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Alastair James meets the team behind London’s only LGBTQ+ cinema and finds out where it all began and what’s in store.
Visit your local cinema, a task that is proving harder to do for some as venues continue to close, you’re likely to find the usual selection of films to choose from. Between the latest Marvel releases and A24’s most recent thrillers, and the occasional independent film, there’s a decent offering these days. But for those after the best queer cinema, the pickings are much slimmer. And it’s not that these films aren’t being made. Festivals such as BFI Flare, the Iris Prize and Frameline, all dedicated to LGBTQ+ cinema, are examples of this with full programmes covering everything from rom coms to thrillers, short films to features, coming out stories to trans narratives, and everything in between.
And it’s not as if queer narratives and characters aren’t being explored in mainstream cinema. All of Us Strangers, Fire Island, and Challengers, are all recent examples of films that have broken into the wider consciousness. But what about the rest? The ones that don’t have the distribution and marketing budgets of a Marvel flick or feature actors with large fanbases? The ones that excel in telling queer stories but are considered “too niche” for the large multiplexes and chains. The ones that offer some of the strongest, and most moving and relatable portrayals of queer lives. Such films have a new home now, The Arzner.
Located in London’s Bermondsey Square, down the road from London Bridge station, the former café and cinema has been given a much-needed makeover. Named after the legendary, but sadly often forgotten, Hollywood director, Dorothy Arzner, who just happened to be a lesbian, the space has been transformed into a chic and contemporary cocktail bar in the front and a revamped single cinema screen in the back. Entering the space, you’re greeted by plush velvety chairs grouped around tables. To your right stretches the bar, the front of which is covered in old VHS tapes apparently donated to the previous venue by local residents. Co-founder Simon Burke tells Vada: “We had someone come in saying ten of those are mine.” A nice piece of local history being maintained amidst all the new.
The Arzner’s bar (Photography by Alastair James)For those interested, meticulous care has been given to the cocktails served at the bar. Each is named after a cinema icon all the way from the industry’s golden age to the present day, and each has been crafted based on the flavour profiles of the celebrity they take their names from. Dotted around the walls are portraits of icons such as Liza Minelli and Katherine Hepburn, as well as Arzner herself. It’s the kind of space you can easily imagine working in during the day and then staying to catch a screening in the evening with a cocktail or two beforehand, of course. To the left as you enter is the corridor leading to the screening room. The space, decked out with a brand-new screen and sound system, can seat 48 and has two convertible wheelchair spaces. It’s intimate but not exclusive. The room also comes with a decent floor space, which is to be used for guest talks and Q&As.
The Arzner’s decor (Photography by Alastair James)During a suitably lavish launch last week Burke, along with fellow co-founder Piers Greenlees, welcomed a sea of cheerful faces to the space. “We are extremely proud of this place, and I think it’s going to become something very powerful in the community,” said the former. Sitting down later to chat with Vada, the pair breathe a sigh of relief at being officially open, having opened the bar in November. “It’s great,” says Burke. “We’ve had a really good response.” Greenlees adds, “It’s so cool being open and seeing people come through those doors. I’m so happy with it.”
The pair found the vacant space in May 2024. They acquired the keys in October, refurbished the bar area and set about restoring the cinema screen to its current glory. Screenings began in February and during the launch short films were on display to demonstrate the new setup.
Touching on the name the pair explain that the story of Arzner, who directed over 20 films in her time and is said to have had affairs with many of her leading ladies, including Joan Crawford, symbolises the need for a place like The Arzner. “We were researching queer icons from cinema history and came across her story,” says Greenlees. “We both thought that she was so cool and had such an interesting history and a big impact that it’s a shame her story’s wrongfully been forgotten. We wanted to put her front and centre.” Burke picks up. “Particularly powerful women get written out of history books. And the same with queer history as well, it tends to be forgotten about.”
Moving forward there are plans to celebrate Arzner’s work as well as that of other queer film creators such as Gregg Araki and Derek Jarman, both of whom are to be featured in the Arzner’s upcoming programming. Speaking during the launch, Karis Crimson-Wakefield, the Arzner’s programmer spoke of the difficulties when it comes to the distribution of queer cinema and the “intentional burial of queer cinema.” Embodying a Tomb Raider-like spirit, she is keen to unearth films celebrating and portraying all facets and aspects of the queer community – the good the bad, the ugly, and the beautiful.
But chatting to Vada separately, Crimson-Wakefield dispels the idea of the film industry being some “ominous place” and shares that her conversations with rights holders and filmmakers demonstrate the industry’s eagerness for queer films to succeed. “Most people are helpful, and they do want to see cinema succeed. Everybody is very aware of the importance of making media accessible now, especially in this time. So, overall, the response has been good, but we must keep trying and use the platform we have to make things more accessible.”
(Photography by Tom Dingley)For Crimson-Wakefield the upside of being a one-screen cinema is the intentionality of the programming. “The moment it gets fluffy there’s no point, because we’re a community cinema at the end of the day. So, we need to be there for the community that we serve.” That lies at the core of everything the team is doing at The Arzner. “Everything has been chosen by human being, not an algorithm. It’s not an afterthought for us; it’s not something we’re doing to score brownie points. It’s because we genuinely care about the cinema.”
Crimson-Wakefield then teases more of what visitors can expect soon. April will be 90s season with a spotlight on a restored version of Araki’s 1997 film Nowhere. “We’ve got that and a few of his other films,” she continues, “and then a wider selection of films that we felt complemented his vibe and the chaos of 90s culture. We’ve also got some talks lined up about rave culture and all that and some zine making and badge making sessions. Lots going on!”
People can sign up to join The Arzner as members with subscriptions costing £25 a month. Part of that provides access to members only talks and events as well granting members two free cinema tickets a month and discounts on food at the bar and Burke and Greenlees’s other join venture, the LGBTQ+ pub The Rising in Elephant and Castle. The launch of The Arzner just so happens to precede the start of BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival 2025. The team plans to be at Flare raising awareness of their existence with those in the industry. Though, the response from the industry has been brilliant, already, Greenlees tells Vada, “The industry reaction has been overwhelmingly positive. I’m so happy with how much they’ve taken to us. Everyone seems to be really wanting us and willing us to succeed. We’re very thankful to them.” The team also plan to partner with other LGBTQ+ film festivals all over the world.
(Photography by Tom Dingley)The launch of The Arzner comes as queer spaces, generally, are in decline. Between 2006 and 2022 more than half of London’s LGBTQ+ bars shut down, data from the Greater London Authority shows. Earlier this year, after already losing G-A-Y Late, it was announced that G-A-Y Bar was being put up for sale. Burke and Greenlees have worked against that tide having first opened The Rising last year and now The Arzner. For them, the decline in LGBTQ+ spaces makes somewhere like The Arzner even more vital beyond providing a home for films less commercially viable. “Having somewhere that isn’t alcohol reliant I think is [also] really important. Somewhere that people can come and socialise and not necessarily have the pressures of being in a club or a bar or somewhere busy and loud,” offers Burke.
Greenlees echoes this: “That’s one of the key things with us in this place is that we want somewhere to be even more cultural exploration of the queer community focusing on different things that you can do when you go out.” The pair also hopes it brings people back to the experience of seeing a film in a theatre with others, an experience almost everyone will have had and can relate to the magic of. “There’s so much more power to it,” Burke continues. “And talking about it afterwards is just a nice cultural experience.” Greenlees drives this point home recalling one such moment. “At my first film festival I saw Call Me By Your Name. It was on a massive screen with a hundred thousand seats. Having that shared experience with people was really touching. Having those stories constantly on and giving people the chance to see not just big studio films, but the small independent ones, is really important.”
As a journalist working in queer media, I’ve faced questions about why we need LGBTQ+ specific outlets and publications. And every year people ask why we still need Pride (the answers lie in the surging hate crime statistics and everyday queerphobia) I can already hear the same questions being asked of an LGBTQ+ cinema. So, what do Greenlees and Burke have to say to those people? “Most of the stories we show here are universal,” starts Burke. “This is a space for everyone to enjoy those stories. It’s important because most films have a straight narrative. That’s just how it is. And so having somewhere that is dedicated to [queer narratives], somewhere you know you can come to and watch something that you can resonate with probably more strongly than you would on more commercial films, that’s important. And showcasing that is crucial to the queer community.” Greenlees adds, “In the same way that there is a dedicated cinema in London for French cinema, it’s the same principle with queer film. It’s its own thing, and it has its own home.”
The Arzner, London’s only LGBTQ+ Cinema, Cafe & Cocktail Bar, is open now.
