Summer Of Love weekend, London
In October, BFI Southbank kicks off a three-month season of cinema dedicated to love – and the British Museum is hosting a handful of open-air screenings as an appetiser. The movies chosen to be shown in the forecourt under the stars give a good idea of the eclecticism of the season: there is Merchant-Ivory’s acclaimed film of EM Forster’s A Room With A View (Thu); Terrence Malick’s criminal lovers-on-the-run debut, Badlands (pictured, Fri); and The Princess Bride (29 Aug), which is as much about the art of storytelling as the magic of love.
British Museum, WC1, Thu to 29 August
FrightFest, London
It wouldn’t feel like the end of summer without FrightFest, the long weekend of horror previews known as the Woodstock of gore. Top of the pile this year is a new Frankenstein (29 Aug), in which the Monster is created by scientists on a 3D printer. Candyman director Bernard Rose should ensure this is classy as well as creepy. Other highlights include New Zealand comedy Deathgasm (29 Aug), about a metal band that inadvertently summons the ancient evil entity Aeloth The Blind One, and AAAAAAAAH! (Fri), the directorial debut of Sightseers star Steve Oram, who stars alongside The Mighty Boosh’s Julian Barratt in the anarchic tale of a suburb conversing in its own primal language. As a precursor, the Prince Charles Cinema (WC2) are screening cult turkey Plan 9 From Outer Space with live rescore by DJ Cheeba on Wednesday.
Vue West End, WC2, Thu to 31 August
Studio Ghibli Forever And Ever, Manchester
Studio Ghibli does not want for champions. Or, for that matter, exposure – most months, you can find something from these Japanese animation gods popping up at London’s cut-price Prince Charles Cinema. This celebration in Manchester, though, complements a programme of Ghibli favourites such as Laputa: Castle In The Sky (Sat) with a screening of the elegiac, insightful year-in-the-life documentary The Kingdom Of Dreams And Madness (29 Aug). The film-makers gained unprecedented access to the studio and its founders Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata as they worked on their latest projects, The Wind Rises and The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya, respectively.
Floating Cinema, London
The Floating Cinema boat has just finished its two-month tour, which took it from London to Bristol and back again. Now it embarks upon a month-long Extra-Terrestrial programme that will see open-air screenings combined with talks and events on the themes of sustainability, the commodification of space and what it means to be considered alien. Films will include the comic love story Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same (Sat) and fancy-dress screenings of two ageless and enduring science-fiction favourites – Robert Wise’s 1951 The Day The Earth Stood Still (Sat) and the 1980 version of Flash Gordon (19 Sep), a strong contender for campest film ever made. Look out also for a panel discussion on alien abduction attended by UFO experts and sceptics alike (10 Sep). The truth is out there.
