Midsummer Movies

Summer in the city. Finally. But cinema’s still trying it’s hardest to pry you away from the great outdoors, so if you need a break from bad tan lines, crying children and hayfever here’s the best of Augusts’ movie events across the country.

Summer in the city.
Finally. But cinema’s still trying it’s hardest to pry you away from the great
outdoors, so if you need a break from bad tan lines, crying children and
hayfever here’s the best of Augusts’ movie events across the country.

If the arrival of Jackson’s The Hobbit in December is sending you into pre release spasms of
excitement, or if you’re just a simple fan of Tolkien’s work, Loughborough University will this month
play host to Return of the Ring, a self confessed “ultimate event for fans of the books and
films.” Held over 5 days to celebrate 75 years of The Hobbit, The Tolkien
Society will be holding a frenzy of music, discussion and partying as a means
of socialising with fellow Rings fans and getting your Gollum on. Tolkien’s
grandson Michael Tolkien will be in attendance, as will other noted authors
with further guests to be announced. Opening night includes a costume
masquerade, a “ceilidh” (Gaelic social gathering) and a banquet. For a full run
down of the event as well as information about the Tolkien Society and how to
book your tickets, visit the homepage HERE

As the end of this painfully short summer will draw to a
fateful close Film 4 At Somerset House
will be there to comfort you by delivering its usual stellar selection of
classic and independent cinema for its season of outdoor screenings. The 2012
Summer Screen programme includes The
Birds, Apocalypse Now and Bicycle Thieves, with perfect double
bills like Sexy Beast and Drive and Boogie Nights with Beyond
the Valley of the Dolls complementing each other harmoniously. And as if
that wasn’t enough, this year’s festival favourites will experience their UK
premieres at the late Summer event, with John
Hillcoat’s Lawless and Walter
Salles’s adaptation of Jack
Kerouac’s classic American novel On
The Road (Main Picture) taking up the massive open air screen. Find out
more at the Somerset House website HERE

You don’t have to sacrifice those summer nights to enjoy a
good movie screening, and with Silent
Cinema London you don’t even have to worry about pesky popcorn rustlers or
the fateful self indulgent commentator. With wireless headphones handed out on
arrival, the big screen at St Martins Courtyard shows exotic films from
overseas, with a dash of India on the opening night with Bollywood dancers
celebrating the screening of a surprise film set on the continent, and a brisk
change of course to Europe follows the evening after as Italian food is added
to the menu to mark “a charming favourite” being shown. There are 100 free
tickets for each screening, which take place on the 8^th and 9^th
of August. Reserve your place HERE

Another freebie for Londoners; run by the creators of Secret Cinema, Future
Shorts will be taking over the British Library on the 20^th of
August for its pop up festival. Showcasing short films from the world over, The
Future Shorts Film Festival will be inviting visitors to see its summer line
up, which will comprise of BAFTA nominees and winners, comedy, animation,
drama, documentary and whatever else can be packed into a pint sized film. Find
out more about the biggest film festival of its kind, which is offering free
admission to its showcase HERE

Fear not those in Milton Keynes, for you too can bask in some free film
on a hopefully glorious summer day as Campbell Park puts on a whole
weekend of open air cinema that won’t cost you a penny. There’s something for
anybody, with The Incredibles, The Goonies and Indiana
Jones And The Raiders Of The Lost Ark stretching across
Saturday the 18^th of August and Wallace and Gromit And Curse Of The
Were-Rabbit, Mary Poppins and The King’s Speech filling up
the following day. You can find details of times and how to get there right HERE

The sun might be dipping into the horizon shortly but the silver screen
is still burning bright.