Hackney Children's Film Fest

Dramaan Drameh is a respected, convivial shopkeeper in the tiny village of Colobane. When a forgotten act of cruelty committed thirty years in his past comes back to haunt him, the young girl he impregnated and abandoned returns seeking revenge. This screening will feature an introduction. HYENAS is shown in Wolof, Japanese and French with English subtitles.

X-rated on release in 1976, Derek Jarman's first film caused controversy for its erotic nature and having all the dialogue in Latin. Banished by the Roman Emperor for Christian sympathies the future martyr and saint undergoes further spiritual and bodily suffering. Long langarous shots of male nudity should not disguise serious themes of conscience, compassion and desire, both spiritual and sexual...

To celebrate the launch of new satirical haunted house novel THE CRACKS, join genre fiction leaders Titan Books and Hackney-based author T.H. Huddleston for a screening of the original (and best) hook-handed horror classic. Just don't say his name five times... A visually sumptuous and texturally rich urban-Gothic slasher fantasy from British director Bernard Rose ( Paperhouse, ivansxtc ), CANDYM...

The ritual is in place, the village has assembled, an old god emerges from a hole in the ground, the JPEG stutters, they all turn at once, towards you, on the other side of the screen. We’re gathered here today to experience the echoes of oral traditions through the lens of the internet's own horrific folklore, the Chinese whispers persisting in the digital imaginations of a web culture that must...

The winds of change blow through an ordinary Tokyo family as they grapple with unemployment, alienation, mistrust and a growing lack of communication. When salaryman Ryuhei unexpectedly loses his job to outsourcing, he decides to conceal the truth from his family and continues leaving home every morning as though nothing has happened. Meanwhile, his youngest son secretly takes piano lessons agains...

A young student, Flea (Sophie Jenkin), discovers the 1942 Beveridge Report and its comprehensive vision for a better society. Her fantastical journey takes her amongst Beveridge's Five Giants - Want, Disease, Squalor, Idleness and Ignorance - and through politicians, ineffective policies and missed opportunities across more than eight decades to the present day. With Simon Callow as Beveridge a...

Nigeria, 1993: Kid brothers Remi (Chibuike Marvelous Egbo) and Akin (Godwin Chimerie Egbo) get to spend an unexpected gift of a day with their estranged father Folarin (Sope Dirisu). Together, they voyage into Lagos for the first time, the boys taking in both the colossal city and the hoops Folarin must go through to get them there. Marking the feature debut of British-Nigerian filmmaker Akinola ...

40 Years of Fuckin' Up is Spinal Tap, but real. It's a film about the infamous, fairly un-famous, and beloved punk rock band NOFX. This is the unbelievable story about how a group of untalented drug-addled teenage punks somehow became the most successful independent band in history. And they did it haphazardly all on their own.

The Best Summer plunges audiences into the 1995 Summersault tour, as Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth, Foo Fighters, Pavement, Rancid, The Amps and Bikini Kill travel across Australia and Southeast Asia. Shot entirely on Tamra Davis’s handheld camera, the film captures explosive performances alongside candid backstage encounters, tour-bus chaos and fleeting friendships. Rediscovered nearly 30 years lat...

Conjure the spirit of indie-rock icon Jason Molina (1973-2013) with Ohio insiders who illuminate the truth about his coming of age on Lake Erie, escaping artless steel town indifference, and manifesting the legendary band, Songs: Ohia, as they celebrate contradictions that tether Jason’s raunchy humor, propensity to lie, refusal to interpret lyrics, and untimely death into a haunting legacy unconf...

This year’s Doc'n Roll FF shorts programme is united by a distinctly punk ethos, not a genre, but an attitude. From London’s underground rap and hardcore scenes to Black musicians making noise in Texas, resistance on the dancefloor and the cultural battles around gangster rap, these five films celebrate artists and outsiders who challenge the status quo, create their own spaces and refuse to be s...

King of Them All chronicles the underdog label that launched James Brown and transformed American music. Founded by Syd Nathan in the 1940s, King Records pioneered an “all under one roof” operation, recording, pressing and shipping groundbreaking music at remarkable speed. Rare archival recordings and evocative imagery bring its story to life, from Little Willie John and Hank Ballard to the Stanl...

More than an archbishop, Desmond Tutu was a moral force whose courage, compassion and unwavering belief in justice helped transform South Africa and inspired the world. Drawing on previously unseen archive footage and intimate first-hand accounts, Sam Pollard’s powerful documentary reveals the man behind the global icon. Tracing Tutu’s extraordinary journey from outspoken opponent of apartheid to ...

Beneath Brighton’s waves, a punk revolution erupted. The Piranhas, The Depressions and Peter & The Test Tube Babies turned humour, mischief and music into a fiercely communal movement, centred around The Vault - an underground burial crypt transformed into a legendary gig venue. Told through 15 years of interviews, performances and animation, Punk Brighton captures a scene that confronted fascism,...

In southwestern Nigeria in the 1990s, sisters Ade and Titi Ajayi live under the shadow of their late father, their lives shaped by very different ideas of duty, faith and freedom. Ade, a devout Christian and the family’s breadwinner, struggles to understand Titi, her younger sister and an aspiring singer determined to forge her own path. When their ailing mother comes to live with them, old wound...

Two young women leave their native Morocco to work a season picking strawberries in southern Spain. Promised fair pay, they dream of a better future for themselves and their families. The bond they form with other female workers helps them endure harsh conditions until abuse and harassment shatter their hopes. Supported by a Spanish lawyer, they must decide whether to speak out against a powerful ...

The ultimate Halloween thrill ride, QUEER HORROR NIGHTS returns to the Rio with our spectacular midnight sing-along screening of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) featuring a live Shadow Cabaret Cast performing in front of the film. A “phenomenal night” of "pure chaotic queer joy”, our shadow cast of kings, queens, and things from London's queer cabaret scene gives THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHO...

DAO weaves together two ceremonies marking one family’s journey through love and loss. In the French countryside, Gloria marries off her daughter Nour; in Guinea-Bissau, she honours her late father, welcomed among the ancestors. Blending documentary and fiction, with the cast playing tender, unguarded versions of themselves, Alain Gomis explores the threads of migration, memory and legacy that con...

NEVER WATCHING MOVIES presents Smoke Signals (1998), the first feature film written, directed and produced by an all Native American filmmaking crew (going on to win the audience award and filmmaker trophy at Sundance 1998). The film follows childhood friends Victor and Thomas as they travel off their reservation for the first time following the news of Victor's father's passing.

Mitsuha and Taki are total strangers living completely different lives. But when Mitsuha makes a wish to leave her mountain town for the bustling city of Tokyo, they become connected in a bizarre way. She dreams she is a boy living in Tokyo, while Taki dreams he is a girl from a rural town he has never visited. What does their newfound connection mean? And how will it bring them together? YOUR NA...

London Palestine Film Festival 2026 honours Mohammad Bakri (1953–2025), the Palestinian actor and filmmaker who helped shape Palestinian cinema and theatre for over half a century. A familiar presence throughout LPFF’s history, Bakri’s legacy lives on through this dedicated tribute featuring three of his works spanning two decades, from his return to Jenin (Janin, Jenin, 2024) to reflections on...

Edward Said takes us through a life lived between worlds: Jerusalem and New York, exile and belonging. His voice and rare archives reveal the man behind the public intellectual. Twenty years after his death, the Palestinian-American scholar recounts his life in his own words. Drawing on unseen family home movies and recordings, the film spans seven decades, tracing his political awakening and sear...

Returning from America in 2003 to his West Bank village, Nasser Abufarha, son of a watermelon farmer, finds farmers abandoning ancient olive groves. He builds a movement to protect their land, preserving the ecosystem and centuries of ecological knowledge. Facing threats from global agribusiness, middlemen and expanding settlements, Land of Canaan reveals the farmers’ deep connection to place, fo...

The smell of doughnuts and candyfloss, vomiting on the waltzers and rides that probably haven’t passed any kind of safety test - don’t we all have fond memories of the fun fair? At Category H Film Club, we’re bringing the terror of the fairground Rio’s screen two with a late night double bill of MALATESTA’S CARNIVAL OF BLOOD + FINAL DESTINATION 3, as we enjoy A Night At The Funfair. Malatesta’s C...

After experiencing our horrors through the silver screen they’ve graciously offered to visit in person for a heretical multimedia rave experience. The bog witches and poltergeists, old gods and jinn, eldritch and uncanny alike, will descend upon the Rio Cinema for a manifestation of love only their digital terrors could inflict <3 Expect live acts ranging from dark folk to trip-hop infused black ...

A filmmaker gets more than he bargained for when his girlfriend is part of starting a controversial protest movement: Just Stop Oil. ‘We, The Hated’ tells the inside story of how everyday concerned citizens hatch a contentious plan of civil disobedience to wake the country up to the climate emergency. And what the government does to shut them down. The screening will be followed by a Q&A. http:/...

Velcro Flats Presents Sunday 6th December 12.30pm-6pm DAYTIME SHOW £17.50 Waged £12.50 Unwaged Tickets Available On DICE APP POZI Pozi are a South London trio - Toby Burroughs (drums/vocals), Rosa Brook (violin/vocals) and Frank Lindsay (bass/vocals) - making bittersweet, propulsive weird pop that strips away guitars in favour of churning violin, tightly wound bass and urgent, tumbling rhythms. E...

High school freshman Hodaka Morishima leaves his isolated island home and moves to Tokyo, but quickly finds himself in financial trouble. Living his days in isolation, he eventually lands a job writing for a shady occult magazine. Then one day, Hodaka meets Hina Amano, a bright and strong-willed young girl who possesses a strange and wonderful ability: the power to stop the rain and clear the sky....

For our October Classic Matinee, and to mark Black History Month, we celebrate the Queen of Soul with AMAZING GRACE , the extraordinary concert film capturing Aretha Franklin at the height of her powers. Filmed over two nights at Los Angeles’ New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in 1972, Franklin joins Reverend James Cleveland and the Southern California Community Choir to record what would become...

For our November Classic Matinee, taking place the day after Diwali, we celebrate Indian cinema with Ritesh Batra’s beautifully observed and bittersweet THE LUNCHBOX . Lonely housewife Ila prepares a special lunch for her neglectful husband, only for Mumbai’s famously efficient lunchbox delivery system to mistakenly deliver it to Saajan, an irritable widower approaching retirement. When Ila discov...

Set in an English boarding school, Extra Geography follows two teenage girls as they grapple with all the challenges of girlhood: friendship, boys, studies, growing up and their summer project, "to fall in love". “Extra Geography joins the ranks of instant greats like “Lady Bird,” “Booksmart” and “Frances Ha.” VARIETY “Both painfully funny and a punch in the gut” THE GUARDIAN Our Carers and Bab...

A companion piece to the hit film The Social Network, Sorkin’s original screenplay is based on the events that gave rise to the Wall Street Journal’s shocking exposé The Facebook Files. The film is inspired by the true story of how Frances Haugen (Madison), a young Facebook engineer, enlists the help of Jeff Horwitz (White), a Wall Street Journal reporter, to go on a dangerous journey that ends up...

Pink Palace presents the winner of the Palme D'Or Award at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. This controversial film by Gus van Sant (My Own Private Idaho, Drugstore Cowboy) portrays two days in the life of a suburban American high school as it tips from mundane normality into chilling violence. Semi-improvised, using unknown teenagers rather than professional actors, the film adopts a fly-on-the-wa...

Ban this perverted filth! Was the headline when David Cronenberg adapted J.G. Ballard’s classic underground novel in 1996, and Westminster Council banned it from screening in central London, even though the film had been given an 18 cert from the BBFC. This is deeply unsettling psychological cinema, the story follows a group of people who’s lives intersect as they find sexual arousal in car crash...

A much requested repeat from earlier this year that a lot of you missed out on, Pink Palace presents a loving tribute to the multifaceted careers of underground filmmaking legends and gay twin brothers George and Mark Kuchar (SINS OF THE FLESHOPOIDS, HOLD ME WHILE I'M NAKED). Exploring their vast bodies of work and assessing their legacies, the brothers and their collaborators give an invaluable p...

Pink Palace presents this operatic anthology of ten shorts films by ten directors interpreting their favourite aria’s which become the soundtrack to their segments. Rarely screened and largely forgotten about this cinematic gem features grand costumed dramas, gritty urban thrillers, outlandish fantasy scenarios and heartbreaking love stories set to some of the greatest opera arias. Come and feast ...

Pink Palace and Lobotomy Room (devoted to Bad Movies for Bad People) present this tough as nails gritty thriller from the mean streets of sixties New York. We invite you to take a walk on the wild side with this boundary-pushing and ultra-tawdry 1965 exploitation b-movie. Hip, independent and modern, Norah Dain (Juliet Prowse) is living her best 1960s “youthquake” life. She even DJs at an upscale...

A companion piece to the hit film The Social Network, Sorkin’s original screenplay is based on the events that gave rise to the Wall Street Journal’s shocking exposé The Facebook Files. The film is inspired by the true story of how Frances Haugen (Madison), a young Facebook engineer, enlists the help of Jeff Horwitz (White), a Wall Street Journal reporter, to go on a dangerous journey that ends up...

In the remote South Korean village of Hope Harbor, police chief Bum-seok (Hwang Jung- min) and officer Sung-ae (Hoyeon) are called to find a mysterious creature that has wreaked havoc on the village. In the nearby forest, a coterie of hunters, including Sung- ki (Zo In-Sung) set out to track the beast and find themselves hunted instead. But all is not as it seems, and perceptions can be misleading...

Set in an English boarding school, EXTRA GEOGRAPHY follows two teenage girls as they grapple with all the challenges of girlhood: friendship, boys, studies, growing up and their summer project, "to fall in love". “Extra Geography joins the ranks of instant greats like “Lady Bird,” “Booksmart” and “Frances Ha.” VARIETY “Both painfully funny and a punch in the gut” THE GUARDIAN

"We made this film out of a sense of obligation to use our position as Israelis to examine the systems behind the mass killing of Palestinian civilians for which our country is responsible. While filming over the past three years, we found ourselves asking the question that was asked by our grandparents’ generation and throughout the 20th century: how does one group of people allow the total dehum...

At the height of the Cold War, the writer Thomas Mann and his daughter—actress, writer, and rally driver—Erika embark on a road trip in a black Buick cruiser across a divided Germany in ruins, traveling from the Allied-occupied city of Frankfurt to Soviet-controlled Weimar.

As part of our ongoing Rio Forever celebrations marking the 50 th anniversary of the cinema, we’re over the moon to welcome local resident, film enthusiast and one of the world’s finest living actors, Ben Whishaw, to introduce one of his own favourite films: Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang’s tender tribute to cinema spaces, GOODBYE, DRAGON INN (2003). In a crumbling movie house in downtown T...

As part of our anniversary celebrations, we take a detour into the Rio’s saucy 1970’s years as the Dalston Tatler, one of London’s highest grossing porn cinema clubs with an uncensored grindhouse programme and a full burlesque striptease extravaganza stage show. We delve into the lurid stories and legends of this era with a fully illustrated talk packed with scandalous details, and an overview of...

Featuring an all-star cast of multiplatinum rap artists and the visual wizardry of one of the most innovative directors of our generation, BELLY is a dark, poignant urban thriller starring Earl Simmons, aka DMX, as Tommy Brown, an ambitious upstart street hustler on a desperate quest for money, power and respect. Nasir Jones, aka Nas, is Sincere, his best friend who is equally determined to turn h...

Legendary reggae artists play themselves in this exuberant tale of struggle and triumph. Leroy (Horsemouth) Wallace and Richard (Dirty Harry) Hall recruit a Robin-Hood band of friends to get even with some oppressive mafia types. The cast includes Burning Spear, Jacob Miller, Gregory Isaacs, Kiddus I, Dillinger, Leroy Smart, Jah Youth, The Mighty Diamonds and others. The Jam-packed soundtrack feat...

Ever wondered what it's like working in the UK's longest running cinema? Join Never Watching Movies for a special Rio Forever screening of EMPIRE RECORDS (1995) + Q&A! Follow the story of Empire records, the coolest music store in town. After one of the employees blows the store's cash, the team faces the threat of becoming a conglomerate. The young adults running the store come together to try t...

Warm up your vocal chord for the October edition of Category H’s Rio Forever/Rio Never Ever season screening, we are bringing you Musical Madness with a late night of horror musicals THE LURE X PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE. Screening for this Halloween season on the 23rd of October, and join us at 23:30 for two horror musicals which push genre boundaries to wild, camp, extremes. THE LURE begins our ev...

Hackney Children’s Film Festival | Sat 24 - Sat 31 October Tickets £5 or £3 with a Hackney Library Card A Rio Cinema Project The kids have waited long enough! This October half term, the Rio brings Hackney its first ever Children's Film Festival, with a lively and enchanting film programme curated especially for young audiences. THE WILD ROBOT (U) All ages Join the journey of a robot—ROZZUM un...

Hackney Children’s Film Festival | Sat 24 - Sat 31 October Tickets £5 or £3 with a Hackney Library Card A Rio Cinema Project The kids have waited long enough! This October half term, the Rio brings Hackney its first ever Children's Film Festival, with a lively and enchanting film programme curated especially for young audiences. Age 8+ Join our host Conor Dev-Powel for an showcase of animated a...

Hackney Children’s Film Festival | Sat 24 - Sat 31 October Tickets £5 or £3 with a Hackney Library Card A Rio Cinema Project The kids have waited long enough! This October half term, the Rio brings Hackney its first ever Children's Film Festival, with a lively and enchanting film programme curated especially for young audiences. PADDINGTON + STORYTIME AND TEDDY BEAR’S PICNIC (PG) All ages Afte...

A fourth-grader, Aoyama-kun, investigates the mysterious reason behind the sudden appearance of penguins in his village, which is somehow related to a power from a young woman working at a dental clinic. This screening is presented by our friends at Japanese Film Club! Sayumi’s famous cookies will be available at the Rio cafe while they last! PENGUIN HIGHWAY is shown in dubbed English. Festival...

Hackney Children’s Film Festival | Sat 24 - Sat 31 October Tickets £5 or £3 with a Hackney Library Card A Rio Cinema Project The kids have waited long enough! This October half term, the Rio brings Hackney its first ever Children's Film Festival, with a lively and enchanting film programme curated especially for young audiences. FILM AFRICA: CROCODILE Age 8+ In Kaduna, Nigeria, a group of kids ...

Hackney Children’s Film Festival | Sat 24 - Sat 31 October Tickets £5 or £3 with a Hackney Library Card A Rio Cinema Project The kids have waited long enough! This October half term, the Rio brings Hackney its first ever Children's Film Festival, with a lively and enchanting film programme curated especially for young audiences. TRINIDAD & TOBAGO FILM FESTIVAL: BIG STORIES FOR LITTLE ONES (U) A...

Hackney Children’s Film Festival | Sat 24 - Sat 31 October Tickets £5 or £3 with a Hackney Library Card A Rio Cinema Project The kids have waited long enough! This October half term, the Rio brings Hackney its first ever Children's Film Festival, with a lively and enchanting film programme curated especially for young audiences. THE LURE OF PONIES: A SPELLBOUND ATTIC MYSTERY (advisory cert PG)...

Hackney Children’s Film Festival | Sat 24 - Sat 31 October Tickets £5 or £3 with a Hackney Library Card A Rio Cinema Project The kids have waited long enough! This October half term, the Rio brings Hackney its first ever Children's Film Festival, with a lively and enchanting film programme curated especially for young audiences. MAYA, GIVE ME A TITLE! (U) 1 hour 1 min All ages Maya and her dad l...

Hackney Children’s Film Festival | Sat 24 - Sat 31 October Tickets £5 or £3 with a Hackney Library Card A Rio Cinema Project The kids have waited long enough! This October half term, the Rio brings Hackney its first ever Children's Film Festival, with a lively and enchanting film programme curated especially for young audiences. THE LITTLE VAMPIRE (U) plus Rio SMPC Costume Parade All ages After...