various cinemas

Doc’n Roll Film Festival shines a spotlight on some of the movers and shakers who’ve lit up the music world with intriguing and eclectic sounds. This year, the programme covers a wealth of genres and scenes, and takes over the capital’s cinema staples like the Barbican, BFI Southbank, Dalston's Rio and more. Some screenings come accompanied by Q&As with the artists documented and/or filmmakers, or live performances.  The fest kicks off with I Was a Teenage Sex Pistol, punk legend Glen Matlock’s cinematic memoir. The subversive mood continues with How Tanita Tikaram Became A Liar, an anti-documentary directed by filmmaker Natacha Horn, who is also this maverick music icon's wife. Rockers Don't Stop plunges us into the world of 1980s dance pioneers, Not Indian Enough is an exploration of King Khan's roots in indigenous Canada and the devastating impacts of colonialism, and Boy George & Culture Club is a new look back at a storied London scene. 

A month-long feast of contemporary Czech cinema, the Made in Prague Festival is back for its 29th edition with a thrilling selection of high-calibre dramas, comedies, docs and family films, hosted by venues including BFI IMAX, BFI Player, ICA, Regent Street Cinema, The Garden Cinema. This fest opens with the UK premiere of Jiří Mádl’s historical drama Waves, an intriguing-sounding drama about the journalists who risked everything to keep broadcasting during the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, followed by a Q&A with its director and lead actress. It'll also include Zuzana Kirchnerová’s feature directorial debut Caravan, a portrait of a mother and her disabled son which was warmly recieved at Cannes. Browse the full line-up for more.

Featuring nearly thirty feature films, shorts and documentaries reflecting on Palestinian history and sharing the experiences of Palestinian people in their homeland and around the world, the London Palestine Film Festival returns to some of the capital’s biggest screens over two weeks this November with its biggest programme yet.  The festival opens with Kaouther Ben Hania’s critically acclaimed The Voice of Hind Rajab, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Venice Film Festival earlie in the year. A truly harrowing account of the final hours of six-year-old Gaza resident killed by Israeli troops along with six family members and two ambulance workers during the bombardment of Gaza City in January 2024, the harrowing film uses real recordings of phonecalls made to Palestinian Red Crescent by the child and her 15-year-old cousin while being shot at from inside a car. Other highlights include The Mission, an unflinching documentary following acclaimed British-Iraqi surgeon Dr. Mohammed Tahir on his third humanitarian mission to Gaza, Annemarie Jacir’s much-praised historical drama Palestine 36, and the UK premiere of the Nasser Brothers’ crime drama Once Upon a Time in Gaza.  Screenings take place across the Barbican, the ICA, Genesis, The Garden Cinema, London branches of Curzon, Sands Film Studio and Riverside Studios. Check out the full programme here.