Working Class Cinema

Working Class Cinema

🎟️

Underscore Cinema 2026 - Book Now

Underscore Cinema returns for its second edition — a bold and proudly grassroots festival that champions working-class filmmakers across the UK.

Presented by Underscore Studios and supported by the BFI, this year we’re once again taking over the iconic Rio Cinema in Dalston for a one-day celebration of radical, heartfelt, and boundary-pushing cinema from working-class voices.

Underscore Cinema is one of the very few festivals in the UK that unapologetically and explicitly champions working-class voices.

We don’t just include them — we’re built for them.

Seats are limited — secure your ticket and support the voices that deserve the spotlight.

When & Where?

Rio Cinema Dalston
107 Kingsland High St,
London E8 2PB

February 7th, 2026 | 1pm to 3pm

Underscore Cinema 2026 Underscore Cinema 2026 Underscore Cinema 2026
Underscore Cinema 2026
from £5.00

Underscore Cinema returns for its 2026 edition.

Back at the Rio Cinema in Dalston for another phenomenal event! Supported and backed by the BFI, join us for an exhilarating & important short film event that celebrates working-class independent filmmaking.

A panel discussion on stage at a theater, with participants seated in a row of chairs facing the audience. The screen behind displays the logo for 'Undscore Cinema'.
A vertical sign outside a building advertising a movie screening at a cinema, listing the movies 'The Whale,' 'Santo,' 'Omen,' 'Blue Jean,' and 'Under Score' in red and black letters.
Three people standing on a stage during a presentation or panel discussion in a theater with a large screen behind them displaying the 'Underscore' logo.

Programme

Digital illustration of three women, with one in the center, and the word 'MILK' overlaid.

Director: Naomi Waring

A tender, wild, and uplifting short film which explores infant food poverty through the journey of a young single mother’s mission to secure milk formula for her baby.

An elderly man is putting on headphones in a restaurant or café, with the text 'While you wait' overlaid on the image.

Director: Dan Jay Stockmann

The voices & music of Mid Downs Radio echo through the wards of the hospital, keeping spirits up during some of the most challenging moments in patients lives.

Silhouette of a seagull and a drone with sunset over ocean in the background, text 'Bird Drone' overlaying the image.

Director: Radheya Jang

A heartfelt story of unrequited love explored through a lonely seagull struggling to accept that his newfound object of affection is a human-operated drone with a limited battery life.

A framed photo of healthcare workers in protective gear outdoors on a grassy hill, with the text 'STAY HOME' overlaid.

Director: Sushil

Shot across the UK, with landscapes of Cornwall, the Peak District, and Manchester, Stay Home reflects the deeply individual, yet collective, nature of the lockdown experience.

Close-up of a person playing a piano, with focus on their hand on the keys, and the text 'The G*ited Hypothesis' overlaid.

Director: Mario Theodorou

A working-class child prodigy, born with the ability to hear and compose music, fighting the limitations of his social status to make the most of his incredible talent

A young man sitting in the driver's seat of a blue car, looking out the window with a serious expression, with the overlay text 'TWO MINUTES'.

Director: Jamie Benyon

Two brothers rob a corner shop only to be interrupted by their Nan.

CAPACITY
We have a limited number of concession tickets available on a first-come-first-serve basis. If you identify as working class, are currently on benefits, or consider yourself financially disadvantaged in a way that would stop you from purchasing a General Admission, then please consider our Concession tickets instead.

WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?
Underscore Studios is a volunteer-run not-for-profit. We believe in what we do and hope to do more of it for a long time. The money towards events such as these means that we can keep them as low as they are, pay our Freelancers & support the organisation to be sustainable.

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We are aware that even the cost of a concession ticket may be a key barrier for many people.

If you are struggling to meet the cost of this event then please email info@underscorestudios.co.uk for more details.