OffBeat is the UK’s only dedicated film club celebrating the folk and working culture of the British Isles. We regularly host screenings and events showing this country at its weirdest and most wonderful.
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Town & Country
12th May
Walthamstow Trades Hall
£8
Tickets
We’re kicking off our first ever folk film festival in style with a selection of contemporary documentaries exploring where town and country meet. These films are brilliant, and we’re so excited to share them with you. We’re back at Walthamstow Trades Hall for the first event in the festival, though our timings have changed a little. Doors open at 18:30, with screenings starting at 19:30. Get down early to grab a pizza from Yard Sale, an OffBeat badge, and a cheap pint!
An exploration of place, protest, and everyday rituals across Britain’s shifting landscape.
- Saoirse – A haunting visual poem of inner exile.
- The Badgers – Sheep roam free, but for how much longer?
- Common Ground – Cat and Dog Pond – A quiet triumph of urban ecology.
- Probably Not The Haircut – A barbershop time capsule on Leytonstone High Road.
- The Farm on Our Street – A hidden pocket of green life on the estate.
- Mirrors – Seven years of England caught in a quiet storm.
Folk Traditions: Old & New
13th May
The Garden Cinema (Screen 3)
£12
Tickets
We’re back at The Garden Cinema for an evening of contemporary documentaries exploring folk traditions across Britain. We’re thrilled to be screening these films in a full cinema setting, using the venue’s newest screen. Screenings start at 18:20. Make sure to arrive in good time to grab a drink.
Old rituals, new rhythms – folk customs reimagined for now.
- King for a Day – Padstow’s spring rite, clinging on in modern Britain.
- Ottery – Tar barrels and small-town fire festivals.
- AWAKE! – Wassailing in Dorset; midwinter magic and cider blessings.
- Holmie Day – Shearing sheep the Orkney way.
Tied to The Land
13th May
The Garden Cinema (Screen 4)
£5
Tickets
Join us at The Garden Cinema for an afternoon of contemporary documentaries examining Britain’s deep and complicated relationship with the land. It’s our first time at this venue, and we’re really looking forward to it. This event will take place in the smaller of the two screens we’re using for the festival. Screenings start at 18:40, so get down in plenty of time to grab a drink.
What it means to live with the land – and what happens when it’s taken away.
- Living with the Cuckoo People – A novelist vanishes into a forest in France.
- In the Veins – The heartbeat of coal country, past and present.
- Without Bounds to Beat – Reviving the beat of rural tradition in the digital age.
- Wild Folk – Marcus Tribe shares a lifetime of earth-bound wisdom.