Women & The Golden Age Of Mexican Cinema, London
Unless you’re a film buff or a Mexican pensioner, names such as María Félix and Dolores del Río probably mean very little to you. But this run sheds light on just how golden Mexico’s 1930s and 40s cinema was. A key example is María Candelaria (3 May), starring Delores del Río (returning from Hollywood after the quality roles had dried up) as an indigenous beauty persecuted by her community. The first Mexican film at Cannes, it won the top prize.
Barbican, EC1, Fri to 4 May
New Cross & Deptford Free Film Festival, London
For a free, volunteer-run festival, there’s a heartening amount on offer here in assorted ad-hoc venues across south London. For radicals, there’s a mind-expanding season of films exploring alternatives to capitalism at the Sanford Housing Co-Op, including Richard Linklater’s Slacker (Sat) and Peter Watkins’s epic La Commune (Paris 1871), an experimental re-enactment of the 19th-century revolt (Sun). There’s also a new doc on the Old Kent Road (Fri), and a rediscovered 1970s children’s film shot around Deptford starring Gary Kemp (Wed). On a more populist slant, there are accessible family treats such as a bike-powered screenings of Guardians Of The Galaxy (Sat) and The Wizard Of Oz (2 May) in Fordham and Telegraph Hill Parks, or sci-fis Strange Days (Wed) and Contact (Tue) in Telegraph Hill’s hill-top cafe. Finally something everyone can get behind: a YouTube Cat Video event (Sat).
Various venues, to 3 May
Derby Film Festival
This growing young festival is now big enough to splinter into several sub-festivals, and to attract some (relatively) big names. Jenny Agutter, will be introduciing highlights from her distinguished career and gracing adoring fans with her presence (9 May), while the pioneering Radiophonic Workshop (Derby Theatre, Fri) open the festival with a live show. There’s also the Fantastiq film festival (8-10 May), celebrating horror movies old (with Hammer veteran Peter “Hands Of The Ripper” Sasdy, 9 May), and new (the world premiere of Peak District-set Survival Instinct, 8 May). Plus a heap of previews: Princess Elizabeth tale A Royal Night Out (Fri), Jason Schwartzman comedy Listen Up Philip (3 May), Daft Punk story Eden (2 May) and more.
Quad, Fri to 10 May
Rooftop Film Club , London
Along with the sun and the buds of May, out come the deckchairs, blankets and emergency waterproof ponchos that traditionally signal the start of the great British outdoor cinema season. The Rooftop Film Club sets out its stall at four London venues this week, all on top of roofs, obviously: Peckham’s Bussey Building, Shoreditch’s Queen Of Hoxton, Stratford’s Roof East (the multi-storey car park), and Kensington Roof Gardens. As well as the usual favourites (Top Gun, Grease, Amélie, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) there are recent Oscar hits on the bill this season, including Birdman, The Theory Of Everything, The Imitation Game and Selma.
Various venues, to 31 May
