Sally Hawkins in Happy-Go-Lucky, which was filmed in Camden

THE back catalogue of celebrated film director Mike Leigh is set to be screened in Camden’s newest cinema – and the film maker will be on hand at each event to talk about the themes he tackles in each of his critically acclaimed movies.

The independent Garden Cinema in Covent Garden has secured a ground breaking deal with the director to run a two-month long season featuring 14 of his works, including Secrets and Lies, Peterloo, Life Is Sweet and Topsy Turvy.

Mr Leigh, who found success in the 1970s while living in a Somers Town flat with his then wife, the actor Alison Steadman, is a vocal supporter of the new cinema.

When its owner, the former legal publisher Michael Chambers, sought permission to convert his former office in to a new West End home for film, Mr Leigh wrote to Camden Council backing the project.

Mr Leigh said the independent screening house was a perfect stage to consider his oeuvre.

“The Garden Cinema, on the edge of London’s Covent Garden, is beautiful and is an inspired creation,” he said.

The Garden Cinema opened in March

The director, 79, who has been nominated for an Oscar seven times and won a host of other awards, will be at each event and filmgoers will be treated to Mr Leigh in conversation with his long term collaborator, the composer Gary Yershon. Many of his films were shot in Camden and north London.

Streets in Kentish Town can be spotted in Career Girls, which has Ms Steadman among the cast.

High Hopes, released in 1988, is set in King’s Cross before the railwaylands regeneration and several now-demolished buildings can be seen in the backdrop.

More recently, the acclaimed Happy-Go-Lucky, starring Sally Hawkins in the main role as an optimistic primary school teacher, had scenes shot around Camden Town.

The character takes her chaotic driving lessons around Tufnell Park.

Secrets And Lies

The Garden Cinema, which opened its doors in March, focuses on special seasons, one-off screenings and classics that have not been given the big screen treatment in recent years. It also screens art house and foreign language films, and the success so far is such they are planning a new, 70-seat screen to complement the two already in place.

The Leigh season has been split into two sections, with the director set to reveal how he has made his name as a key figure in British social realism film.

Mr Leigh added: “What is great about the season is that there will be a continuous discussion after each of the films. We will focus on their content and form – not just on how I make them, which is secondary to what the films are actually about.”

The Garden Cinema can be found at 39-41 Parker Street with more details on the film season available on its website.