This London cinema is celebrating its 50th birthday – and it’s rolling out a stellar lineup

an image of the interior of Hackney's Rio Cinema showing a traditional stage with a heavy red curtain and theatre style seats — (Image credit: Rio Cinema)

London is the kind of city where you can start the day having no plans and quickly end up joining a free live music gig, followed by an indie pop-up, and a foodie festival in the afternoon. It was made for spontaneous people who love soaking up anything cultural. Now one of London’s favourite community-run gems in Hackney is celebrating 50 knockout years in the only way it knows how, by dusting off the old film rolls and putting on a show.

Hackney’s Rio Cinema is hitting the big milestone of 50 years this month, and it's shouting about it, with a series of celebrations, parties, and screenings to make cinephiles and casual watchers alike get seriously excited. Throughout the rest of the year, the cinema is "inviting filmmakers, artists, and cultural agitators to dive into their archive of 50 years of programming, choosing a title to reintroduce to the public."

Called Rio Forever, the cinema will kick off celebrations with a literal party on Saturday 18th April – Doc N Roll: Sports Banger x Jeremy Deller. The evening will combine film, music, and “Hackney’s creative spirit” according to the cinema. The opening night party has been curated in collaboration with Jeremy Deller, Sports Banger, and Doc’n Roll Films, putting grassroots subculture and counterculture at the centre.

a still image from the 1961 feature film THE FANTASY OF DEER WARRIOR

Other headline screenings include: Orlando on 35mm, which will be introduced by Sally Potter, who will be doing a Q&A on her groundbreaking adaptation, and The Godfather Part II, which has been chosen by Oscar-winning director and local Hackney hero Asif Kapadia, and he’ll be introducing the film, discussing its importance to him as a director and film lover.

As well as plenty of other starry guests set to make a cameo, like Dionne Edwards, So Mayer, and Tomisin Adepeju, there will be a host of iconic films on the big screen from classics like Punch Drunk Love and Purple Rain to more indie bangers like the 1961 Taiwanese feature Fantasy of Deer Warrior.

Each headline screening will be acting as a fundraiser to help maintain the “beautiful, historic building, and ensure the Rio remains an inclusive, vibrant, community-run space for generations to come."

Basically, it’s a big old party and spring/ summer season of cinema classics, all celebrating one of London’s oldest and most beloved spaces. You can head to Rio Cinema’s website for tickets and a look at the full calendar of events.

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Hermione Blandford is the Content Editor for Shortlist’s social media which means you can usually find her scrolling through Instagram and calling it work, or stopping random people in the street and accosting them with a mini mic. She has previously worked in food and drink PR for brands including Johnnie Walker, Tanqueray, Gordon's, The Singleton, Lagavulin and Don Julio which means she is a self confessed expert in spicy margaritas and pints, regularly popping into the pub in the name of research.

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