We’re halfway through our advent calendar, and on that sugar rush hunt for fun things to do in London this weekend. Keep up! 

One hell of a ride
Five-time Academy Award winner Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s latest endeavour Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths is an immersive trip inside one man’s mind. The plot revolves around a renowned Los Angeles-based Mexican journalist and documentary filmmaker (played by Daniel Giménez Cacho) who, after receiving a prestigious international award for his work, returns home to his native country. Entering an unexpected existential crisis, the protagonist grapples with his identity, familial relationships and the folly of his memories as he teeters on the brink of his own limits. It’s already dubbed for an Oscar nomination, and now is available to stream on Netflix – so you don’t even have to brave the cold.

Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths is out in selected cinemas and streaming on Netflix now. 

Beauty on earth
Contemporary Canadian artist Marcel Dzama’s expertise are as varied as his subject matter, refashioning counter-culture iconography and delving into folk art while also creating costumes for the New York City Ballet and designing album artwork for Beck.

Currently showing Child of Midnight at David Zwirner, a new selection of works transports us to tropical, oceanic and celestial worlds, populated by grinning moons, anthropomorphized animals and shimmering constellations. Yet behind the beauty of these works is a vital message: “The exhibition, Child of Midnight, plays with the theme of an apocalypse of climate change,” says Dzama. “We are counting down the time on The Doomsday Clock, at this hour of midnight, with very little time for our children to prevent certain doom.

Marcel Dzama: Child of Midnight runs at David Zwirner Gallery until December 22nd, more info here. 

A very merry Christmas
Sod your Christmas carolling and Aled Jones reworks, this weekend we’re heading to the Sebright Arms for a special one-night-only musical Christmas soirée.

Let’s highlight the obvious, Jesus was clearly a music nut, just look at that psych, hippie haircut and Father John Misty beard, so in his honour, three of London’s finest musical acts – Sunglasses for Jaws, Ugly and Cturtle – are coming together for a most joyous of evenings. Plus there’ll be a special Murder Capital/Los Bitchos/Temples DJ mash-up to lull you into the early hours. O Come All Ye Faithful!

Taking place on Saturday 17th December, buy tickets here.

The moon on earth
Crafted by British visual artist Luke Jerram, a six-metre glowing sculpture of the moon has arrived at Greenwich’s Painted Hall. You may have seen the installation dotted around London and other major cities a few times before, but seeing it hung against the Painted Hall’s Baroque backdrop is quite something. Accompanied by a 360 soundscape written by BAFTA-winning composer Dan Jones, visitors are also invited to lay on daybeds and marvel at the illuminated landscape.

Museum of the Moon runs at Greenwich’s Painted Hall until February 5th 2023, more info here. 

That film with the blue people in
It’s been a whopping thirteen years in the making, and James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water is ready to take us back to the jungle moon of Pandora. Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, this instalment begins to tell the story of the Sully family. Shot almost entirely underwater, the plot charts the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe and the battles they fight to stay alive. The visual masterpiece stars Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington and Kate Winslet, and although comparisons to Cameron’s Oscar and Golden Globe award-winning original are inevitable, it’s an entirely new world in and of itself. But FYI, it runs for just over three hours, so choose your loo breaks tactically.

Avatar: The Way of Water is out in cinemas now. 

Question the ‘norm’
The travelling EDJI Gallery has made a pit stop in London – following a successful stint in Paris the gallery will host Hometown Sessions #2 at 67 York Street. Championing the international Queer artistic scene, the exhibition features a group showcase of four artists who push boundaries and question our preconceptions, addressing themes of identity and feminism. Ten per cent of all proceeds from the exhibition will also be donated to support the work of Le Refuge, an organisation providing shelter to young LGBTQ+ people who are victims of homophobia and transphobia within their families.

EDJI Gallery will take up residency at 67 York Street, W1H 1QA until December 18th, more info here. 

Christmas gifts a-plenty
Whether you’re struggling for Xmas present inspiration or just fancy treating yourself, MATCHESFASHION’s sample sale is most certainly the answer. Running at The Box until Monday, an endless list of designers including the likes of JW Anderson, Jacquemus, Molly Goddard, Raf Simons and Maison Margiela (we really could go on) will be sold at a heftily discounted price. Everybody loves a bargain and we’ll be the ones rushing toward the doors at 9am sharp – elbows sharpened.

MATCHESFASHION sample sale runs at The BOX, 4-6 Ram Place, E9 6LT until December 19th. 

Psst, here’s one for you
Run by chef Aidan Brooks, Eleven98 is one of East London’s best-kept secrets and we’re letting you in on it. Every Friday, Brooks hosts a twelve-seat supper club at an undisclosed Hackney location, offering up cocktails made using spirits from the 58 & Co distillery in Haggerston alongside a nine-course tasting menu. All ingredients are sourced from inside the borough, with Aidan growing his own produce in London Fields and working with local small market gardens, meaning the food’s carbon footprint is essentially zero. The menu changes regularly but the quality and taste remain at the same high standard – plus you’re supporting local business, everyone’s a winner.

Eleven98 runs every Friday in Hackney, for more information and to book a seat at the dinner table, click here.