Dok Night – Vegan Food & Symbiopsychotaxicinema presents THE MOON OVER THE ALLEY (1975)

18:00 Bar open

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19:00 Vegan Ethiopian Food (€ 10)
& Vegan cakes

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20:30 Symbiopsychotaxicinema

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SYMBIOPSYCHOTAXICINEMA presents Moon over the alley

Films for Those Who Care

Presented by Jeffrey Badcock

A series of socially engaged movies, screened once a month on Thursdays. Touching on such hot topics as immigration, homelessness, racism, education, radical gender propositions, the pandemic and gentrification, these films not only explore visionary politics, but are also chosen to stir our imagination and creativity. The essence of cinema is the collective experience, and these screenings are aimed at creating intimate communities again in an increasingly hectic and fragmented world.

THE MOON OVER THE ALLEY  1975
Directed by Joseph Despins
107 minutes
In English

Wow, this is one hell of an odd bird that’s unlike anything else I’ve ever seen, and it really shines because of it. Set deep in the Notting Hill district of 1970s London, it follows the lives of several residents of varied racial and cultural backgrounds who live in a boarding house. It is an incredible depiction of the times…  we see then-crumbling, then-affordable, gritty London matched to an outrageously varied music score reflecting its multiculturalism. The music shifts as the locations change, from Jamaican calypso pop through glam rock to folk and reggae. Its amazing, but in fact, the haunting music score was created by composer Galt McDermot, legendary for his 60s musical ‘Hair’. It is through these spiritual torch ballads that our characters sing of their dreams, and their hope to break through the harsh world around them.

So it’s the combination of this musical aspect, fused with the gritty black and white cinematography, that makes for such a wild and unimaginable concoction. It smashes all stereotypes and genres. We follow the main characters as they try to survive in the streets of London, full of urban violence, racism, demonstrations—with these events punctuated by music. It was shot on a low budget (which allowed the director more freedom to play and experiment), and has a wild made-on-the-streets vibe. The Moon over the Alley is a bizarre “kitchen-sink musical” that borders on the surreal, a well crafted flick that when seen today feels like discovering a buried treasure.

This will be a high-definition screening.

Free screening.