This week's new film events

Doubtless catering to its core demographic, Canary Wharf's free outdoor screen has primarily hosted live sports events so far this summer, but now the holidays have set in, its selection has broadened. From Tuesday to Thursday the Barbican present three lesser-known family friendly Japanese animes: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Nintendo puzzle hero Professor Layton, and the acclaimed Summer Wars. Then, there are classic silent comedies for the next three Mondays (Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd, with live piano accompaniment), and coinciding with the Canary Wharf Jazz Festival (12-14 Aug), a few choice documentaries on Thelonius Monk.

Canada Square, E14, Tue to 22 Aug

Project Nim

Few anticipated that the story of a tightrope walk between the Twin Towers would make for a wildly entertaining documentary, let alone an Oscar-winner, but 2008's Man On Wire catapulted James Marsh from the status of an interesting film-maker to an important one. It's also heaped expectation on his follow-up, Project Nim, about an ape raised to be human that says a lot more about mankind than chimpkind. Add in Marsh's dramatic work (Red Riding, The King) and newfound celebrity, and you're in for an interesting night.

Curzon Soho, W1, Thu

Funeral Parade Of Roses

Those intrigued by Norwegian Wood's recent recreation of 1960s Japanese radicalism can check out the real thing with this crop of strange, fascinating and little seen works, subtitled Films From The Art Theatre Guild Of Japan, which represent the flowerings of Japan's new wave and the birth of its indie cinema movement. In the 1960s and 70s, the Art Theatre Guild provided a haven for film-makers too adventurous for the major studios such as Nagisa Oshima and Shohei Imamura – and with their new-found creative freedom, they didn't hesitate to explore controversial topics like sexuality, death, radical politics, and capital punishment, and experiment with new stylistic approaches. The titles say it all – Death By Hanging, Double Suicide, Pandemonium – although the lyrical Silence Has No Wings follows a butterfly's journey, while Funeral Parade Of Roses is a landmark drama on Japanese transsexuals. Far out.

BFI Southbank, SE1, Mon to 31 Aug

Horizontal 8

It's a while since Poland produced giants like Krzysztof Kieslowski, Roman Polanski or Jerzy Skolimowski (though the latter two are at least still active), but perhaps their successors can be found in this travelling showcase of seven features, plus shorts, documentaries and an exhibition of world-beating Polish film poster designs. Most accessible is Decalogue 89 Plus, which marks the 20th anniversary of Kieslowski's landmark film cycle with a new set of films by 10 young directors. Kieslowski veteran Jerzy Stuhr also leads Mystification, on the mysterious suicide of a real-life artist, while pop sci-fi Horizontal 8 and satanist drama Black get closer to the Polish cutting edge.

Various venues, Tue to 15 Dec

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