What's On

In these well-lubricated short films, water (or lack thereof) becomes a slippery conduit for queer intimacies, from stolen glances between laundry cycles to sweaty embraces amid a deadly drought. Across oceans, bathtubs, and bottles of mysterious yellow liquid, bodies of water big and small ignite fantasy and fear alike. Staying afloat in rough seas is no easy feat, but having a crush might just m...

As part of Hackney History Festival , CAZENOVE WARD STORIES brings together four short documentaries exploring community, memory and local change across Hackney. Spanning archives, oral histories and first-hand testimonies, the programme captures the people, places and organisations that have shaped life in and around Cazenove Ward across decades. The shorts, directed by Winstan Whitter and Nit...

Doc?n Roll presents the UK Premiere of PARADISE (PARA?SO), followed by a Q&A with director Daniel Mota and producers Jo?o Ervedosa and Maria Guedes. This exhilarating documentary dives into Portugal?s early 90s dance music explosion, with raves of epic proportions and a new sound which was then referred to as ?underground house music from a paradise called Portugal?. Deftly knitted together by ...

“Dear Mr Manley…” These words begin the hundreds of letters sent from the trenches of the First World War to Ralph Manley, the dedicated secretary of Stoke Newington’s Mildmay Club, then known as the Mildmay Radical Club & Institute. Discovered several years ago in the Club’s building, the letters were written by soldiers thanking Manley for the care parcels of cigarettes and chocolate he sent th...

A Rio Dalston Premiere Hackney History Festival presents EXPLODERS The story of the Exploding Galaxy 1967 - 1969 A film by Jill Drower Witness the moment when these flower child performance artists first hit Dalston Based on the book, The Exploding Galaxy: Performance Art, LSD and Bent Coppers in the Sixties Counterculture Who were the Exploding Galaxy? Were they.......

A moving new film commissioned by the Hackney Society to bring to life eleven women from Hackney's past whose stories are featured in our Women from Hackney’s History, books 1 and 2. Hackney-based filmmaker Barney Snow, worked with Nina Sprigge, the Tower Theatre and editor Sue Doe and filmed in many Hackney locations. Premiering on International Women’s Day, the film spans nearly three centuries,...

The untold story of Big Mama Thornton, the groundbreaking blueswoman whose voice launched legends, defied conventions, and carved her place in music history on her own uncompromising terms. Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton was a towering force in American music for over forty years. Born in rural Alabama, she defied gender norms with her imposing stature, masculine dress, and commanding stage pres...

Velcro Flats present a DAYTIME SHOW (1.30pm-5pm) at Dalston's beautiful Rio Cinema Wesley Gonzalez, Dana Gavanski & Clementine March DAYTIME SHOW 1.30pm - 5pm 1.30pm - Doors 2.15pm - 2.45pm - Clementine March 3.00pm - 3.30pm Dana Gavinski 3.45pm- 4.30pm Wesley Gonzalez? 5 pm - Close Wesley Gonzalez launches his new single 'Red Pilled and Based' at Dalston's Rio Cinema with a daytime performance ...

Responding to a world that seems evermore surreal, disastrous, and doomed by the day, the latest speculative feature from Ben Rivers immerses us into an unsettling natural terrain entirely devoid of adults. We follow a girl called Moon (an astonishing Moon Guo-Barker, then 9 years old), who adventures alone through the uncanny landscapes, encountering a turtle and other children along the way. The...

Hungama presents Cactus Pears Q&A with director, Rohan Kanawade, hosted by Hungama founder, Ryan Lanji. The internationally acclaimed, queer South Asian feature, Cactus Pears (Sabar Bonda) , written and directed by Rohan Parashuram Kanawade, made history at the Sundance Film Festival in 2025, becoming the first Indian fiction feature and the first Marathi-language film to win the World Cinema Dra...

RIO STAFF SELECTS MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE: LIFE ON THE MURDER SCENE (2006) As pioneers of emo rock and youth subculture My Chemical Romance embark on a worldwide tour, come and celebrate the return of 2006 at the Rio Cinema with a screening of the documentary MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE: LIFE ON THE MURDER SCENE. Screening Thursday 2nd July, 8:15, in the Rio’s screen one, this is a very rare opportunity to s...

For our June Classic Matinee, we dive into blockbuster history with JAWS, Steven Spielberg?s era-defining thriller that forever changed the summer movie season. When a shark attack rocks the seaside town of Amity Island, police chief Martin Brody wants to close the beaches, but local officials fear the loss of tourist income. Teaming up with marine biologist Matt Hooper and grizzled fisherman Q...

For our July Classic Matinee, we?re heading to Sheffield with THE FULL MONTY, the beloved British comedy that strips away pride, prejudice and plenty of inhibitions. After losing his job at the local steelworks, Gaz is desperate to raise money and prove himself to his young son. Inspired by the success of a touring male dance troupe, he recruits a group of fellow unemployed men to form their ow...

What is the value of art? Does it reside in personal expression? Cultural longevity? Financial worth? These questions fuel this gloriously entertaining comedy, directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Ed Solomon. A mainstay of the London art scene since his starry breakout in the creative explosion of the 1960’s, Julian Sklar ( Ian McKellen ) has drifted into a cluttered, self-imposed seclusi...

Pink Palace presents this iconic, rarely seen 80’s sci-fi counter-culture masterpiece, now fully restored. Based (loosely) on the writings of William S. Burroughs (Queer). "Information is like a bank. Our job is to rob the bank..." F.M. discovers that different sonic frequencies induce different patterns of behaviour in listeners, first in his own studio but later in the local “H-Burger” restaur...

Its Double Bill time with a pairing of two iconic rarely seen queer vintage underground titles, SEXTOOL directed by Fred Halstead and SPY ON THE FLY, produced by the Gay Girls Riding Club. SEXTOOL USA, 1975 57 mins Fred Halsted was a legend in his own time. His self-created public persona—that of the leather-clad sadist—instantly made him both feared and revered as one of the first openly gay se...

Pink Palace presents a new 4k restoration of this landmark of gay and bisexual cinema. David Buckley's excursion into bisexuality, 70s relationship politics, and the historical importance of gay bathhouse culture is celebrated in this 1975 film Saturday Night at the Baths. When struggling pianist Michael lands a job at the legendary Continental Baths in NYC, his wife Tracy encourages him, even em...

The Rio’s beloved and historic Saturday Morning Picture Club returns! Join us from 10.15am for craft activities, before the film screening at 11am! This month we’re diving into a witty and wonderfully crafted adventure with Wes Anderson’s FANTASTIC MR FOX. Before the screening, we will have arts and crafts activities in the lobby led by Sophie, who as well as being a member of the Rio team h...

The Rio’s beloved and historic Saturday Morning Picture Club returns! Join us from 10.15am for craft activities, before the film screening at 11am! This month we’re heading on a high-tech family adventure with SPY KIDS. Before the screening, we will have arts and crafts activities in the lobby led by Sophie, who as well as being a member of the Rio team has worked with children as a teacher,...

Almost twenty years after making their iconic turns as Miranda, Andy, Emily and Nigel—Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci return to the fashionable streets of New York City and the sleek offices of Runway Magazine in the eagerly awaited sequel to the 2006 phenomenon that defined a generation. The film reunites the original main cast with director David Frankel and writer Ali...

When a fishing boat, the Rose of Nevada , lost with all hands 30 years ago, mysteriously reappears in the old harbour of a forgotten Cornish village, for those who remember, it’s surely a sign. The boat must go out to sea again and maybe then the luck of the devastated village will turn. Young father Nick (George MacKay) needs a job to provide for his family and enigmatic newcomer Liam (Callum T...

One of the defining pieces of internet horror folklore of the last decade, BACKROOMS sees viral creator Kane Parsons expand his hugely influential found-footage nightmare into a feature film for A24 and producer James Wan, starring Renate Reinsve, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Mark Duplass. When a therapist’s patient vanishes through a mysterious doorway hidden beneath a furniture showroom, she follows ...

RIO FOREVER: DIONNE EDWARDS PRESENTS BOUND ON 35MM With its scorching soundtrack and astounding performances - particularly from X-Factor star Alexandra Burke - writer-director Dionne Edwards’s Pretty Red Dress is one of the most confident and impressive British feature debuts of the decade so far. As part of our ongoing Rio Forever celebrations, we’re thrilled to invite Dionne to introduce a 35mm...

The story centers on Maciek Chelmicki, a young resistance fighter tasked with eliminating a high-ranking communist official. After a fatal error causes innocent people to die, he is forced to confront both the consequences of his actions and the need to attempt the mission again. During this time, he becomes emotionally involved with Krystyna, a bartender at the Hotel Monopol. Their connection awa...

RIO FOREVER: APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR WITH DESIREE AKHAVAN AND CORRINA ANTROBUS One of the most vital and entertaining queer films of the century so far, writer-director-actor Desiree Akhavan’s 2014 debut Appropriate Behaviour screens as part of our ongoing Rio Forever celebrations - and we’re thrilled to welcome Akhavan to the Rio to discuss the film in person. Inspired by events from her own life...

SISTERS X ALMOST DEAD Brothers sisters and siblings alike, twins or not come along and celebrate GEMINI SEASON, a late night double bill of SISTERS X ALMOST DEAD. Presented by horror film club Category H as part of their season Rio Forever/Never Ever, this screening takes place Friday the 12th of June, 23:30-late. First up Brian DePalma's iconic SISTERS (1972). After a reporter witnesses a murd...

The Varda Film Club are happy to announce an extra special screening of Faces, Places featuring a guest appearance by Rosalie Varda, Agnès Varda’s daughter. Agnès Varda teams up with artist and photographer JR to tour rural France, photographing the people they connect with along the way, and creating large-scale murals of their new friends, leaving a lasting impression on them and their communit...

The Varda Film Club are happy to announce an extra special screening of THE BEACHES OF AGNÉS featuring a guest appearance by Rosalie Varda, Agnès Varda’s daughter. Revisiting the beaches from her earlier life, Agnès Varda relives and narrates her life and career through a mirage of imagery and experimentation, utilising her playful approach to explore and appreciate the beauty of film with a joie...

Neurospicy Is Back! Prepare to watch amazing brand new short films created by up and coming neurodivergent talent. Featuring Award Winning Short Film 'Meat Puppet' starring BAFTA Winning David Jonsson and many other great shorts! There will also be Q&A with some exciting industry guests Brick & Parvinder Shergill. Get ready to be inspired, moved, and entertained by the unique perspectives showcas...

Loosely-based on Shakespeare's Henry IV, Gus Van Saint’s 1991 movie is a queer classic featuring River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves as a pair of gay hustlers who travel from grungy Portland, Oregon to Italy on a journey of sex, drugs and self-discovery. Screening as part of SLACKER SHAKESPEARE, a season of 1990s indie cult movie classics, inspired by the world of William Shakespeare. These events are...

Baz Luhrmann’s gloriously over the top modern day adaptation of Shakespeare’s greatest romantic tragedy, reimagined the feuding Montague and Capulets as rival street gangs in Veracruz. With Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes as the star-crossed lovers and a soundtrack featuring Garbage and The Cardigans, it remains one of the liveliest takes on the classic ever made. Screening as part of SLACKER ...

Queer Horror Nights celebrates the 40th Anniversary of the much-loved cult movie musical LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS with a special midnight screening of the radical 2012 Director’s Cut. Join us for an outrageous night of queer monstrosity featuring a passionate intro by film fanatic Token Homo (BAR TRASH), live commentary by cult icon Loose Willis (FIST CLUB), lip-synch by the incredible Miss Terri Bo...

BLOOD X BONES As part of Category H’s late night season Rio Forever/Rio Never Ever, you are invited to an evening of BLOOD and BONES. On Friday the 17th of July at 23:30, see two films which explore the house as a place of horror. Where strange inhabitants commit unspeakable deeds or where past inhabitants can’t quite seem to put their bad habits to rest, even from beyond the grave. BLOOD (1973)...

This fast-moving rom com set in London in 1593 follows the trials and tribulations of Will Shakespeare, a struggling young playwright, suffering from a dreadful bout of writer’s block. Inspired by new love, his creative powers are unleashed as his great love story, Romeo and Juliet is brought to life for the first time. Screening as part of SLACKER SHAKESPEARE, a season of 1990s indie cult movie ...