Scala!!!
18
Why watch?
“This documentary brings the magic and the excitement of visiting the Scala Cinema vividly to life through super interesting talking heads, from staff and audience members, which features famous faces too, cool archive footage, comically drawn illustrations of the audience members and recreations of funny anecdotes through line drawings and animation.”
Hannah Broadbent,
Cinema Venue Coordinator
and legendary Scala Cinema.
In Britain’s post-punk Thatcher years, the infamous and legendary Scala cinema showed a diverse range of films, from high art to cult classics, sexploitation, horror, Kung-Fu and LGBTQIA+. Nudging boundaries of convention, it became an inspiration for future famous creatives.
With interviews from nearly 50 contributors, previously unseen archive footage and film clips, Scala!!! (or to give it it's full title, Scala!!! Or, the Incredibly Strange Rise and Fall of the World's Wildest Cinema and How It Influenced a Mixed-up Generation of Weirdos and Misfits) is an anarchic, uproarious documentary telling the riotous inside story of the cinema, with an original soundtrack by celebrated musician Barry Adamson.
This screening is in partnership with Scalarama Leeds, and will be introduced by festival team member, Alice Miller.
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Part of the national legacy of the Scala cinema was the creation of Scalarama Film Festival: A national film festival inviting individuals to contribute their own film events to a programme every September. The Scalarama Leeds Film Festival is one of the few remaining Scalarama groups in the country.
Scalarama Leeds are hosting a fundraiser on Wed 21 Feb at Wharf Chambers which you can find out more about here.
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"You really do feel like you’re transported back to the Scala by watching this film as the smells, the feeling of the uncomfortable seats, the noises of the underground, the sense of belonging, the late-night revelry and naughtiness are all described lovingly and in fascinating detail by those who were there at the time. The documentary has a frenetic feel to it that matches what life was like at the Scala.
Even if you had never heard of the Scala before this, if you love and frequently go to the cinema, then you'll want to watch this as it's a great insight into a beautiful venue that was a community and a safe space for many. It's fitting that it's being screened here at Hyde Park Picture House, as there are similarities to the Scala, an equally stunning venue, has the same inclusive and safe feel and the occasional all-nighter of Night of the Dead for LIFF too. " - Hannah Broadbent, Cinema Venue Coordinator and Scalarama Organiser