Join GP Surgery in The Atrium Bar for a special experimental short film showcase (and film club launch event) titled “Dreams, Fear, and The Subconscious", a night of exploring dreams, the psyche, and the boundlessness of the subconscious mind.

Found in the LUX Moving Image Archive, Sandra Lahire’s Johnny Panic (1999) is an experimental moving image adaptation of the Sylvia Plath short story “Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams”. The original story showcases Plath’s brilliant prose, and tells the story of a woman working in a mental hospital transcribing patients' dreams and secretly putting them into her own book called “The Bible of Dreams”. Her deviance is guided by a subconscious figure called Johnny Panic who has a grip on her psyche, bringing her further into the fear and chaos.

In addition to personal recollections, Lahire’s film also brings in a commentary on American Politics, Capitalism, and Corruption. Intertwining the fear of dreams and the mind with the looming realities embedded within Western society, Lahire’s film is a surreal feminist provocation which forces the viewer to examine themselves as well as the world around them.

This screening will be accompanied by a series of mystery experimental shorts that explore dreams, madness, chaos, and the subconscious. As well as a reading from Plath’s short story.

GP Surgery is a new kind of film collective specialising in Experimental Film and Artist Moving Image as a means of catharsis, healing, and challenging our audience. We are creating a community where attendees feel comfortable sharing their personal experiences of viewing the films while meeting like-minded individuals. If you have an idea for a screening for GP surgery, or would like to know more about the collective, please find us on Instagram @gpsurgeryldn.

Jaison Washington (he/they) is an independent film curator, researcher, and filmmaker based in London. Molly Miles (they/them) is a London based independent programmer and popcorn salesman. They’re one half of Category H film club and curator of Tetsuo And Beyond at the Prince Charles Cinema.

Note that The Garden Cinema is Fully Wheelchair Accessible. Some films contain strobing lights and flashing imagery for photosensitive and epileptic viewers.