Films
Institute of Contemporary Arts
Current and Upcoming
In Focus: TERRATREME
17 May – 31 October 2019
A showcase of contemporary Portuguese cinema from independent film production unit TERRATREME.
Flame in the Night: Transgressive French Cinema
4 – 11 July 2019
To coincide with the UK release of Knife+Heart, the ICA presents Flame in the Night, a season of three feature films and a programme of shorts celebrating new transgressive French cinema.
In Focus: TERRATREME
UK PREMIERE Campo + Q&A
Thu, 31 October
Europe’s largest military base on the outskirts of Lisbon is the focus of this reflective documentary by director Tiago Hespanha.
In Focus: TERRATREME
Djon África + Q&A
Fri, 16 August
Born in Portugal to Cape Verdean parents, 25-year-old Djon África embarks on a journey to discover his roots.
Africa 3.0: Zombies + We Need Prayers + this country is lonely + Hello, Rain
Sun, 14 July
Four short films from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa explore social media’s unremitting presence in our day to day lives.
Africa 3.0: Birth of Afrobeat + Bakosó: Afrobeats of Cuba
Sat, 13 July
Two documentaries explore the phenomenon of Afrobeats and its influence on music production worldwide.
Flame in the Night: Transgressive French Cinema
Ultra Rêve
7 – 10 July 2019
Three short films under one title by directors Yann Gonzalez, Caroline Poggi & Jonathan Vinel, and Bertrand Mandico.
Africa 3.0 Cairo Station
Sun, 7 July
A unique exploration of sexuality, obsession, and violence from renowned Egyptian director Youssef Chahine.
Flame in the Night: Transgressive French Cinema
UK PREMIERE Ultra Rêve
Sat, 6 July
Three short films under one title by directors Yann Gonzalez, Caroline Poggi & Jonathan Vinel, and Bertrand Mandico.
Africa 3.0 Foreign Body
Sat, 6 July
A young illegal immigrant creates a new life for herself in France while becoming the centre of tangled romantic relationships.
Flame in the Night: Transgressive French Cinema
The Wild Boys
6 – 9 July 2019
Trapped on a supernatural island, five privileged and savagely violent teenagers test temptation, lust and power.
Flame in the Night: Transgressive French Cinema
Knife+Heart
5 – 11 July 2019
From Yann Gonzalez, a hyper-stylised queer erotic thriller set in the world of underground gay pornography. 
Flame in the Night: Transgressive French Cinema
Jessica Forever
5 – 10 July 2019
A woman rescues lost young men from a life of violence in the striking debut feature from
Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel.
Flame in the Night: Transgressive French Cinema
UK PREMIERE Jessica Forever
Thu, 4 July
A woman rescues lost young men from a life of violence in the striking debut feature from Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel.
Members' Screening: Amy
Sun, 30 June
Archival footage and personal testimonials present an intimate portrait of the life and career of British singer/songwriter Amy Winehouse.
Penny Slinger: Out of the Shadows + Q&A
Sat, 29 June
The untold story of the British artist Penny Slinger and the traumatic events that led to the creation of her 1977 masterpiece, An Exorcism.
Melodrama Against Dictatorship: Sakada
Thu, 27 June
A two-part programme of films produced in the Philippines during Ferdinand Marcos’ dictatorship elaborate methodologies of oppositional political consciousness through cinematic means.
Melodrama Against Dictatorship: Der Lachende Stern (The Laughing Star)
Wed, 26 June
A two-part programme of films produced in the Philippines during Ferdinand Marcos’ dictatorship elaborate methodologies of oppositional political consciousness through cinematic means.
Diego Maradona + Q&A
Tue, 25 June
An immersive documentary portrait of monolithic football legend Maradona, constructed from over 500 hours of never-before-seen footage from Maradona’s personal archive.
In Focus: TERRATREME
Ordinary Time + Q&A
Sat, 22 June
After the birth of their first child, a young couple adjust to the rhythm of daily life in Portuguese filmmaker Susana Nobre’s debut feature.
A Moon For My Father + Q&A
Sat, 22 June
Iranian filmmaker Mania Akbari investigates the relationship between her physical traumas and the collective political memories of her birthplace.
Ordinary Time
21 – 25 June 2019
After the birth of their first child, a young couple adjust to the rhythm of daily life in Portuguese filmmaker Susana Nobre’s debut feature.
Diego Maradona
21 – 27 June 2019
An immersive documentary portrait of monolithic football legend Maradona, constructed from over 500 hours of never-before-seen footage.
The Edge of Democracy + Q&A
Thu, 20 June
Filmmaker Petra Costa maps far-right politics in Brazil in this expansive documentary.
Unsettling + Q&A
Wed, 19 June
Leftist Israeli director Iris Zaki temporarily relocates from Tel Aviv to the Tekoa settlement on the West Bank, exploring one of the most divisive issues in Israel today.
The Edge of Democracy
19 – 27 June 2019
Filmmaker Petra Costa maps far-right politics in Brazil in this expansive documentary.
Prophecy
16 – 25 June 2019
An intimate exploration of a single oil painting.
A Moon For My Father
15 – 19 June 2019
Iranian filmmaker Mania Akbari investigates the relationship between her physical traumas and the collective political memories of her birthplace.
Sunset
14 – 27 June 2019
László Nemes explores pre-First World War Budapest in this haunting portrait of a society on the cusp of change.
A Season in France
14 – 27 June 2019
Two brothers from the Central African Republic seek refuge in France in this compassionate family drama.
We the Animals
14 – 20 June 2019
An immersive portrait of working-class family life and brotherhood.
The Dead and the Others
7 – 22 June 2019
A young man attempts to resist his spiritual fate in this fictionalised portrait of tribal culture in northern Brazil.
Halston
7 – 18 June 2019
The life and times of legendary designer Roy Halston Frowick, the man who wanted to ‘dress all of America.’
Birds of Passage
31 May – 27 June 2019
Set among Colombia’s Wayúu people, Birds of Passage spans three decades of a family pushed to the brink by the drug trade.
Too Late to Die Young
24 May – 26 June 2019
Winner of the Leopard for Best Director at the Locarno Festival, Dominga Sotomayor Castillo’s latest film is a beguiling coming-of-age drama set in Chile.
Ash is Purest White
26 April – 27 June 2019
Selected to compete for the Palme d’Or at Cannes, Chinese director Jia Zhang-ke’s latest film delivers a sweeping and personal reflection on modern China.