Scala!!! (Engl. OV) – Feature doc about the world's wildest cinema – British Shorts Retrospective
Schedule
Mon, 26 Jan, 2026 at 07:30 pm
Location
SPUTNIK KINO (Höfe am Südstern) Berlin Kreuzberg | Berlin, BE
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“The Scala had magic, it was like joining a club, a very secret club, like a biker gang or something. 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” John Waters
"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"
UK 2023, 96min, Dir: Ali Catterall & Jane Giles
With: John Waters, Peter Strickland, Thurston Moore, Barry Adamson, Mark Moore, Matt Johnson, Princess Julia, Douglas Heart, Ben Wheatley, Isaac Julian, Caroline Catz, Stewart Lee, Adam Buxton, Cathi Unsworth, James O'Brien, Mary Harron, John Akomfrah, Jah Wobble a.o.
Trailer:
"Scala!!!" is an anarchic, uproarious, and ultimately heart-breaking big screen feature-length documentary telling the riotous inside story of London’s legendary Scala cinema, 1978-1993. The film is a kaleidoscopic combination of archive film and photography, eye-popping movie clips, graphics and animation alongside the interviews, the film is highly evocative but much more than mere nostalgia. It‘s a universal shout-out to the power of cinemas to inspire impressionable young minds and create a sense of community for outsiders – a place where everyone is welcome.
During Britain’s politically turbulent post-punk ‘Thatcher years’ over a million people from all over the UK passed through the doors of the Scala cinema. For 15 glorious years, it inspired an entire generation with its iconic monthly repertory programmes, which included everything from high-art classics to sexploitation, horror, Kung Fu and LGBTQ+ in daily-changing double-bills and unforgettable All-Nighters.Battered 35mm and 16mm prints of films by alternative auteurs such as Pier Paolo Pasolini, Walerian Borowczyk, Russ Meyer, John Waters, Derek Jarman and David Lynch formed the beating heart of the Scala's monthly programme, alongside others who pushed even further at the boundaries of taste and convention.
Many of the Scala’s young audience members went on to become musicians, writers, artists, actors, activists and, of course, filmmakers.
... By the way, this is the second part of the British Shorts Retrospective:
Scala Rising: Anarchic Shorts from London’s Legendary Underground Cinema
Tue 27.1.2026, Filmrauschpalast
Short film programme (Drama, Comedy, Experimental, Mystery), 100:00 Min
Screening details: https://www.britishshorts.de/programme?id=1824083578214770086
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Where is it happening?
SPUTNIK KINO (Höfe am Südstern) Berlin Kreuzberg, Körtestraße 19, 10967 Berlin, Deutschland, Berlin, GermanyEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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