The Barbican’s holding a week-long festival of cinema this summer.
We’re calling it The Barbi-Cannes. (To be clear, no one else is).
And much like at the film festival in the South of France, we’re sure that you’ll be able to experience that balmy riviera climate at The Barbi-Cannes, too… because A) They’re going to be screening everything outdoors, and B) We’re unrelenting optimists around here…. except when things are going badly. Which is always.
Anyhoo it’s taking place towards the end of August, and – should the Weather Gods smile upon us, which they will – the Barbican will be setting up the pop up cinema in their atmospheric Sculpture Court, against a backdrop of the City skyline and the arts complex’s iconic brutalist buildings.
As you’d expect from the Barbican, however – and this is the best bit about the whole thing – the film roster is showing something a little different to your typical outdoor cinema line-up of Dirty Dancing and Encanto singalongs (there is a time and place for that, though… and those times and places are here). No, here the week starts off with a screening of Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii, a classic concert film about a classic concert which took place in the ruins of an ancient Roman amphitheatre, following on with ’60s Japanese creature feature Mothra, as well as flicks like Daughters of the Dust (a “magic realist, non-linear drama, that incorporates lush visuals courtesy of celebrated cinematographer and artist Arthur Jafa”), as well as the stunning French animation La Planète Sauvage (Fantastic Planet), and the Studio Ghibli masterpiece Princess Mononoke from Hayao Miyazaki.
They’ll be keeping the conservatory open late all week, where you can grab drinks and snacks to go with the film – but you are encouraged to BYOB (bring your own blanket). They have, however, explicitly stated that pet pigs and ferrets will not be admitted….
So you can give Ferrets Bueller a day off.
NOTE: The Barbican Outdoor Cinema runs between —. Tickets cost £18, and can be booked right HERE. Please note that seating is unallocated, so you may want to get there early.
Barbican Outdoor Cinema | Barbican Centre, Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS
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Carpe Diem!