Soho Film Club: ‘Beast’, ‘The Territory’ and more we’re loving

Here at Soho House, we take film incredibly seriously. Each and every day, we host screenings of the biggest and most important releases, as well as talks with some of the most prominent names in the industry at our Houses around the world. My name is Jo Addy, and as Soho House’s Global Film and Entertainment Director consider me your personal guide to everything that’s happening in the celluloid world. 

This week, I spent a lot of time on Sunset Boulevard switching between meetings at our West Coast Houses. On my travels, I noticed that the billboards dotting the Boulevard, considered to be the densest concentration of boards on the West Coast, were still advertising movies from July, and the biggest one – usually reserved for the blockbusters featured a naked J.Lo plugging her booty balm. It’s obviously selling well, as each board brings in some $500,000 of revenue per year.

The schedule in August is always light, before the film release glut hits in September, at which point I hope to see the billboards back in business. Here at Soho House, we are always bringing you the biggest new releases, and Idris Elba will carry the sleepy box office this weekend starring in Three Thousand Years Of Longing and Beast. Accordingly, members can get a double bill of Elba around the Houses in our cinemas.

If, like me, you love documentaries, then check out The Territory, which premiered at Sundance earlier this year with its stunning cinematography from Tangae Uru-eu-wau-wau and director Alex Pritz. A timely documentary that follows an Indigenous leader fighting back against farmers occupying a protected area in the Brazilian Amazon, the film is now in theatres in the US and will be coming soon to our UK members cinema programme.

Warner Bros is green-lighting some interesting choices lately, Wise Guys being one. A gangster drama starring Robert de Niro playing two separate roles, one can’t help but wonder whether Al Pacino was unavailable. Irwin Winkler, veteran producer of Rocky and Goodfellas is producing, with Barry Levinson to direct. 

The programmer’s picks: Javier Garcia, Rome Cinema Programmer
By the end of July, the projector in the new cinema at Soho House Rome started to roll. The selected film, Roma (1972), celebrating its 50th anniversary, was presented in a glorious, restored print in 4K DCP. When the credits of Fellini’s classic (with a soundtrack by Nino Rota) tinged the room in red, we all knew the magic had begun.

That event marked the launch of an extensive programme, combining screenings of classics with a mix of House favourites, as well as the biggest and most important releases of the season. Our Rome members have already had the opportunity to enjoy the brilliantly disturbing Nope by the genius Jordan Peele. And this week, the Brad Pitt-fronted hit Bullet Train will be offered as a summer delight for members ahead of its European release.

The end of summer is a time for festivals in Italy, with Mostra del Cinema di Venezia around the corner and il Festival di Roma happening in early October. I am looking forward to seeing which new titles these festivals will bring, but I’m even more keen on seeing the reactions of our members once Rome becomes crowded again after the Ferragosto holidays. The splendid new cinema is ready for them with the biggest releases, the best of international independent cinema, and the undiscovered gems of the creative Italian film industry.  

Explore all upcoming Soho House screenings here.