Finding Love Through a Shared Love of Cinema
On a chilly Tuesday evening in late November, an unassuming creative space on Pentonville Road, once home to jewellery box makers, began filling with an eclectic mix of London singles. From fashion model managers and cinema workers to engineering consultants, they had all gathered with one hope: to find romance through a shared passion for film.
This was the inaugural 'Admit Two: Speed Dating for Film Lovers' event, a novel concept designed to connect people based on their cinematic tastes rather than the superficial swipes of modern dating apps.
The Brainchild Behind the Big Screen Matchmaking
The event is the creation of Raquel Braz, a 24-year-old music manager, who identified a gap in the dating market after noticing countless Hinge profiles referencing A24 films and independent cinemas. "Films are the perfect conversation starter," she explained. "Every first date I've been on includes the question: 'What is your Letterboxd top four?'"
Frustrated by the popular movie app's lack of direct messaging and aware of her friends' growing fatigue with online dating, Braz devised this real-world solution. Attendees share their favourite films in advance, enabling carefully curated "meet-cutes" inspired by their cinematic preferences.
Co-organiser Tiffany Ho, also 24, hopes the event can help stoke recovery from what she describes as a "huge crush recession" caused by a decline in face-to-face socialising.
Inside the Cinematic Speed Dating Experience
The setting, a low-lit studio space on 28 November 2025, was perfectly suited to the occasion. Leather couches and foldable chairs were flanked by billowing black curtains, while shelves displayed vintage cameras, clapperboards, and replica Oscar statuettes. The atmosphere was set by slow jams and '80s pop hits from DJ MM’99.
Each of the approximately 30 participants took part in four pre-arranged 12-minute dates, matched based on their responses to a film taste questionnaire. The results revealed fascinating insights into modern dating red and green flags.
Film bros who favoured 'The Wolf of Wall Street' and 'Fight Club' were perceived by several as a red flag, while a passion for Studio Ghibli movies was widely considered a positive sign. Other declared favourites spanned psychedelic Italian horror like Suspiria, classic blockbusters such as Star Wars, violent Korean thrillers including Oldboy, and cult documentaries like Paris is Burning.
One attendee even declared a love for Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers, while another claimed The Muppets Take Manhattan was "underrated", hoping it would spark conversation.
For those needing an extra nudge, prompt cards asked questions like "What film defined your teenage years?" and "Best kiss scene in a movie?"
Real Connections Forged in Reel Time
As the event unfolded, the room was filled with smiles, laughter, and passionate gesticulation, displaying a refreshing lack of the awkwardness often associated with speed dating.
Yu An, a 25-year-old chef, compared it favourably to previous speed dating experiences. "This was much better because the people mixed together really well, since we all like movies," he said, noting he'd spent much of the evening discussing the Robbie Williams movie Better Man.
A 24-year-old freelance content creator who attended admitted to initial nerves but decided to come because "sometimes you've just got to do things for the plot". He found instant connection, "yabbering for half an hour about Anora and Uncut Gems".
Melisa, a 25-year-old assistant director from Turkey, joked that she came looking for love and may have nearly found it. "We'd both watched Bugonia recently, and we spoke about Yorgos Lanthimos's films – so that was a green flag," she revealed.
Even those not explicitly seeking romance found value. Grace, a 21-year-old marketing student, arrived more interested in friendship but ended up exchanging phone numbers, Instagram handles, and Letterboxd profiles. "It was nice to be in an environment of people who care about the arts," she said.
The success of the evening was evident as the event wrapped up at half nine. Instead of heading home, almost two-thirds of attendees continued socialising at nearby The Lexington until 2am.
With Valentine's Day approaching, the organisers plan future events, including ones exclusively for straight and cis-gendered people and another for queer attendees, building on a launch night where roughly 40 percent of participants identified as queer or bisexual.
