Complex, memorable, subversive… and arguably on occasion also problematic, the female characters in Powell and Pressburger’s films are never less than fascinating. They were brought to vivid life by a number of great actors, many of whom became regular collaborators. Join our panel of special guests to explore their vital importance to the Archers’ films.
Speakers
Lillian Crawford writes for publications including Sight and Sound, Little White Lies, The Guardian, The Times Literary Supplement, and BBC Culture. She co-hosts the Autism Through Cinema podcast and is a curator of relaxed screenings for neurodivergent audiences, including at the BFI. She is currently delivering talks on Powell and Pressburger across the UK, including an introduction to Bluebeard’s Castle at the BFI on 15 December, and her writing on the film features in the booklet for the BFI Blu-ray release available from the end of November.
Pamela Hutchinson is a freelance critic, curator and film historian. She writes for publications including Sight and Sound and The Guardian and regularly appears on BBC radio. Her publications include BFI Film Classics on The Red Shoes and Pandora’s Box, as well as 30-Second Cinema and essays in several edited collections. She has curated film seasons on Marlene Dietrich and Asta Nielsen for BFI Southbank and a touring programme on Pre-Code cinema, with Christina Newland. She is a columnist for Sight and Sound and edits the Weekly Film Bulletin. Her website SilentLondon.co.uk is devoted to silent cinema.
Sarah Street is Professor of Film, University of Bristol. Her publications on British cinema include British National Cinema (1997) and Transatlantic Crossings: British Feature Films in the USA (2002) and Black Narcissus (2005). Her publications on colour films include Colour Films in Britain: The Negotiation of Innovation, 1900-55 (2012, winner of the BAFTSS book prize 2014), and two co-edited collections (with Simon Brown and Liz Watkins), Colour and the Moving Image: History, Theory, Aesthetics, Archive (2012) and British Colour Cinema: Practices and Theories (2013). Her latest books are Deborah Kerr (2018); Chromatic Modernity: Colour, Cinema, and Media of the 1920s (2019, co-authored with Joshua Yumibe; winner of Kovács book prize, SCMS 2020 and the IAMHIST-Michael Nelson prize 2021), and Colour Films in Britain: The Eastmancolor Revolution (co-authored with Keith M. Johnston, Paul Frith and Carolyn Rickards). She is Principal Investigator on the European Research Council Advanced Grant STUDIOTEC: Film Studios: Infrastructure, Culture, Innovation in Britain, France, Germany and Italy, 1930-60. She has contributed a chapter on colour in Powell and Pressburger’s films in The Cinema of Powell and Pressburger, edited by Nathalie Morris and Claire Smith (2023).
Host: Lucy Bolton is Professor of Film Philosophy at Queen Mary University of London. Her most recent publications are books on Contemporary Screen Ethics, and Contemporary Cinema and the Philosophy of Iris Murdoch. She is currently working on a volume of Feminist Film Philosophy and a monograph on Philosophies of Film Stardom.
CINEMA UNBOUND: THE CREATIVE WORLDS OF POWELL + PRESSBURGER
Rynox + Hotel Splendide
Mon 16 Oct 18:10; Fri 10 Nov 18:10
A Matter of Life and Death
Mon 16 Oct 20:45 (+ intro by Thelma Schoonmaker and Kevin Macdonald); Sun 29 Oct 12:10; Sat 4 Nov 15:00; Tue 7 Nov 18:10 (+ intro by academic Lucy Bolton); Sun 19 Nov 18:30
Farewell (Abschied)
Tue 17 Oct 18:40 (+ intro by filmmaker Kevin Macdonald); Wed 1 Nov 20:40
His Lordship
Tue 17 Oct 20:50; Sat 4 Nov 12:20
The Fire Raisers
Wed 18 Oct 18:40; Sat 11 Nov 12:30
Black Narcissus
Wed 18 Oct 20:50; Sun 22 Oct 18:30; Wed 8 Nov 18:15; Sun 12 Nov 18:50; Thu 16 Nov 20:50; Sat 18 Nov 20:50; Mon 20 Nov 20:45 (+ intro by author Mahesh Rao)
The Edge of the World + Return to the Edge of the World
Fri 20 Oct 18:20; Wed 8 Nov 20:30; Wed 15 Nov 20:50
The Thief of Bagdad: An Arabian Fantasy in Technicolor (aka The Thief of Bagdad)
Fri 20 Oct 20:30; Tue 24 Oct 14:40; Sat 28 Oct 15:00; Sun 26 Nov 12:00
The Spy in Black + Smith
Sat 21 Oct 15:30; Sun 29 Oct 15:30 (+ intro by Bryony Dixon, BFI National Archive Curator)
The Boy Who Turned Yellow + Heavenly Puss
Sun 22 Oct 12:00
49th Parallel
Sun 22 Oct 12:20; Mon 6 Nov 20:30
One of Our Aircraft Is Missing!
Sun 22 Oct 15:10; Tue 31 Oct 20:40 (+ intro by film historian Ian Christie)
Contraband
Mon 23 Oct 17:50 (+ intro by Miranda Gower-Qian, BFI Inclusion Lead); Mon 30 Oct 20:30
Red Ensign + The Night of the Party
Tue 24 Oct 20:30; Sun 5 Nov 14:40
A Canterbury Tale
Wed 25 Oct 20:20 (+ intro by academic Thirza Wakefield); Sat 11 Nov 14:50; Fri 24 Nov 20:35
Library Talk: The interior life of an archive: an evening with the Michael Powell Collection
Mon 27 Nov 18:00
The Elusive Pimpernel
Sat 28 Oct 12:20; Mon 13 Nov 18:00 (+ intro by Bryony Dixon, BFI National Archive Curator)
Gone to Earth
Sat 28 Oct 18:20; Wed 22 Nov 20:45; Sat 25 Nov 17:50
Silent Cinema: The Magician + The Riviera Revels + intro by Bryony Dixon, BFI National Archive Curator
Sun 29 Oct 15:00
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
Sun 29 Oct 17:20 (+ intro by Kevin and Andrew Macdonald); Sun 5 Nov 17:45; Thu 23 Nov 17:45; Sun 26 Nov 14:00 (+ pre-recorded intro by Stephen Fry)
Paths to Partnership: Powell + Pressburger before The Archers
Tue 31 Oct 18:30
Projecting the Archive: The Queen’s Guards + intro by Josephine Botting, BFI National Archive Curator
Thu 2 Nov 18:20
Twice upon a Time
Mon 6 Nov 18:10 + extended intro by James Bell, BFI National Archive Senior Curator
Talk: Philosophical Screens: A Matter of Life and Death
Tue 7 Nov 20:20
Talk: Centre Stage: The Leading Women of Powell + Pressburger
Thu 16 Nov 18:20
Ill Met by Moonlight
Fri 17 Nov 20:40; Sat 25 Nov 12:40
The Battle of the River Plate
Sat 18 Nov 18:20; Mon 27 Nov 20:30
Behold a Pale Horse
Sun 19 Nov 11:50 Wed 22 Nov 17:50
The Wild Heart
Sun 19 Nov 15:10
Miracle in Soho
Mon 20 Nov 18:10; Sun 26 Nov 18:30
Course: The Magic of Powell + Pressburger
Wed 25 Oct to Wed 22 Nov 18:30
With thanks to
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Programme notes and credits compiled by Sight and Sound and the BFI Documentation Unit
Notes may be edited or abridged
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