John Smith’s hugely influential film The Girl Chewing Gum was shown for the first time at the London Filmmakers’ Co-op on the 10th of March 1976. In celebration of the film’s 50th birthday it will be presented at Close-Up on the same date, together with The Man Phoning Mum (2011), Being John Smith (2024) and the world premiere of Smith’s latest video Two Pids (2026).

Both screenings will be introduced by Gareth Evans. John Smith will be in conversation with Stanley Schtinter after the 6pm screening and Erika Balsom after the 8pm screening.

With support from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts and Lightcone, Disassociative Productions presents The Death Spiral Tour featuring M Woods’ three critically acclaimed feature films, Dailies from Dumpland, Body Prop, and Commodity Trading. As part of this programme Close-Up is delighted to welcome M Woods to present Commodity Trading: Dies Irae and participate in a post-screening Q&A with Mikka Woods.

Commodity Trading: Dies Irae
M Woods, 2022, 87 min

A program in the form of a light spectrum, where each film is dominated by a color.

Announced in the title (Black-White-Gray, Blue, Gold), or its subject matter (A Light Wind in the Foliage), a metaphor for light energy (Loretta), the result of natural mixtures (Landscape Anomalies), laboratory manipulations (Drift), or the use of expired film stock (Tree Again), color asserts itself in the image, even reaching monochrome.

Program:

László Moholy-Nagy
EIN LICHTSPIEL SCHWARZ WEISS GRAU
1930, b&w, silent, 5' 30