The Institute of Contemporary Arts' cinema — a single screen inside the ICA building on the Mall, programming experimental film, artist moving image, documentary, and the kind of cinema that exists at the boundary between film and art. The ICA has always been London's most adventurous cultural institution, and the cinema reflects that: programmes that would not survive in commercial exhibition find their audience here, from Apichatpong Weerasethakul to Chris Marker to debut filmmakers whose first screening is in this room. The setting — a Nash terrace on the Mall, between Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square — adds a surreal contrast between the experimental programme and the ceremonial address.
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The ICA cinema is for film that challenges convention — expect essay films, artist moving image, documentary hybrids, and international work that the BFI's broader programme might not reach. Check for filmmaker introductions and post-screening discussions. Combine with the ICA gallery exhibitions and the bookshop, which stocks film theory and criticism alongside contemporary art publications.
Evening screenings for the most engaged, specialist audience. The ICA runs late events that combine screenings with music or performance. Weekday afternoons for quieter screenings and gallery visits. Check the monthly programme — the ICA's film selections change frequently.
The ICA was founded in 1946 and has occupied the Mall since 1968. Day membership may be required for non-members to access screenings and exhibitions — check the website. The cinema is a single screen (around 180 seats) with good projection. The building is grand but the interior is deliberately contemporary. The ICA Bar is open for pre- and post-screening drinks. Nearest tube: Charing Cross or Piccadilly Circus. The combination of experimental film and a Regency palace setting is uniquely London.