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Open City Documentary Festival

@opencitydocs

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The art of non-fiction.
14–19 April 2026, across venues in London.
Short courses & MA / MFA at @uclanthropologyofficial.

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The Land of Common Disgrace, Vol. 2

When making a documentary becomes a collective act

Join Palestinian artist and filmmaker @cinemasaeed at SD Projects for a live, collaborative project exploring protest, policing and political activism in Britain.

Help build the set, take part in a collective reading or drop in to watch the documentary being filmed. No experience needed, and you can get involved as much or as little as you like.

📅 20–22 October
📍 SD Projects, Folkestone
🎟️ Free to drop in. No booking needed.

Commissioned by @sdprojects.uk and Folkestone Documentary Festival, in partnership with @screen.south

👉 For more information, visit the link in our bio.

#FolkestoneDocFest #TheLandOfCommonDisgrace #SDProjects #ScreenSouth

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Radical film school is difficult to fund these days through traditional grants because...we're radical. So we're always grateful to individual patrons who support our dream of keeping the traditions of militant cinema alive. This year they include Estelle Robin You, Maria Banica, Gregory Oke, Jenny Julien, and our supporting partner Open City Documentary Festival. Much love to you all, keep the revolution alive. If you're interested in being a patron, send us a message.

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A night at Close-Up for the industry screening of my latest film A LAST LULLABY / 戏梦未醒

This one’s been in the works for a bit, can’t wait to share more down the line x

[big thanks to @opencitydocs for collaborating with us on the screening and much love to my little MFA cohort ❤️]

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Open City Documentary Film Festival is delighted to invite you to the INDUSTRY SCREENING: MFA Creative Documentary Showcase Screening 2026!

Join us for an evening celebrating new work from this year’s London-based graduates at Close-Up Cinema in Shoreditch on the 6th of October.

🎟️There is limited space for this screening, please RSVP by Sunday the 4th of October to confirm your place (DM or link in bio)

Swipe to have a look at the programme —>

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The selected works from this year’s cohort explore a variety of topics ranging from the preservation of craft and trade to the rethinking of localised histories, bringing together family stories and overlooked narratives as an engagement with heritage and ecology in the contemporary context.

The screening will be followed by drinks in the Close-Up Cinema bar.

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Listen with your eyes returns 4 October 👀 A relaxed screening of 16mm & 35mm experimental films for children and their grown-ups, spanning seven decades – from Len Lye to Jodie Mack.

Join us from 10am for a free 16mm direct animation activity before the screening 🎨

🎟️ Limited tickets remaining – book @icalondon link in bio

Presented with @opencitydocs. Open to children of all ages.

#ListenWithYourEyes #RelaxedScreening #16mm #35mm #Cinema

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The Community Cinema is back this Autumn with another programme of free screenings at our UCL East campus. We're showing everything from arthouse documentaries to romantic dramas, all specially selected by our creative community. These screenings are held every Wednesday during term-time and are open to the public, just book your free ticket via Eventbrite (link in bio)

Check out what's coming up in the next month:

Wednesday 16 September, 7 PM - 9 PM
Fringe Fest: The Past We Hold + Q&A

Thursday 17 September, 7 PM - 9 PM
Fringe Fest: Queers Questioning Queers?

Wednesday 30 September, 7 PM - 9:15 PM
The Case Against Space + Filmmaker Q&A

Wednesday 7 October, 7 PM - 9 PM
Go Fish (1994)

Images (L-R): Film stills from The Past We Hold, Queers Questioning Queers, The Case Against Space, Go Fish A collage of old photos. The central photo shows a man taking a photo of himself in a mirror

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#Life After Refuge: Screening @ Portobello Film Festival 5th September 2026 between 6-10:30pm

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Join us on 30 September, 7pm, for a Community Cinema screening of The Case Against Space in the UCL East Cinema, Stratford.

Presented by @opencitydocs - The Case Against Space reimagines NASA’s 1973 Skylab 4 mission and the first alleged labour strike in outer space. Drawing directly from NASA transcripts, the film combines extensive research with speculative interpretation to reimagine the circumstances leading up to the strike.

The screening will be followed by a conversation with director Graeme Arnfield.

Book your free ticket via the link in bio.

Bringing thought-provoking filmmaking to the big screen in East London, the Community Cinema at UCL East programme is a series of free film screenings on Wednesday evenings with films that have been specially selected by our students, academics and community partners to inspire, engage and entertain.

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Fantastic to be at @theatreship this morning for our latest Film Hub London Exhibitors' Breakfast, which featured a number of presentations from Hub members and beyond, focused largely on connecting with young audiences - of course along with coffee, pastries and networking!

A huge thanks to Theatreship for being such a fantastic venue and to all speakers and attendees this morning.

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We are delighted to announce the projects selected for this year’s festival marketplace!

Thirty-five Irish, UK and international projects will pitch to international decision makers at the marketplace, taking place this year at our industry hub, The MAC. The projects were selected from our open application process, as well as our IGNITE-Docs Talent Development programme projects, and projects selected through our partnerships with Docufest Kosovo and Tempo Documentary Festival.

You can find the full list of selected projects on our website, at docsireland.ie.

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A round of applause for Film and Media Studies Professor Jordan Lord. They premiered their new film, “Concealed and Denied,” during a major solo exhibition entitled “Narrative Warfare” at Lux London. As part of the exhibition, they also delivered the Ian White Lecture at the Open City Documentary Festival.

An archival documentary without archival footage, “Concealed and Denied” narrates and audio-describes material from videos, podcasts, articles, and social media, while their images and soundtracks are denied. Through this deliberate absence, the film reveals how techniques – such as framing of the image, repetition, and editing – are used to manufacture authority and shape public understanding, particularly in right-wing broadcasting.

“Concealed and Denied” subsequently premiered in New York City at the legendary Anthology Film Archives as part of the sixth Prismatic Ground experimental documentary film festival.

Learn more about Professor Lord’s exhibit and work here:

https://lux.org.uk/event/jordan-lord-narrative-warfare/

https://opencitylondon.com/events/the-ian-white-lecture-jordan-lord/

https://www.screenslate.com/events/prismatic-ground-2026 A black and white photo of a smiling Professor Jordan Lord features the title "CC professor Jordan Lord premieres ne film in major solo exhibit". Beneath the title in smaller text, it reads: "Concealed and Denied" premiered at Lux London, where Professor Lord also delivered the lan White Lecture at the Open City Documentary Festival. The film subsequently premiered in New York City at the Anthology Film Archives as part of the 6th Prismatic Ground film festival.

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As part of the Open City Documentary Festival Workshop Programme, we hosted a Making Liquid Light Shows workshop at Rich Mix, exploring the vibrant world of analogue projection and its connection to experimental film.

In the lead-up to the release of Sophia Satchell-Baeza’s upcoming book Sensual Laboratories: Light Shows, Experimental Film, and Psychedelic Art(August 2026), we dived into the history, techniques, and contemporary possibilities of liquid light projection — from countercultural roots to immersive visual experimentation today.

It was incredible to return to the Rich Mix Studio space and see such a creative energy in the room. We were especially excited to witness so many fantastic first-time liquid slides projected and brought to life through colour and light.

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us and made the afternoon so inspiring, experimental, and illuminating

Thanks from Heena, Sophia and me! It was far out!

Photos by Jean-Jacques_Girod-Roux

#LiquidLightShow #ExperimentalFilm #AnalogueProjection #OpenCityDocumentaryFestival #RichMix

@heena_song_ @ssatchellb @opencitydocs @richmixlondon

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