Small screens, massive impact. See what the next generation of storytellers have to offer at the first annual Queen Mary Short Film Festival.

A man trapped in an endless sterile subway passageway sets out to find Exit 8. The rules of his quest are simple: do not overlook anything out of the ordinary. If you discover an anomaly, turn back immediately. If you don’t, carry on. Then leave from Exit 8. But even a single oversight will send him back to the beginning. Will he ever reach his goal and escape this infinite corridor?

A biopic exploring the life of Michael Jackson, from his Jackson 5 beginnings and extraordinary talent to his status as the biggest entertainer, promising an honest look at his triumphs, struggles, and iconic performances, starring his nephew Jaafar Jackson as Michael, with Colman Domingo & Nia Long as his parents, directed by Antoine Fuqua.

Long-buried wounds rise to the surface when iconic pop star Mother Mary reunites with her estranged best friend and former costume designer Sam Anselm on the eve of her comeback performance.

Science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of the mysterious substance causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction… but an unexpected friendship means he may not have to do it alone.

When a fishing boat, the Rose Of Nevada, lost with all hands thirty 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 needs a job to provide for his family and enigmatic newcomer Liam is desperate to escape his past. They join captain Murgey and head out to sea. But when they return, satisfied with their haul, something is amiss - they’ve slipped back in time to 1993, and the villagers greet them as if they are the original crew. Following BAFTA-winning first feature Bait and Enys Men, award-winning Cornish director Mark Jenkin’s third feature film stars George MacKay and Callum Turner.

Charlie (Robert Pattinson) first spotted Emma (Zendaya) at a coffee shop one fall afternoon and somehow worked up the nerve to say hello. What started out as a trainwreck ended with them exchanging numbers—which led to three hour phone calls about everything and nothing, lazy Sundays camped out in parks and bookstores, and late-night diner runs where Emma ordered burgers so rare they were practically mooing. Two years of laughing until their ribs hurt later, and they're ready to make it official, but the happy young couple's stability is put to the test when an unexpected turn of events sends their wedding week spiraling out of control.

Iconic and game-changing, AKIRA is the definitive anime masterpiece! Katsuhiro Otomo's landmark cyberpunk classic obliterated the boundaries of Japanese animation and forced the world to look into the future. AKIRA's arrival shattered traditional thinking, creating space for future generations of ground-breaking movies. July, 1988 — World War III breaks loose. Then, in 2019, in megalopolis Tokyo... As the leader of a group of young robust delinquents, Kaneda spent his nights tearing through the urban wastes, racing his motorbike against rival groups. One night while riding with his gang, his friend Tetsuo suddenly encounters a strange boy― the product of human experimentation — and is injured in the ensuing crash. Shortly thereafter, a military squadron appears on the scene to take the boy and Tetsuo away to an army research facility. Determined to free Tetsuo from capture, Kaneda sneaks into the army research lab. However, a regimen of extreme experimental procedures has awakened a new power in his friend, and now he is consumed by madness... AKIRA contains a sequence of flashing lights which might affect customers who are susceptible to photosensitive epilepsy. In Japanese with English subtitles.

A man trapped in an endless sterile subway passageway sets out to find Exit 8. The rules of his quest are simple: do not overlook anything out of the ordinary. If you discover an anomaly, turn back immediately. If you don’t, carry on. Then leave from Exit 8. But even a single oversight will send him back to the beginning. Will he ever reach his goal and escape this infinite corridor?

Directed by Oscar® Nominee David Fincher, this “darkest of dark satires” (Newsweek) is “an uncompromising American classic” (Rolling Stone) starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. Norton gives a riveting performance as a label-obsessed insomniac on the verge of going postal. Befriending a scummy soap salesman (Pitt), he embarks on an existential crusade that takes them both to the brutal, raw heights of their manhood. Also starring Helena Bonham Carter as the sexy psycho who comes between them, Fight Club is a “bold, inventive, sustained adrenaline rush of a movie” (Variety) that may leave you feeling bruised and bloodied…but also invigorated and alive.

A biopic exploring the life of Michael Jackson, from his Jackson 5 beginnings and extraordinary talent to his status as the biggest entertainer, promising an honest look at his triumphs, struggles, and iconic performances, starring his nephew Jaafar Jackson as Michael, with Colman Domingo & Nia Long as his parents, directed by Antoine Fuqua.

Long-buried wounds rise to the surface when iconic pop star Mother Mary reunites with her estranged best friend and former costume designer Sam Anselm on the eve of her comeback performance.

Science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of the mysterious substance causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction… but an unexpected friendship means he may not have to do it alone.

When a fishing boat, the Rose Of Nevada, lost with all hands thirty 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 needs a job to provide for his family and enigmatic newcomer Liam is desperate to escape his past. They join captain Murgey and head out to sea. But when they return, satisfied with their haul, something is amiss - they’ve slipped back in time to 1993, and the villagers greet them as if they are the original crew. Following BAFTA-winning first feature Bait and Enys Men, award-winning Cornish director Mark Jenkin’s third feature film stars George MacKay and Callum Turner.

Charlie (Robert Pattinson) first spotted Emma (Zendaya) at a coffee shop one fall afternoon and somehow worked up the nerve to say hello. What started out as a trainwreck ended with them exchanging numbers—which led to three hour phone calls about everything and nothing, lazy Sundays camped out in parks and bookstores, and late-night diner runs where Emma ordered burgers so rare they were practically mooing. Two years of laughing until their ribs hurt later, and they're ready to make it official, but the happy young couple's stability is put to the test when an unexpected turn of events sends their wedding week spiraling out of control.

Join us on the last day of April for a perfectly timed screening of the seminal 70s folk horror film The Wicker Man.

Sergeant Neil Howie, a police officer from the Scottish mainland, travels to the remote island of Summerisle to investigate the disappearance of a 12-year-old girl, Rowan Morrison. A devout Christian, he is unsettled by the islanders' overt pagan beliefs, public sexual rituals, and indifferent attitude toward the missing child. As preparations for the May Day festival intensify, his suspicions grow-and he begins to fear that something far more insidious is at play.

The Wicker Man eschews many conventional horror tropes, instead blending elements of detective thriller, folk musical, and arthouse fantasy. The bright, colourful optimism of the spring setting contrasts sharply with an atmosphere of looming dread, creating an unsettling dissonance that underpins the slow-burning mystery.

Seasonal Affective Cinema is a quarterly film club screening movies that aesthetically and thematically reflect the changing of the seasons. @seasonalaffectivecinema

A man trapped in an endless sterile subway passageway sets out to find Exit 8. The rules of his quest are simple: do not overlook anything out of the ordinary. If you discover an anomaly, turn back immediately. If you don’t, carry on. Then leave from Exit 8. But even a single oversight will send him back to the beginning. Will he ever reach his goal and escape this infinite corridor?

A biopic exploring the life of Michael Jackson, from his Jackson 5 beginnings and extraordinary talent to his status as the biggest entertainer, promising an honest look at his triumphs, struggles, and iconic performances, starring his nephew Jaafar Jackson as Michael, with Colman Domingo & Nia Long as his parents, directed by Antoine Fuqua.

Long-buried wounds rise to the surface when iconic pop star Mother Mary reunites with her estranged best friend and former costume designer Sam Anselm on the eve of her comeback performance.

Science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of the mysterious substance causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction… but an unexpected friendship means he may not have to do it alone.

When a fishing boat, the Rose Of Nevada, lost with all hands thirty 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 needs a job to provide for his family and enigmatic newcomer Liam is desperate to escape his past. They join captain Murgey and head out to sea. But when they return, satisfied with their haul, something is amiss - they’ve slipped back in time to 1993, and the villagers greet them as if they are the original crew. Following BAFTA-winning first feature Bait and Enys Men, award-winning Cornish director Mark Jenkin’s third feature film stars George MacKay and Callum Turner.

Charlie (Robert Pattinson) first spotted Emma (Zendaya) at a coffee shop one fall afternoon and somehow worked up the nerve to say hello. What started out as a trainwreck ended with them exchanging numbers—which led to three hour phone calls about everything and nothing, lazy Sundays camped out in parks and bookstores, and late-night diner runs where Emma ordered burgers so rare they were practically mooing. Two years of laughing until their ribs hurt later, and they're ready to make it official, but the happy young couple's stability is put to the test when an unexpected turn of events sends their wedding week spiraling out of control.

Miranda Priestly navigates her career amid the decline of traditional magazine publishing. She faces off against Emily Charlton, her one-time assistant, now a high-powered executive for a luxury group, with advertising dollars that Priestly desperately needs.

Miranda Priestly navigates her career amid the decline of traditional magazine publishing. She faces off against Emily Charlton, her one-time assistant, now a high-powered executive for a luxury group, with advertising dollars that Priestly desperately needs.

Celebrating filmmakers who have made outstanding debut films.

From Sidney, With Love (00:18:43)
Convinced that she is the daughter of Sidney Poitier, a bold young girl runs away from her Yorkshire mining town to London in search of him.

How to Hide It (00:12:54)
A moment of weakness after a humiliating breakup leads a young Muslim woman to play a forbidden lottery ticket.

Can't Float (00:09:50)
A young Black man struggles to overcome his own fear of the water — and America's historical stereotypes of Black people — to learn to swim.

Squeaky Bum (00:14:53)
On the day of the Euro's semi-final, a cocky teenage lad, Kyle, must confront grief and the shadow of his dad when a school puppet show hits too close to home.

Good Choice, Joseph (00:06:03)
A man who feels paralysed by choice is sent into an existential spiral after finding a mysterious tape player that can tell the future.

Bury Your Gays (00:19:58)
Actor Grace can’t understand why every role she lands ends in her untimely death—until a mysterious agent explains the ‘Bury Your Gays’ trope. Now, trapped in a genre-hopping battle for survival, Grace has one mission: do not die.

Spooky (00:05:23)
A young child feels disconnected from her parents and drawn into themselves and technology, until an unexpected house guest shakes up their routine.

A collection of short films showcasing the best of filmmaking

Rocket Fuel (00:14:45)
No money, shit-loads of time, and endless imagination - Lenny and Mullet are never bored wandering their estate looking for things to do. When they stumble across an abandoned car, they decide to turn it into a DIY spaceship.

The Long Spring (00:15:05)
Arron has taken his younger sister Kika on a journey to a better life, but his youthful optimism may have overlooked one of the darkest possibilities on the planet.

The Kankurang (00:10:11)
After a family drama, Omar, a turbulent child, faces new responsibilities. He’ll have to meet the Kankurang to become a man and embrace adulthood.

Smile Shines Wet (00:17:22)
After a life-altering event, Takashi (70) leaves his hometown and relocates to Kyoto with his 7-year-old granddaughter Nayu, relying on the quiet help of a distant relative.

Weight of the Soul (00:18.00)
A contemplative documentary that follows a young Ukrainian man whose life was split in two: before and after the call to duty.

The Truth About Space (00:13:40)
A young man is released from prison and has to face up to the lie that his estranged daughter has been led to believe – that he was in space.

Every Time I See A Yellow Car (00:14:12)
After a violent act shatters the lives of two brothers, Olly attempts to articulate a fractured and repressed truth, whilst his older brother Liam spirals between guilt and revenge.

Celebrating character-driven, personal stories

It Comes in Waves (01:45:00)
A family of four escapes the genocide in Rwanda and lands in Ottawa. They quickly learn that the grass is not always greener on the other side.

Celebrating films which innovate either through storytelling or push creative boundaries

"C.R.E.A.M" (00:48:00)
A modern-day adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “Romeo & Juliet” told entirely through the lyrics of the Wu-Tang Clan.

Ballyman (00:17:30)
Ballyman follows Deji, a young Black man from South East London, as he traverses through the city hiding behind his (bally) balaclava

In Viadi (00:17:00)
IN VIADI is a journey back to oneself - an intimate yet profound act of reconnection.

Dys is Me (00:15:00)
Alex is on the run. From something she doesn't want us to see. It's getting closer. Step into the unknown: A heart-pounding journey into the experience of dyspraxia.

A collection of short films showcasing the best of filmmaking

A Young Sofiane (00:28:40)
On July 1, 2005, Sofiane Ouggad died in a scooter accident. His blood type, “A-,” suggested he was intoxicated; the young offender had caused the accident. A doubt remains: Sofiane’s blood type was “A+.” A mother’s fight to uncover the truth behind this incident.

Sync (00:15:45)
A promising teenage singer faces disappointment from his father when his voice breaks during puberty. Threatened by a melodious bird that captivates his father’s attention, he struggles to prove his worth and reclaim his place in the spotlight.

What Would Mother Say? (00:07:04)
Whilst vibing to reggaeton in the garden, mischievous Morty is about to light up her first joint—lifted straight from big sister Binky’s "secret stash." But when Binky catches her in the act, the sisters' long-running cold war erupts into open combat.

The December Blues (00:20:00)
Kofi, a freshly heartbroken Ghanaian boy, meets Bianca, a British girl visiting Accra for Detty December. But as the nights grow longer and Bianca’s return gets closer, they’re forced to face what love means when it comes with an expiration date.

Authors of the Estate (00:19:58)
In Northwest London, two estates take their story into their own hands, asking what if a council house can become a publishing house in this tale of ownership, creativity, and the power of words.

Breaking the Awards Ceiling: Conversation with 2 recent BAFTA winners (Two Black Boys in Paradise and Rock Paper Scissors) and BUFF's influence on the awards circuit. Panel length: 01:15:00

15 min break

BUFF Studios: The Business of Distribution: Panel talk about BUFF's exciting new venture with their rev share scheme and how it will open doors for filmmakers to earn money at the box office. Panel length: 40 mins

The best script submissions in contention for our awards show

Color (00:20.00)
When five racially diverse friends stumble upon a town engineered for perfect unity, their vibrant presence ignites a cultural reawakening of lost heritage and identity...but real change is never that simple.

AILM (00:20:00)
When a prodigal son returns to Dublin in search of his lost brother, he finds himself trapped inside a mysterious shelter governed by silence, memory, and an ancient consciousness.

Ms Mandy (00:20:00)
When nude photos of an acclaimed female headteacher are leaked, her career and reputation crumble. But with the help of a former friend, she is forced to confront her past demons and rediscover what kind of teacher - and person - she truly wants to be.

Celebrating the best of UK Films

The Engineer (01:16:00)
The remarkable story of Adrian Reynard, a pioneering force in motorsport engineering.

A celebration of LGBTQ+ stories

A Little Bit of Glitter (00:23:31)
When Vidya, a 62 year old recently-widowed Indian woman sublets a room in her house to a 19 year old black gay man, she re-discovers her sense of self and her love for make up, despite complications from the family.

Divine Intervention (00:25:00)
To get the promotion of their dreams, a mischievous earth-bound angel must get two ex-best friends to finally admit their love to each other.

Body of Our Own (00:25:00)
Amidst the vibrant chaos of South Asia, we meet three Hijra - Momo, Neshi and Jannat - as they explore friendship, freedom, and self-expression in a world that seeks to erase transgender women.

Molly (00:22:52)
A chance meeting at a launderette sparks an intense emotional intimacy between Vinnie and Ryan. As closeness blurs into desire, unspoken expectations surface, forcing them to confront what love demands before it fractures everything they have built.

Celebrating female-led and female-directed films

Endolife (00:12:38)
A short, hybrid documentary that combines the experiences of over 120 people with endometriosis into a single, scripted narrative.

Ugly, Afro Hair (00:25:43)
In a near-future society where altering natural hair is illegal, a Black woman must attend a state-mandated recovery group, Natural Hair Anonymous.

Lisa is Here (00:13:38)
Struggling to find herself after leaving her homeland and the career of an actress, black Russian woman Lisa is working as a nanny and making attempts to become an actress in a foreign country.

A Loud Piece of Armour (00:11:00)
A Loud Piece of Armour follows Holly on a mission to rediscover the primal scream she once had as a child.

Flown (00:05:09)
Ijeoma is a seemingly happy and content woman until it becomes clear she is trapped in her small room for reasons unknown. A story about the experiences of Bipolar II disorder.

Who Are You, Nanu? (00:15:00)
After her Nanu’s (‘grandfather’ in Hindi) ceremonial cremation brings her to the Holy Ganges River in India, nine year-old oddball Isha befriends the phantom of her Nanu’s own rambunctious nine year-old self.

Celebrating the best of UK Films

The Bridge (01:18:14)
The Bridge explores the untold story of Chelsea FC's devoted fan base of over 100 million people who have stood behind the club through every triumph and setback since 1905.

With Iran and the world once again on the brink, COUP 53 feels less like history and more like a warning. In 1953, a military coup led by British MI6 backed by the CIA overthrew Iran's democratically elected Prime Minister, Mohammad Mossadegh. His crime: nationalising the country's oil. The truth behind that original regime change for oil was buried for decades. Iranian director Taghi Amirani spent ten years uncovering what really happened. Working with legendary editor Walter Murch (Apocalypse Now, The Conversation, The English Patient) and a gripping performance by Ralph Fiennes, the film unfolds like a John le Carré spy thriller — except every word is true. COUP 53 exposes the roots of today's tensions with rare clarity and urgency. A documentary. A detective story. A reckoning.

On the first Thursday of the month, every month, the Genesis Poetry Slam is an electric night of spoken word performances. There will be laughter, there might be tears, there will definitely be rhymes and rhythms.

Whether you’re here to perform or simply to listen, you’ll be part of one of the friendliest, most supportive slam communities around. We don’t have that reputation for nothing.

The Genesis Poetry Slam has been running for over 15 years, and is London’s only three-round poetry slam. Up to 12 poets compete in a night of competitive poetry, to see who makes it to the final round and can claim the title of slam champion for the month.

Join us for another electric night of spoken word as poets battle it out for a place in our December Grand Final.

Genesis Cinema, Stepney Green
Doors 18:45 / Slam starts 19:30
Audience tickets: £1 (advance booking essential)

On the night, sink into a comfy sofa, grab a cocktail or a pie, and watch some of the finest poets bring their words to life.

AUDIENCE
Tickets are £1 and must be booked in advance. Whether you’re a poetry lover or brand new to spoken word, you’ll be warmly welcomed.

POETS

There are two ways to sign up for a slam slot:
Pre sign-up: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/112945284141
On the night

We’re always working to keep the process fair and accessible, and this is the best format we’ve found so far.

Pre sign-up:
Sign up via the Eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/112945284141. These slots are strictly first come, first served and fill fast. If you secure a pre sign-up slot, you do not need to buy a ticket – your name will be on the door.

On the night:
If pre sign-up slots are full, we may release a limited number of on-the-night slots, again first come, first served.

If you have a pre sign-up slot, please arrive by 7.00pm to keep it. Any unclaimed slots will be offered to poets on the reserve list. To keep things fair, if the slam has started and you haven’t checked in, you won’t be able to perform.

SLAM RULES

No props.
No costumes.
Reading from paper or phone is fine.
No hate.

And remember:
The points are not the point…
THE POINT IS THE POETRY.

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 An investment banker living in 1980s Manhattan, who also happens to be a highly functioning psychopath, navigates corporate culture, while maintaining his other life as a serial killer.

Documentaries which bring people together to highlight a cause or inspire others

The Dying Trade (01:02:00)
Jack is a vegan activist. His father is a slaughterhouse worker. After years of avoiding the subject, Jack sets out to confront the unspoken tension between them.

Rise of the Legion (01:00:45)
Prepare to be enthralled, inspired, and swept away on a rhythmic journey unlike any other.“Rise of the Legion!” is a spellbinding documentary that dives deep into the heart and soul of The Spartan Legion Marching Band at Norfolk State University.

Celebrating films based on the African diaspora

Small Gods (01:46:00)
While struggling to provide for her son, an indigenous single mother falls in love with a charismatic street performer. But when a crisis strikes, it threatens to destroy their young family.

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 Visionary filmmaker Gaspar Noé's reputation as a provocateur is sure to be solidified by Enter the Void, an audacious exploration of the connected nature of sex, drugs, life, and death. Oscar, an American living in Tokyo with his sister Linda, is shot dead. His spirit leaves his body but he continues to watch over her. As his spirit wanders through the city its visions grow ever more distorted and nightmarish. This is cinema at its most extreme.

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 Italian film director Guido Anselmi collapses from nervous exhaustion and takes refuge at a luxurious spa. Even at the spa, however, he is badgered by the producer for whom he is committed to make a lavish science fiction film, and by actors, actresses, production personnel, and a disapproving intellectual writer. Apathetic and filled with doubts about the type of film he wants to make, Guido fantasizes about his dead parents, his early Catholic education, his schoolboy adventure watching an obese, grotesque prostitute dance on a beach and his subsequent humiliation in front of his parents and classmates, and his imaginary sexual prowess with a harem of the women he has known, whom, in his fantasy, he controls with a whip. His life is further complicated by the arrival of his giddy mistress, Carla, and his embittered wife, Luisa. One day he meets Claudia, a young actress who is the physical embodiment of the dream woman of his fantasies. When she turns out to be vain and stupid, the disillusioned Guido becomes even more paralyzed by apathy. At a press conference held on the vastly expensive rocket site constructed for his yet unformulated film, he is besieged with impossible questions and decides to abandon the film entirely; but after a final fantasy in which he commits suicide, he feels free of his doubts. A circus band of clowns arrives led by the schoolboy Guido playing a flute. They are followed by all the people Guido has known in his life; and everyone joins hands in a circle.

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 Technology and sexuality meet in a head-on collision in Crash – director David Cronenberg’s controversial adaptation of writer J.G. Ballard’s hugely transgressive 1973 novel starring James Spader and Holly Hunter.

Spader stars as James Ballard, a film producer whose deviant sexual desires are awakened by a near fatal automobile accident with Dr Helen Remington (Hunter). Soon the pair, alongside Ballard’s wife Catherine (Deborah Kara Unger), are drawn into an underground world of car crash fetishism presided over by renegade scientist Vaughan (Elias Koteas). Danger, sex and death become entwined as eroticism and technology join together in a disturbing, deadly union.

Awarded the Special Jury Prize at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival for originality, daring and audacity, Crash remains an incredibly subversive and confrontational piece of cinema – Cronenberg himself describes it as “a dangerous film” – now newly refurbished in a stunning 4K restoration.

Since its launch in 2015, the British Urban Film Festival Awards have become a defining moment in the UK’s screen industry - recognising excellence, innovation, and the creative force of underrepresented voices shaping contemporary British cinema.
From writers crafting globally resonant stories, to producers and directors using film as a catalyst for cultural and social impact - alongside brands, partners, and suppliers driving innovation behind the scenes - the BUFF Awards honour those setting new standards across the industry.
Now in its 12th edition, the awards stand not only as a reflection of the past year’s achievements, but as a marker of the industry’s direction of travel - spotlighting the talent, ambition, and vision shaping the future of British film.
SATURDAY 9 MAY | GENESIS CINEMA, MILE END, LONDON

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 A man seeks answers about life, death, and the existence of God as he plays chess against the Grim Reaper during the Black Plague.

Made by Phil Maxwell and Hazuan Hashim, the film tells the story of the Battle of Cable Street through the words of people who were there, while celebrating the tradition of anti-racism in the East End.

The event will also mark the public launch of TOGETHER on Cable Street, a season to mark the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street.

FILMS TO DIE FOR brings into conversation a collection of dazzling cinematic moments, from Europe, Hollywood and Brazil, evidencing how works from across history and geography feed from and flow into each other in a seamless continuum. Exclusive interviews with film directors Wim Wenders and Walter Salles, film critic and director Laura Mulvey, and Portuguese film producer Paulo Branco reveal the perils and passions behind the history and stories of their films.

This preview screening is presented by the MINT Chinese Film Festival, followed by an in-person Q&A session with filmmaker Lúcia Nagib and a special guest speaker, moderated by Yixiang Lin.

Follow MINT CFF on:
Instagram: @mintchinesefilmfestival

MINT Chinese Film Festival (MINT CFF) is the first women-led Chinese film festival in the UK, focused on cross-cultural communication and women’s representation. For more info on their festival, release, and screening events, please visit: www.unicornscreening.com

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 A few decades after the destruction of the Inca Empire, a Spanish expedition led by the infamous Aguirre leaves the mountains of Peru and goes down the Amazon River in search of the lost city of El Dorado. When great difficulties arise, Aguirre’s men start to wonder whether their quest will lead them to prosperity or certain death.

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 The family of Raymond, his wife Val and her brother Billy live in working-class London district. Also in their family is Val and Billy's mother Janet and grandmother Kath. Billy is a drug addict and Raymond kicks him out of the house, making him live on his own. Raymond is generally a rough and even violent person, and that leads to problems in the life of the family.

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 Set in 2026 with its dizzying depiction of a futuristic cityscape and alluring female robot, Metropolis is among the most famous of all German films and the mother of sci-fi cinema (an influence on Blade Runner and Star Wars, among countless other films). Directed by the legendary Fritz Lang (M, Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse, The Big Heat, etc.), its jaw-dropping production values, iconic imagery, and modernist grandeur – it was described by Luis Buñuel as "a captivating symphony of movement" – remain as powerful as ever.     Drawing on – and defining – classic sci-fi themes, Metropolis depicts a dystopian future in which society is thoroughly divided in two: while anonymous workers conduct their endless drudgery below ground their rulers enjoy a decadent life of leisure and luxury. When Freder (Gustav Fröhlich) ventures into the depths in search of the beautiful Maria (Brigitte Helm in her debut role), plans of rebellion are revealed and a Maria-replica robot is programmed by mad inventor Rotwang (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) and master of Metropolis Joh Fredersen (Alfred Abel) to incite the workers into a self-destructive riot.

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 A lone cat joins a ragtag group of animals after their home is destroyed by a flood in this lyrical fantasy adventure animation. It focuses on their bravery and resourcefulness as they navigate their environment.

Looking for inspiration, feedback, or a creative kickstart?

Join us at Genesis Cinema for a friendly, welcoming creative writing group open to all levels of experience. Whether you're plotting your first novel, experimenting with flash fiction, or want to start flexing your creative muscles, this is the space to share ideas, get inspired, and push your writing further. Expect lively discussions, writing prompts, and a warm community of supportive writers.

New voices are always welcome. Come write with us!

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 In a corrupt, greed-fuelled world, a powerful alchemist leads a Christ-like character and seven materialistic figures to the Holy Mountain, where they hope to achieve enlightenment.

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 Vahid, an Azerbaijani auto mechanic, was once imprisoned by Iranian authorities. During his sentence, he was interrogated blindfolded. One day, a man named Eghbal enters his workshop. His prosthetic leg creaks, and Vahid thinks he recognizes one of his former torturers.

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 Varda’s ground-breaking and hugely successful documentary explores the idea of ‘gleaning’, from the ancient practice enshrined in paintings such as Jean-François Millet’s 1857 ‘Des Glaneuses’, to the victims of late capitalism who scavenge in supermarket bins both to survive and to denounce consumerist excess. Mixing documentary reportage and interviews with art and photography, Varda’s investigation ranges widely across France, offering a poignant yet heartlifting discourse on her relationship to others, her practice as a filmmaker and her own ageing.

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 Jack Burton (Kurt Russell) is a simple man who doesn’t believe in ghosts or magic until he’s swept into a mind-boggling adventure deep within Chinatown’s mysterious underworld. Burton’s pal, Wang Chi (Dennis Dun), is trying to rescue his kidnapped fiancée. Egg Shen (Victor Wong), an enigmatic tour-bus driver seems to know a lot about ancient Chinese magic for a simple tour-bus driver. They do battle with an outlandish array of human and inhuman adversaries under the command of Lo Pan (James Hong), a 2000-year-old evil magician who has the power to transform himself from a wheelchair-bound old man into a seven-foot-tall mystical menace.

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 A toon-hating detective is a cartoon rabbit's only hope to prove his innocence when he is accused of murder.

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 Seven years after the death of his wife, widower Shigeharu seeks advice on how to find a new wife from a colleague. Taking advantage of their position as a film company, they stage an audition. Interviewing a series of women, Shigeharu is enchanted by the quiet Asami. But soon things take a twisted turn as Asami isn’t what she seems to be.

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 An ancient struggle between two Cybertronian races, the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons, comes to Earth, with a clue to the ultimate power held by a teenager.

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 Mathieu Kassovitz took the film world by storm with La Haine, a gritty, unsettling, and visually explosive look at the racial and cultural volatility in modern-day France, specifically the low income banlieue districts on the outskirts of Paris. Aimlessly passing their days in the concrete environs of their dead-end suburbia, Vinz (Vincent Cassel), Hubert (Hubert Koundé), and Saïd (Saïd Taghmaoui) - a Jew, an African, and an Arab - give human faces to France’s immigrant populations. Their bristling resentment at their marginalization slowly simmers until it reachesa climactic boiling point. A work of tough beauty,La Haine is a landmark of contemporary Frenchcinema and a gripping reflection of its country’songoing identity crisis.

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 A guide helps a writer and a professor to infiltrate a restricted area, the Zone. Paying no heed to the dangers which lay ahead, they proceed towards the Room in order to fulfil their desires.

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 After a botched bank robbery lands his younger brother in prison, Constantine "Connie" Nikas (Robert Pattinson) embarks on a twisted odyssey through the city's underworld in an increasingly desperate — and dangerous — attempt to get his brother Nick (Benny Safdie) out of jail. Over the course of one adrenalized night, Connie finds himself racing against the clock to save his brother and himself, knowing both their lives hang in the balance. Anchored by a career-defining performance from Robert Pattinson, GOOD TIME is a psychotic symphony of propulsive intensity crafted by two of the most exciting young directors working today. Josh and Ben Safdie’s transcendent vision is an intoxicating portrait of desperation and destruction that will not be soon forgotten.

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 Once upon a time, in a far away swamp, there lived an ornery ogre named Shrek whose precious solitude is suddenly shattered by an invasion of annoying fairy tale characters. There are blind mice in his food, a big, bad wolf in his bed, three little homeless pigs and more, all banished from their kingdom by the evil Lord Farquaad. Determined to save their home--not to mention his own--Shrek cuts a deal with Farquaad and sets out to rescue the beautiful Princess Fiona to be Farquaad's bride. Accompanying him on his mission is wisecracking Donkey, who will do anything for Shrek... except shut up. Rescuing the Princess from a fire-breathing dragon may prove the least of their problems when the deep, dark secret she has been keeping is revealed.

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 World famous pop group the Spice Girls zip around London in their luxurious double decker tour bus having various adventures and performing for their fans.

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 During the Japanese occupation of Shanghai, Chen Zhen, the star pupil of a recently-deceased martial arts teacher battles a Japanese dojo which seeks the demise of his fighting school.

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 When 16th-century farmers whose village is repeatedly attacked by merciless bandits ask an elderly, masterless samurai (Takashi Shimura) for help, offering nothing but food in return, he hesitantly agrees and assembles a band of warriors to defend and train the villagers. Boasting terrific performances (with Shimura and Toshiro Mifune – as a peasant masquerading as a samurai – particularly memorable), superb camerawork, and expertly mounted battle sequences, Seven Samurai is undoubtedly one of the greatest action movies ever made.

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 Basketball superstar Michael Jordan and cartoon favorite Bugs Bunny team up with other basketball greats and Looney Tunes characters in this combination animated/live-action feature. Jordan must help the Looney Tunes gang with a basketball game against a group of outer space creatures whose plan, if they win, is to kidnap the Looney Tunes and take them to a failing intergalactic amusement park as the latest attraction. Also starring Academy Award-nominee Bill Murray and Wayne Knight. Gene Shalit says this movie is "for adults, kids, teenagers, women, men, boys, girls, old folks, young folks, Jordan fans, Bill Murray fans, Wayne Knight fans and every Looney Tunes lover who wants to revel in Bugs Bunny and his pals at their looney tuniest."

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 Three British teenage girls go on a rites-of-passage holiday - drinking, clubbing and hooking up, in what should be the best summer of their lives.

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 When the warren belonging to a community of rabbits is threatened, a brave group led by Fiver, Bigwig, Blackberry and Hazel leave their homeland in a search of a safe new haven.

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 The elderly Shukishi and his wife, Tomi, take the long journey from their small seaside village to visit their adult children in Tokyo. Their elder son, Koichi, a doctor, and their daughter, Shige, a hairdresser, don't have much time to spend with their aged parents, and so it falls to Noriko, the widow of their younger son who was killed in the war, to keep her in-laws company.

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 Andrew Haigh's stunning second feature film is the story of Glen and Russell, two young men who spend a lifetime together all in the duration of one weekend. Glen is an out and proud gay man whereas Russell is the shy, one-foot-still-in-the-closet type (played by the mouth-watering Tom Cullen). Meeting in a club on a Friday night, they begin a relationship that is intimately and expertly explored by Haigh's script, two actors delivering career-making performances and cinematography that is once both natural and achingly beautiful. Haigh is an exciting new voice in British cinema and whether this is your first, second or tenth time seeing Weekend, come along and bring a special someone - this film melts the hardest of hearts.

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 A Taipei family faces personal and moral uncertainty as everyday events test their relationships and sense of purpose.

SCREAM FOR YOUR LIVES! CINEMA IN THE 4TH DIMENSION

You’re invited to the Opening Night of SCREAM FOR YOUR LIVES!, the 13th sensational season of Token Homo’s BAR TRASH, “London’s most fun & informative film night” (Sean McGeady).

The history of cinema is a delirious tale of wild experimentation, technological advances, improbable ballyhoo, and in-theatre gimmicks to keep audiences coming back for more. SCREAM FOR YOUR LIVES! will recreate some of cinema’s forgotten theatrical illusions, taking you on a magical mystery tour into a lost world of movie magic where screenings are rarely silent…

William Castle’s 13 GHOSTS (1960) is presented with Token Homo’s diy and entirely unofficial recreation of the film’s original theatrical gimmick, ‘Illusion-O!’. Just as in 1960, every member of the audience will receive a FREE ‘Ghost Viewer’ to watch the film through, but only those brave enough will actually see the thirteen ghosts in horrifying ‘ECTOPLASMIC COLOUR’!

Producer, writer, director, promoter and all-round B-movie legend William Castle embodied the lost art of going to the cinema as a shared theatrical experience. Across a frenzied decade from 1958 to 1968, Castle promoted his films with a series of gimmicks that included a skeleton appearing on a zip wire above the audience for HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (1959) and vibrating buzzers attached to the bottom of cinema seats for THE TINGLER (1959). Theatre-goers were encouraged to “scream, scream for your lives” if they felt ‘the tingler’ buzzing near them…

Token Homo has staged both of these gimmicks in previous BAR TRASH seasons, so it’s time to finally unleash 13 GHOSTS! For this show, William Castle developed a technique using different coloured filters to make “ghosts appear miraculously” on screen when audiences looked through their ‘Ghost Viewer’. Ever the cinematic showman, Castle promoted this ‘chill-n-thrill’ engagement as a must-see theatrical experience — “You can’t see the ghosts without a Ghost Viewer!’ — whilst cheekily offering those that might be too squeamish a ‘Ghost Remover’ in the same device.

13 GHOSTS was intended to be Castle’s final gimmick, a swiftly broken promise he would make on multiple occasions… Token Homo will be recreating 5 of the maestro’s rarely-revived thrill-rides in the SCREAM FOR YOUR LIVES! season, including a special MYSTERY FILM for our 4th Birthday.

Polite notice: We are presenting 13 GHOSTS with ‘Illusion-O!’ with subtitles from the best available digital source. A FREE ‘Ghost Viewer’ will be given to every patron on arrival. If you are too afraid of the 13 GHOSTS, please look through the ‘Ghost Remover’ part of your device. NOT FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED.

/// BAR TRASH is a celebration of cult and curious cinema, hosted by queer film fanatic Token Homo and friends. Films are served with themed drinks, introductions, intermissions, prize giveaways, and subtitles / captions where possible. Tickets from £3.50 + fees. Adults 18+ only. Follow @tokenhomo or visit tokenhomo.com for all the gory details ///

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 Céline Sciamma made the most of France’s 2020 Covid-19 spring lockdown to write the screenplay for her fifth feature, which she then shot last autumn. It opens with young Nelly (Joséphine Sanz) saying farewell to a nursing home following the death of her maternal grandmother. Accompanying her mother Marion (Nina Meurisse) to her leafy childhood home, Nelly takes part in her parents' clearing of her grandmother's belongings. One day, Nelly finds that her mother has abruptly departed, leaving her alone with her kind father (Stéphane Varupenne). As Nelly goes exploring in the autumnal landscape that surrounds the house, she comes across a wooden fort built in the forest and meets a curiously familiar girl.

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 Travis (Harry Dean Stanton) is wandering through the Texas desert, a bit shaky and in desperate need of water, when he stumbles into a bar and collapses. A German doctor of dubious credentials finds a phone number in Travis' wallet, which belongs to his brother, Walt (Dean Stockwell). Walt is shocked to hear about his brother's condition, since no one in the family has seen or heard from Travis in four years; Walt flies to Texas to bring him home, only to find Travis wandering by the side of the road, and they begin the long drive back to Los Angeles, where Walt lives with his wife, Anne (Aurore Clement), and Hunter (Hunter Carson), Travis' seven-year-old son. At first, Travis refuses to speak and is oddly distant, but in time he begins to talk again, and when he arrives in California, he begins the painful process of reacquainting himself with his son and trying to reconcile with his wife, Jane (Nastassia Kinski). Followed by a group discussion in the bar area with Nick Walker of the Cult Classic Collective

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 Ever since his wife was burned in a car crash, Dr. Robert Ledgard, an eminent plastic surgeon, has been interested in creating a new skin with which he could have saved her. After twelve years, he manages to cultivate a skin that is a real shield against every assault. In addition to years of study and experimentation, Robert needed a further three things: no scruples, an accomplice and a human guinea pig. Scruples were never a problem. Marilia, the woman who looked after him from the day he was born, is his most faithful accomplice. And as for the human guinea pig..

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 Impoverished priest Harihar Ray leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work. His wife, Sarbojaya, looks after their rebellious daughter, Durga, and young son, Apu. The children enjoy the small pleasures of their difficult life.

Celebrate Genesis' 27th Birthday with a special selection of our favourite films of all time. Tickets are £3.50 and you will be able to get a regular popcorn and drink combo for £5.00 After years of diplomatic silence between the United States and Cuba, Castro opens the port of Mariel Harbor, Cuba, to thousands emmigrating to the United States in search of the American dream. Shrewdly, Castro also unlocks the overpacked prisons, allowing hordes of criminals to join the refugees. Tony Montana, a small time hood, is one of them. In Florida, Montana connects with gangster Frank Lopez, and guns his way through the sun washed streets of Miami where he finds power, wealth and passion. He kills Lopez and marries his mistress, Elvira. Montana, better known as "Scarface," soon becomes the leader of a bloody cocaine-smuggling empire but at a terrible cost to his sister, Gina and his loyal friend, Manny. However, like that of others before him, Montana's reign is brief and a violent end is guaranteed as rival gangster compete to become the next drug lord.

The Mandalorian and Grogu embark on their most thrilling mission yet in Lucasfilm’s all-new Star Wars adventure. The evil Empire has fallen, and Imperial warlords remain scattered throughout the galaxy. As the fledgling New Republic works to protect everything the Rebellion fought for, they have enlisted the help of legendary Mandalorian bounty hunter Djin Djarin and his young apprentice Grogu.

The Mandalorian and Grogu embark on their most thrilling mission yet in Lucasfilm’s all-new Star Wars adventure. The evil Empire has fallen, and Imperial warlords remain scattered throughout the galaxy. As the fledgling New Republic works to protect everything the Rebellion fought for, they have enlisted the help of legendary Mandalorian bounty hunter Djin Djarin and his young apprentice Grogu.

The Mandalorian and Grogu embark on their most thrilling mission yet in Lucasfilm’s all-new Star Wars adventure. The evil Empire has fallen, and Imperial warlords remain scattered throughout the galaxy. As the fledgling New Republic works to protect everything the Rebellion fought for, they have enlisted the help of legendary Mandalorian bounty hunter Djin Djarin and his young apprentice Grogu.

Bruce LaBruce plays himself in this 1994 ‘cautionary bio-pic’ about a gay pornographic filmmaker who’s hit a rut. Stuck being too avant-garde for the porn industry and too sleazy for the arthouse cinema circuit, Bruce hasn’t been able to make himself the next Warhol until he runs across Googie, an up-and-cumming lesbian porn director who promises to help him. But will she really give him his big renaissance or is Bruce just being exploited as a butt double?

Blending elements of pornography, avant-garde cinema and documentary filmmaking into a series of films-within-a-film (and with a cameo by Vaginal Davis) the film blurs how all of these forms of moving image blur the lines between fiction and reality. Inspired by LaBruce’s own early years and presented as a digital restoration carried out by TIFF, Super 8 1/2 is messy, sexy and funny window into the queer underground scene of 90s Canada.

Films that F*ck is an irregular screening series exploring the queer intersections of pornography and moving image culture. It is organised by Siavash Minoukadeh

Nicola Coughlan (Bridgerton) joins Éanna Hardwicke (The Sixth Commandment) and Siobhán McSweeney (Derry Girls) in John Millington Synge’s riveting play of youth and self-discovery.

Pegeen Flaherty’s life is turned upside down when a young man walks into her pub claiming that he’s killed his father. Instead of being shunned, the killer becomes a local hero and begins to win hearts, that is until a second man unexpectedly arrives on the scene…

Filmed live on stage at the National Theatre, Caitríona McLaughlin directs this darkly funny tale full to the brim with secrets.

From acts of subtle defiance to mass movements protesting state repression, queer history is replete with rich traditions of resistance. This propulsive programme unites queer struggles past and present, real and imagined, where glimpses into liberated futures flicker into view. Across a trans kung fu enclave and Filipinx organising in 90s New York, resistance manifests as the sustained, collective labour of nurturing bonds and building sanctuaries.

The Martial Forest
Exiled from society, a kung fu master leads a queer collective of fighters.
dir. J Triangular | Taiwan, Colombia | 2025 | 8min

BECAUSE OF YOU: A History of Kilawin Kolektibo
This documentary traces the history of the trailblazing Filipinx queer collective Kilawin Kolektibo, who were active in New York in the 1990s.
dir. Barbara Malaran, Desireena Almoradie | USA | 2025 | 35min

Elegy for the Lost
This lyrical essay film explores sexual identity and power in contemporary China.
dir. William Hong-xiao Wei | France, Spain, UK | 2025 | 30min

Take Care, Till Springtime
A queer Chinese medicine practitioner heals after being brutalised by the police.
dir. Yi Shi | Canada, China | 2025 | 22min

Curatorial idea by Holly Rowley, as part of Up Next: Future Film Curators Lab 2025/26

As part of Queer East 2026, a cross-disciplinary festival that showcases boundary-pushing LGBTQ+ cinema, live arts, and moving image work from East and Southeast Asia and its diaspora communities.

Now restored in 4K, this first screen adaptation of Pai Hsien-Yung’s groundbreaking 1983 novel Crystal Boys tells the story of A-Qing, a high school student who is thrown out of his family home after being discovered having sex with a man. A-Qing heads to the gay cruising ground of Taipei New Park, where he finds refuge with a group of fellow queer outcasts. The film’s heady mix of dreamlike fantasy, hysterical melodrama, and glitzy nightclub scenes creates a camp, surreal mood. Yet director Yu Kan-Ping succeeds in capturing the emotional rawness of A-Qing’s experience, and from our 21st century perspective, offers a nostalgic documentation of real-life sites in Taipei’s historical cruising scene, now long gone. Stunningly shot and restored to include previously censored material, this stylistically dazzling adaptation can now be appreciated in its full, hallucinatory glory.

Told from the perspective of queer parents and children, these short films cast an attentive gaze on the complexity of family dynamics. Alternative possibilities for kinship blossom in decaying cinemas and darkened forests, where love and obligation are tangled up in knots of ambivalence. From childhood to parenthood, dealing with family doesn’t seem to get any easier, but unexpected moments of connection can illuminate the way.

Delay
A gay father tries to attend his straight son’s wedding.
dir. Hanxuan Wang | China, USA | 2025 | 15min

Papa’s Coding Day
A boy saves up money to buy his Papa a day off.
dir. Michael Pogoy | Philippines | 2025 | 18min

Toad Song
Seeking to find his tadpoles a new home, a boy stumbles upon a family secret.
dir. Qin Qin | USA | 2025 | 15min

What’s softest in the world rushes and runs over what’s hardest in the world.
Queerness, nature, and Daoism intersect in this hybrid documentary about parenthood in Singapore.
dir. Charmaine Poh | Singapore | 2024 | 15min

Honey, My Love, So Sweet
A boy learns about love through cinema.
dir. JT Trinidad | Philippines | 2025 | 20min

Content Note: contains depictions of sex

As part of Queer East 2026, a cross-disciplinary festival that showcases boundary-pushing LGBTQ+ cinema, live arts, and moving image work from East and Southeast Asia and its diaspora communities.

In 2022, four Sudanese filmmakers, along with a British director-writer, began filming the lives and dreams of five very different citizens in Khartoum: Street boy Lokain (12) and his best friend Wilson (11) embark on a mission in Khartoum’s rubbish dumps to buy two beautiful shirts Khadmallah (28) a single mum and tea vendor engages her daily clientele in gossip and cardamom coffee whilst studying math to start her dream business Jawad (30) is a Sufi Rastafarian resistance volunteer who rides a motorcycle and protests for a civilian government against the military Civil servant Majdi (45) escapes office life by racing pigeons with his son.

When filming started, the Sudanese were faced with a military leadership that had brought down the previous civilian government. Soon, however, war broke out between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, displacing over ten million people.

The filmmakers and participants escaped to East Africa but continued their innovative cinematic storytelling, combining animation, green screen reconstructions, and documentary ‘dreamscapes’ to tell their stories.

Filmed on location with donated iPhones, the four emerging Sudanese filmmakers (Anas Saeed, Rawia Al Hag, Brahim Snoopy and Timeea M. Ahmed) capture the stark realism of one of Africa's great cities as it is consumed by turmoil and war.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A.

On the first Thursday of the month, every month, the Genesis Poetry Slam is an electric night of spoken word performances. There will be laughter, there might be tears, there will definitely be rhymes and rhythms.

Whether you’re here to perform or simply to listen, you’ll be part of one of the friendliest, most supportive slam communities around. We don’t have that reputation for nothing.

The Genesis Poetry Slam has been running for over 15 years, and is London’s only three-round poetry slam. Up to 12 poets compete in a night of competitive poetry, to see who makes it to the final round and can claim the title of slam champion for the month.

Join us for another electric night of spoken word as poets battle it out for a place in our December Grand Final.

Genesis Cinema, Stepney Green
Doors 18:45 / Slam starts 19:30
Audience tickets: £1 (advance booking essential)

On the night, sink into a comfy sofa, grab a cocktail or a pie, and watch some of the finest poets bring their words to life.

AUDIENCE
Tickets are £1 and must be booked in advance. Whether you’re a poetry lover or brand new to spoken word, you’ll be warmly welcomed.

POETS

There are two ways to sign up for a slam slot:
Pre sign-up: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/112945284141
On the night

We’re always working to keep the process fair and accessible, and this is the best format we’ve found so far.

Pre sign-up:
Sign up via the Eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/112945284141. These slots are strictly first come, first served and fill fast. If you secure a pre sign-up slot, you do not need to buy a ticket – your name will be on the door.

On the night:
If pre sign-up slots are full, we may release a limited number of on-the-night slots, again first come, first served.

If you have a pre sign-up slot, please arrive by 7.00pm to keep it. Any unclaimed slots will be offered to poets on the reserve list. To keep things fair, if the slam has started and you haven’t checked in, you won’t be able to perform.

SLAM RULES

No props.
No costumes.
Reading from paper or phone is fine.
No hate.

And remember:
The points are not the point…
THE POINT IS THE POETRY.

EMPORIUM PRO WRESTLING RETURNS TO GENESIS CINEMA!
GET READY FOR THE EMPORIUM HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT

London’s wildest, weirdest, most explosive night out is back… and this time, it’s bigger, louder, and completely unhinged.

After debuting last year, Emporium Pro Wrestling returns to tear up reality once again — delivering a night of gravity-defying lucha libre, hard-hitting character chaos, and pure, cinematic spectacle like you’ve NEVER seen before.

June 12th marks the start of the Emporium Championship Tournament — a knockout battle where 8 of Emporium’s finest collide for gold, with only 4 advancing to the finals in July.
Who will rise? Who will fall? Who will make the next round and who will etch their name into history? You don’t want to miss this.

But this isn’t just wrestling.

Emporium featured London’s best “did that just happen?!” cabaret acts, shocking moments, full-throttle entertainment, and total theatrical madness.

Let the chaos begin… are you ready?

Tickets will fly faster than a top-rope dive so grab yours now.

Whether you’re a wrestling die-hard or a chaos tourist, Emporium Pro Wrestling is not to be missed.

EMPORIUM: THE AFTERS
THE FREE AFTERPARTY WITH ALL TICKETS THAT WON’T TAP OUT

When the final bell rings, the night is far from over.

Emporium: The Afters takes over Genesis Cinema’s private bar, transforming it into a full-blown free party. Rub shoulders with the wrestlers, swap the ring for the dancefloor, and lose yourself to late-night anthems by wrestler DJs, as everyone tear it up ‘til 2AM.

Costumes. Characters. Party.
It’s still very real to us… and it doesn’t stop ‘til the lights come on.

Live show. Full-on party. Total mayhem — and it’s all FREE with your tickets

Genesis Cinema, Bethnal Green
Seated by: 7:45PM
Show Starts: 8:00PM
Approx. Finish: 10:30PM

EMPORIUM: THE AFTERS
Start: 10:30PM
Finish: 2:00AM

This event is strictly 18+

Accessibility enquiries: info@genesis-cinema.co.uk | 0207 780 2000
General enquiries: emporiumprowrestling@gmail.com

Please Note:
• All ticket sales are final. No refunds or exchanges unless the event is cancelled.
• Match card subject to change. While we strive to deliver the advertised lineup, unforeseen circumstances may require substitutions. The show will always maintain the same high quality of action, energy, and entertainment.
• Loud noises & strobe effects may be used throughout the event.

FOLLOW THE CARNAGE
Instagram: @emporiumprowres
Facebook: @emporiumprowres
X: @emporiumprowres

EMPORIUM PRO WRESTLING RETURNS TO GENESIS CINEMA!
GET READY FOR THE EMPORIUM HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT

London’s wildest, weirdest, most explosive night out is back… and this time, it’s bigger, louder, and completely unhinged.

After debuting last year, Emporium Pro Wrestling returns to tear up reality once again — delivering a night of gravity-defying lucha libre, hard-hitting character chaos, and pure, cinematic spectacle like you’ve NEVER seen before.

June 12th marks the start of the Emporium Championship Tournament — a knockout battle where 8 of Emporium’s finest collide for gold, with only 4 advancing to the finals in July.
Who will rise? Who will fall? Who will make the next round and who will etch their name into history? You don’t want to miss this.

But this isn’t just wrestling.

Emporium featured London’s best “did that just happen?!” cabaret acts, shocking moments, full-throttle entertainment, and total theatrical madness.

Let the chaos begin… are you ready?

Tickets will fly faster than a top-rope dive so grab yours now.

Whether you’re a wrestling die-hard or a chaos tourist, Emporium Pro Wrestling is not to be missed.

EMPORIUM: THE AFTERS
THE FREE AFTERPARTY WITH ALL TICKETS THAT WON’T TAP OUT

When the final bell rings, the night is far from over.

Emporium: The Afters takes over Genesis Cinema’s private bar, transforming it into a full-blown free party. Rub shoulders with the wrestlers, swap the ring for the dancefloor, and lose yourself to late-night anthems by wrestler DJs, as everyone tear it up ‘til 2AM.

Costumes. Characters. Party.
It’s still very real to us… and it doesn’t stop ‘til the lights come on.

Live show. Full-on party. Total mayhem — and it’s all FREE with your tickets

Genesis Cinema, Bethnal Green
Seated by: 7:45PM
Show Starts: 8:00PM
Approx. Finish: 10:30PM

EMPORIUM: THE AFTERS
Start: 10:30PM
Finish: 2:00AM

This event is strictly 18+

Accessibility enquiries: info@genesis-cinema.co.uk | 0207 780 2000
General enquiries: emporiumprowrestling@gmail.com

Please Note:
• All ticket sales are final. No refunds or exchanges unless the event is cancelled.
• Match card subject to change. While we strive to deliver the advertised lineup, unforeseen circumstances may require substitutions. The show will always maintain the same high quality of action, energy, and entertainment.
• Loud noises & strobe effects may be used throughout the event.

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Instagram: @emporiumprowres
Facebook: @emporiumprowres
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BAFTA Award-winner Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread) joins Aidan Turner (Rivals) in a striking new staging of Christopher Hampton’s celebrated adaptation of the classic novel, where among the glittering salons of the super-rich, one misstep can mean ruin. Marquise de Merteuil is a master in the art of survival. Alongside the magnetic Vicomte de Valmont, they turn seduction into strategy and weaponise desire. But when their alliance collapses into rivalry, the battle between them threatens to destroy everyone in their path. Filmed live on stage at the National Theatre, Marianne Elliott (Angels in America) directs this thrilling game of love, lies, and social warfare.

A full-day cinematic event celebrating the legacy of Bruce Lee.
The programme opens with the documentary LONGSTREET - A PHILOSOPHY IN MOTION, exploring Bruce Lee's involvement in the landmark series, followed by a screening of the original episode "THE WAY OF THE INTERCEPTING FIST."
This is followed by the premiere screening of the feature documentary BRUCE LEE: THE MAKING OF THE BIG BOSS.
The event concludes with a special presentation of THE BIG BOSS, screened from a DCP (Digital Cinema Package) of the original Mandarin version.
All screenings take place on a giant cinema screen for the ultimate big-screen experience, in a retro cinema setting inspired by the classic movie-going experience of the 1970s.
Fully approved by the Bruce Lee Estate and in support of the Bruce Lee Foundation.
Includes access to all screenings across the full-day event