Can you hear that? The pulsing beat of Notting Hill Carnival ready for another year?

Hear it? We can feel it!

Wild West YSL 
Having premiered at Cannes film festival in May, Pedro Almodóvar‘s new short film produced by Saint Laurent creative director Anthony Vaccarello is hitting cinemas this weekend. Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal star in the Spanish auteur’s Western, telling the story of two hired gunmen who reconnect after a 25-year separation. Fully decked out in Saint Laurent, Strange Way of Life will no doubt be the most stylish Western you’ve ever seen.

Strange Way of Life will screen at the Barbican on Monday 28th alongside a pre-recorded Q&A with Pedro Almodovar, more info here. 

Last nightttttt
Following on from Stormzy’s dramatic rain-soaked performance (it only adds to the drama) last weekend, All Points East is returning to Victoria Park for a bank holiday weekend spectacular. Friday sees The Strokes (!!!) return to the city’s festival calendar for the first time since 2019 (let’s hope the sound is better this time…), supported by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs – the 00s are back, baby. Dance-funk duo Jungle top Saturday’s bill alongside the likes of Folamour and Nia Archives, while Haim round off the weekend with a chilled-out end to your four-day bender.

All Points East will take place at Victoria Park across the weekend, view the full line-up here. 

Little Lagos
Affectionately known as ‘Little Lagos’, Peckham is home to one of the largest Nigerian diaspora communities in the UK. For its latest exhibition, South London Gallery is painting a microcosmic portrait of the ties between Nigeria and South East London through culture, shared history, communities and art. Bringing together works by thirteen Nigerian and British-Nigerian artists, working across sculpture, photography, sound and film, themes of transnational exchange and finding a sense of place come into view.

Lagos, Peckham, Repeat: Pilgrimage to the Lakes runs at South London Gallery until October 29th, more info here. 

Hit the streets
It’s August bank holiday weekend, meaning it’s Carnival weekend. A permanent fixture on the city’s calendar since 1966 (forget those torrid Covid years), steel bands, parades, floats, dancing, and boomboxes will fill West London’s streets alongside the best Caribbean grub around. FYI, Sunday is kid’s day and Monday is adult’s day.

Notting Hill Carnival takes place on Sunday 27th and Monday 28th, more info here. 

Scrapper
Directed by newcomer Charlotte Regan, Scrapper tells the story of Georgie (Lola Campbell), a twelve-year-old girl from the outskirts of London raised by her mother. After her mother dies, however, she is left to fend for herself – stealing bikes to pay for the rent and paying local lads to pretend to be her uncle on the phone to social services. But when her absent father Jason (Harris Dickinson) turns up out of the blue, she’s forced to confront reality. Before heading to the cinema, read our interview with first-time director Regan here.

Scrapper is out in cinemas now. 

Shifting landscapes
It’s the last weekend to catch JD Rooney’s residency at Cob Gallery: formed in water. As the second recipient of the Cob Award, Dooney’s site-specific exhibition is a culmination of research reflecting upon past and present Atlantic crossings by the Caribbean diaspora. Exploring the complexities of dislocation and reconnection from both his Guyanese and Irish heritage, the multidisciplinary artist works with found materials to craft an installation that reimagines escaping to another land.

formed in water runs at Cob Gallery until August 26th, more info here. 

After the success of Poon’s Chinese New Year supper club at Carousel, Amy Poon has opened a pop-up next door on Charlotte Street. Serving up signature pork, chicken thigh, wood ear mushroom and tofu wontons, accompanied by noodle bowls and small plates consisting of wok-fried wind-dried pork sausage, pickled vegetables, piggy ear terrine and Youtiao, a Chinese churro desert. The drinks menu promises Pooña Coladas (we like), spicy margaritas and sparkling Darjeeling whisky highballs. Poon’s cult sauces, such as the WO Sauce and Extraordinary Chilli Oil are also available to purchase, so you can spice things up at home…

Poon’s Wontoneria runs at 23 Charlotte Street until October, more info here.