative polish and big-screen satire of Polyester, Serial Mom, and Cecil B. Demented.
From screening Pink Flamingos in a church basement in Baltimore to the Garden Cinema, John Waters has always dared us to look at the ugly and laugh, gag, and cheer. Whether you’re a long-time devotee or a first-time voyeur, join us to wallow in the glorious filth that changed underground cinema forever.
We’ll be kneeling at the altar of the Pope of Trash for a rotten melange of events:
– The season launch kicks off with a video message from John Waters himself, followed by a live performance by the incredible artist biogal, conjuring Dreamland filth and frenzy on stage, prior to a screening of Multiple Maniacs. Afterwards there will be drinks & music in the bar, along with a video mixtape of ephemera procured from the garbage can of Waters’ cinematic universe.
– Our Pink Fla-BINGO-s members’ event brings together filth and fun: themed cocktails, prizes, and bingo with a bang, all in support of trans-fem fundraising collective FiveforFive.
– A range of guest intros by some of the most exciting Dreamlanders of London’s film scene: TgirlsonFilm, Token Homo, Molly Miles of Category H, Jane Giles of Scala, with more surprise guests to be announced.
– To end the season, our screening of Polyester will be presented in glorious Odorama, with scratch’n’sniff cards for all attendees. Reminiscent of its original 1981 release, you’ll be invited to follow along with the film and smell every delightfully disgusting scent: from roses to flatulence. Hold your nose and praise the Pope of Trash.
