Take It Outside, Cinema

You may have noticed things have got a little heated in London of late. Like, really heated. So heated even a queen of 70-denier like myself has forcibly embraced the summer heatwave, imposing my naked limbs on the world. And as any city dweller knows by now, with every summer comes the usual promise of that much lauded al fresco lifestyle – the pop-up. Be it a restaurant, boutique or the now London stalwart – the pop-up cinema.

Driving filmgoers out of the darkness and into the relative light with a host of outdoor screenings around the capital, we run down some of the top cinematic experiences – from deckchairs to dinghies to nudity with strangers.

Having risen from a few small screenings in London’s far-out parks, Pop Up Screens returns for another year with a bumper programme throughout August and September. Keeping it simple – just some blankets, a big screen and some eats from Pop Up Burger – Pop Up Screens delivers easily one of the best programmes this summer, boasting an enviable selection of cult film favourites including The Big Lebowski, The Royal Tennebaums, Top Gun, 10 Things I Hate About You, Heathers, American Beauty, Pulp Fiction, The Rocky Horror Picture Show…. Basically, it’s like they got my DVD collection and took it out into the garden. Screenings take place in Manor House Gardens in Lewisham, Coram’s Fields in Holborn, Morden Hall Park and branch out to Hammersmith, Fulham and Greenwich. Weekend tickets are available – pitch up.

Before the London landmark gets transformed into another eyesore collection of flats, Everyman have teamed up with Heineken to present a summer of screenings at Battersea Power Station in The Power of Summer. Running until mid-August, catch The Full Monty, Toy Story, Ghostbusters, Breathless, Little Shop of Horrors and more cult classics plus food from Street Feast.

With venues all around London and further afield, for those not too afraid of regional trains, The Luna Cinema presents a wide range of unique screenings, old and new, in some stunning locations including Batman and The Dark Knight at Pinewood Studios, Romeo + Juliet in Kew Gardens, The Goonies at Brockwell Lido. Unfortunately Jaws (with premium seats on dinghies) has sold out. They really needed a bigger pool…

Feeling seaworthy? The Floating Cinema moors up in Paddington for perhaps a more grown-up filmic experience inviting us aboard for documentaries, experimental shorts, open air films, music and conversation as part of the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival (15-17 August). In September, the Floating Cinema arrives for a five-day residency at St Katharine Docks with screenings, workshops and talks as part of the Totally Thames celebrations.

With water on the mind, we move to one of the more off-kilter cinema screenings, of course, Hot Tub Cinema. Tales of these rooftop shared tubs have spread far and wide – as do the germs that fester in those warmed waters, no doubt. This year’s theme is ‘90s Mix Tape’, with American Pie, Clueless, Pretty Woman and somewhat inexplicably, The Lion King. Semi-naked in a hot tub with strangers while watching animated creatures frolic in the Serengeti? Y’know, hakuna matata.