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“The Scala had magic. It was like joining a club – a very secret club, like a biker gang or something … they could show films uncut because they had memberships, well that’s insane! It’s like they were a country club for criminals and lunatics and people that were high … which is a good way to see movies.”
Coming Soon: Scala!!! The Movie
Scalarama is very pleased to announce that a new documentary about the Scala cinema will be coming to cinema screens across the world very soon.
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 co-directed by Jane Giles and Ali Catterall as is based on Jane’s 2018 book Scala Cinema 1978-1993. Its world premiere is on Sunday 25 June 2023 at Il Cinema Ritrovato in Bologna, Italy and BREAKING NEWS!!! will be released in the UK and Ireland by the BFI (British Film Institute). We cannot wait for the world to find out more about this legendary venue.
Between 1978-1993 over a million people passed through the doors of the Scala Cinema for its daily changing programme of double-bills and All-Nighters, from high art to horror via sexploitation, Kung Fu, and LGBTQ+ This film features new interviews with diverse audience members who went on to become filmmakers, musicians, writers, actors, activists and artists. The interviews are combined with previously unseen archive material, iconic movie clips, animation and graphics, plus a thrilling new score by the celebrated musician Barry Adamson. With its universal themes of youthful discovery and the underdog versus the establishment, this is no nostalgia trip but rather a film of universal relevance with clear parallels between then and now. Above all, it’s a hilarious and joyous celebration of cinema-going.
In 2021, Scalarama helped Jane and Ali with the film’s Kickstarter campaign, blasting through its original target of £25,000, reaching £40,416! Thank you to everyone who donated, shared and supported.
The documentary features fans and staff of the cinema including: John Waters, JoAnne Sellar, Caroline Catz, Ben Wheatley, Ralph Brown, Mary Harron, Adam Buxton, Peter Strickland, Beeban Kidron, Isaac Julien, Stewart Lee; and Stephen Woolley. The film is produced by Alan Marke and Jim Reid of Channel X and Andy Starke of Anti-Worlds. It received BFI Doc Society Fund backing. Jane and Ali have described the film as
“a big screen love letter not only to the white goddess of King’s Cross but to the dizzy highs and depraved lows of a universally relatable cinema-going experience. For many disaffected young people, the Scala was a film school, foundation stone, and family. A crucial part of our DNA. A lifeline. A place to come out and stay out, all night long.”
Scalarama will be supporting the release so stay tuned for updates!
Until then, follow the movie on Twitter, Instagram, IMDb and Letterboxd
Once there was a cinema that became a legend… the Scala Cinema.
Famous for its iconic venue in London’s Kings Cross, the cinema was founded in 1978 on Tottenham Street and modelled on American style ‘repertory houses’ showing classic films, often in double bills. It moved to a former cinema (and Primatarium!) in King’s Cross in 1981 where its reputation grew. Known for its illustrated foyers, its cats (Warren, Roy and Huston), its all night film marathons and its dynamic monthly programme design, the cinema became a film school for many budding filmmakers, including Christopher Nolan, Tilda Swinton, Peter Strickland and James Marsh.
The cinema eventually closed in 1993, affected by raising rents, a leaky roof, the rise of VHS and mechanical citrus fruits, but the legend never died… and it was in 2011, that London film clubs and venues decided to raise a glass to the Scala, commemorating it with a tribute season called Scala Forever. The tribute became an annual event, and now here we are – Scalarama!
2018 marked a double anniversary being 40 years since the Scala Cinema opened on Tottenham Street and 25 years since the King’s Cross cinema closed, so it felt right to celebrate the inspiration behind Scalarama once more.
Scala Cinema: The Book
Jane Giles, former manager and programmer of the Scala, worked tirelessly with FAB Press to create a brand new book that features every single Scala programme from 1978 – 1993, with a full index of films, history of the Scala and London’s cultural scene, and plenty of photos and anecdotes about the time. Check out the video below for more details on the book. You can order a copy here.
Scala Programming
For Scalarama, we are encouraging everyone to delve into the history of the Scala (see here, here and here for articles about it) and put on your own tribute, inspired by their programming (see a taster of their programming on Letterboxd), their rebellious energy, their cats or whatever you like. We encourage double bills or even all-nighters. Films don’t have to be from the Scala time, anything post-1993 that has the Scala spirit (or would have been something they’d show) is all good too!
The Sound of Scala
And for a sound of the Scala, why not listen to this mega mix from Mark Moore, pulling together a real plethora of soundtracks to help reminisce on the glory days of the Scala.