BFI Southbank Programme Notes

The Handmaiden

SPOILER WARNING The following notes give away some of the plot. Park Chan-wook’s last film, the US-made Stoker (2013), seemed at the time like a blind alley for the South Korean king of the baroqu...

February 4, 2022 | BIG SCREEN CLASSICS

The Bride Wore Black

SPOILER WARNING The following notes give away some of the plot. Penelope Houston on Hitchcock’s influence on Truffaut In the introduction to his Hitchcock interview book, François Truffaut lists 2...

February 4, 2022 | FRANÇOIS TRUFFAUT
FOR THE LOVE OF FILMS

The Black Dream
The Film Primadonna

In this early role for Asta Nielsen, suited to her mastery of melodrama, she plays Stella, a circus star pursued by two suitors – a handsome count and a creepy jeweller. The Black Dream becomes a h...

February 4, 2022 | IN THE EYES OF A SILENT STAR
THE FILMS OF ASTA NIELSEN

Beautiful Thing

Please note: this film contains dialogue that some viewers find offensive, and which does not reflect the views of the BFI. The mid-1990s was a watershed period for independent gay and lesbian fil...

February 3, 2022 | BIG SCREEN CLASSICS

The Abyss
The ABC of Love

+ intro by season curator Pamela Hutchinson (Thursday 3 February only) SPOILER WARNING The following notes give away the film’s ending. ‘She tore a piece of quivering human flesh out and held it ...

February 3, 2022 | IN THE EYES OF A SILENT STAR
THE FILMS OF ASTA NIELSEN

The ABC of Asta Nielsen

Find out more about Asta Nielsen in this evening devoted to the indelible Danish star of silent cinema. First, season curator Pamela Hutchinson will present an illustrated lecture on Nielsen’s life...

February 3, 2022 | IN THE EYES OF A SILENT STAR
THE FILMS OF ASTA NIELSEN

Young Soul Rebels

Isaac Julien on ‘Young Soul Rebels’ I suppose Young Soul Rebels is a film which tries to deal with a number of questions that people would rather sweep under the carpet at this moment, especially ...

February 2, 2022 | BIG SCREEN CLASSICS

Thirteen

SPOILER WARNING The following notes give away some of the plot. Thirteen was made in 26 days on a small budget by set designer and first-time director Catherine Hardwicke. Filmed in and around LA,...

February 2, 2022 | SEEN & HEARD

All about My Mother

The first of Almodóvar’s 13 features to be shown in competition at Cannes, All about My Mother not only won him the prize for best director but also proved to be the popular hit of the festival, w...

February 2, 2022 | BIG SCREEN CLASSICS

Times For

Dwoskin’s first feature-length film is an intense, sexually charged journey to the end of the night, inspired by James Joyce’s Ulysses, and conceived as an attempt to paint with film. A classic of ...

February 1, 2022 | EXPERIMENTA FOCUS - STEPHEN DWOSKIN

Shoot the Pianist

Based on David Goodis’ novel Down There, François Truffaut’s second feature is a breezy New Wave concoction of genre pastiche, playful stylistic tricks and romantic reverie. Aznavour is charismatic...

February 1, 2022 | FRANÇOIS TRUFFAUT
FOR THE LOVE OF FILMS

The Wild Child

As part of our François Truffaut season we offer you an opportunity to see a landmark film about difference and social acceptance. Based on real events from 1798, informed by research, L’ Enfant ...

January 31, 2022 | RELAXED SCREENING

François Truffaut's Cinematic and Literary Influences

One could trace a long list of influences, both literary and cinematic, that made an important mark on Truffaut’s cinema. This afternoon of talks and discussions will focus on exploring how key fig...

January 29, 2022 | FRANÇOIS TRUFFAUT
FOR THE LOVE OF FILMS

The Epic of Everest
+ live score by Simon Fisher Turner

The Epic of Everest is the official film record, shot by Captain John Noel, of the third British expedition to attempt to reach the summit of the world’s highest peak. We begin with the large conti...

January 29, 2022 | TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH

South

January 2022 is the centenary of the death of Sir Ernest Shackleton, which traditionally marks the end of the ‘heroic age’ of Antarctic exploration. A record of one of the greatest survival stories...

January 28, 2022 | RE-RELEASES

Parallel Mothers

SPOILER WARNING The following notes give away some of the plot. Pedro Almodóvar on ‘Parallel Mothers’ Two women, Janis and Ana, coincide in a hospital room where they are going to give birth. Both...

January 28, 2022 | NEW RELEASES

The Surviving films of
Franciszka and Stefan Themerson

Polish avant-gardists the Themersons were multi-disciplinary artists who infused their work with a tactile sense of irreverence and wit. Their legendary anti-fascist film Europa (1931), looted by t...

January 27, 2022 | EXPERIMENTA

South + Live Score

In 2022 we mark the centenary of the death of Sir Ernest Shackleton, which traditionally signalled the end of the ‘heroic age’ of Antarctic exploration. A record of one of the greatest survival sto...

January 27, 2022 | SILENT CINEMA PRESENTS

My Little Eye

+ intro by producer Jon Finn and Mike Muncer, host of The Evolution of Horror podcast SPOILER WARNING The following notes give away some of the plot. Though it would be a mistake to underestimate...

January 27, 2022 | TERROR VISION

Antarctic Crossings – Postwar Shorts

Introduced by BFI curator Patrick Russell The resumption of Antarctic exploration in the 1950s was captured in dazzling colour by some of Britain’s finest documentary filmmakers. Don’t miss a rare...

January 25, 2022 | TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH