The wait is over. London’s much loved independent cinema, Curzon Soho, is reopening to the public on Friday 17th October, after more than four months of major building work. Originally opened in 1959, it was the first new cinema to be built in central London after the end of the Second World War.
Today it is one of the few cinemas with a comfy bar located in the very heart of Soho, and has become a major networking venue for filmmakers and enthusiasts.
Now looking better than ever, the Curzon Soho Café now boasts a stylish new look and increased seating capacity, the mezzanine lounge surrounding the Bar has also been expanded, the gallery space improved, and each of the three luxury auditoria completely refurbished.
New to the Café and mezzanine bar, mini-cine screenings will take place twice a week showing a retrospective of the best short films and videos from the likes of Mirrorball, Soho Rushes Short Film Festival and CODEC/X, all for free.
The reopening will be celebrated with a week of activities from Monday 13th October 2003 and will open officially on Friday October 17 with showings of:
- Party Monster - starring Macaulay Culkin, Seth Green, Dermot Mulroney, Natasha Lyonne and Chloë Sevigny.
- Okay starring Paprika Steen. Directed by Jesper W. Nielsen.
On Saturday 18, there will be an exclusive Screening of Joel Katz’s Strange Fruit (6pm) a powerful documentary exploring the history and legacy of a song unique in the annals of American music. Best known by a 1939 Billie Holiday rendition, Strange Fruit gives a bitter and harrowing description of a lynching.
One of the most important protest songs ever written, it became a staple in Billie Holiday¹s career. The film tells a dramatic story of the American past using this song as its epicentre.
Film Council: Digital Short Films - Big Stories, Small Flashes (11.00am).
Another chance to see some of the short films produced under the UK Film Council’s New Cinema Fund Digital Shorts scheme, and developed alongside
strategic partners across the UK in order to showcase New Talent on the big screen. Followed by a panel discussion about the future of digital filmmaking.
On Sunday 19, The return of Curzon’s most famous Sunday double bills is celebrated with a special £1 admission fee. There is a choice between a triple bill, screening all three films from Three Colours Trilogy (Red,
White, Blue) starting at 11.00am, and a double bill screening the classic romance Breakfast at Tiffany's followed by Woody Allen¹s Oscar winning Annie Hall in a second screen (12 noon).
- www.curzoncinemas.com
