State Of The Art Cinema London
Vintage film posters are now the stuff of coffee-table books and bespoke galleries but the art has by no means been lost, even if we’re often in too much of a hurry to appreciate the billboards around us. So this exhibition, presented by the Film Distributors’ Association, gives you a chance to stop and look more carefully at some contemporary film posters. The emphasis is on current and near-future releases, such as Me And Earl And The Dying Girl, though there are vintage examples too. There’s also an interactive aspect to it: a free mobile app lets you access video content associated with the poster in front of you – even if it detracts from your careful appreciation of the typography. If that’s not enough, there are also competitions as well as a giant Lego model of a cinema.
Coningsby Gallery, W1, to Friday 7 August; Strand Gallery, WC2, Tuesday 11 to Friday 28 August
For Ever Amber Newcastle upon Tyne
The Amber collective made it their mission to document the lives of the working-class communities around them – a humble exercise that now seems remarkable, considering how few film-makers and photographers have done the same elsewhere, how slender Amber’s resources have been throughout their 47-year existence, and how much the landscape has changed in that time. Accompanying a photographic retrospective at the Laing Art Gallery, this selection of Amber’s documentaries and low-budget, locally cast dramas shows you aspects of north-eastern life that are now all but extinct: women’s darts in North Shields (in Dream On, playing this Sunday), harness racing in Durham, drift mining in 1970s Cumbria, Newcastle’s Byker neighbourhood, pre- and post-Byker Wall. Proof that there is – or at least was – such a thing as society.
Tyneside Cinema, Sunday 26 July to Wednesday 30 September amber-online.com
Cinesthesia: Walkabout + Live Score, London
It’s usually silent movies that get the live score treatment, but Walkabout is also a good choice. Firstly because it’s a masterpiece – the first of several Nicolas Roeg was to turn out in the 1970s – bringing together a couple of abandoned white kids (Jenny Agutter and Roeg’s son Luc) and an Indigenous Australian youth (David Gulpilil) in an outback that’s both hostile and beautiful. But also because the movie is a sparse, dreamlike experience, whose visuals are so powerful barely any dialogue is called for (the original screenplay was apparently just 14 pages long). That leaves plenty of space for Orchestra Elastique to fill.
Rich Mix, E1, Wednesday 29 July, richmix.org.uk
Tramlines, Sheffield
The festival season is in full swing, and this weekend sees Tramlines bring the Wu-Tang Clan, the Buzzcocks and Martha Reeves, among many others, to Sheffield. But for those who don’t fancy the rain/crowds/warm beer, there’s also a trio of seminal concert films. Today it’s Martin Scorsese’s The Last Waltz, documenting the Band’s 1976 farewell gig (with guests including Bob Dylan, Van Morrison and Joni Mitchell) followed by The Stones In The Park, capturing the band in 1969. Then tomorrow it’s Woodstock. Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, Crosby, Stills & Nash: you had to be there, and now you sort-of can.
Showroom Workstation, Saturday 25 & Sunday 26 July, showroomworkstation.org.uk
