Rad-Ish #005 - Alternative Screenings: Underground Cinema and Cultural Activism with Jeffrey Babcock

Together with Jeffrey Babcock, founder of Jeffrey’s Underground Cinema, the Rad-ish podcast reflects on cinema as a community-based experience, its relation to cultural activism, and the importance of diverse audiences. Whilst Jeffrey shares little gems of film history, such as the Tuschinski’s beginnings as an independent cinema or Tarkovsky’s hot-take on film in the 1960s, we gain insight into how culture and society have changed since the 80s. By exploring his 20-year tenure as programmer across Amsterdam’s cultural institutions, we trace the socio-political climate in Amsterdam and consider the role counter-culture plays in our past and future as a tool to resist gentrification and commercialisation.