Scala: Sex, drugs and rock and roll cinema

‘The Scala had magic, it was like joining a club, a very secret club, like a biker gang or something. It’s like they were a country club for criminals and lunatics and people that were high. Which is a good way to see movies’
– John Waters

Comprising cult movies, horror and LGBTQ+, in daily double bills plus Saturday all-nighters, the Scala’s greatest hits have, over the years, been made more regularly available than they once were, their infamous tropes even entering into the language of mainstream cinema. Seeing these ground-breaking films again on the big screen, with an audience, invokes both their original shock value and the mayhem that can sometimes occur in the dark corners of the auditorium. The Scala’s legacy has also emerged through the subsequent activities of its young audience – the filmmakers, writers, musicians, curators, artists, actors and activists who’ve credited it for their unofficial film education, many of whom will be present at screenings and events throughout the season.