Grab the popcorn, London, we’re going to the movies!
This week’s Loon Recommends is all about film, whether that means catching a free screening under the stars, discovering that your neighbourhood park has suddenly become a cinema, or heading to The Hyland to see why London’s beloved independent theatre is having a bit of a moment. Lights, camera... let’s go!
The Loon Recommends for August 13 - 19, 2026
River District Movie Nights
London’s Parks Are Going to the Movies
The Hyland is Making Going to the Movies an Event Again
River District Movie Nights
Tuesday, August 18 | Harris Park | 7:30 PM | FREE
Is there a better way to spend a summer evening than watching a great movie under the stars? I don’t think so. This Tuesday, August 18, River District Movie Nights brings 42 to Harris Park. It’s a particularly fitting setting for this biopic of baseball legend Jackie Robinson, as you’ll be watching the film across the river from our historic Labatt Memorial Park where the London Majors play.
I’ve seen the movie and I really enjoyed it, and recommend it. It has a terrific cast, starring the late Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther) as Jackie Robinson, Harrison Ford as Brooklyn Dodgers president Branch Rickey, and Christopher Meloni and Alan Tudyk in supporting roles.
Pre-show festivities kick-off at 7:30 p.m. with live music courtesy of the Paul Seed Fund. The movie is shown in the bandshell pavillion (near where Rock the Park takes place). The movie will start at dusk (usually between 8:00 – 9:00 PM). All you need to do is show up - but remember to bring a blanket and/or chair.
Best of all, it’s free.
Details
Concession food available from the Forest City Film Festival.
Washrooms available (which I imagine are porta-potties, you are forewarned).
Free bike parking!
No tickets or registration required.
Rain in the forecast? Outdoor Movie Events are weather dependent. The City says if a movie is cancelled due to weather, it will be shown the following Wednesday.
Why not make a night of it and have dinner beforehand at The Bicycle Café (a sponsor of The Loon) or Pizzeria Madre in the River District. Or get an ice cream at District Ice Cream.
This series has apparently been running all summer, but I only just caught wind of it. Next week – Tuesday, August 25 is the last film of the season with Bicentennial Man (with Robin Williams).
For more information, see the Tourism London site here.
London’s Parks Are Going to the Movies
Various dates & locations | Movies start at dusk | FREE
I had no idea there were so many free movie screenings were taking place all over the city this summer! In the same vein as River District Movie Nights, the City of London is running Neighbourhood Outdoor Movie Nights, which turn local parks into pop-up cinemas for a night.
Apparently, this series started June 19 and runs until September 19. By the time it wraps up, there will have been 42 Outdoor Movie Nights in 42 different parks across the city! That’s pretty impressive.
For the next two weeks, screenings and locations are as follows:
Friday, August 14, Byron Hills Park, A Minecraft Movie
Friday, August 14, Sugarcreek Park, Zootopia 2
Saturday, August 15, Bonaventure Meadows, A Minecraft Movie
Saturday, August 15, Jesse Davidson Park, Madagascar
The series is very much a community affair, with local neighbourhood groups hosting the screenings. And with locations scattered across London, chances are there’s one happening not too far from you.
All you need to do is: pick a movie, grab a blanket or lawn chair, pack some snacks and head to the park. Screenings are free, generally start at dusk (between 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM), and are weather-dependent.
Check out the City of London’s Outdoor Movie Nights schedule and find a screening near you.
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The Hyland is Making Going to the Movies an Event Again
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma Special Screening w. Holy Diver | Friday, August 14, 2026 | $13.27 at the door
From first-run indie films to cult favourites and the return of 35mm and 70mm, London’s independent cinema is giving movie lovers plenty of reasons to get off the couch.
Anyone who knows me knows I’m a huge movie fan. One of the places that helped instill that love of film in me was The New Yorker, London’s much-loved repertory cinema that operated from 1974 until the early 1990s. It was there that I discovered art-house movies, foreign films and classics I probably wouldn’t have encountered anywhere else – movies like Diva, Blue Velvet and Sex, Lies and Videotape.
Which might explain why I’ve been so excited by what’s been happening lately at The Hyland Cinema1.
The Hyland’s single-screen theatre has always occupied a special place in the city’s film culture. The building itself dates back to the 1930s, when it opened as the Elmwood, later becoming the Hyland in 1959. I’m pretty sure it was at The Hyland where I saw both E.T. and Raiders of the Lost Ark back in the day.
Over the decades it has survived the arrival of the multiplex, home video, streaming and, perhaps most precariously, the pandemic. But lately, the Hyland seems to be having a bit of a moment…
Getting the Movies
This month, the theatre landed the exclusive London opening of the much-anticipated Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma by Director Jane Schoenbrun (I Saw the TV Glow), starring Hannah Einbinder (Hacks) and Gillian Anderson (who needs no introduction).
The Hyland also opens Tony (a biopic about Anthony Bourdain) by Matt Johnson (Blackberry and Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie), on its general release date - which is still a pretty big deal for an independent theatre operating alongside the multiplex chains.
So How is the Hyland Pulling it Off?
According to Manager and Programmer Mike Klassen, it comes down to relationships with distributors, and audiences actually showing up when the theatre gets these opportunities.
The Hyland has worked to establish trust with distributors that the cinema will treat a new release differently than a major chain might. But Klassen says the other part of the equation is what he jokingly calls “butts in seats.”
“If the audience wasn’t coming, we wouldn’t have been able to develop that trust with the distributors.”
In other words, London moviegoers deserve some of the credit.
Making Movies an Event Again
Getting interesting movies is only part of what the Hyland has been doing differently. Over the past few years, the theatre has increasingly turned screenings into events.
Lately, there have been Twin Peaks Tuesdays and Noir Nights. A screening of Degrassi: School’s Out! brought actors Pat Mastroianni and Stacie Mistysyn to London for an in-person Q&A, while cult favourite The Room came with an appearance by star Greg Sestero.
Klassen says the response to this kind of programming has been “incredible,” and gives the Hyland an excuse to screen the kinds of movies its team wants audiences to experience on the big screen.
The Hyland is showing 13 screenings of Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma from August 14 - August 20, but this Friday, August 14 will be a special event for the debut screening. On that night, Holy Diver will be serving smoked hot dogs and signature Miasma-themed drinks in the theatre!
So arrive early, enjoy some camp-themed snacks, and participate in some gruesome giveaways! Presold ticket holders will receive official Camp Miasma posters (Limited Quantity, while supplies last).
The Reture of Film - Everything Old Is New Again
Which brings me to one of my favourite developments at The Hyland - the return of actual film.
I’ve had the chance to see both Jaws and Dunkirk at the Hyland on 35mm. Both screenings were well attended, and there’s something special about experiencing these films on the big screen in their original format.
I went to film school back in the ’90s, where we shot and edited on actual film. There’s a richness to film that digital just doesn’t have. It’s hard to put into words, but I imagine for audiophiles it’s a bit like the difference between listening to a record on vinyl and streaming the same album on Spotify.
I also had a film professor say that you can chart when digital editing started to become the norm because quick and frequent cuts (edits) became much more common. When you didn’t have to literally splice and tape film together, Directors made more cuts, and that is not necessarily a good thing.
The Hyland has also invested in 70mm projection, with screenings of Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair and Project Hail Mary in the large format. Klassen says both were huge box-office successes for the theatre. And they’re not stopping there…
EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT!
The Hyland is currently prepping installation of a second 70mm projector, which will allow it to screen repertory 70mm prints (meaning classic films).
And this isn’t the Hyland simply jumping onto the latest analog trend. According to Klassen, the theatre’s owners and long-time projectionist Victor Liorentas have always been committed to showing movies on film.
After 2012, however, finding prints became increasingly difficult—and there wasn’t necessarily an audience clamouring to see them. Then something changed, says Klassen:
”Distributors are now striking new prints of older films, doing restorations and making available prints that were previously not available. It’s largely because the audience decided that it was something that they wanted to see and experience.
Luckily, Vic and the Hyland owners never gave up on the format and we were able to just build on what they had already started.”
It feels like part of something bigger happening culturally. Film photography is having a resurgence. Physical books are experiencing a resurgence, The Odyssey shot on IMAX film is a billion dollar hit movie. Music cassettes are back!
In a world where so much of our entertainment has become digital, instant and disposable, there seems to be a growing appetite for things that feel physical, intentional and a little less perfect.
None of This Works Without an Audience
Ultimately, though, none of this works without an audience.
The Hyland can invest in projectors, build relationships with distributors, create clever programming and convince studios to send film prints to London, but people still have to buy tickets.
And as one of those people, I’m pretty excited to see what they put on the screen next!
For More Information
Read a recent London Free Press article on The Hyland and Camp Miasma
Read a London Free Press article from last year on Hyland projectionist Vic and their 70 mm projector
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Editor’s note: Our daughter recently graduated school and is now gainfully employed at The Hyland. I would be writing about them anyway, but this personal connection means I am much more attuned to what they have going on.
I also got a good part of my film education at The New Yorker; most of the rest came from TVO's Saturday Night at the Movies with Elwy Yost. I love what the Hyland is doing. It's the only movie theatre in London that I go to regularly. Is there curated programming on a similar scale at an independent cinema anywhere else within 100km? Not that I know of, but I'd be glad to hear of it if there is.