Surya Anthony visits The Nickel Cinema in Clerkenwell for an indie film premiere
The Nickel Cinema in Clerkenwell has been open since the summer, but the evening of 1 December marked my first time seeing it in full flow. This was a premiere night; no velvet ropes or forced smiles, just something smaller, more deliberate, and much more fun.
We (myself and Penny Dampier) arrived early and spent the first stretch of the evening downstairs at the bar, which quickly became the social centre of the night. Cast members and guests mingled as the room filled steadily. It gave everyone time to settle into the space and get a sense of Clerkenwell’s newest cinema. By the time word came through that it was time to head upstairs, there was a quiet buzz that suggested people were genuinely looking forward to the screening.
The film was Remi Milligan: Lost Director, directed by Sam Lodato, and it was presented to a full room that included the director, the star, and much of the cast.
Framed as a documentary, the film charts the life and disappearance of Remi Milligan, a cult filmmaker whose devotion to cinema was total. We hear from his parents, collaborators, and most committed fans, gradually building a picture of someone who lived for filmmaking and seemed happiest when creating something – anything – on screen.
What quickly becomes clear, though, is that the film is also extremely funny. The room was regularly in stitches. Much of this comes from the films Remi makes within the film, including Song and Dance at Guantanamo Bay, The Greek Connection, Killer Pencil (which later found its way to screenings at Screen on the Green in Angel), and Satsuman!, a personal highlight. These clips are equal parts ridiculous and impressive, giving the audience just enough insight into why Remi inspired such loyalty.
Remi is played by Yoshi Barrigas (The Chosen, The Big Bang Theory), who commits fully to a character driven by obsession and belief in equal measure. Through the accounts of parents, collaborators, and fans, the film builds a clear picture of who Remi was and how far he was willing to go in service of making films. His intensity is never softened, and the film doesn’t shy away from showing how unsettling that devotion could be. As actor Sara Granato, who plays Flam, described it on the night, the film functions as an ode to filmmaking — not a romanticised one, but an honest look at what happens when creation becomes the centre of a life.
Following the screening, a Q&A allowed the cast and director to expand on the project. Barrigas spoke about the film’s tactility and its connection to a period of filmmaking that still feels close enough to touch. In a time when AI tools can generate images and clips at the click of a button, Remi Milligan: Lost Director leans into something more human: the mess, chaos, obsession, and physical effort of making independent films in the early 2000s, when the process was changing fast but remained rooted in tangible work.
I didn’t go into Remi Milligan: Lost Director knowing quite what kind of film I was about to watch. What I got was something that made me laugh loudly, then pause almost immediately afterwards. The comedy is sharp and generous, but threaded through with something more uneasy. It’s a film that trusts the audience to feel that tension without being told what to make of it, and I found myself carrying that feeling with me well beyond the screening.
Stepping back out into Clerkenwell afterwards, the night felt like another reminder of why the area continues to punch above its weight culturally. A packed room, a genuinely entertaining film, and a cinema that knows how to host without getting in the way all added up to a very good night out.
More on Remi Milligan here.
Remi Milligan: Lost Director is available to stream on Amazon Prime.
