BFI Southbank today announces the programme for late October and November 2023, including the start of

CINEMA UNBOUND: THE CREATIVE WORLDS OF POWELL AND PRESSBURGER, a major BFI UK-wide film

celebration of one of the greatest and most enduring filmmaking partnerships in the history of cinema: Michael Powell (1905-1990) and Emeric Pressburger (1902-1988), who together made masterpieces such as THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP (1943), I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! (1945), A MATTER OF LIFE AND

DEATH (1946), BLACK NARCISSUS (1947) and THE RED SHOES (1948). A central part of the nationwide big screen programme, which is the most comprehensive celebration of Powell and Pressburger‘s work ever undertaken, will be a BFI Southbank retrospective running from 16 October – 31 December. The season includes special events and Q&As, new BFI restorations and remasters of Powell’s early films, work they made

independently of one another, and a major exhibition drawn from the collections of the BFI National Archive and key third-party loans.

Highlights of the programme in October and November will include Thelma Schoonmaker In Conversation on 26 October; THE RED SHOES: BEYOND THE MIRROR, a free exhibition running from 10 November – 7 January featuring over 100 previously unseen items, including an original pair of Moira Shearer’s iconic red ballet shoes featured in the film; a screening of MATTHEW BOURNE’S THE RED SHOES (Ross MacGibbon, 2020) on 11 November followed by a Q&A with choreographer Matthew Bourne and dancer Ashley Shaw; a UK-wide BFI Distribution re-release of heady romantic masterpiece I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! (1945), restored by the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation in association with ITV and Park Circus with funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation with additional support provided by Matt Spick, screening from 19 October, with a special screening introduced by Thelma Schoonmaker on 26 October; plus further talks and discussions from experts including film historian Ian Christie, writer Marina Warner and production designer Sarah Greenwood.

Also in September will be POWER TO THE PEOPLE: HORACE OVÉ’S RADICAL VISION, a celebration of the work of Sir Horace Ové, the celebrated photographer, painter and writer, best-known as a pioneering filmmaker. The centrepiece of the season will be the 4K restoration of PRESSURE (1975), Ové’s ground-breaking exploration of the anxieties of an emerging second-generation of West Indians in Britain. Originally funded by the BFI Production Board, PRESSURE has been restored by the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation, with funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation, with additional thanks to the BFI Philanthropy ‘Pioneers of Black British Filmmaking consortium’. Following its simultaneous Restoration World Premiere at the BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express and at the New York Film Festival on 11 October, the film will be re-released by BFI Distribution in cinemas and on BFI Player from 3 November. A preview screening and discussion of PRESSURE on 23 October hosted by academic Dr Clive Nwonka, with producers Annabelle Alcazar and Robert Buckler, writer and academic Caryl Phillips and filmmaker Rhea Storr, will herald the re-release.

An illustrated discussion, HORACE OVÉ: REFLECTING THE PEOPLE – A CAREER RETROSPECTIVE will kick off the season on 23 October, including a Q&A with actor Lennie James, producers Annabelle Alcazar, Peter Ansorge, Tara Prem and Marcus Ryder, chaired by Samira Ahmed, with films screening in the season including THE BLACK SAFARI (1972), KING CARNIVAL (1973), PLAYING AWAY (1985), DABBAWALLAHS (1985), BALDWIN’S

N***** (1969) including a Q&A with author Colin Grant and additional guests on 4 November plus some titles which influenced Ové’s work, BICYCLE THIEVES (1948), PATHER PANCHALI (Satyajit Ray, 1955), and a SENIORS matinee of LA DOLCE VITA (Federico Fellini, 1960).

With the arrival of BFI Distribution’s THE ETERNAL DAUGHTER (2022) in cinemas from 24 November, following its special presentation at the 66^th BFI London Film Festival in 2022, there’s no better time to look back on the filmography of Joanna Hogg and the cinematic influences that made her than with the season INTERNAL

REFLECTIONS: THE FILMS OF JOANNA HOGG. Special events will include JOANNA HOGG IN CONVERSATION

on 15 November where the filmmaker will talk about her career so far, as well as a preview of THE ETERNAL DAUGHTER (2022) on 10 November, followed by a Q&A with Joanna Hogg and actor Tilda Swinton. Other titles playing in the season will include UNRELATED (2007), Hogg’s exceptional feature debut, EXHIBITION (2013), a hypnotising portrait of two creatives attempting to coexist, and THE SOUVENIR (2019) and THE SOUVENIR: PART II (2021), a tour de force of autobiographical cinematic storytelling. Alongside the retrospective we invite our audiences to dive deeper with JOANNA HOGG: INFLUENCES, a selection of films chosen by the filmmaker which reflect where her interests lie right now, including SUSPICION (Alfred Hitchcock, 1941), JOURNEY TO ITALY (Roberto Rossellini, 1954), THE KILLERS (Don Siegel, 1964), TICKET OF NO RETURN (Ulrike Ottinger, 1979) and MARGARET (Kenneth Lonergan, 2011).

The endless possibilities of time travel on screen will be explored in DESTINATION TIME TRAVEL: PLAYING WITH TIME IN FILM AND TV, a season that mixes old and new titles, some well-known and others more obscure, including THE TIME MACHINE (George Pal, 1960), PLANET OF THE APES (Franklin J Schaffner, 1968), TERMINATOR (James Cameron, 1984) and TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY (James Cameron, 1991), RUN LOLA RUN (Tom Tykwer, 1998), DONNIE DARKO (Richard Kelly, 2001), BEYOND THE INFINITE TWO MINUTES

(Junta Yamaguchi, 2020) and the BACK TO THE FUTURE TRILOGY. The season will also include a preview of THE LAZARUS PROJECT (Carl Tibbets, 2023) series two on 24 October, followed by a Q&A with actors Paapa Essiedu, Caroline Quentin, Anjli Mohindra and writer Joe Barton. There will also be a COMEDY TIME-TRAVEL SPECIAL on 5 November featuring a screening of RED DWARF: BACKWARDS (Ed Bye, BB, 1989) and the first episode of TIMEWASTERS (George Kane, ITV, 2017), with onstage guests: RED DWARF writer Rob Grant, exec producer Paul Jackson, actor Robert Llewellyn and director Ed Bye; and creator and star of TIMEWASTERS Daniel Lawrence Taylor.

Other special events at BFI Southbank this month will include a preview of TIME series two. Written by multi- award-winning Jimmy McGovern (BROKEN, CRACKER) and Helen Black (LIFE AND DEATH IN THE WAREHOUSE), the new series is told from the perspective of three very different inmates. Arriving at a prison on the same day, Kelsey (Bella Ramsey), Orla (Jodie Whittaker) and Abi (Tamara Lawrance) are thrown together to face an unfamiliar world. A preview of episode one on 18 October will be followed by a Q&A with writers Jimmy McGovern and Helen Black, and actors Jodie Whittaker, Tamara Lawrance, Bella Ramsey and Siobhan Finneran. With half of the original episodes missing, except for their audio, DOCTOR WHO: THE UNDERWATER MENACE [ANIMATED] (Julia Smith/AnneMarie Walsh, 1967/2023) is a newly animated version presenting the complete story 56 years after it first screened. It World Premieres at BFI Southbank on 21 October. The Doctor, Polly, Ben and Jamie arrive in the city of Atlantis where they discover a plot to drain the earth’s oceans.

Following is premiere at this year’s BFI London Film Festival, a preview of GIRL (Adura Onashile, 2023) is this month’s WOMAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA pick, in which we celebrate women’s contribution to cinema and spotlight female stories. Migrant Grace’s carefully built world of safety and routine is tested when her daughter Ama must return to school. A tender exploration of the impact of trauma, GIRL is backed by the BFI

Filmmaking Fund, awarding National Lottery funding, and the screening on 7 November will be followed by a Q&A with feature debut director Adura Onashile.

Meanwhile, journey through the collected music videos and short features produced and directed by Bill Butt in collaboration with Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond in their various guises as The JAMs, The KLF and The Timelords, one of the most successful, subversively creative and enigmatic electronic bands of the early 90s, with 23 SECONDS TO ETERNITY (Bill Butt, 2023). The KLF became the biggest selling singles act in the world with a series of international acid house anthems, and this is the first time all of their films and music videos have been compiled and presented together. A screening on 6 November to mark the film’s release on dual- format BFI DVD and Blu-ray will be followed by a Q&A with the director.

IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE? (Ella Glendining, 2023) is a sensitive, thought-provoking and funny debut feature documentary in which Ella Glendining interrogates ableism as she sets out to find others with the same rare disability as herself. A preview of the film, which is backed by the BFI Doc Society Fund, awarding National Lottery funding, on 11 November will be followed by a Q&A with the director hosted by acclaimed writer Jack Thorne, before it plays an extended run from 17 November. JOURNEY TO ITALY (Roberto Rossellini, 1954) is an influential and devastating study of a marriage on the rocks, centring on Ingrid Bergman and George Sanders’ English couple holidaying in Italy. To mark the publication of Jeremy Cooper’s recent novel Brian, an event on 13 November will bring together Cooper in conversation with filmmaker Ben Rivers as they introduce Rossellini’s masterpiece and discuss the novel, and cinephilia, more broadly. The film will also be available to stream on BFI Player. A monthly conversation between you (the audience) and one of the nation’s favourite and most respected film critics, Mark Kermode Live in 3D at the BFI will take place on 16 October and 20 November. Joined by surprise guests from across the film industry, Kermode explores, critiques and dissects current and upcoming releases, cinematic treasures, industry news and even some guilty pleasures.

Audiences can thrill their senses this Halloween with two classic chillers playing on 31 October. A plastic surgeon becomes obsessed with trying to restore his daughter’s face after a car accident leaves her disfigured, in EYES WITHOUT A FACE (Georges Franju, 1960). Georges Franju’s chilling horror is a nightmarish, yet lyrical, fable of identity, guilt and obsession, in which visceral frights blend with atmospheric cinematography. Meanwhile, aspiring writer Jack Torrance travels to a remote Colorado hotel with his wife and son in THE SHINING (Stanley Kubrick, 1980). In a place haunted by ghosts from the past, Jack gradually loses his sanity. Stanley Kubrick’s ambition to make ‘the world’s scariest movie’ was realised when he read Stephen King’s novel. The result, subject to years of critical discourse, is as visually stunning as it is terrifying.

Returning for its 18th edition from 2 – 16 November, the largest Korean film festival outside of Korea showcases a variety of films, ranging from new releases to independents to special strands, including the Women’s Voices strand. Screenings and events will include PHANTOM (Lee Hae-young, 2023) on 4 November,

in which writer-director Lee Hae-young seamlessly moves between a stylised murder mystery, noirish melodrama and adventure; INNOCENT WITNESS (Lee Han, 2019) on 5 November, a tense and involving legal drama which features a superb central performance by Jung Woo-sung, plus more titles soon to be announced.

The career of Tara Prem, one of the first Asians to work in mainstream British TV, spans three decades. Her vitally important work at BBC Birmingham cemented her growing reputation, challenging the status quo and supporting stories of underrepresented people in Britain. She championed diverse talent, working with writers such as Michael Abbensetts and actors Norman Beaton, Carmen Munroe and Dev Sagoo, as well as giving early career breaks to Toyah Willcox, Phil Daniels and Julie Walters. BFI Southbank will host a celebration of her work, with four screenings and events in October and November including A TOUCH OF EASTERN PROMISE (Michael Lindsay-Hogg, 1974) on 21 October, followed by a Q&A with Tara Prem, a triple bill of BLACK CHRISTMAS (Stephen Frears, 1977), SECOND CITY FIRSTS: JACK FLEA’S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION (Mike

Newell, 1976) and SECOND CITY FIRSTS: GLITTER (Tony Bibcat, 1976) including an introduction by Tara Prem on 21 October, plus PLAY FOR TODAY: VAMPIRES (John Goldschmidt, 1979), PLAY FOR TODAY: THICKER THAN WATER (Alan Grint, 1980) and RESURRECTED (Paul Greengrass, 1989).

FURTHER PROGRAMME INFORMATION FOR LATE OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER 2023

BFI SOUTHBANK SEASONS

CINEMA UNBOUND: THE CREATIVE WORLDS OF POWELL AND PRESSBURGER

BFI Southbank’s season dedicated to Powell and Pressburger will include new BFI restorations, remasters of Powell’s early films, titles Pressburger wrote for others and a major exhibition drawn from the collections of the BFI National Archive.

In a weekend celebrating the enduring influence of their glittering masterpiece, THE RED SHOES (1948), BFI Southbank will present a special preview screening of the BFI Distribution re-release of the film on 12 November ahead of its theatrical run from 8 December. Audiences will also be able to also immerse themselves in the mesmerising production with a new BFI Southbank exhibition, THE RED SHOES: BEYOND THE MIRROR, which runs from 10 November – 7 January. The exhibition will display over 100 previously unseen costume and production designs, scripts, behind the scenes photographs and posters, alongside the iconic red ballet shoes featured in the film loaned to the BFI by the Martin Scorsese Collection. It will also feature personal items owned by Moira Shearer and costumes from Matthew Bourne’s ballet adaptation, set within a specially designed space that brings the film’s dazzling centrepiece – the Ballet Lermontov’s fantastical retelling of the Red Shoes story – to life. Meanwhile, a testament to the longstanding love affair between dance and cinema, MATTHEW BOURNE’S THE RED SHOES (Ross MacGibbon, 2020) is a skilful and surprising

homage to Powell and Pressburger’s rapturous vision. A screening on 11 November will be followed by a Q&A with Matthew Bourne and dancer Ashley Shaw who starred in Bourne’s production.

A highlight of the season will see triple Academy Award-winning editor Thelma Schoonmaker share her experiences, insights and love for the work of Powell and Pressburger at an In Conversation event on 26 October. The collaboration between Schoonmaker and Martin Scorsese is the stuff of cinematic legend, with the filmmaker introducing her to future husband Michael Powell. Together they began the project to rehabilitate Powell’s critical reputation – a torch Schoonmaker and The Film Foundation have carried tirelessly since Powell’s death in 1990. Schoonmaker with also introduce a screening of BFI Distribution re-release I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! (1945) on 26 October, Powell and Pressburger’s heady romantic masterpiece, which plays from 19 October. It has never looked or sounded finer than in this revelatory restoration from the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation in association with ITV and Park Circus, with funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation with additional support provided by Matt Spick.

Further screenings taking place during the first part of this blockbuster season will include THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (1940), A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH (1946) and BLACK NARCISSUS (1947), which screens on

35mm Nitrate and on a new 35mm print from the BFI National Archive, in STARVED FOR TECHNICOLOUR: FANTASY AND SPECTACLE, a strand celebrating some of Powell and Pressburger’s most visually splendid films; THE SPY IN BLACK (1939), THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP (1943) and ILL MET BY MOONLIGHT

(1957) in WAR STARTS AT MIDNIGHT: NATIONALISM AND CONFLICT, a selection of Powell and Pressburger’s alluringly complex and compassionate war films; and THE EDGE OF THE WORLD (1937), A CANTERBURY TALE (1944) and GONE TO EARTH (1950) in BREATHING THE AIR, SMELLING THE EARTH: MYTH A LANDSCAPE,

some of Powell and Pressburger’s most passionately felt films.

This first part of the season will also include a selection of films written by Pressburger while he was a youthful émigré in Germany and France, and several more made in Britain without Powell’s involvement, including FAREWELL (1930), THE PARISIAN LIFE (1935) and MIRACLE IN SOHO (1958). Meanwhile, Powell cut his teeth making low-budget films under the British ‘quota’ system from 1931-36. The surviving early Powell titles have been remastered by the BFI National Archive, including RYNOX (1931), HIS LORDSHIP (1932) and RED ENSIGN (1934). Elsewhere, bringing audiences the best silent film from the BFI National Archive and around the world, the SILENT CINEMA strand presents THE MAGICIAN (Rex Ingram, 1926) on 29 October. Michael Powell had fond memories of working with Rex Ingram on this macabre horror during his time on the French Riviera. Meanwhile PROJECTING THE ARCHIVE, a rare chance to see rediscovered British features from the BFI National Archive, presents THE QUEEN’S GUARDS (1961) on 2 November, Powell’s oft overlooked and rarely screened CinemaScope drama from a precarious moment in Powell’s career. THE BOY WHO TURNED YELLOW (1972), the final collaboration between Powell and Pressburger, will also play as part of our monthly FAMILY programme on 22 October.

Film historian Ian Christie explores what Powell and Pressburger each learned before becoming ‘The Archers’ in an illustrated talk, PATHS TO PARTNERSHIP: POWELL AND PRESSBURGER BEFORE THE ARCHERS, on 31

October. Other events will include the latest discussion in the Philosophical Screens series, when panellists will consider Powell and Pressburger’s classic A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH (1946) through a philosophical lens on 7 November. Join Lucy Bolton, Ashvin Devasundaram, Ben Tyrer and Catherine Wheatley as they discuss love and miracles, chance and the meaning of death. On 16 November, a panel of special guests will explore the complex, memorable, subversive and on occasion problematic female characters of Powell and Pressburger’s films in CENTRE STAGE: THE LEADING WOMEN OF POWELL AND PRESSBURGER. Meanwhile, to tie in with THE RED SHOES: BEYOND THE MIRROR and the publication of a new book THE CREATIVE WORLDS OF POWELL AND PRESSBURGER, join us on 25 November for a day of fresh perspectives on the cinema of Powell and Pressburger, shining a spotlight not only on them, but also on their circle of talented collaborators. Finally, THE MAGIC OF POWELL AND PRESSBURGER will be a four-week course that will consider the ground- breaking achievements of the legendary film-making duo. Focusing on key examples, film lecturer and historian Adrian Garvey will examine Powell and Pressburger’s work in detail, consider them in relation to the British film industry of the time and look at the contribution of key collaborators.

Full details of the UK-wide Powell and Pressburger celebration can be found in a dedicated press release here, with UK-wide events presented in partnership with the BFI Film Audience Network being announced soon.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE: HORACE OVÉ’S RADICAL VISION

POWER TO THE PEOPLE: HORACE OVÉ’S RADICAL VISION will be a celebration of the work of Sir Horace Ové, the celebrated photographer, painter and writer, best-known as a pioneering filmmaker. A 4K restoration of PRESSURE (1975), Ové’s ground-breaking exploration of the anxieties of an emerging second-generation of West Indians in Britain. Originally funded by the BFI Production Board and restored by the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation, with funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation, with additional thanks to the BFI Philanthropy ‘Pioneers of Black British Filmmaking consortium’, PRESSURE will receive a joint World Premiere at the 67th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express at BFI Southbank and as a Revivals selection at the 61st New York Film Festival on 11 October. A preview screening and discussion at BFI Southbank on 23 October will follow, hosted by academic Dr Clive Nwonka, with producers Annabelle Alcazar and Robert Buckler, writer and academic Caryl Phillips and filmmaker Rhea Storr, before the film’s UK-wide cinema release by BFI Distribution and its arrival on BFI Player from 3 November.

Spanning four decades and described by Caryl Phillips as occupying a unique place in British cinema, Horace Ové’s filmography has encompassed cutting-edge drama and documentary, as well as programmes examining music, culture and the visual arts. At a time when telling authentic Black stories on mainstream broadcast media was incredibly limited, Ové broke through barriers, both at the BBC and Channel 4, to create films that truly represented a multicultural Britain, told with an integrity that reflected his own values and political convictions. An illustrated discussion, HORACE OVÉ: REFLECTING THE PEOPLE – A CAREER RETROSPECTIVE will kick off the season on 23 October, including a Q&A with actor Lennie James, producers Annabelle Alcazar, Peter Ansorge, Tara Prem and Marcus Ryder, chaired by Samira Ahmed, with films screening in the season including THE BLACK SAFARI (1972), KING CARNIVAL (1973), PLAYING AWAY (1985), DABBAWALLAHS (1985),

BALDWIN’S N***** (1969) including a Q&A with author Colin Grant and additional guests on 4 November,

plus some titles which influenced Ové’s work, BICYCLE THIEVES (1948), PATHER PANCHALI (Satyajit Ray, 1955), and a SENIORS matinee of LA DOLCE VITA (Federico Fellini, 1960).

Full details of the season can be found in a dedicated press release here.

INTERNAL REFLECTIONS: THE FILMS OF JOANNA HOGG

With the arrival of BFI Distribution’s THE ETERNAL DAUGHTER (2022) in cinemas from 24 November, following its special presentation at the 66^th BFI London Film Festival in 2022, there’s no better time to look back on the filmography of Joanna Hogg and the cinematic influences that made her. Hogg’s personal, uncompromisingly upper-middle-class stories and familial melodramas are anchored in observation. Although her camera often shoots at a distance, her beautifully framed visual style, with its precise composition – revealing her roots as a photographer – perfectly facilitates her intimate examination of her character’s desires and inner workings. Her process, comprising long-held takes and improvisation, contribute immeasurably to each film’s naturalism and a tremendous sense of truth in her work. A gifted filmmaker and a pure cinephile, Hogg will discuss her career so far in JOANNA HOGG IN CONVERSATION on 15 November, while there will also be a preview of BFI Distribution release THE ETERNAL DAUGHTER (2022) on 10 November ahead of its theatrical release on 24 November, followed by a Q&A with writer-director Joanna Hogg and actor Tilda Swinton. An atmospheric and entirely captivating chamber drama featuring a stunning lead performance by one of the UK’s finest actors, it is arguably Swinton and Hogg’s finest collaboration to date, having first worked together on the writer-director’s 1986 short CAPRICE, followed by Swinton’s appearances in THE SOUVENIR and THE SOUVENIR: PART II.

Other films playing at BFI Southbank and on BFI Player during the season will include UNRELATED (2007), Hogg’s exceptional feature debut which is a remarkably accomplished and incisive drama, examining the complexities of middle-age identity and sexuality; and EXHIBITION (2013), in which Viv Albertine, ex-guitarist of the cult punk group The Slits, and Turner-prize winning visual artist Liam Gillick are inspired choices as the protagonists in a hypnotising portrait of two creatives attempting to coexist.

Also screening will be THE SOUVENIR (2019), the first half of Hogg’s highly acclaimed, semi-autobiographical portrait of heartbreak and artistic self-discovery, in which she creates an astonishingly detailed and vivid slice of 1980s London; and the exquisite concluding chapter, THE SOUVENIR: PART II (2021), in which the fallout of the events from THE SOUVENIR are sensitively unpacked, with Hogg giving us a new lens through which to view them, and Julie’s life, which builds to a striking film-within-a-film that has to be seen on the big screen. The two films, viewed separately or together, are a creative and narrative triumph, both being voted the Best Films of their respective years by Sight and Sound magazine.

A selection of short form works by Joanna Hogg will also play during the season. They range from early student films, including her first collaboration with Tilda Swinton, CAPRICE (1986), to PRÉSAGES (2023), a meditative notebook for a past or future film that the filmmaker compiled earlier this year. It’s an illuminating journey through Hogg’s development as an artist.

Meanwhile, JOANNA HOGG: INFLUENCES is a selection of films chosen by the filmmaker which reflect where her interests lie right now, including films which Hogg admires, aspires to, or is influenced by – past and present – such as psychological thriller SUSPICION (Alfred Hitchcock, 1941), LADY IN THE DARK (Mitchell Leisen, 1944), CRISS CROSS (Robert Siodmak, 1949), JOURNEY TO ITALY (Roberto Rossellini, 1954), THE EXILES (Kent Mackenzie, 1961), THE KILLERS (Don Siegel, 1964), ITALIANAMERICAN (Martin Scorsese, 1974), TICKET OF NO RETURN (Ulrike Ottinger, 1979) and MARGARET (Kenneth Lonergan, 2011).

DESTINATION TIME TRAVEL: PLAYING WITH TIME IN FILM AND TV

The possibilities of time travel have become an integral part of popular culture and our collective psyche. In recent years, time travel as a plot device has migrated from the confines of pure science fiction, infiltrating other genres: crime, romantic comedy and even broad comedy. The rise of superhero movies, which often feature themes of time travel and distortion, accounts for part of the recent proliferation, but the obsession with it is wide. TV and film creators understand its possibilities – exploring outlandish themes and concepts while keeping a philosophical eye on our own times and concerns. DESTINATION TIME TRAVEL: PLAYING WITH TIME IN FILM AND TV, programmed by BFI Archive TV Programmer Dick Fiddy, highlights the very different outcomes generated by sometimes broadly similar concepts. It mixes old and new, some well-known titles alongside more obscure ones that allow audiences a chance to journey down the wormhole of this fascinating sub-genre. The season opens on 27 October with TELLING THE TALES OF TIME, an introductory lecture by Steve Nallon, author of Telling the Tales of Time. In this lavishly illustrated talk, Steve takes us through the main tropes of the time-travel genre across film and TV before an on-stage chat between Steve and season programmer Dick Fiddy.

Other special events in the season will include a preview of THE LAZARUS PROJECT (Carl Tibbets, 2023) series two on 24 October, followed by a Q&A with actors Paapa Essiedu, Caroline Quentin, Anjli Mohindra and writer Joe Barton. When the world locks into a time loop that sees its end every three weeks, the Lazarus team must race against the clock to find a solution before humanity is wiped out forever.

A COMEDY TIME-TRAVEL SPECIAL on 5 November, will include screenings of RED DWARF: BACKWARDS (Ed Bye, 1989), a classic episode which finds the crew sucked through a time hole and stranded in a version of Earth where time runs backwards, as well as TIMEWASTERS (George Kane, 2017), a clever and amusing new spin on the time travel tale which sees a present-day band of jazz musicians stranded in the 1920s. The event will feature special onstage guests from the RED DWARF team – writer Rob Grant, exec producer Paul Jackson, actor Robert Llewellyn and director Ed Bye. An illustrated panel discussion on 4 November, THE TARDIS: THE MOST FAMOUS TIME MACHINE IN THE UNIVERSE will look at the many manifestations of the legendary space/time machine, and how different designers have recreated the Doctor’s organic travelling companion.

Films playing in the season will include THE TIME MACHINE (George Pal, 1960), which wasn’t the first time- travel tale but is certainly the most influential, with H.G. Wells’ story of an inventor creating a time machine and embarking on an insanely dangerous adventure. In PLANET OF THE APES (Franklin J Schaffner, 1968),

American Astronauts crash-land to find humans enslaved and intelligent talking apes the dominant species. Rod Serling’s artful screenplay, based on a story by Pierre Boulle, delivered a new ending that has become the stuff of legend. TIME AFTER TIME (Nicholas Meyer, 1979), a fondly remembered but rarely screened treat, sees writer Herbert George Wells unveil a time machine to astonished dinner guests. Before he can demonstrate, the craft it is hijacked by a man thought to be Jack the Ripper. Time-loop thriller RUN LOLA RUN (Tom Tykwer, 1998) is a smart and pacy race against the clock. Franka Potente plays the runner of the title, who has 20 minutes to deliver money that will save her boyfriend from being killed. But time doesn’t play out in any conventional way as we see various versions of Lola’s journey. A Relaxed Screening, for neurodivergent audiences, with their companions and assistants, will play on 27 November. Meanwhile, a band of outlaws use time holes to jump between different historic events in TIME BANDITS (Terry Gilliam, 1981). An all-star cast, great visuals, hilarious script and Terry Gilliam’s directorial flair make this a rollicking adventure. A Relaxed Screening will play on 30 October with subtitles, including descriptive subtitles of non-dialogue audio.

JE T’AIME, JE T’AIME (Alain Resnais, 1968) is a tough and absorbing study of psychological damage. Alain Resnais employs bravura editing to illustrate a suicidal man’s disjointed and fragmented journey into his own disturbing past, as he participates in a mysterious time-travel experiment. An absurdly convoluted, constantly surprising cult gem, TOMORROW I WILL WAKE UP AND SCALD MYSELF WITH TEA (Jindrich Polak, 1977) follows a man who takes the place of his deceased twin brother at time travel agency Universum. Hoping to travel back in time and save his brother, he finds himself in an insane plot to give Adolf Hitler an A-Bomb and to alter the outcome of the Second World War. In charming oddity SOMEWHERE IN TIME (Jeannot Szwarc, 1980), playwright Richard Collier becomes obsessed with an old portrait photograph of Elise, an early 20th- century actress. Using self-hypnosis, he wills himself back in time to seek her out.

A fantastical, almost too rich mix of time travel, parallel universes and paranoia, DONNIE DARKO (Richard Kelly, 2001) is the tale of a troubled student visited by visions of a six-foot rabbit who warns him of the imminent end of the world that fully deserves its cult status. There is similarly much to admire in PREDESTINATION (Spierig Brothers, 2014), particularly Sarah Snook’s performance as the time-traveling protégé cop to Ethan Hawke’s older officer. The Spierig Brothers cleverly used the notion of time travel to tell the heartrending story of someone who has forever felt out of place. Meanwhile, BEYOND THE INFINITE TWO MINUTES (Junta Yamaguchi, 2020) questions whether the face staring back at us from our computer is a version of ourselves two minutes in the future. It’s a great example of the nagamawashi (long-shot) film, the micro-genre of no-budget Japanese cinema.

Television programmes featured in the season will include four episodes of THE TOMORROW PEOPLE: A RIFT IN TIME (Darrol Blake, 1974), in which a new stage of human evolution brings forth a small number of young people with extraordinary powers. This event on 11 November will feature a Q&A with actor Nicholas Young is dedicated to fellow actor in the show, Peter Vaughan-Clarke. LAZARUS, a third instalment in the LIFE ON MARS and ASHES TO ASHES series of programmes was announced but never made. The LAZARUS TABLE READING is a special opportunity to see what might have been, with a dramatic table reading of the opening episode on 19 November.

Films playing on the UK’s biggest screen at BFI IMAX during the season will include 12 MONKEYS (Terry Gilliam, 1995) on 22 October. Riffing on the themes of Chris Marker’s LA JETÉE and Hitchcock’s VERTIGO, this is a dark tale of obsession and insanity. But what Gilliam brings to the film in terms of visual style makes it all his own. James Cameron’s TERMINATOR films, with their thrilling mix of high-octane action, SFX and hard sci-fi, kick- started a massively successful fantasy franchise. In a double bill of TERMINATOR (James Cameron, 1984) and TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY (James Cameron, 1991) on 30 October, we see Schwarzenegger as both nemesis and good guy, first sent back in time to kill and then to protect the life of the future leader of the resistance. A perfect mix of comedy, action, romance and science fiction, the BACK TO THE FUTURE TRILOGY boasts an eccentric scientist, flying cars, cowboys and a brilliant use of time travel. The epitome of the time paradox/race-against-time plot, but with plenty of inventive twists and turns to keep it unpredictable. See all three films on the UK’s biggest screen at BFI IMAX on 19 November.

NEW AND RE-RELEASES AT BFI SOUTHBANK AND BFI IMAX

In addition to the previously mentioned BFI Distribution release of THE ETERNAL DAUGHTER (Joanna Hogg, 2022), BFI Distribution re-releases of I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, 1945) and PRESSURE (Horace Ové, 1975), extended run of IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE? (Ella Glendining, 2023) and the continued run of Ken Loach’s BFI-backed THE OLD OAK (2023), other new releases at BFI Southbank this month include a remarkably assured directorial debut screening from 3 November, HOW TO HAVE SEX (Molly Manning Walker, 2023), which is backed by the BFI Filmmaking Fund, awarding National Lottery funding and picked up the Un Certain Regard award for best first feature at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. Manning Walker accurately captures the giddy freedom of a coming-of-age summer, and a very distinct British youth culture. However, among the buzz and nostalgia, she unpacks some the joys and horrors of the teenage-girl experience. Mia McKenna-Bruce is sensational as Tara, her facial expressions conveying more than words as Tara’s holiday becomes formative, but not in the way she wished for.

Screening at BFI IMAX this month is KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON (Martin Scorsese, 2023), showing from 20 October. The blistering adaptation of David Grann’s non-fiction bestseller tells the story of corruption, coercion and murder among the Oklahoma Osage Native American community which, for a brief spell in the 1920s, was the wealthiest in the US. With oil discovered on their land, all manner of vested interests sought control of it and Scorsese’s film – epic in every way – tells the riveting story of those whose greed eclipsed their humanity. NAPOLEON (Ridley Scott, 2023) tells the story of Napoleon Bonaparte’s rise to power through the prism of his volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine. It’s the perfect platform for Ridley Scott to be reunited with his GLADIATOR star Joaquin Phoenix and shows Scott at the height of his powers, telling an intimate story against the vast canvas of a turbulent Europe. Audiences can expect extravagant action and intense combat in this historical epic on the UK’s largest screen from 22 November.

A centrepiece of the Sci-FiMAX: Into the Future, Now! season, and celebrating its tenth anniversary, Alfonso

Cuarón’s dazzling space epic GRAVITY (Alfonso Cuaron, 2013) echoes 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, SOLARIS, ALIEN

and the rich history of IMAX space documentaries. There’s no better place than the largest screen in the UK

to see this extraordinary vision in 3D, playing at BFI IMAX from 19 October.

REGULAR BFI SOUTHBANK PROGRAMME STRANDS

BFI Southbank’s regular programme strands have something for everyone – whether audiences are looking for silent treasures, experimental works or archive rarities.

THE SUSPECT (Robert Siodmak, 1945) will be the first screening of a new strand highlighting masterpieces and recent discoveries from around the world, newly RESTORED. Charles Laughton is on tremendous form as the mild-mannered office manager in Siodmak’s drama, which was inspired by the notorious Dr Crippen case. It’s the perfect way to kick off this new regular strand in the programme, restored in 4K by Universal Pictures from the original 35mm nitrate negative and a 35mm fine grain nitrate composite. The screening on 17 October will be introduced by Justin Johnson, BFI Lead Programmer. Meanwhile, recently unearthed by connoisseur label Second Run and presented in a 4K restoration supervised by cinematographer Miklós Gurbán, TWILIGHT (György Fehér, 1991) may be the most transcendent cinematic discovery of the year. Based on a novel by Swiss author Friedrich Dürrenmatt, it’s a harrowing psychological drama in which a veteran detective allows his hunt for a child murderer to become an obsession. Incredibly haunting and atmospheric, it plays on 21 November and will be introduced by Jason Wood, BFI Director of Public Programmes and Audiences.

Screenings for FAMILIES will include a preview of LEO (Robert Marianetti, Robert Smigel, David Wachtenheim, 2023), a Netflix animated comedy musical full of energy and humour, which follows a 74-year-old pet lizard who has lived in a school classroom for decades and features the comic talents of Adam Sandler. This FUNDAY screening on 12 November will include arts and crafts, DIY animation and other activities in the foyer, free for ticketholders.

Celebrating 16 years of inspirational films by and about the people of Africa, this month’s AFRICAN ODYSSEYS screening is MAMI WATA (C.J. ‘Fiery’ Obasi, 2023). Obasi’s third feature, a winner at Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, cements his position at the forefront of a new wave of Nigerian filmmaking. Vividly shot in black-and-white, it features an incredible oceanic soundscape and hypnotic score. A screening on 18 November will include a Q&A and panel discussion with director C.J. ‘Fiery’ Obasi and producer Oge Obasi.

ERASE AND FORGET (Andrea Luka Zimmerman, 2017) and WHAT CAN I DO WITH A MALE NUDE? (Ron Peck, 1985) are this month’s EXPERIMENTA offering, with a screening on 25 October followed by Andrea Luka Zimmerman and James Mackay in conversation with BFI National Archive curator William Fowler. Two films from the BFI National Archive that explore the charged, homoerotic and imagistic power of the 1980s Hollywood action hero, these bold artefacts return us to an era that celebrated and visually pawed gun-toting, oiled, muscular hunks, yet feared male flesh and close homosexual connection.

ART IN THE MAKING, which celebrates diverse artistic forms, movers and makers, presents a screening of BUILDINGS. WHO CARES? (David Thompson, 1985) on 17 October. Developed from an original idea by architect Donald Insall, this film examines the concept of architectural conservation, explores the changing criteria which defines ‘heritage’ and highlights the implications inherent in the conflicting demands of new building and preservation. The screening will include an introduction by Adrian Steel, Director of Collections and programmes at RIBA, as well as a showing of JIM STIRLING’S ARCHITECTURE (Ron Parks, 1973).

BIG SCREEN CLASSICS

For this month’s daily screenings of classic movies for just £9, to complement our celebration of the work of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, PHANTOM THREADS: POWELL AND PRESSBURGER IN CONTEXT is a selection of titles by other directors that resonate with the Archer’s own films. Sometimes it is a question of influence, sometimes not; judge for yourselves with screenings of BLACKMAIL (Alfred Hitchcock, 1929), THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII (Alexander Korda, 1933), A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (William Dieterie, 1935), BLOOD AND SAND (Rouben Mamoulian, 1941), CASABLANCA (Michael Curtiz, 1942), THE QUEEN OF SPADES (Thorold Dickinson, 1949), LA RONDE (Max Ophüls, 1950), PANDORA AND THE FLYING DUTCHMAN

(Albert Lewin, 1951), AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (Vincente Minnelli, 1951), FRENCH CANCAN (Jean Renoir, 1955), BLACK ORPHEUS (Marcel Camus, 1959), THE TEMPEST (Derek Jarman, 1979), WINGS OF DESIRE (Wim Wenders, 1987), DO THE RIGHT THING (Spike Lee, 1989), ORLANDO (Sally Potter, 1992), THE AGE OF INNOCENCE (Martin Scorsese, 1993), THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (Wes Anderson, 2014) and PHANTOM THREAD (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2017). In addition to our £9 ticket offer for BIG SCREEN CLASSICS, audience members aged 25 and under can buy tickets for BFI Southbank screenings (in advance or on the day) and special events and previews (on the day only), for just £3, through our ongoing ticket scheme for young audiences.