Screening times:
Thursday, July 17, 6:30 PM - Carbon Arc 15th Birthday Screening!
Jane Giles & Ali Catterall | UK | 96m | 2023
featuring John Waters, Mary Harron, Jah Wobble, Ben Wheatley, and Kim Newman
Between the politically volatile years of 1978 and 1993, London’s most infamous repertory movie theater/pleasure dome screened over 4000 mind-warping films influencing a generation of remarkable writers, musicians, filmmakers, actors, artists and activists.
As the post-punk and new romantic music scenes took hold in the public consciousness, popular culture went through a sea change, and organized labour movements fought back against the draconian tenets of Thatcherism, the Scala Cinema offered new and alternative film to London's most colourful and creative denizens as well as providing a safe haven for members of the queer community.
Co-directors Jane Giles and Ali Catterall reveal the incredible true story of the Scala Cinema featuring rare archival footage, dozens of film clips from Scala favorites, and tales too incredible to be fiction from former Scala audience members, guests, and staff, some of whom have gone on to be filmmakers, actors, musicians, and writers.
For Carbon Arc Cinema's 15th birthday, we've chosen this documentary as a celebration of the power of independent cinema in a community.
"A nostalgic trip down the sticky corridor of offbeat and eccentric cinema in the heart of London from the late 1970s through the early 1990s, it will provide cinephiles with a thrilling reminder of how exhilarating the theatrical experience could be." - James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk
"It was a unique grindhouse slash alt-cinephile repertory house which inspired generations of filmmakers, artists and musicians, and its notional “club” status allowed it to show all sorts of outrageous and transgressive material: horror, sex, satire, drugs, vampires and bikers." - Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian (UK)
"It's a treat to see so much energy expended to recall a venue and a community that was unknown to most, but felt like the center of the universe to the merry few who were part of it." - Matt Zoller Seitz, RogerEbert.com
Tickets $12 ($11.40 cash at the door)
Price includes HST
