Speakeasy Cinema is an independent film series that puts good films on big screens in the amiable surrounds of Melbourne’s* best bars, cafes and creative studios. We screen titles that are overlooked or hard to find, often weird, but always some kind of wonderful.

Launched in 2009, Speakeasy was inspired partly by Austin’s Alamo Drafthouses, partly by the best of Melbourne’s lo-fi drinking dens, and partly by the risk-everything attitude of 1920s saloon keep Mary Louise Cecilia ‘Texas’ Guinan, who had never heard of a cup-holder. We show you the films we love in places that you like. In the vaudeville spirit of the speakeasy, you might also catch a director Q&A, a short film or, if you’re early, a spot on Texas Guinan’s knee. It’s not illegal, but it is worth keeping to yourself.

The program has included screenings of Beautiful Losers with a video introduction by director Aaron Rose, The Devil and Daniel Johnston with a live acoustic performance by Daniel Johnston, the Vice-TV-produced Australian doco Heavy Metal Gangs of Wadeye, gonzo doco The Red Chapel and the Speakeasy Talkie, Title Sequence, a night of show and tell about the best cinematic title design.

*and sometimes Sydney’s too!