There are few more striking spots to catch a movie than the iconic surrounds of the Barbican Sculpture Court. As usual, the City of London’s temple of the arts has an inventively curated line-up in store in late August and early September. Cineastes can bask in the surrealist magic of Ingmar Bergman’s ‘Wild Strawberries’, while music lovers have a rare outdoor screening of Prince’s legendary concert doc, ‘Sign O’ the Times’, to look forward to. Tickets are £18 and there’s street food to feast on while admiring His Purpleness’s moves, including Toum & Tahini’s legendary fattah.
Summer is here – honestly, it is – and with it the return of London’s thriving and fun outdoor cinema scene. After a brief lockdown flirtation with drive-in cinema, during which we all discovered that windscreen wipers are the sworn enemy of movie-watching, this year has an old-school feel to it: cosy blankets; tasty snacks; cocktails, if that’s your thing; headphones; and scenic spots around the city at which an array of big screens will be popping up and entertaining us with crowd-pleasing movies.
Because outdoor screenings aren’t usually the time to dig into arthouse curios and improving documentaries. Rewatching is often the order of the day, and this year it’s all about enshrining ‘Barbie’ into the outdoor cinema canon, alongside the likes of ‘La La Land’, ‘Notting Hill’ and other surefire favourites on London-wide screens. Here’s all the moonlit options for the next few months.
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