Future Cinema
London

Fritz Lang's 1920s classic Metropolis has inspired many things over the years, but a club night has to be the most unexpected. The film itself will screen continuously throughout the evening, as Fabric is transformed into a futuristic setting with props, scenery and "interactive actors", plus live performances from the likes of Perico, Darryn Harkness and Voodoo Vaudeville.

It sounds like an interesting experience, although those familiar with the movie may not be able to fully relax - just in case those downtrodden workers rise up and spoil everything.

· Fabric, EC1, Thu 23

Encounters Short Film Festival
Bristol

The "Brief" has gone from the title from this long-running festival, but then there are over 200 films on show, so it's quite long. And there are fine mini epics here, like Hungarian director Balint Kenyeres' Before Dawn, which starts its 13-minute uninterrupted take by viewing a quiet wheat field before impressively orchestrating dozens of extras, trucks and even a helicopter until reaching a touching yet low-key climax. Other highlights include Osbert Parker's Film Noir, a brisk animated work that creates a narrative from the genre's iconography; Chris Shepherd's Silence Is Golden, which shows considerable visual flair in illustrating a troubled child's dreams; and schoolgirl comedy Love Lessons. As a further treat, animation company Aardman's first CGI movie Flushed Away gets a special preview, and you've got to love a film festival that boasts both Ken Russell and Bob The Builder as special guests.

· Watershed and Arnolfini, Tue 21 to Nov 26, www.encounters-festival.org.uk

German Film Festival
London

Most of the films in this season come already heavily laden with awards, so you know you're getting the cream of the crop. Gastronomic romantic comedy Eden has proven such a hit with audiences that they even convinced director Michael Hofman not to recut the film, even though he felt it a little overlong. Summer In Berlin is a broad survey of enduring love, while The Free Will tells the story of a newly freed rapist who doubts he can overcome his urges. A standout in the documentary strand is Ghost Fathers, which revisits the scandalous resignation of German chancellor Willy Brandt. The Rebels Without A Cause archive selection spotlights those daring East German directors who struggled to deliver cinematic messages of subversion whilst working for the state-run Defa studios.

· Curzon Soho, W1, Thu 23 to Nov 26, visit www.germanfilmfestival.co.uk