What's On / Bristol Concerts, Theatre & Dance / cinema

Cinema & Independent Film in Bristol

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Bristol's Cinema Scene

Headfirst aims to cover all the events that make this city special and so we’re really pleased that this also includes cinema. We consider the The Cube cinema an essential asset to Bristol, a venue with ethics and enthusiasm to match its innovative programming. Over the past few years we have seen this volunteer driven ‘microplex’ provide a launchpad for emerging Bristol artists, ranging from filmmakers and performance artists to theatres shows and alternative musicians. Less experimental but equally as prolific, The Watershed hosts discussions and independent film festivals alongside its world cinema programming.

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Our recent cinema recommendations

A kinetic exorcism of working-class identity and masculine performance, Oona Doherty’s 'Hope Hunt and the Ascension Into Lazarus' is a mutating pastiche of regional archetypes. Best known for 'Hard to Be Soft', an electrifying portrait of her hometown Belfast, the Northern Irish dancer-choreographer’s chameleonic blend of comedy, swagger and grace is unmissable. Hope Hunt and the Ascension into Lazarus at The Mount Without.

Sell out warning! Omar El Akkad’s new book takes aim at the West’s moral hypocrisy around the genocide in Gaza, asking why it’s so easy to condemn atrocities once they’re safely in the past, but so hard to act while they’re happening. He joins us in person for an urgent discussion on complicity and what it means to witness injustice without becoming numb to it. One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This with Omar El Akkad at The Station.

Trinity Gardens transforms into an outdoor circus extravaganza with 6 women performing daring tightrope feats amongst the foliage, interweaving physical theatre and spoken word tales of female empowerment from troupes-gone-by. Daughters of the Wire have assembled a dazzling and inspiring show with real heart for all the family. ElevateHer // Daughters of the Wire at The Trinity Centre.

How can millions of Israelis justify their role in the occupation and ongoing genocide? Writer and Palestinian rights activist Avigail Abarbanel offers vital perspective on the internal workings of Zionism, drawing on her own moral awakening growing up in Israel, she surveys the psychology of denial, guilt and the weaponisation of Jewish identity by the settler-colonial state. Israel and the Social Psychology of Indoctrination at Malcolm X Community Centre.

What our editors say

“* Selected films from the International Poetry Film Competition and the Audience Award. * Workshop. * Talk - taking poetry film beyond the screen. * Exclusive interview with BAFTA award screenwriter and poet Dean Atta, plus screening of Two Black Boys in Paradise. * Plenty of time for discussions and chat and to enjoy the harbour. Full programme and times will be available soon.”
From: Poetry Film Festival

“'Who the hell was Baby Jane Hudson?' Join us and our friends at Reel Life Monsters for a 65th Anniversary screening of "hagsploitation" horror classic, 'What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?,' starring Hollywood legends, Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Taking place at the Bristol Improv Theatre, we'll be following the screening with a panel discussion on the film's legendary status. Panel guests include Reel Life Monsters' Sal Creber, and esteemed Bristol-based film academics, Kathrina Glitre and Lies Lanckman.”
From: What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? 12 7.30pm

“Join us for an evening of short films exploring consent, sparking a much-needed conversation around the theme. We’ve done our best to select films that aren’t overly triggering or graphic. However, some of the films do contain sensitive themes, so please be mindful that trigger warnings apply. This event is not only a way for fantastic filmmakers to showcase their work, it is also a fundraiser for a short film about consent we're working on. Written and directed by Daisy Rigden, produced by Normal Girl Productions.”
From: Safety & Consent: A consent themed short film screening

“Naked Eye Collective and Dr Kino's Kinema Klub present a long overdue screening of Fabian Bielinsky's conman comedy crime caper. Regularly featuring in lists of Argentina’s greatest films, Nine Queens / Nueve Reinas (2000) is a twisty, turny comedy conman thriller. Operating simultaneously as a hugely enjoyable crime caper alongside deeper social, political and economic commentary on Argentina itself the film boasts superb performances by Ricardo Darin and Gaston Pauls, and has more than a few twists that you (probably) won’t see coming, Crackling with life and littered with 'ah-ha!' moments, this film will stay with you and in your memory for a long time after....”
From: Nine Queens screening

“"IN A NAMELESS CITY DELUGED BY CONTINUOUS RAIN.. THREE RABBITS LIVE WITH A FEARFUL MYSTERY" THIRD ORGAN presents LYNCH'S STRANGE 7-EPISODE ANTI-SITCOM FEATURING THREE RABBITS IN A LIVING ROOM. with A SPECIAL INTRODUCTION. RABBITS / 2002 / DAVID LYNCH / UNITED STATES / TV / 40 min SCREENING AT ILL REPUTE'S BASEMENT / 8PM / FREE ENTRY - Third Organ Collective screens formalistically odd and experimental films with unusual introductions, classics of avant-garde / structuralist / surrealist film, at times paired with live improvisation or other multidisciplinary and experimental methods of screening / spectating. https://thirdcollective.org”
From: RABBITS DAVID LYNCH + ANTHROPOMORPHIC INTRODUCTION