A sublime cinema season under the stars

Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House, London’s groundbreaking open-air film festival, returns between 4 – 17 August. A prestigious programme of contemporary classics, popular favourites and premieres of forthcoming releases will be presented in the surroundings of Somerset House. They will feature on London’s largest outdoor screen, projected digitally and on 35mm film in full surround sound. There will also be special on-stage introductions from the stars and sundown DJ sets inspired by the screenings before the films begin.

In addition, a series of Behind the Screen talks from illustrious industry talent and an accompanying film poster exhibition in collaboration with Print Club London make Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House stand out as film fans’ choice of open-air cinema experiences.

Two special screenings will be presented this year in celebration of cinema icons – exhilarating and iconic black-comedy Trainspotting and legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Film4’s Trainspotting - one of the most inspired and influential British films of all-time - Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House will put Danny Boyle’s controversial 1996 hit back on the big screen. Experience the highs and the lows of Ewan McGregor, Robert Carlyle and Jonny Lee Miller’s booze and drug-fuelled odyssey, all set to an era-defining soundtrack featuring Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, Underworld, Leftfield, Pulp and Blur. This year’s Best of 10 vote will coincide with Daydreaming with Stanley Kubrick, an exhibition of works created by contemporary artists, filmmakers and musicians and inspired by Stanley Kubrick from 30 June – 29 August at Somerset House. The public vote will allow the audience to choose their favourite Kubrick film from a list of his 10 most famous movies. The votewinning title will be revealed in front of the Somerset House audience on the night of the screening itself.

Other films include: Ex_Machina - Three of cinema’s hottest stars – Alicia Vikander, Oscar Isaac and Domhnall Gleeson – are pitted against one another in a smart and stylish science-fiction thriller, a seemingly simple tale that places you in the centre of a stand-off between human and artificial intelligence. Director Alex Garland expertly tightens the screws as potential romance between a young scientist and the machine of his dreams slowly turns into something more sinister. Oscar-winning specialeffects take viewers to the cutting-edge of sci-fi cinema.

Sunset Boulevard - A look at the darker side of Hollywood fame from legendary director Billy Wilder, which blends black comedy, Gothic melodrama and film noir into one Oscar-winning classic. Gloria Swanson plays one of cinema’s greatest characters Norma Desmond, an ageing, fading movie star who ensnares a down-on-his-luck screenwriter and puts him to work fashioning her big screen comeback. Full of unforgettable moments that, given the film’s themes and Norma’s dreams, belong on the big screen.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula - A full-blooded adaptation of the famous vampire tale. Gary Oldman is in spellbinding form as the flamboyantly evil Count, while the supporting cast brings together Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins and even Tom Waits. This is exactly the sort of extravagant spectacle one would expect from The Godfather and Apocalypse Now director Francis Ford Coppola, with lavish design, wild special-effects and killer costumes creating a thoroughly intoxicating experience.

Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House, Somerset House, Strand, London, WC2 1LA

Tickets will go on sale in May and will be available from www.somersethouse.org.uk

Film4 Summer Screen runs from 4 – 17 August 2016

Ticket prices start from £16.00 plus booking fee

Doors open at 18.30, DJ’s from 18.45 and film starts approx. 21.00