Be Kind Rewind Bristol is a film club devoted to the strange, the lurid, and the gloriously excessive corners of cinema history. This is a space for cult classics, forgotten oddities, and films that revel in bad taste, bold ideas, and a refusal to behave themselves. Expect exploitation cinema, high camp, horror, sleaze, midnight movies, and outsider art; the kind of films that once lived on VHS shelves, drive-in screens, and late-night TV slots.
Founded in June 2023, Be Kind Rewind Bristol is the longest-running film club at The Ill Repute and a cornerstone of the venue’s underground film programme. Running bi-weekly on Thursdays, what began as a small, DIY screening series has grown into a regular gathering for audiences drawn to cinema that pushes boundaries, courts chaos, and celebrates excess. Over time, the club has helped define the character of the downstairs space, shaping it into a home for cult cinema and shared late-night experiences.
Screenings are curated with care and genuine affection, championing films that might be overlooked, dismissed, or misunderstood elsewhere. Be Kind Rewind Bristol celebrates cinema that takes risks, embraces shock, and sometimes collapses spectacularly in the process. From axe-wielding psychodramas to cartoon anarchy and grindhouse delirium, each selection is chosen for its energy, attitude, and ability to spark a reaction.
This is not a passive film night. Be Kind Rewind Bristol is about collective experience; laughing, gasping, groaning, and revelling in films that demand a response. Hosted downstairs at The Ill Repute, amid the dive-bar grit, the club invites audiences to come for the cult cinema, stay for the chaos, and always rewind.