Anyone Can Play Guitar + Director Q&A12A

Directed by Jon Spira | UK | 2010 | 1h 40m

It’s funny how certain music scenes have become legendary. Merseybeat in the 60’s, London’s summer of punk in the 70’s, Sheffield’s Electro 80’s and Manchester’s ‘Baggy’ 90’s. When you break them down, they’re just a small handful of bands making very similar music during a very short but high-profile period. When people talk about regional music scenes, they never talk about Oxford. Yet Oxford’s tight music community has been steadily producing genre-defining bands of the highest quality and integrity for pushing 30 years.

Narrated by Stewart Lee and featuring exclusive interviews with Radiohead, Foals, Supergrass, Ride and Swervedriver, Anyone Can Play Guitar tells the unheard stories of some of the greatest bands (and the greatest stories of some of the unheard bands) as the backdrop to a truly unique and epic saga of success, failure, good intentions, and bad outcomes. From the DIY spirit of the early 80’s right through to the controversial corporatisation of Oxford’s best-loved venue, the film tracks three decades of highs and lows in a punchy, engaging documentary.

Screening followed by a conversation between director Jon Spira and Dave Gilyeat (BBC Radio Oxford). The Ultimate Picture Palace presents in partnership with the Museum of Oxford as part of the Sounds of the City exhibition & project (https://museumofoxford.org/whats-on/special-exhibitions/)

Book tickets

Saturday 24 October

5.30pmBook tickets

What else is on?

Today (Monday 5th October)

17:45

Volver 15
2h 1m | Spanish w/ English subtitles
Penélope Cruz stars as Raimunda, who returns to La Mancha with her daughter after her aunt’s death, only to encounter the ghost of her mother. A funny, moving blend of magical realism and family drama about grief, motherhood and secrets.

Book here

20:30

Bad Apples 15
Descriptive Subtitles
1h 41m
A teacher at a struggling school kidnaps her most disruptive pupil and locks him in her basement, then watches the rest of the class flourish. Saoirse Ronan stars in this satirical black comedy about how doing the wrong thing sometimes gives the right result.

Book here


Tomorrow (Tuesday 6th October)

16:45

De Gaulle: Résistance 15
£6 for Members
2h 38m | French w/ English subtitles
June 1940: France has fallen. Army general Charles de Gaulle refuses to accept defeat, fleeing to London to rally resistance. Simon Russell Beale plays Churchill in this internationally cast first chapter of Antonin Baudry's two-part historical epic. x§

Book here

20:15

Kikuyu Land 15
+ Director Q&A
1h 33m | Swahili & Kikuyu w/ English subtitles
A Kenyan journalist investigates stolen ancestral land and uncovers ongoing abuses on multinational-run tea plantations. A stunningly cinematic reckoning with colonial legacy. Screening followed by a Q&A with the director.

Book here


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!