Sunset Screening at the Dock: Two Films, One Riverside

Sirlute
20 hours ago
3 min read

Saturday 12 September, Orchard Dry Dock. Two films, live music from Sirlute artists, and the Thames doing the set design.

There are worse places to watch a film than a dry dock on the Thames with the O2 lit up on the far bank.

Sunset Screening at the Dock is our outdoor cinema, running as part of Ballymore's Islander Festival on London City Island. It's a full evening rather than a screening, two films, live music between them, food and a bar, and the light going from afternoon to golden to properly dark while you sit there. It's designed and run with our young people, and every ticket goes back into the free creative programmes Sirlute delivers across East London.

Saturday 12 September. Orchard Dry Dock, E14 0JZ. From 4pm.

The double bill

Despicable Me (U) — the early slot, while there's still light and the crowd is arriving. Three orphan girls, one supervillain, and a plot to steal the moon that goes exactly as well as you'd expect. It's the family film that adults quietly enjoy more than they admit.

Back to the Future (PG) — the sunset slot. A DeLorean, 1.21 gigawatts, and a teenager accidentally derailing his own existence. Forty years on it's still tighter than most films made this year, and watching it outdoors with the skyline behind the screen is a different experience to watching it on a sofa.

Between the two, live music from Sirlute artists — young people who've come up through our programmes over the past seven years, playing to a riverside crowd as the sun goes down.

Food, drink and the rest of it

A bar and street food run through the evening: popcorn, candy floss, hot dogs, slushies, beers and cocktails.

Every under-16 ticket holder gets a complimentary bottle of water and a snack — popcorn or candy floss, their pick.

Bring something to sit on and something warm. It's a dock, it's September, and the temperature drops the moment the sun does.

Tickets

Ticket	Price	What it covers
Adult	£10	Entry to one film and the live music
Child (under 16)	£10	Entry, plus a free bottle of water and a snack
Gift a ticket	£10	You don't attend, a young person at Sirlute does

Book on Eventbrite →

The gift a ticket option is the one worth a second look. If you can't make the evening but want to be part of it, you can buy a ticket and we'll pass it to a young person at Sirlute. They get the films, the music and the night out; you get to make that happen from wherever you are.

Why we're doing it

Sirlute delivers free creative learning, mentoring and training to young people aged 5 to 25 across East London, studio sessions, mentoring, holiday camps, work experience, all of it free at the point of access.

That work is funded, in part, by nights like this one. Every ticket, every hot dog, every round at the bar goes back into it. Which means the answer to "is this a good night out or a fundraiser" is yes.

The details

What: Sunset Screening at the Dock — outdoor cinema, part of Ballymore's Islander Festival
When: Saturday 12 September 2026, from 4pm
Where: Orchard Dry Dock, Orchard Place, London City Island, E14 0JZ
Films: Despicable Me (U) and Back to the Future (PG)
Tickets: From £10 book here
Note: This is an outdoor venue. Dress for the evening.