From welcoming visionary directors for in-person screenings and audience Q&As, to hosting live-scored performances by brilliant musicians, to throwing community events that spill out of the screen and into real life – UPP is more than just a cinema and regularly hosts special events that bring that movie magic a little closer.
The Ultimate Survivor
Screening to be followed by a Q&A with director Phil Hind and others involved in the making of the film
Saturday 7 March 11.30am
Dream Palaces: A history of the Ultimate Picture Palace and early cinema in Oxford
Illustrated talk from local historian Liz Wooley
Sunday 8 March 10.30am
Hackers
Screening presented by Cinema Under the Stairs
Monday 9 March 8pm
Burning Man: Art on Fire
Screening followed by a Q&A with director Gerry Fox
Wednesday 11 March 6pm
Iron Ladies
Screening will be followed by an expert panel discussion and audience Q&A. Part of the Oxford International Women’s Festival 2026.
Sunday 14 March 2.30pm
Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Festival: Best of 2025
Audience favourites and award winning short films from Iris 2025
Tuesday 24 March 6.15pm
Gentle, Angry Women
International Women’s Day for Peace and Disarmament screening followed by a Q&A
Sunday 24 May 5pm
Ethics in Film presents: Gattaca
A one-off screening followed by a panel discussion and Q&A
Thursday 11 June 5pm
Use the film links below for more information and to book tickets.
A new generation of young activists uncovers the overlooked history of the Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp. Retracing a 110-mile protest march, they connect past and present, exploring feminist activism and intergenerational resistance.
Vincent is an all-too-human man who dares to defy a system obsessed with genetic perfection. He is an “In-Valid” who assumes the identity of a member of the genetic elite to pursue his goal of traveling into space with the Gattaca Aerospace Corporation.
Inspiring documentary chronicling British women during the 1984-85 Miners’ Strike and how their courage and resilience transformed family life, labour politics, and working-class women’s roles. Screening presented by the Oxford International Women’s Festival.
Teenage hackers discover a criminal conspiracy with plans to use a computer virus that will capsize five oil tankers. Iain Softley’s 1990s techno-thriller, starring Jonny Lee Miller and Angelina Jolie, presented by cult film club Cinema Under The Stairs.
From a haunted tollhouse to a high-rise reckoning, from quiet self-discovery to a love song by the sea. Audience favourites and award-winning short films from the opening night of the 2025 Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival.
Award-winning director Agnieszka Holland traces Franz Kafka’s life from Prague to Vienna, revealing a writer torn between ordinary life and obsessive creation. One-off preview screening followed by an in-person Q&A with director Agnieszka Holland.
Documentary about the artists behind Burning Man’s iconic installations, capturing the creativity and community of the festival, and following their race to create massive works in Nevada’s brutal desert. Screening followed by a Q&A with director Gerry Fox.
When the Oxford Picture Palace (now the Ultimate Picture Palace) opened in 1911 it was Oxford’s first purpose-built ‘electric theatre’. Join local historian Liz Woolley for this FREE talk about Oxford’s cinema history. Booking essential.
Documentary about the history of Oxford oldest and only independent cinema, Cowley Road’s The Ultimate Picture Palace.
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!