Occupied City12A

Directed by Steve McQueen | Netherlands/UK | 2023 | 4h 26m (inc. 15min intermission)

Where do the memories of a city disappear to? Oscar, BAFTA, and Turner Prize-winning filmmaker Steve McQueen presents this monumental documentary exploring the collision of the past with the present in modern day Amsterdam. From the Nazi occupation in 1940 to recent months of pandemic and protest, McQueen presents this poetic and dreamlike documentary where history and hope for a new future coexist.

Reviews

‘In its scale and seriousness, Occupied City allows its emotional implication to amass over its running time. The effect is mysterious and moving.’
★★★★★
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

‘For the most part, sound and image are irreconcilable, so you find yourself either listening in horror or watching with pleasure, only for the spell to be broken by some eye or ear-catching detail in the other temporal strand’
★★★★
Robbie Collin, The Telegraph

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed Occupied City between February 24, 2024 and February 24, 2024.

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What else is on?

Today (Saturday 13th June)

14:45

Eagles of the Republic 15
2h 8m | Arabic w/ English subtitles
Under pressure from Egyptian authorities, an actor reluctantly stars in a state-backed film, only to become entangled in a dangerous affair with a general’s wife. Award-winning filmmaker Tarik Saleh (The Nile Hilton Incident) delivers a satirical political thriller set amid corruption in Cairo.

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17:45

The Lodger PG
+ Live Score
1h 30m
A serial killer is on the loose in London and a detective is assigned to the case. Viola player and filmmaker Hugo Max presents his fourth UK tour accompanying Alfred Hitchcock’s 1927 silent masterwork The Lodger with live score.

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20:15

Backrooms 15
1h 45m
When a patient vanishes through a strange basement doorway of a furniture showroom, his therapist follows him into a disorienting dimension. Expanding Kane Parsons’ cult online series, this feature-length adaptation stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve and bringing “liminal horror” to the big screen.

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Tomorrow (Sunday 14th June)

12:30

Muppet Treasure Island U
Kino Kids Cinema Club
1h 40m
Join the Muppets on a rollicking pirate adventure after Jim Hawkins discovers a mysterious treasure map. Packed with sea shanties, mutiny, buried treasure, and chaos, this lively retelling of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic delivers family entertainment.

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14:45

The Spirit of the Beehive PG
1h 38m | Spanish w/ English subtitles
In a small Spanish village under early Franco rule, a child’s fascination with Frankenstein blurs imagination and reality. Victor Erice’s celebrated classic is a landmark of Spanish cinema, revered for its poetic depiction of childhood and political shadowed history.

Book here

17:15

Eagles of the Republic 15
2h 8m | Arabic w/ English subtitles
Under pressure from Egyptian authorities, an actor reluctantly stars in a state-backed film, only to become entangled in a dangerous affair with a general’s wife. Award-winning filmmaker Tarik Saleh (The Nile Hilton Incident) delivers a satirical political thriller set amid corruption in Cairo.

Book here

20:00

Skateboard Film Club Cert-TBC
£6 tickets
1h 35m
A skate film night featuring the Oxford premiere of Polar’s latest full-length You Got It My Boy Jamie.., alongside work from Skateboard Café, Pass~Port and Krooked. Curated by Keen Distribution with Skateboard GB, it showcases leading modern skate filmmakers and brands.

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Plan your visit

Our beautiful art deco inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford's Cowley Road.We are open 7 days a week. We open the cinema and box office 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of each film, and the Box Office then closes 10 minutes after the film starts. We only show a few adverts – less than most cinemas – and we only play a couple of trailers, so please don’t be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!