Wednesday 28 January (Wed 28/01 & Thu 29/01)

@ National Film Theatre, South Bank, SE1 (020.7928.3232) Tube: Embankment/Waterloo

Frequently cited as one of the greatest films ever made and in Sight and Sound's critical top ten, Yasujiro Ozu's 1953 classic Tokyo Story (Tokyo monogatari) certainly lives up to expectations. Set in post-war Japan, the simple story traces an elderly couple's journey from the provinces to Tokyo to visit their adult children, who they soon discover have little time for them when they arrive. Only their daughter-in-law, Noriko (Setsuko Hara), widowed in the war, seems pleased to see them. While the narrative may appear sparse, the style is even more so. Ozu favours minimal dialogue and understated gesture and uses a static camera to view the characters in interior scenes, always from a low angle. The beautifully observed detail and precise medium-shot compositions allow the truth of each scene to reveal itself all the more clearly. The overall effect for the viewer is a powerful understanding and insight into family relationships and the shifting social values of an ever-changing world.

NB: Tokyo Story is being screened on Wed 28/01 (5:40 and 8:20pm) and Thu 29/01 (5:40 and 8:20pm). For those of you that cannot make it to the NFT it is also playing at the Other Cinema until Thu 05/02. If you enjoy this film, catch Ozu's earlier films, Late Spring and Early Summer, in which Setsuko Hara has a starring role. For a contemporary view of Tokyo see Sofia Coppola's Lost In Translation.

Wednesday 28 January (7:45pm)

@ Barbican Centre, Barbican Centre, EC2 (020.7638.8891) Tube: Barbican

"Good evening. My name is Bobby Baker and I am a woman." This is how she usually starts her shows, ironing out confusion with an instantly appealing verve. Baker's most recent creation, Box Story, works in ways that will be familiar to anyone who saw her seminal work Drawing on a Mother's Experience -- the systematic introduction of different objects or products that each relate to a time of her life and which each spark off a different story. Yes, the idea seems lame and self-indulgent, but Bobby Baker is an extraordinary presence; with a unique and overwhelming honesty she can just stand there and show you these things, tell you about them, about herself and what the connection is. It's so simple, you find yourself wondering "how the hell does she get away with it?" The balance of charm and fragility in her work is what makes it so unique; she is so very far away from the stereotype of a "weird performance artist", standing there like everyone's mum in her ironed-out overalls and her plummy accent... but her actions can become extreme. (Run ends 14/02.)

NB: Box Story is the last in a ten-year series of work, and features a "virtual choir" in its forays into death and religion. However, for two "special" performances on Fri 30/01 and Sat 31/01, the choir will be come out of the virtual box and perform live. On Tue 03/02 and Tue 10/02 Baker will give a post-show talk.

Thursday 29 January (Mon to Sat 11am - 6pm; Sun 12pm - 6pm)

@ Photographers' Gallery, 5 & 8 Great Newport St., WC2 (020.7831.1772) Tube: Leicester Sq.

With no age or national restrictions, the Citigroup Photography Prize's shortlist -- 4 photographers whittled down from over 80 nominations by an international jury -- is in easy danger of appearing arbitrary. Yet, over its 8-year history, this increasingly prestigious award has, with an admirable lack of hysteria and media-baiting controversy, largely succeeded in recognising the most significant and deserving practitioner of the year. While early wins by Rineke Dijkstra and Richard Billingham suggested that the Prize was seeking to consolidate the careers of relatively new talents, of late the selection has appeared braver, widening the brief to include more commercial photography (Juergen Teller last year), and celebrating members of an undervalued older generation. This year's shortlist falls very much in the latter category, all candidates having enjoyed long and distinguished careers. The major draws are American Robert Adams and South African David Goldblatt, whose work in Tate Modern's Cruel and Tender, and Documenta followed by Modern Art Oxford respectively depicted still-relevant socio-political situations with a touching modesty and delicacy. The documentary bias of the list is furthered by NY photographer Joel Sternfeld, with lesser-known Brit Peter Fraser as the odd-man-out and (not so) wild card. (Runs till 28/03.)

NB: To coincide with the show The Photographers' Gallery is holding a series of talks, most notably David Goldblatt in conversation with Mark Haworth-Booth (Senior Curator of Photographs, V&A) on 02/03. See website for the full programme.

Giveaway: We have two copies of this year's catalogue to give away. They'll go to two randomly picked Flashers who can tell us the name of the first photographer featured in KF's artist-in-residence programme.

Thursday 29 January (6pm)

@ Curzon Soho, 93-107 Shaftesbury Ave., W1 (020.7439.4805) Tube: Leicester Sq./Piccadilly

It's been over 20 years since Buggles pronounced the death of the radio star by video, and music promos are finally being acknowledged as an art form in their own right. Even though budgets continually get tighter and the chances of airplay on MTV gets slimmer, the public have taken promos to their hearts, leaping at the opportunity to snap up the collections of Jonze, Cunningham and Gondry when retrospectives of their work were released on DVD just before Xmas. So they should, as videos offer directors the chance to be experimental or to simply show off, as demonstrated here in yet another visit by Mirrorball to the Curzon Soho. This "Best of 2003" night will showcase gems such as Shynola's collaboration with artist David Shrigley in "Good Song" for Blur, Chris Hopewell's forest fantasy for Radiohead's "There There", and the already-classic and much-awarded "Seven Nation Army" video by Alex & Martin for The White Stripes. Maybe you'll even be able to dance along in the aisles.

NB: For you sci-fi buffs out there, the Curzon Soho and The Other Cinema are hosting Sci-Fi-London 3 (Fri 30/01 to Sun 01/02).

Thursday 29 January (6:45pm)

@ Calder Bookshop, 51 The Cut, SE1 (020.7620.2900) Tube: Waterloo/Southwark

Imagine a situation where you'd think that changing your name from, say, Goldstein to Guston, would prevent an injustice being brought upon you. Not to be confused with gay baseball movies, or even any Hollywood shenanigans by a shark hunter, the real Dreyfus affair involved a French army officer of Jewish origins suspected in 1894 of giving military secrets to the Germans. Alfred Dreyfus (1859-1935) was falsely accused of the deed and would have languished at Devil's Island for life, were it not for the timely intervention of his wife and Emile Zola with J'accuse (1898). Not only was it a case of anti-semitism, but it became a crucial challenge to the young Republic. Thus, for our friends across the channel, the Dreyfus case became important for their nation building.

NB: A drink will be provided after the hard work.

Thursday 29 January (7pm)

@ Jazz Cafe, 5 Parkway, NW1 (020.7916.6060) Tube: Camden Town

Dani Siciliano's voice has long graced the irreverent music of Matthew Herbert, a unique talent whose albums, Around The House, Bodily Functions and Goodbye Swingtime have consistently challenged the very notion of what electronica is -- and can be. Dani's jazz-tinged vocal talents and ethereal voice can now be found on her deliciously multifarious debut solo LP Likes. The album is 11 slices of lush pop, which effortlessly marry live instrumentation with samples before delving head first into Siciliano's musical and worldly likes... jazz and soul, punk and country, go-go and hip-hop, and house and electronica. To say the LP hits you over the head like a sledgehammer is an understatement. It rocks, sways and kicks, leaving it's assured musical footprints all over you. Whether it's Siciliano's collaborations with French horn wizard Gabriel Olegavich on "Come as you are" or the punky funk of the Le Tigre-esque "Walk The Line", you're left humming by the infectious beauty and bite of Likes. Thursday marks the first time Siciliano will be playing London with her live band in support of the album, released on !K7 this past Monday (26/01). If Herbert and Siciliano's previous shows are anything to go by, then this is sure to be both entertaining and challenging. Just how we like it!

Giveaway: We have three copies of Likes to give away. They'll go to three randomly picked Flashers who can tell us how Herbert and Siciliano are connected (we're not talking musically).

Thursday 29 January (9pm)

@ Bethnal Green Social Club, Pollard Row, E2 (020.7739.2727) Tube: Bethnal Green

It's a new year again (already!)... So to help get the year of the Monkey jumping through hoops, laid-back Swedish indie heroes Herman Dune do the making of a tour in the UK this month, dropping into the Bethnal Green Social Club for their London date. Busking, beards and beer are sure to help these guys meander through their soft lo-fi drift of anti-folk melancholy, as they attain the sonic textures of influential artists like Pavement and Sebadoh. There is a child-like simplicity to the charmingly lackadaisical sound they produce, and through their performances they manage to put across some profound thoughts and visions. A must for lovers of lo-fi. (Support comes from Kimya Dawson Modly Peaches.)

NB: Important, you need to be a member of the club to get into this show -- see Track & Field for details.

Friday 30 January (6:30pm - 10:30pm)

@ V&A Museum, Cromwell Rd., SW7 (020.7942.2000) Tube: South Kensington

Now here's a feast of Persian culture with the emphasis on the contemporary. Food, music, dance and fashion celebrating Iranian heritage will be tempered by more serious comment on today's Iran, in the form of poetry, film and drama. Much of this work has been done in exile, and could not have been produced under the present Iranian regime. Exile and displacement are themes for many of these artists, particularly award-winning poet Mimi Khalvati and controversial filmmaker Shirin Neshat. Neshat, famous for her frank investigation of gender roles and identity as well as her short films, is one of four premieres that will be followed by discussions and interviews with their creators. Dancing and a buffet of Iranian cuisine (specialities include kebabs, chay tea and milkshakes) will provide a more light-hearted side to the evening. You can pick and choose what to taste/see/hear, and all the artists and performers will be there to meet and mingle with during the evening.

NB: All events are free but places for each are strictly limited, so early arrival to the night is highly recommended.

Friday 30 January (7pm)

@ The Spitz, 109 Commercial St., E1 (020.7392.9032) Tube: Aldgate East/Liverpool St.

They're not Muppets exactly, but Fonda 500's lead-singer Simon lends a Fozzie Bear touch to gigs by donning a trademark bear-eared hat at every performance. The occasion is the launch of the band's fourth album, Spectrumatronicalogical Sounds. Eclectic to the point of the all-inclusive, expect the set to rock, riff, swagger and beep in a boozy swirl. Also on the bill are Sweden's David and the Citizens, playing their first gig in the UK. Highly praised by the evening's hosts, the Strange Fruit Collective, the band are poised to take a run at the melancholy paths marked out by fellow Scandinavians Mew in 2003, albeit with more of a groove on. This is the kind of live prospect that stops the clocks and starts the heart-a-fluttering, we hope. Lastly, Finlay opens the live acts and sets from the Crimes Against Pop and Strange Fruit Collective DJs.

Friday 30 January (Fri 30/01 at 8pm & Sat 31/01 at 2:45pm and 8pm)

@ ICA, The Mall, SW1 (020.7930.3647) Tube: Charing Cross/Piccadilly Circus

Rarely will you feel more like you were there -- in this case at a church in Toronto airport and, three hours later, on a beach in Kerala, along the way taking in, among other sights, a hotel demolition in Las Vegas, an armed mid-west man hunt, several people who've seen Jesus (literally) and some very touching reformed heroin addicts in Zurich. Peter Mettler's latest documentary/film sets its sights on "transcendence, the denial of death and our relationship to nature" and unsurprisingly is long and at times very slow (30-second shots are the norm). However appreciatrrs of Tarkovsky or Last Year at Marienbad will understand that this is a particularly engrossing method of shooting, engendering a palpable feeling of empathy with the subjects on screen. The narrator tells us "there's a difference between looking for something and just looking" so don't go for answers to the big questions, just sit back, go with the flow, and be moved -- the film is mesmerising and beautiful. Not an epiphany maybe, but an experience certainly.

NB: Gambling, Gods & LSD is being screened on Fri 30/01 at 8pm and Sat 31/01 at 2:45 and 8pm.

Friday 30 January (8pm)

@ Barfly, 49 Chalk Farm Rd., NW1 (020.7916.1049 ) Tube: Chalk Farm

The chattering classes of the indie underworld are not holding their opinions back on Whirlwind Heat. On the one hand, sections of the press are sycophantically slavering over this Michigan three-piece, whilst others are savagely ripping into these protegees of everybody's favourite (alleged) pugilistic behemoth, Mr. Jack White. Indeed, it is to White's label, Third Man Records, that the Heat are signed, but what are they like, and do they justify the hype either way? Well, it is an offensively discordant sound that they produce, but this is by no means a bad thing, as many a great band have proved. Whirlwind Heat are clearly fans of the bass, with its loud and funky thud providing a frenetic backdrop to the screamings of lead singer, David Swanson. Complementing (if that is possible) these rather guttural sounds is the Moog synthesiser, which provides what might be considered unique about the Whirlwind Heat sound. At this stage, the band represent something of a promising prospect, unfortunately saddled with the inevitable hyperbole and resentment connected with The White Stripes association. Give them a chance and see what the commotion is about.

Saturday 31 January (Tue to Thu 11am - 7pm, Fri to Sun until 5:30pm)

@ Camden Arts Centre, Arkwright Rd., NW3 (020.7472.5500) Tube: Finchley Rd.

For those who still think fondly of Miami Vice, Christopher Wool was at one time so cool that he was HOT! Today, it's shocking to think how basic the formula was: black text spray-painted on white ground over sheets of metal. Just plain intellectual cool, paintings that were not paintings by being reading. The most cutting and famous bore that classic Apocalypse Now line: "sell the house, sell the car, sell the kids". It wasn't just painting nor simply reading, but the cold hard facts of having to work your gaze -- letter by letter -- through the painting. That hip north London enclave for the visual arts, the Camden Arts Centre is finally back after an 18-mth refurbishment, and it's appropriate then that new works are being presented by the "big" shoulderpad himself. Having set aside his stencils, he's now just come over all drippy and potato printy, but still with that distinct self-critical twist. It's painting but still not as you know it. Perhaps like intellectual relations, Lasker and Reed, Wool is thinking but still painting. (Runs till 11/04.)

Cerith Wyn Evans brings light to the winter gloom of Camden with one of his trademark installations. His customised Murano glass chandeliers, with their delicate bourgeois connotations, play on Wyn Evans' common motifs of communication and codification -- tapping out unappreciated morse code messages of postmodern playfulness at unsuspecting visitors (who think it looks pretty). Wyn Evans adores unseen narratives, mis-meanings, distortion and inversions of language and meaning. The all-black chandelier is another sparkling highlight in the Welshman's portfolio -- just remember your codebooks. (Runs till 11/04.)

NB: Also exhibiting is Brooklyn-based Rachel Harrison, and on-site will be artist collaborative muf's garden scheme.

Saturday 31 January (10pm)

@ 14 Andre St. (off Amhurst Road), in Hackney

In the style of a postmodern postscript Womb with a View isn't what it says on the can, and is in fact not a can either. There will be no paying homage to the EM Foster rom-com, or the 1986 luvvie brit film adaptation, and don't expect an Ann Summers style product party for those terribly PC baby slings. "Womb" in this case is a technical term coined by Lee Nite, of Morgan and Night, to describe tonal and drones type music -- a bluffers guide would advice you to say the words analogue, sound-scape and synth a lot. Bands playing include Dave Knight aka Arkkon with his legacy from Amal Gamal Ensemble -- a synth drone supergroup -- and work with Karl Blake in legendary post-punk slab-metallers "ShockHeaded Peters" will be making clever noise, followed by ethnic droners The Stella Maris Ensemble and Morgan and Night, who combine analogue synths with string instruments. After the bands, music is provided by Kosmische and Resonance FM DJs (Jim Backhaus and Richard Fontenoy), and Justin Paton of Nowsounds. Visuals by Lightening Rod, and hosted in a house in Hackney, uncommon and hotchpotch is the view.

Saturday 31 January (11pm - 8am)

@ Ministry of Sound, 103 Gaunt Street (0207 3786528) Tube: Elephant & Castle

The presence of Joaquim Claussell on these shores is a rarity. Last time in London was years ago and only the extremely sporadic appearance in Manchester gives any indication of this man's existence. Claussell is part of the holy trinity of Body and Soul DJs, along with Francois K and Danny Krivit .The club ceased their regular weekly Sunday evening in NYC but devotees persist in the dream of restarting what was patently a very deep and spiritual experience. "It's only a nightclub" you scoff, but check the messageboard, the stories and the memories... Certainly Body & Soul residents are amongst the most accomplished in the world, effortlessly weaving musical journeys between all genres, with soulfulness and infectious dancebility being the key. Claussell represents the more Latino side of the trio and on his Spiritual Life label has remixed and produced, among many others, Cesaria Evora and Beth Orton. As a venue, many will look disdainfully at that true corporate whore of the clubbing scene, Ministry of Sound. What has to be acknowledged is that, amidst a sea of predominantly tepid shite, the club has occasional Saturday nights with line-ups that really represent the best in world house music. A 10-hour set by MAW last June and now this: Soul Heaven is aptly named.

NB: For all those house-heads out there, the refined and spankingly pristine setting of Neighbourhood will host a Faith party at Lottie's night, Missdemeanours (Thu 29/01). The dad house massive are bound to sensuously and soulfully rip the roof off at what is rapidly establishing itself as London's premier Thursday nighter.

Sunday 1 February (3pm)

@ Barbican Centre, Barbican Centre, EC2 (020.7638.8891) Tube: Barbican

For too long Ted Hughes was demonised as a brutal and uncaring partner to the tortured genius of Sylvia Plath. Thankfully biographies of Plath, and the publication of Birthday Letters, Hughes' moving collection of poems about his relationship with Plath, laid those one-dimensional views to rest. Christine Jeff's film Sylvia doesn't take sides, but shows the deeply romantic highs and soul-destroying lows experienced by the couple as they struggled to cope with Hughes' increasing success, a young family and Plath's depression. It's a career-defining performance for Gwyneth Paltrow, and Daniel Craig is appropriately passionate and craggy as Hughes. Resisting the temptation, unlike previous tellers of this story, to make the searing and moving poems of Plath's final collection Ariel the basis for her entire personality, Jeff's film is, quite simply, a love story. Accompanying the main feature (Sun 01/02 only) is Lady Lazarus, a short documentary featuring Plath's own readings of her poetry and extracts of a radio interview from 1962 given just before her death.

NB: Catch The Page is Printed, an exhibition of manuscripts and artefacts that belonged to Ted Hughes, at the British Library (runs till Sun 01/02).

Monday 2 February (Mon 02/02 & Mon 09/02 at 6:30pm - 8pm)

@ The British Library, 96 Euston Road, NW1 (020.7412.7332) Tube: King's Cross

The Orange Word Screenwriters Season has kicked off at the British Library this month. It features an impressive array of talks with Oscar-and Bafta-winning screenwriters including, Ronald Harwood (Mon 02/02), and Harold Pinter (Mon 09/02). Harwood, who last year won an Oscar for his adaptation of The Pianist, is currently writing a new version of Oliver Twist, also directed by Roman Polanski. Harold Pinter acclaimed as one of the most influential playwrights of the twentieth century has carved out a successful parallel career in film. He has adapted many of his plays for the screen, including The Caretaker and The Homecoming. He enjoyed a long and fruitful collaboration with the director, Joseph Losey, on the films The Servant, Accident and The Go-Between and he was nominated for an Academy Award for his screenplay of The French Lieutenant's Woman. This series of conversations should prove a master class for aspiring screenwriters. The talks will be chaired by Tanya Seghatchian, co-producer of the Harry Potter films and Peter Florence, director of The Guardian Hay Festival. Catch one while you can.

NB: Tickets for this series are selling fast so purchase your tickets well in advance on 020.7412.7222 (last talk is Paul Schrader 22/03).

Tuesday 3 February (6:45pm)

@ ICA, The Mall, SW1 (020.7930.3647) Tube: Charing Cross/Piccadilly Circus

Looking through the Lennon-tinted spectacles of history it's so easy to forget that Yoko Ono was an artist in her own right. Trouble is, her musical work consists largely of Reichian caterwauling, while her art has often seemed pretentious and silly. Bottoms featured 365 bums jiggling on the screen. It was judged a load of arse by the art establishment, but seemed to have impressed Lennon. Yet in spite of public derision, Ono remains a true survivor of the '60s avant-garde art scene, and at its best her conceptual game -- which still seems of its time -- puts intriguing demands on the audience; one exhibition asked visitors to imagine the art entirely. Odyssey of a Cockroach (originally exhibited in New York at Deitch Projects) offers us a bug's eye view of the modern city; hence: "Through the eyes of this other strong race, we may learn the true reality of what our dreams and nightmares have created." Whether the experience can teach us anything new is a moot point, but a Goering quote, printed on a giant index card, strikes a cord in the light of the "45 minutes" claim that launched us into "Gulf War II": "It is always a simple matter to drag people along to war, all you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked." Happy New Year everybody, war isn't over. (Runs till 07/03.)

NB: Yoko Ono's conversation (03/02), about her artistic career and the current show has already sold out. Ring the box office for returns. The exhibition is being held at 14 Wharf Rd., N1.

Tuesday 3 February (7:30pm)

@ Royal Festival Hall, South Bank, SE1 (020.7960.4203 or 4242) Tube: Embankment/Rail Waterloo

For those of you with long-standing unsubstantiated pretensions of playing coooelle late-night jazz bars in New York City, having the "greats" mentor you 'coz you are special, wearing berets and sunglasses at night while smoking liquorice rizlas... forget all these cliches and prepare to go simply green with envy. Bobby Previte is a drummer slash composer, whose mentors included John Cage, Morton Feldman and Jan Williams. He moved to NYC and got down with the "downtown" scene (without the aid of "networking" seminars and schmooze awareness), and since then has ridden on a rep of being a bloody good drummer and great compositional talent. At the RFH he will be playing short pieces inspired by Joan Miro's WWII-influenced 24 Constellations paintings, with an octet of top NY musicians (ooow arch at you!) and accompanied by slides of said paintings. The second half will have Bob joined by Charlie Hunter on guitar and DJ Logic on turntables for some improv. Cool, yeah!

Giveaway: We have three copies of Come in Red Dog, this is Tango Leader to give away. They'll go to three randomly picked Flashers who can name the location of the Miro museum.

Friday 6 February (7:30pm)

@ State51, 8-10 Rhoda St., E2 (020.7729.4343) Tube: Shoreditch

[no.signal] -- in collaboration with kultureflash.net and sonomu.net -- presents the first London show of the New York-based experimental electronic label apestaartje which previous releases include the astonishing album Beautiful by the Japanese collective minamo. Paris-based Sebastien Roux explores the relationship between guitar sounds and computer-based processes. His work mirrors organic ambient compositions by combining guitars with the digital medium to create harmonious drones. The co-founders of the Brooklyn label aero (aka Dutchman Koen Holtkamp, who also runs the label's operations) and the American Brendon Anderegg will be kicking-off the apestaartje set. By assembling sounds emanating from acoustic guitar, field recordings, computers and a multitude of guitar layers and loops, their music is a delightful melodic journey which gently fills the space in which it takes form. The two artists have already collaborated on the first two tracks of aero's exquisite rises & falls, combining banjo and guitar with gentle electronica. Their set is likely to follow similarly adventurous acoustic-electronic drones. The opening soundscape of the evening will be built by thorsten sideb0ard, co-creator of the new-born electronica label highpointlowlife and the free MP3-based platform 8bitrecs. Expect a night of beautiful atmospheric electronic sounds in the peculiar and enchanting warehouse of State51!

Giveaway: We have four apestaartje CDs and two pairs of tickets to give away. They'll go to six randomly picked Flashers who can tell us which other French electronic band played along with The Chap at State51, mentioned in a previous KF issue (hint: KF#65).

Ends Saturday 28 February (Tue to Fri 10am - 6pm, Sat 10am - 1pm)

@ Emily Tsingou Gallery, 10 Charles II St., SW1 (020.7839.5320) Tube: Piccadilly Circus

LA-based artist Jim Shaw is back with his obsession-driven work. Well-known for his collection of Thrift Store Paintings and the Dream Paintings in which he depicts his real dreams in a comic strip style, Shaw's new work stems from his invented fictional pseudo-religion, "O-ism". Entirely based on grotesque and intriguing notions such as time running backwards, reincarnation and the adoration of female deity called O (a virgin who gave birth to herself), it most interestingly proscribes figurative art. For the same series, Shaw produced human-organ-shaped musical instruments used in a grotesque rite of passage and "O-ist" Modernist paintings. The iconoclast tension is the subject of this show. Conceived as posters for a movie that the artist will never shoot, the new works combines Abstract Expressionist formal gestures a la Pollock with figurative elements. Due to "O-ist" religious prohibitions, the latter have been erased, ripped or obliterated, but they are on occasion tolerated: hence, a big self-portrait is hung sliced as a long zigzag stripe.

NB: Show ends 28/02.