BFI Southbank today announces the programme for December 2023, which includes the conclusion of CINEMA UNBOUND: THE CREATIVE WORLDS OF POWELL + 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 A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH (1946), BLACK NARCISSUS (1947) and THE RED SHOES (1948).
The second and final part of this major BFI season, which continues until 31 December, explores Powell and Pressburger’s celebrated dance and opera productions, through which they realised their ideal of the ‘composed film’, alongside rarities, newly remastered early work, and a selection of films focused on individuals with very different – and often troubling – obsessions. Highlights of the programme include the UK-wide BFI Distribution 75th anniversary re-release of THE RED SHOES (1948) from 8 December, and BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation restorations of Michael Powell’s PEEPING TOM (1960), in association with StudioCanal, and BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE (1964). Meanwhile, continuing the celebration of the 75th anniversary of Powell and Pressburger’s ravishing masterpiece, THE RED SHOES IN THE SPOTLIGHT on 8 December is an illustrated talk by Pamela Hutchinson, author of the recently published BFI Film Classics book on the film, plus THE RED SHOES: BEYOND THE MIRROR, a free exhibition at BFI Southbank until 7 January featuring over 100 previously unseen items, including costume and production designs preserved by the BFI National Archive and key loans, such as an original pair of Moira Shearer’s iconic red ballet shoes featured in the film, loaned to the BFI by the Martin Scorsese Collection, personal items from Moira Shearer’s family and costumes and props from Matthew Bourne’s ballet adaptation. In addition, a panel discussion QUEERING POWELL AND PRESSBURGER on 12 December explores the special resonances Powell and Pressburger’s films have for queer cultures today, while BFI IMAX screens Powell and Pressburger’s visually stunning A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH (1946) and BLACK NARCISSUS (1947) on the UK’s largest screen.
Also in December will be HARRY BELAFONTE: RACE, MOVIES, DEFIANCE, a celebration of the 70-year career in film of the New York-born, Jamaica-raised singer, actor, activist and producer Harry Belafonte, whose balancing of the roles of artist and activist, across show business and campaigning, is unmatched in Hollywood. An inspirational documentary and record of Belafonte’s achievements, SING YOUR SONG (Susanne Rostock, 2011) will kick off the season on 2 December with an extended illustrated introduction from curator Burt Caesar, followed by a Q&A with director Susanne Rostock, Legacy Media Institute Founding Director Tim Reid, writer and activist Candace Allen and actor Clarke Peters. Other films playing in the season will include CARMEN JONES (Otto Preminger, 1954), THE WORLD, THE FLESH AND THE DEVIL (Ranald MacDougall, 1959), ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW (Robert Wise, 1959), BUCK AND THE PREACHER (Sidney Poitier, 1972), KANSAS CITY (Robert Altman, 1996) and BLACKKKLANSMAN (Spike Lee, 2018).
Meanwhile, it wouldn’t be December at BFI Southbank without a feast of Christmas films and this year’s festive line-up includes THE BISHOP’S WIFE (Henry Koster, 1947), MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET (George Seaton, 1947), SCROOGE (Brian Desmond Hurst, 1951), THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL (Brian Henson, 1992), TIM BURTON’S THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS (Henry Selick, 1993), TOKYO GODFATHERS (Satoshi Kon, 2003), CAROL (Todd Haynes, 2015) and TANGERINE (Sean Baker, 2015). Seasonal favourites playing under the BIG SCREEN CLASSICS banner, with tickets for just £9, will include THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER (Ernst Lubitsch, 1940), REMEMBER THE NIGHT (Mitchell Leisen, 1940), MEET ME IN ST LOUIS (Vincente Minnelli, 1944), IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (Frank Capra, 1946) and FANNY AND ALEXANDER (Ingmar Bergman, 1989).
Meanwhile, BFI IMAX will also be screening DIE HARD (John McTiernan, 1988), TIM BURTON’S THE
NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS (Henry Selick, 1993), THE POLAR EXPRESS (Robert Zemeckis, 2003), TOKYO
GODFATHERS (Satoshi Kon, 2003) and ELF (Jon Favreau, 2003) on the UK’s largest screen.
Special events at BFI Southbank this month will include YORGOS LANTHIMOS IN CONVERSATION on 13 December. Through his exquisitely crafted absurdist tales and darkly comic explorations of the human condition, Yorgos Lanthimos has become one of the most distinctive and exciting directors working today.
The remarkable director behind films including THE LOBSTER and THE FAVOURITE, will be welcomed to BFI Southbank to discuss his career and latest release, POOR THINGS (2023), before a preview of the film also on 13 December is introduced by the director. We are also delighted to be screening the final ever episode of THE CROWN (Stephen Daldry, 2023) on 17 December, followed by a Q&A discussion with some of the key individuals who made it all possible. Season six features news from Paris of the devastating accident that sent shockwaves across the world and sees the Monarchy in a state of crisis, both as a family and an institution.
Previews this month will include THE KEMPS: ALL GOLD (Rhys Thomas, 2023) on 5 December, followed by a Q&A with Gary Kemp and Martin Kemp. Spandau Ballet’s Kemp brothers are back with more television Gold in this follow up to their hit 2020 mockumentary THE KEMPS: ALL TRUE. This time, award-winning filmmaker Rhys Thomas OBE follows the brothers for a whole year and naturally, not everything goes to plan. A preview of TRUELOVE on 6 December will be followed by a Q&A with actors Lindsay Duncan, Clarke Peters, Sue Johnston and writers Iain Weatherby and Charlie Covell. Flipping ageist tropes with thrilling twists, irreverent humour and passionate romance, a gang of old friends make a drunken pact; rather than let each other suffer a slow decline, they will engineer a dignified death. But what starts out as a fanciful idea soon morphs into a shocking reality. Meanwhile, a screening of urban fairy tale LOST CHRISTMAS (John Hay, 2011) on 10 December will also be followed by a Q&A with actor Eddie Izzard and director John Hay. This is a rare opportunity to watch this tale of the strange and enigmatic Anthony, who wakes up on the street on Christmas Eve apparently with the power to find the lost. But is it real, or just an illusion?
MISSING BELIEVED WIPED returns with its annual look at recent television rediscoveries, featuring a fascinating lost comedy. Following his successful appearances on THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS, Lance Percival was given his own show, LANCE AT LARGE, the first sitcom written by comedy royalty David Nobbs and Peter Tinniswood. The whole series was missing from the archives. However, one episode has resurfaced and will be screened on 3 December, alongside some treats for fans of DAD’S ARMY and other titles to be announced soon. Meanwhile THE STYLISH WORLD OF ITC, with an introduction by Lord Michael Grade, will see Jaz Wiseman share his considerable ITC (Incorporated Television Company) archive, featuring the art and design of this famous British company. Expect rare marketing art and sales designs, as well as some well- known, and alternative version, credit sequences, also on 3 December.
A monthly conversation between you (the audience) and one of the nation’s most respected film critics, Mark Kermode Live in 3D at the BFI will take place on 18 December. 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.
FURTHER PROGRAMME INFORMATION FOR DECEMBER 2023
BFI SOUTHBANK SEASONS
CINEMA UNBOUND: THE CREATIVE WORLDS OF POWELL AND PRESSBURGER
This second and final part of the major BFI season, CINEMA UNBOUND: THE CREATIVE WORLDS OF POWELL AND PRESSBURGER, explores Powell and Pressburger’s celebrated dance and opera productions, through which they realised their ideal of the ‘composed film’, alongside rarities, newly remastered early work, and a selection of films focused on individuals with very different – and often troubling – obsessions.
Re-released UK-wide by BFI Distribution from 8 December in celebration of the film’s 75th anniversary, THE RED SHOES (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, 1948) is perhaps the definitive ballet film, with its captivating behind-the-scenes insights into the creative process, fairytale enchantments and characters for whom art is more important than life itself. Shot in glorious Technicolor by Jack Cardiff, it’s no surprise that Powell and Pressburger’s cinematic fever dream has inspired generations of artists and filmmakers. A special screening of a new 35mm BFI National Archive print will also play at BFI Southbank on 10 December. Meanwhile, dive deeper into the breathtaking world of Powell and Pressburger’s masterpiece with THE RED SHOES IN THE SPOTLIGHT on 8 December. Pamela Hutchinson, author of the recently published BFI Film Classic book on THE RED SHOES, will present an illustrated talk examining some of the elements that make the film so endlessly fascinating. She will then be joined by special guests to consider the film’s wide-reaching influence on cinema and other artistic forms. Audiences can also continue to immerse themselves in the mesmerising production with an ongoing BFI Southbank exhibition, THE RED SHOES: BEYOND THE MIRROR, from 10 November until 7 January. The exhibition displays 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 also features 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.
Three new restorations from the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation arrive at BFI Southbank in December. PEEPING TOM (1960), restored in association with StudioCanal, is Michael Powell’s profoundly uncomfortable study of a murderous voyeur. Reviled by British critics upon its release, it is now widely regarded as a masterpiece of suspense. Powell’s film out-Hitchcocks Hitchcock in Soho’s seedy underbelly. A screening on 1 December will include an introduction, while on 9 December the magazine DOESN’T EXIST launch their new edition devoted to the film’s genesis and legacy. Meanwhile, once declared ‘un-performable’ due to its lack of stage action, Powell turned this to his advantage when he adapted BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE (1963) for German television. Hein Heckroth’s sets must be seen to be believed in this new BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation restoration, in association with The Ashbrittle Film Foundation, with funding provided by the BFI National Archive, The Louis B. Mayer Foundation and The Film Foundation. It plays alongside THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE (1955), the first ballet film to be shot in Cinemascope, while a screening on 15 December will include an introduction by writer Lillian Crawford. A digitally restored version of BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE will be released on BFI Blu-ray on 20 November. Finally, THE SMALL BACK ROOM (1948), restored in association with Studiocanal, followed a series of Technicolor extravaganzas as Powell and
Pressburger turned to a darker post-war mood. David Farrar gives perhaps his best performance as the embittered bomb disposal expert, while Christopher Challis’ cinematography looks stunning in this new restoration. A screening on 1 December will include an introduction.
Other events rounding out the season include QUEERING POWELL AND PRESSBURGER on 12 December, a panel discussion exploring the special resonances Powell and Pressburger’s films have for queer cultures today – from their theatrical high style, trembling same-sex relationships, to casting of queer performers like Anton Walbrook, Eric Portman and Judith Furse. Meanwhile, the EXPERIMENTA strand presents MICHELLE WILLIAMS GAMAKER IN CONVERSATION WITH DR. KULRAJ PHULLAR on 13 December. Referring to her work as ‘fictional activism’, British-Sri Lankan artist Michelle Williams Gamaker makes films where marginalised brown characters from cinema history take control of the narrative. THE HOUSE OF WOMEN (2017), a re- imagined casting session for the role of Kanchi in Powell and Pressburger’s BLACK NARCISSUS, sees British Asian women and non-binary people negotiating the power dynamics of the audition, while in THIEVES (2023), Indian-born Sabu realises Anna May-Wong needs help when he discovers her amidst the sets for Powell’s THE THIEF OF BAGHDAD. We are delighted to also welcome Williams Gamaker to present an extended, illustrated talk about her work, research and interests in Powell and Pressburger. Her latest work OBERON, responding to Merle Oberon items in the BFI National Archive’s special collections also features in THE RED SHOES: BEYOND THE MIRROR exhibition.
December’s SILENT CINEMA treat is A WOMAN OF PARIS (Charles Chaplin, 1923) on 17 and 28 December, including an introduction by Michael Powell expert Mark Fuller on 17 December. Powell spoke of the influence Charlie Chaplin’s film had on him as an 18-year-old, which was Chaplin’s first not starring the ‘little tramp’ character. A rare chance to see rediscovered British features from the BFI National Archive, PROJECTING THE ARCHIVE presents THE END OF THE RIVER (Derek N. Twist, 1947) on 5 December, including an intro by film scholar Dr Kulraj Phullar. Produced by Powell and Pressburger, and directed by Powell’s one-time editor Derek Twist, the presented-in-flashback drama was released soon after BLACK NARCISSUS but replaces its studio- created exoticism with black and white location footage shot by Archers-regular Christopher Challis. Finally, on 4 December the BFI Reuben Library welcomes Oscar-winning film director Kevin Macdonald in conversation with novelist and former Faber & Faber film editor Richard T. Kelly, to discuss THE GLASS PEARLS, the 1966 novel written by Macdonald’s uncle Emeric Pressburger. Join us for a discussion on this gripping psychological study of a cultured man guilty of unspeakable crimes.
Film, music and dance are brought together gloriously in Powell and Pressburger’s celebrated ballet and opera films, which play in December alongside BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE under the banner of ‘WHY DO YOU WANT TO DANCE?’ ‘WHY DO YOU WANT TO LIVE?’ – BALLET AND OPERA. Powell and Pressburger’s subversive, audacious take on Offenbach’s opera, THE TALES OF HOFFMANN (1951) drew on some of the greatest film, music and dance talents of the period. Transforming it into a phantasmagoria of feverish colours, the sensual and unsettling delights include Tchérina as a 19th-century dominatrix. A screening on 12 December will include an introduction by academic Andrew Moor. Elsewhere, OH… ROSALINDA!! (1955), the Archers’ take on Strauss’s operetta of infidelity, is as frothy as the champagne it celebrates. With Anton Walbrook as a kind of masked Harry Lime, the team fuses kitsch with their typically inventive subversion. A restored version of HONEYMOON (1959), for decades almost impossible to see in its uncut English version, stars Anthony Steel and dancer Ludmilla Tchérina as a couple honeymooning in Spain. The film truly comes alive in its dance sequences scored by Mikis Theodorakis and choreographed by Léonide Massine.
The experience of isolated individuals is explored across several films grouped alongside PEEPING TOM and THE SMALL BACK ROOM in ‘ALL THIS FILMING ISN’T HEALTHY’ – OBSESSIVES AND OUTSIDERS, from the
troubling and disturbing to the lightly comical. All but blacklisted at home after PEEPING TOM, Powell headed to Australia to adapt THEY’RE A WEIRD MOB (1966), about a newly arrived Italian labourer’s culture clash with the Aussie way of life. Pressburger wrote the screenplay (under the alias Richard Imrie) and the result was a comedy rich in local colour and Sydney locations. Meanwhile in AGE OF CONSENT (1969), a disillusioned painter travels to his birthplace of Australia to imbue himself in colour. In local teenager Cora (Helen Mirren’s first major film appearance) he finds both inspiration and likeness, as each struggle to establish an authentic life.
Powell cut his teeth making low-budget films under the British ‘quota’ system from 1931-36. The surviving titles have been remastered by the BFI National Archive for our POWELL BEFORE PRESSBURGER strand. Male chauvinist pigs meet 1930s girl power in THE LOVE TEST (1935), in which chemists seeking a formula for fireproofing celluloid take exception to colleague Mary’s upcoming promotion. Powell’s answer to the screwball comedy is polished off with Deco designs and lashings of witty banter. It plays alongside SOMETHING ALWAYS HAPPENS (1934), Powell’s sprightly comedy about a freeloading charmer who romances the daughter of a wealthy petrol station owner, before conflict ensues when he takes a job with a rival. Powell bid for box office success with THE PHANTOM LIGHT (1935), the tale of a gang of ship-wreckers who spread the legend of a ‘phantom lighthouse’ to distract attention from their activities. Edited by Powell’s soon-to-be regular collaborator Derek Twist, it’s all carried off with real atmosphere. The LAZYBONES (1935) of Powell’s amiable comedy is penniless aristocrat Sir ‘Reggie’ Ford, who is forced into a more productive existence when he must prove his worth to win back his wife. Shot after-hours with a cast hotfooting it from the West End, it betrays its stage origins, but Powell sprinkles it all with a light touch. It plays alongside HER LAST AFFAIRE (1936), Powell’s adaptation of Walter Ellis’s successful West End play S.O.S., the most prestigious production he had made to date. Powell’s penultimate quota production was CROWN V. STEVENS (1936), a proto-film noir for Warner Brothers stylishly shot by Basil Emmott. Patric Knowles stars as a naïve young man who becomes embroiled in the murderous, money-hungry scheming of his boss’s wife. It plays alongside BEHIND THE MASK (AKA THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK) (1936), long considered lost and listed on the BFI’s ‘Most Wanted’ list. A 16mm print of a truncated version in fact survived at the George Eastman Museum, and it is from that print that this new scan was taken.
Continuing from last month, PRESSBURGER WITHOUT POWELL is a selection of films written by Pressburger without Powell’s involvement. In WANTED FOR MURDER (Lawrence Huntington, 1946), Eric Portman is on icy form as a businessman ‘possessed’ by the evil spirit of his father, a notorious Victorian hangman. With vibrant location scenes offering glimpses of a capital resuming normal life, this post-war British psycho-noir is executed with considerable panache. The screening on 4 December will include an introduction by Simon McCallum, BFI curator. Meanwhile, POWELL AND TELEVISION is a selection of two dramas directed for British television in the 1960s. Powell may not be as associated with television as Hitchcock, but he was interested in its possibilities and among other projects directed three episodes of ESPIONAGE, the series of standalone spy dramas devised by producer Herbert Brodkin. In NEVER TURN YOUR BACK ON A FRIEND (1963), a moral dilemma is faced by three Allied agents in occupied Norway when they take a German scientist hostage, while in A FREE AGENT (1964), a British engineer and his Russian wife, both agents for their governments in wartime, question where their loyalties lie in the present.
Finally, screening at BFI IMAX are two of Powell and Pressburger’s most beloved pictures. A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH (1946) sees Pressburger’s wildly imaginative script matched by Powell’s stunning visuals in this timeless classic. When RAF pilot Peter Carter plummets towards the English Channel, a fantastical series of events see him conducted to a celestial court to plead for his life. Meanwhile Powell and Pressburger’s gothic masterpiece BLACK NARCISSUS (1947) finds a group of nuns driven to jealousy and madness at a remote Himalayan nunnery. It is one of the most radiantly beautiful of all Technicolor films and, shot entirely in England, showcases the combined powers of the Archers team at the absolute height of inspiration.
HARRY BELAFONTE: RACE, MOVIES, DEFIANCE
HARRY BELAFONTE: RACE, MOVIES, DEFIANCE is a celebration of the 70-year career in film of the New York- born, Jamaica-raised singer, actor, activist and producer Harry Belafonte, whose balancing of the roles of artist and activist, across show business and campaigning, is unmatched in Hollywood. An inspirational documentary, SING YOUR SONG (Susanne Rostock, 2011) is a record of Belafonte’s achievements and plays on 2 December with an extended illustrated introduction to the season from curator Burt Caesar, followed by a Q&A with director Susanne Rostock, Legacy Media Institute Founding Director Tim Reid, writer and activist Candace Allen and actor Clarke Peters.
Harry Belafonte’s was a lifetime of righteous fervour and his inspirational struggles for freedom, democracy and equality (against fascism, racial apartheid, McCarthyism, nuclear war, guns and more) are epitomised by the prominent place he held in the civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King, Jr. His film work was independently minded and uncompromising, believing that good art served ideas to challenge the status quo and boring this out with maverick directors including Preminger, Wise, Altman and Lee. Films playing throughout this season at BFI Southbank include CARMEN JONES (Otto Preminger, 1954), which sees Dorothy Dandridge’s tempestuous Carmen seduce Belafonte’s GI. His subtlety as an actor underpins the social commentary of this film, which unfolds at the height of ‘Jim Crow’ racial segregation. THE WORLD, THE FLESH AND THE DEVIL (Ranald MacDougall, 1959), with its themes of Cold War-era paranoia, fears of miscegenation and racist vigilantism, was a bold choice by Belafonte and he excels as the only Black person among three survivors after the world’s population has been extinguished. In ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW (Robert Wise, 1959), Belafonte shines as a mercurial gambler indebted to loan-sharks. From the streets of Manhattan to a tense climax in small-town Pennsylvania, this is a neglected noir masterpiece. A screening on 14 December will include an introduction from season curator Burt Caesar.
BUCK AND THE PREACHER (Sidney Poitier, 1972) presents Black American history through the prism of a Western. Sidney Poitier’s directorial debut, in which he stars opposite Belafonte, tells the story of a wagon master and con-man pastor who join forces to transport African Americans to safety. Belafonte was at his most magnetic in KANSAS CITY (Robert Altman, 1996) as a gang boss who riffs on life, death, Marcus Garvey and white America. In no other screen role was he so mean and ruthless. A screening on 17 December will include an introduction from season curator Burt Caesar. Meanwhile, set at the peak of the Black Power movement’s popularity in the early 1970s, BLACKKKLANSMAN (Spike Lee, 2018) finds a Black cop and his white partner team-up to take down a local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. Belafonte’s striking performance as a morally indignant chorus possesses a gravity and moral authority gained from a lifetime’s social activism.
Belafonte sings on British television for the first time, and talks about his background, in a vintage recording HARRY BELAFONTE IN CONCERT AND CONVERSATION (Bryan Sears, 1958). This event on 16 December will include a discussion with special guests to be announced, as well as a screening of HARRY BELAFONTE (Yvonne Littlewood, 1977), a recording of Belafonte in concert captured during a European tour, which plays alongside rare clips of the actor in conversation. On 13 December, a free SENIORS archive matinee screening of ISLAND IN THE SUN (Robert Rossen, 1957) is introduced by film historian Marcus Powell. A great example of Belafonte’s creative work in dialogue with his activity within the civil rights movement, it catapulted Belafonte to the pinnacle of his popularity while seeing a backlash from the Ku Klux Klan for its two interracial romances. Meanwhile, a free SENIORS talk HARRY BELAFONTE – A VECES MIRO MI VADA (SOMETIMES I LOOK AT MY LIFE) also plays on 13 December, including an introduction by season curator Burt Caesar and a post-screening Q&A. This is a rare Cuban TV documentary, capturing a deeply introspective Belafonte interspersed with thrilling clips from his concert tour of the island. Although the quality of this screening’s material is poor, Belafonte’s radiance and charisma shines through.
NEW AND RE-RELEASES AT BFI SOUTHBANK AND BFI IMAX
New releases at BFI Southbank this month, in addition to the UK-wide BFI Distribution re-release of THE RED SHOES (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, 1948) from 8 December, include PRISCILLA (Sofia Coppola, 2023) previews from 27 December before the film opens on 5 January. Based on Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir, Sofia Coppola’s film sensitively charts Priscilla’s life throughout her relationship with the iconic musician. Coppola’s subtle direction is at its most tactile and sensuous in this intimate and haunting film. Meanwhile from 27 December, a decade after his last feature, Hayao Miyazaki returns with an enthralling and magical adventure that further demonstrates why he is the world’s favourite living animation director. THE BOY AND THE HERON (Hayao Miyazaki, 2023) is a vibrant, colourful and moving piece of work full of imagination and creativity.
QUEENDOM (Agnila Galdanova, 2023) is a compelling documentary about artistic expression and alternative forms of activism, which sees queer artist Gena Marvin battle to be herself against all odds in Putin’s Russia. This powerful film, playing from 1 December, celebrates a courageous yet vulnerable activist, juxtaposing moments of stunning creativity with the stark reality of life for LGBTQIA+ citizens in Russia. Also from 1 December, quirky romance FALLEN LEAVES (Aki Kaurismäki, 2023) is a much-needed ode to the warmth that can be found in harsh times. The irresistible romance of two star-crossed lovers unfolds in Aki signature deadpan style, replete with gorgeous, vivid Edward Hopper-esque framing, sprinkled with classic cinema references and Kaurismäki’s subtle but pointed social commentary.
With TISH (Paul Sng, 2023), the BIFA-winning director Paul Sng crafts an intimate portrait of the life and art of Tish Murtha, a working-class photographer who demands to be rediscovered. Narrated by Maxine Peake, this is a fitting tribute an artist whose work feels more vital than ever while also a rallying cry against austerity Britain. A preview on 1 December will be followed by a Q&A with Paul Sng, before the film plays from 15 December. Meanwhile BFI Distribution release THE ETERNAL DAUGHTER (Joanna Hogg, 2022) also continues its run from 24 November. Joanna Hogg’s enthralling ghost story is an atmospheric and entirely captivating chamber drama featuring a stunning lead performance by one of the UK’s finest actors, Tilda Swinton. The film exists entirely as its own deeply enthralling and moving drama, but fans of the filmmaker’s recent work will also find it a puzzle-box of meta-textual delights.
Screening at BFI IMAX this month is WONKA (Paul King, 2023) from 8 December. PADDINGTON (2014) director Paul King takes on one of Roald Dahl’s most beloved characters, and Timothée Chalamet is a perfect fit as the sweet genius, whose adventures around the world feed into the creation of his delectable delights. BFI IMAX’s sci-fi season SCI-FIMAX: INTO THE FUTURE, NOW! continues with a screening of RESTORE POINT followed by a Q&A with director Robert Hloz and actor Andrea Mohylová on 2 December. Hloz’s speculative thriller is everything great sci-fi should be – a combination of intelligence, emotion and vision – in a fictionalised 2041 where everybody has a constitutional right to be revived in the event of an unnatural death. Finally, J.R.R. Tolkien’s world-building classic THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY comes to the UK’s biggest screen on 17 December. Peter Jackson’s extraordinary trilogy is a testament to the strength of the author’s storytelling, the commitment of an excellent cast and crew, and the filmmaker’s vision.
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.
Kathryn Bigelow’s speculative noir STRANGE DAYS (Kathryn Bigelow, 1995) is this month’s WOMAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA presentation on 5 and 30 December. Featuring extraordinary action sequences, the film is uncompromising in its vision and features career-best performances by Ralph Fiennes and Angela Bassett. Elsewhere, A YEAR IN A FIELD (Christopher Morris, 2023) has a RELAXED screening on 8 December, for neurodiverse audiences, their companions and assistants. Filmed in solitude between the winter solstices of 2020 and 2021, this meditation on the natural world and human impact on the landscape raises questions rather than gives answers. Our newest strand, RESTORED, presents the UK Premiere of a 4K Restoration of DISTANT THUNDER (Satyajit Ray, 1973) on 19 December, with a pre-recorded intro by writer/director and cultural commentator Sangeeta Datta. Ray returns to a Bengal village during the Second World War, when man-made famine and pestilence killed five million people. With its languid pace capturing the rhythm of village life, it’s a masterly display of economy in an elegiac film.
Our FAMILY FUNDAY preview on 17 December is MOG’S CHRISTMAS (Robin Shaw, 2023) with special guests to be announced, which finds the Thomas family busy preparing for Christmas. With two Aunts and a jolly Uncle also staying in the house, Mog, the beloved family cat, is feeling left out. We celebrate the centenary of author Judith Kerr with this festive, animated treat, with FAMILY FUNDAY activities in the foyer free to ticket holders of the event. A FAMILIES preview of MALORY TOWERS (Bruce McDonald, 2024) series five will also take place on 16 December, with special guests to be announced. More adventures await at Malory Towers, where Darrell has a new role as Games Captain. He tries to encourage Felicity’s sporting talents, but she is keen to step out of Darrell’s shadow. When Felicity befriends new girl Josephine, how long will it be before the pair get up to mischief?
Meanwhile FILM WALLAHS, showcasing South Asian and world cinema, presents MR INDIA (Shekha Kapur, 1987) on 17 December followed by a Q&A with producer Mr Bonny Kapoor. A milestone in Hindi film, this variation on the superhero genre tells the story of Anil Kapoor’s poor but bighearted Arun, who takes orphans into his home. On discovering his scientist father has invented an invisibility device, he uses it to save the children – and India as a whole. Finally, IMPRINT (Clive Myer, 1974) is an experimental dance film featuring members of the Ballet Rambert, one of the world’s most renowned dance companies, performing to the music of Gavin Bryars. It plays alongside DANCERS (John Chesworth, 1978) on 14 December for this month’s ART IN THE MAKING pick. The members of the Ballet Rambert are seen through their daily activities, including backstage, during rehearsals and performances, as well as in class and home settings.
BIG SCREEN CLASSICS
For this month and next, our daily screenings of classic movies for just £9 focus on works in which lives are transformed (or not!) by the choices characters make. Some choices can feel serious, others trivial. Yet any choice we make – conscious or unconscious, regardless of however difficult or easy it may seem at the time – may have unexpected, even fateful consequences. Films playing in December will include festive favourites THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER (Ernst Lubitsch, 1940), REMEMBER THE NIGHT (Mitchell Leisen, 1940), MEET ME IN ST LOUIS (Vincente Minnelli, 1944), IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (Frank Capra, 1946) and FANNY AND ALEXANDER (Ingmar Bergman, 1989), as well as THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (Jacques Demy, 1964), MY NIGHT WITH MAUD (Eric Rohmer, 1969), FIVE EASY PIECES (Bob Rafelson, 1970), THE PASSENGER (Michelangelo Antonion, 1975), BOYZ N THE HOOD (John Singleton, 1991), WHITE MATERIAL (Claire Denis, 2009) and AFTERLIFE (Hirokazu Koreeda, 1998). 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.