The Shadow Scholars + Q&ACert-TBC

Directed by Eloise King | UK | 2024 | 1h 37m

Oxford professor Patricia Kingori delves into the hidden, multi-billion-dollar “fake essay” industry, where an estimated 40,000 highly educated Kenyans earn a living by writing academic papers for students around the world. These “shadow scholars” help students in countries like the UK secure degrees and launch lucrative careers, all without doing the work themselves. Travelling to Nairobi to meet the ghostwriters, Patricia exposes this invisible workforce and questions the true value of academic qualifications in a world where degrees can be bought.

One-off screening followed by a Q&A with Professor Patricia Kingori (University of Oxford) and Carli Coetzee (President of the African Studies Association). 

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed The Shadow Scholars + Q&A between September 16, 2025 and September 16, 2025.

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What else is on?

Today (Monday 17th August)

18:15

Jazz on a Summer's Day U
1h 23m
Bert Stern's 1958 concert film documents the Newport Jazz Festival, widely considered the first feature-length music documentary. It captures performances by Thelonious Monk, Louis Armstrong and Mahalia Jackson, forming a portrait of America on the cusp of the Kennedy era.

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20:30

Dead Man 18
2h
William Blake barely arrives in the lawless American West before violence forces him into hiding, guided by an outcast named Nobody on a spiritual odyssey. Jim Jarmusch's existential western features a stacked cast of collaborators and a live-wire Neil Young score.

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Tomorrow (Tuesday 18th August)

17:00

The Odyssey 15
Descriptive Subtitles
2h 52m
Odysseus, King of Ithaca, journeys home after the Trojan War, confronting vengeful gods and monstrous trials along the way. Christopher Nolan adapts Homer's epic, starring Matt Damon as Odysseus, alongside Tom Holland, Zendaya and Robert Pattinson.

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20:30

The Fisherman 15
£6 for Members / + Intro
1h 48m
A retired Ghanaian fisherman gets an unlikely new partner: a talking fish with big opinions. Together with his three quirky "Associates," he chases a boat-owning dream all the way to Accra. Laughter, magic, and Ghanaian charm collide in this heartwarming comedy.

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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!