Original title: Scala!!! Or, the incredibly strange rise and fall of the world’s wildest cinema and how it influenced a mixed-up generation of weirdos and misfits
Directors: Jane Giles, Ali Catterall
UK 2023 | Colour | 96 mins
Avaliable on: DCP
with subtitles including descriptions of non-dialogue audio / Audio Description (AD)
In Britain’s post-punk Thatcher years, the infamous and legendary Scala cinema showed a diverse range of films, from high art to cult classics, sexploitation, horror, Kung-Fu and LGBTQIA+. Nudging boundaries of convention, it became an inspiration for future famous creatives.
With interviews from nearly 50 contributors, previously unseen archive footage and film clips, Scala!!! is an anarchic, uproarious documentary telling the riotous inside story, with an original soundtrack by celebrated musician Barry Adamson. Transcending nostalgia, Scala!!! is a universal testament to the power of cinemas, providing refuge and community for outsiders. A place where everyone is welcome.