BFI SOUTHBANK EVENTS LISTINGS FOR MAY 2017
PREVIEWS Catch the latest film and TV alongside Q&As and special events
Preview: Jawbone + Q&A with actors Johnny Harris, Michael Smiley and guests UK 2017. Dir Thomas Q Napper. With Ian McShane, Ray Winstone, Johnny Harris. 91min. Digital. 15. Courtesy of Vertigo Releasing Jimmy McCabe (Harris), a former youth boxing champion, has lost his way. After hitting rock bottom, he turns to his childhood trainer and gym owner (Winstone) to help him get back on his feet just enough to get into the ring one last time. Past his prime, and with the odds stacked against him, McCabe risks his life to regain his place in the world. Tickets £15, concs £12 (Members pay £2 less) MON 8 MAY 19:00 NFT1
Preview: Frantz France-Germany 2016. Dir François Ozon. With Pierre Niney, Paula Beer, Marie Gruber. 114min. Digital. 12A Courtesy of Curzon Artificial Eye A young woman forms an unlikely friendship with a man she encounters at her late fiancé’s grave in François Ozon’s richly evocative period piece, set in the aftermath of WWI. Shot predominantly in black and white, Frantz represents a visual departure for the typically vibrant director, but his mischievous narrative twists and playful sexual ambiguity feel unmistakeably, quintessentially Ozon. Tickets £15, concs £12 (Members pay £2 less) TUES 9 MAY 20:45 NFT1
Preview: The Red Turtle + Michael Dudok de Wit in Conversation TRT 150min France-Japan 2016. Dir Michael Dudok de Wit. 81min. Digital. PG. A StudioCanal release This unique co-production between Studio Ghibli and Oscar® winner Michael Dudok de Wit is a mature, dialogue-free animated film following a man shipwrecked on a beautiful but deserted island who must use the habitat around him in order to survive. This screening will be followed by an on-stage conversation between Dudok de Wit and BFI Lead Programmer Justin Johnson and will feature the director’s Oscar®-winning short Father and Daughter (2000), along with The Monk and the Fish (1994), The Aroma of Tea (2006) and other works. + Father and Daughter UK-Belgium-Netherlands 2000. Dir Michael Dudok de Wit. 9min + Tom Sweep France 1992. Dir Michael Dudok de Wit. 3min. + The Monk and the Fish Le Moine et le Poisson France 1994. Dir Michael Dudok de Wit. 6min. + The Aroma of Tea Netherlands 2006. Dir Michael Dudok de Wit. 3min. This event will include a short interval Tickets £15, concs £12 (Members pay £2 less) WED 17 MAY 18:30 NFT1
NEW RELEASES Plenty of chances for you to sample the best new cinema
Their Finest UK 2016. Dir Lone Scherfig. With Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin, Bill Nighy, Richard E Grant. 117min. Digital. 12A. A Lionsgate release Gemma Arterton is positively luminous in this witty drama Their Finest, a real crowd-pleaser at last year’s London Film Festival, is set in the world of WWII propaganda filmmaking. Arterton plays Catrin Cole, a young Welsh copywriter who lands a job as a script editor with the Ministry of Information, hired to provide a ‘woman’s touch’ to propaganda films being made during the Blitz. Thrown into the colourful and surprisingly active world of filmmaking in London in the 1940s, her confidence grows and new interests and desires soon ignite. Debut screenwriter Gaby Chiappe’s adaptation of Lissa Evans’ novel Their Finest Hour and a Half is an intoxicating blend of social drama and shrewd wit, alert to the poignancy and irony of the way that new opportunities became available to women during wartime. CONTINUES FROM FRI 21 APR
The Red Turtle La Tortue Rouge France 2016. Dir Michael Dudok de Wit. 81min. Digital. PG. A StudioCanal release Studio Ghibli teams up with Oscar® winner Michael Dudok de Wit to produce a truly unique animated film A man is shipwrecked on a beautiful but deserted island and must use the habitat in order to survive. Astutely observed by a group of sand crabs, he builds his own raft in order to escape but is constantly thwarted by the cruelly changeable weather and a red turtle with an apparent vendetta. The result of a co-production between Studio Ghibli and Oscar® winner Michael Dudok de Wit, this mature, dialogue-free animated film is the work of a true auteur, a brilliant twist on a familiar premise that is packed with an emotional punch. The film premiered to great acclaim at last year’s BFI London Film Festival. + Father and Daughter UK-Belgium-Netherlands 2000. Dir Michael Dudok de Wit. 9min Dudok de Wit’s Oscar®-winning short follows the life of a woman and the increasing importance of her father, long after he is gone. OPENS FRI 26 MAY
RE-RELEASES Plenty of chances for you to revisit these key classics – many newly restored
Manhattan USA 1979. Dir Woody Allen. With Allen, Diane Keaton, Michael Murphy, Mariel Hemingway, Meryl Streep. 96min. Digital 4K. 12A. A Park Circus release For many, this paean to New York – and to that mystifying thing called love – remains Woody Allen’s most enduring achievement Isaac (Allen), a writer of TV comedy with aspirations as a novelist, is a tangle of confused emotions: anxious about a potentially embarrassing upcoming book by his ex-wife (Streep); bemused as to why his happily married best friend (Murphy) is seeing a seemingly arrogant Philadelphian (Keaton); and wondering whether he himself should continue dating the considerably younger Tracy (Hemingway). Allen and co-writer Marshall Brickman’s insightful exploration of love, loyalty and betrayal seamlessly interweaves comedy and serious drama; the romance (gloriously evident in this new 4K digital print) is enhanced by Gordon Willis’ ravishing black-and white Cinema Scope camerawork and George Gershwin’s gorgeous music. FROM FRI 12 MAY
MEMBER EXCLUSIVES
Screen Epiphany: Michael Smiley introduces Adam & Paul Ireland 2004. Dir Lenny Abrahamson. With Mark O’Halloran, Tom Murphy, Gerry Moore. 85min. 35mm. 15 Actor Michael Smiley (The Lobster, A Field in England, Jawbone) introduces a film that has inspired him. Adam & Paul is a day in the life of two childhood friends in Dublin, both drug addicts. This comic drama follows them committing crimes and doing whatever is needed to score their next fix. Abrahamson followed up Adam & Paul with Frank and Oscar® winner Room. WED 10 MAY 20:20 NFT1
Champions’ Preview: Churchill UK 2017. Dir Jonathan Teplitzky. With Brian Cox, Miranda Richardson, John Slattery, James Purefoy. 110min. Digital. Cert TBC. Courtesy of Lionsgate A gripping, tightly-scripted thriller focuses on Winston Churchill (Cox) in the run-up to D-Day, as he battles with the overwhelming responsibility of sending the Allied Forces to retake Nazi-occupied Europe. Exhausted and depressed, Churchill is terrified of leaving behind a legacy of carnage, and must face political opponents as well as his own demons. This event is exclusively for Champion Members, who can book up to four paid tickets THU 25 MAY 20:30 NFT3
EVENTS
Trevor Griffiths in Conversation TRT 90min Join us for this fantastic opportunity to hear Griffiths discuss his work for television – what motivates him to write about the subjects he does and why the political dialectic features across so much of his work. Using clips from throughout his remarkable career, Griffiths talks to fellow writer Rupert Walters. Joint ticket available with Food for Ravens £15, concs £12 (Members pay £2 less) TUE 9 MAY 18:20 NFT3
Rita, Sue and Bob Too 30th Anniversary Screening + Q&A with producer Sandy Lieberson and actors Michelle Holmes, George Costigan and Kulvinder Ghir UK 1987. Dir Alan Clarke. With Siobhan Finneran, Michelle Holmes, George Costigan, Kulvinder Ghir. 93min. Digital. 18. A Park Circus release Newly remastered and reissued, Rita, Sue and Bob Too is a controversial comic drama about two adolescent school girls who start seeing a married man with no initial concern for the consequences. Directed by Alan Clarke and written by playwright Andrea Dunbar, the film has 1980s Britain running through it, and boasted the strapline ‘Thatcher’s Britain with her knickers down’. For some it was uncomfortable, and for others joyful, but either way, it’s a striking piece of writingand filmmaking. We will be joined by some of the people who made it all possible as we re-evaluate its importance as a great British film. Check bfi.org.uk for guest updates This new 2K restoration of Rita, Sue and Bob Too is from the original camera negative and is available on and released on BFI dual format edition in May MON 15 MAY 18:15 NFT1
Mark Kermode Live in 3D at the BFI TRT 80min Mark Kermode, one of the nation’s most respected film critics, hosts a lively and wildly popular monthly event that explores, critiques and dissects movies past and present. With the occasional help of a surprise guest, Kermode reveals the guilty pleasures of cinema and enters into a dialogue with you (the audience), sparked by your questions. Get involved by tweeting questions in advance @KermodeMovie #MK3D Tickets £15, concs £12 (Members pay £2 less) MON 22 MAY 18:30 NFT1
London Craft Week Making Costumes for Film: Annie Symons on King Arthur: Legend of The Sword TRT 80min Renowned costume designer Annie Symons talks about her work on the soon-to-be-released film King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, featuring exclusive stills from the film. Alongside a panel of costumiers, Symons discusses the development of each character’s outfits and offers an insight into the craft of costume making. Supported by Warner Bros. Tickets £15, concs £12 (Members pay £2 less) WED 3 MAY 15:00 BLUE ROOM
Making Props for Film: Pierre Bohanna on Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them TRT 80min Harry Potter head prop maker Pierre Bohanna shares stories of his work on the latest film from the Wizarding World and reveals how each prop has a special significance within the film (including Newt’s wand). Guests will have the rare opportunity to ask questions from a master craftsman. Supported by Warner Bros. Tickets £15, concs £12 (Members pay £2) WED 3 MAY 18:30 BLUE ROOM
LOCO: London Comedy Film Festival
UK Premiere: The Hippopotamus + Q&A with director John Jencks and cast UK 2017. Dir John Jencks. With Roger Allam, Matthew Modine, Emily Berrington, Fiona Shaw, Tim McInnerny, Geraldine Somerville. 89min. Digital. Cert 15. Courtesy of Electric Shadow Roger Allam shines as disgraced poet Ted Wallace, who turns detective to investigate strange events at a country house. Could the rumours of miracles be true? John Jencks’ film of Stephen Fry’s provocative black comedy both tightens and heightens the plot, while Allam relishes every syllable of Blanche McIntyre and Tom Hodgson’s wonderfully wry, witty, whisky-soaked dialogue. + Random Acts: Untamed Truths UK 2016. Dir Sophie Mars. 2min Supported by MindsEye Tickets £15, concs £12 (Members pay £2 less) THU 4 MAY 20:30 NFT1
UK Premiere: The Night My Mother Killed My Father La noche que mi madre mató a mi padre + Q&A Spain 2016. Dir Inés París. With Belén Rueda, Diego Peretti, Eduard Fernández, Patricia Montero. 94min. Digital. EST. Cert TBC Belén Rueda (The Orphanage, The Sea Inside) stars as Isabel, who is angling for a role in her screenwriter boyfriend’s next movie. But when the film’s star comes to visit, a violent death occurs. The surprises just keep coming in this deliciously twisted comic murder mystery, which feels like Almodóvar directing an Agatha Christie. + Random Acts: May Cause Death UK 2016. Dir Tegn Limited. 2min The Night My Mother Killed My Father is supported by Instituto Cervantes THU 4 MAY 18:10 NFT1
Mindhorn + Q&A with filmmakers and cast (TBC) UK 2017. Dir Sean Foley. With Julian Barratt, Andrea Riseborough, Simon Farnaby, Essie Davis, Steve Coogan, Harriet Walter. 89min. Digital. 15. Courtesy of StudioCanal In the 1980s, everyone knew Richard Thorncroft as bionic cop Mindhorn. Now John Nettles has replaced him in an orthopaedic sock ad. But when a crazed young killer will only speak to Mindhorn, Richard has a chance to save the victims – and his career. Julian Barratt leads a cast of British comedy greats in a glorious satire on fame with a surprisingly warm heart. + Random Acts: Invasion of the Giant Radioactive Snail UK 2016. Dir Marnik Loysen. 2min Mindhorn is shortlisted for the LOCO Discovery Award, supported by The CTBF FRI 5 MAY 20:45 NFT1
UK Premiere: We Used to Be Cool Was hat uns bloß so ruiniert + Q&A with director Marie Kreutzer* Austria 2016. Dir Marie Kreutzer. With Vicky Krieps, Marcel Mohab, Livia Teppan, Pia Hierzegger, Manuel Rubey, Pheline Roggan. 96min. Digital. EST. Cert TBC After years with no greater worry than which vinyl to buy and which craft beer to drink, three young couples face the dilemmas and realities of parenthood: what’s the secret to lasting love? What really makes life meaningful? And what the hell is baby yoga? Marie Kreutzer’s autobiographical comedy was a hit in Austria and is sure to strike a chord with Londoners too. + Random Acts: Chickens UK 2016. Dir George Wu. 3min We Used to Be Cool is supported by the Austrian Cultural Forum **Parent and baby screening. Admission is only for adults accompanied by a baby Buggy parking will be available in the foyer Tickets £6 FRI 5 MAY 14:00 NFT3** / FRI 5 MAY 20:30 NFT3*
UK Premiere: Chubby Funny + Q&A with director Harry Michell and cast UK 2016. Dir Harry Michell. With Michell, Augustus Prew, Isabella Laughland, Olivia Ross, Alice Lowe, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Anna Maxwell Martin, Asim Chaudhry. 83min. Digital. Cert TBC Any comedy about struggling young actors invites comparisons to Withnail and I. But Harry Michell’s debut has a warmth and wistfulness that’s all its own, as Oscar and Charlie try to balance their careers and love lives with their friendship. The film is beautifully acted, shot and scored, and rising star Isabella Laughland shines as Oscar’s best friend Sophie. + Random Acts: I Dream of Zombies UK 2016. Dir Alex Forbes. 3min Chubby Funny is shortlisted for the LOCO Discovery Award, supported by The CTBF SAT 6 MAY 15:20 NFT3
Preview: A Man Called Ove En Man Som Heter Ove Sweden 2015. Dir Hannes Holm. With Rolf Lassgård, Bahar Pars, Filip Berg. 116min. Digital. EST. Cert TBC. Courtesy of Soda Pictures Ever since his wife died, Ove has promised to join her. If only life didn’t get in the way. His new Iranian neighbours seem to be the final straw, but could they instead be his salvation? Funny, graceful, and deeply moving, this Oscar®-nominated delight shows that even a grumpy, narrow-minded old man can learn tolerance and kindness. It hasn’t yet screened at the White House. + Random Acts: The Durnhams’ Drizzle UK 2016. Dir Ella Trudgeon and Lois Bryant. 2min SAT 6 MAY 17:30 NFT1
Preview: Brakes + Q&A with director Mercedes Grower and cast UK 2016. Dir Mercedes Grower. With Julian Barratt, Steve Oram, Paul McGann, Kerry Fox, Julia Davis, Noel Fielding, Peter Wight, Roland Gift, Seb Cardinal, Mercedes Grower, Kate Hardie. 84min. Digital. 15 We’ve all been there. The break-up. The question is: was it worth it? Mercedes Grower’s charming debut tells the stories of nine couples – first their endings, then their meetings – with humour, hope and heartache. Shot at locations across London, this is truly independent filmmaking, with standout performances from Kerry Fox, Julia Davis and Grower herself, in a relationship literally set on thin ice. + Random Acts: Lip Service UK 2017. Dir Cathy Garner. 1min Brakes is shortlisted for the LOCO Discovery Award, supported by The CTBF SAT 6 MAY 18:10 NFT3
Hot Fuzz 10th Anniversary Screening + Q&A with filmmakers and cast UK 2007. Dir Edgar Wright. With Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Timothy Dalton, Olivia Colman, Bill Bailey, Jim Broadbent. 116min. Digital. 15 Edgar Wright’s Hot Fuzz is a masterclass in action comedy, borrowing from the best in American cinema while finding its own energy and charm. Ten years on, there’s something uncannily Faragist about the Neighbourhood Watch Alliance, sharpening the film’s satirical edge, while the cast remains an unmatched pantheon of Britain’s greatest comic actors. With thanks to Edgar Wright and Big Talk SAT 6 MAY 20:20 NFT1
On the Internet Nobody Knows You’re a Clown + Q&A Much of today’s most original comedy isn’t on television, in cinemas or even in clubs, but online. New, independent, provocative talents are creating comedy in their own time, in their own way, for their own audiences. This special event showcases some of online comedy’s rising stars, plus a live discussion curated by female film collective Sorta Kinda Maybe Yeah. For programme details please visit locofilmfestival.com SUN 7 MAY 13:00 NFT3
UK Premiere: Every Brilliant Thing + writer Duncan Macmillan and writer-actor Jonny Donahoe in Conversation US 2016. Dir Randy Barbato, Fenton Bailey. With Jonny Donahoe. 62min. 15. Courtesy of World of Wonder Every Brilliant Thing is one of the theatrical phenomena of the decade, enchanting audiences worldwide with the hilarious, heart-wrenching story of a young man growing up in the shadow of his mother’s suicide attempts. Starring co-writer Jonny Donahoe, it’s an uplifting, unforgettable portrayal of the lengths we’ll go to for love. + Random Acts: Luminous Freedom UK 2016. Dir George Wu. 3min Every Brilliant Thing is a Paines Plough and Pentabus Theatre Company production. It is supported by Anne McMeehan and Jim Roberts and was developed with the support of nabokov and the Jersey Arts Trust Supported by MindsEye SUN 7 MAY 18:00 NFT1
GIRLS LIKE US: BRITISH WOMEN AND WWII CINEMA
Female Stars of British World War II Cinema TRT 90min Did you know that British screen legends like Celia Johnson, Deborah Kerr, Phyllis Calvert and Anna Neagle played key roles in the war effort? Through richly illustrated presentations and lively discussions, a variety of expert speakers, including season curator and producer of Their Finest, Stephen Woolley, and film scholars Sarah Street and Melanie Williams, will examine how their on-screen performances were engineered to encourage the women in the audience to roll up their sleeves and pitch in. We’ll also explore how the war shaped the careers of these British stars. Tickets £6.50 TUE 4 MAY 20:30 LIBRARY
Women Behind the Camera in World War II Cinema TRT 90min The World War II period presented opportunities for women to begin making films to support the war effort. What was their contribution to war cinema, and what was their legacy? How did they navigate the male- dominated film industry? We gather a group of experts including Dr Toby Haggith and Jane Fish, both from the Imperial War Museum, and Sarah Easen, to shed light on key female directors and writers of the period including Ruby Grierson, Rosie Newman, Kay Mander, Diana Morgan and Margaret Thomson. Tickets £6.50 MON 15 MAY 18:30 LIBRARY
From Book to Script to Screen TRT c90min Before Their Finest was a film, it was a novel – a smart and revealing tale of London life during World War II, which was long-listed for the Orange Prize and then adapted into an acclaimed film starring Gemma Arterton. We welcome novelist Lissa Evans and screenwriter Gaby Chiappe to discuss the process of crafting the story or page and for screen and the true-life inspiration behind the characters. Tickets £6.50 TUE 16 MAY 18:15 NFT3
INDIA ON FILM: BOLLYWOOD 2.0
Exploring Silent Indian Cinema + Q&A with film historian and SACF director Lalit Mohan Joshi and composer- singer Pandit Vishwa Prakash Film historian and South Asian Cinema Foundation (SACF) director Lalit Mohan Joshi presents the history of the silent film era, moulded by pioneers like Save Dada, Hiralal Sen, JJ Madan and Dadasaheb Phalke. This includes a rare screening of India’s first feature film, Raja Harishchandra (1913), and live music specially written and led by Pandit Vishwa Prakash. SAT 20 MAY 14:00 NFT3
BIG SCREEN CLASSICS
The Tarnished Angels + intro by Geoff Andrew, BFI Programmer-at-large* USA 1957. Dir Douglas Sirk. With Rock Hudson, Dorothy Malone, Robert Stack. 91min. Digital. U Perhaps Sirk’s most underrated film (possibly because it’s in ravishing black and white, not lurid colour) and certainly one of his greatest, this adaptation of Faulkner’s novel Pylon focuses on a reporter (Hudson) fascinated by a group of stunt fliers striving to get by in the South after WWI. Desire and deceit, fear of failure, a dysfunctional family, postwar blues: right up Fassbinder’s street! MON 1 MAY 15:00 NFT3 / WED 3 MAY* 18:15 NFT3 / FRI 19 MAY 18:40 STUDIO / MON 22 MAY 18:40 STUDIO
Written on the Wind USA 1956. Dir Douglas Sirk. With Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall, Robert Stack, Dorothy Malone. 100min. Digital. PG Sirk’s deliriously bold melodrama about a Texan oil dynasty troubled by a tearaway generation was both an antecedent to TV’s Dallas and a probable influence on Fassbinder’s own studies of families in crisis. Crucially, the deepest sympathies are extended not to the ‘respectable’ outsiders (Hudson, Bacall) but to their volatile, love-hungry counterparts in the family (Stack, Malone). Sublime camerawork by Russell Metty. MON 1 MAY 20:30 NFT3 / TUE 2 MAY 20:40 NFT3 / SAT 6 MAY 15:15 NFT1 / MON 15 MAY 18:10 STUDIO
Bande à part France 1964. Dir Jean-Luc Godard. With Anna Karina, Claude Brasseur, Sami Frey. 99min. Digital. EST. PG Famous for two pleasingly irrelevant scenes – one a dance in a bar, the other a dash through the Louvre – this tale of a girl assailed by two suitors who plan to rob her aunt of a fortune is one of Godard’s most charmingly nonchalant entertainments, even though the heist has its downside. Its playful approach to genre anticipates Fassbinder’s own crime movies. THU 4 MAY 20:55 STUDIO / FRI 5 MAY 18:40 STUDIO / SAT 6 MAY 20:40 NFT3 / TUE 9 MAY 20:50 STUDIO / FRI 12 MAY 18:40 STUDIO
Au hasard Balthasar + intro by Geoff Andrew, BFI Programmer-at-large* France 1966. Dir Robert Bresson. With Anne Wiazemsky, François Lafarge, Philippe Asselin. 95min. Digital. EST. PG Arguably the most profoundly moving of Bresson’s films, this chronicles the life of a donkey (named after one of the Magi) in rural France. Almost saintly in his sufferance of human cruelty and folly, the beast passes from owner to owner bearing mute witness to the events around him. Fassbinder was on the Berlin Film Festival jury that gave a prize to Bresson’s The Devil, Probably. WED 10 MAY* 18:15 NFT3 / TUE 23 MAY 20:50 STUDIO / THU 25 MAY 18:20 NFT2
The Women USA 1939. Dir George Cukor. With Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, Rosalind Russell, Paulette Goddard. 133min. 35mm. U In 1977, Fassbinder made a TV version (unavailable for our season) of Clare Boothe Luce’s play, already marvellously filmed by Cukor with one of the German’s favourite actresses (Crawford). A joyously bitchy talkfest in which the gossip, complaints and gags centre mainly on (wholly unseen) men and their many foibles, it boasts an amazing cast: Joan Fontaine, Ruth Hussey and Margaret Dumont are in there too. SUN 21 MAY 15:30 NFT2 / SUN 28 MAY 15:30 NFT2 / MON 29 MAY 15:15 NFT1
Mildred Pierce USA 1945. Dir Michael Curtiz. With Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Ann Blyth. 111min. 35mm. PG A noir melodrama adapted from James M Cain’s novel, this finds the titular waitress-turned-restaurateur (Crawford) coming into conflict with her beloved but brattish daughter over a feckless playboy. At once a critique of patriarchy and greed, and a celebration of female friendship and determination (cue the inimitable Eve Arden as Mildred’s pal), it anticipates The Marriage of Maria Braun and other Fassbinder films. MON 8 MAY 18:10 NFT3 / THU 11 MAY 20:30 NFT1
The Blue Angel Der blaue Engel + intro by Andrea Rinke, Kingston University* Germany 1930. Dir Josef Von Sternberg. With Emil Jannings, Marlene Dietrich, Hans Albers. 108min. Digital. ST. PG An admirer of Von Sternberg and Dietrich – Dishonored was among his top ten films – Fassbinder drew upon this, their first collaboration, when making Lola. Jannings is superb as the stolid, bourgeois Professor Rath, Dietrich in her element as Lola, the brazenly sexual cabaret singer who readily becomes the subject (rather than object) of his obsession. Sadomasochism rules in an acerbic tragicomedy. SAT 13 MAY 18:40 STUDIO / WED 17 MAY* 18:10 NFT3 / THU 18 MAY 20:50 STUDIO
Lola Montès France-W Germany 1955. Dir Max Ophuls. With Martine Carol, Peter Ustinov, Anton Walbrook. 115min. Digital. English version. PG Fassbinder included Ophuls’ final movie – about the celebrated 19th-century adventuress and her affairs – in his top ten, and it’s easy to see why. Events in Montès’ life are related by a ringmaster (Ustinov) in a circus where she’s now an object of morbid curiosity; flashbacks show her own memories. A film about objectification, patriarchy, spectacle and storytelling itself, then, is delivered with great visual panache. THU 25 MAY 20:40 NFT2 / SAT 27 MAY 17:50 NFT2
Sunset Boulevard + intro by Lucy Bolton, Queen Mary, University of London* USA 1950. Dir Billy Wilder. With Gloria Swanson, William Holden, Erich Von Stroheim. 110min. Digital. PG If the plot outline of Fassbinder’s Veronika Voss sounds familiar, it’s because the notion of a feckless young man encountering a reclusive former movie star echoes Wilder’s classic. The tone is similar too: a pervasive cynicism ensures that all involved – except butler Max (Stroheim), clearly devoted to mistress Norma Desmond (Swanson), who hopes writer Joe Gillis (Holden) can engineer her comeback – have their self-serving reasons. TUE 16 MAY 18:10 NFT2 / WED 24 MAY* 18:10 NT3 / FRI 26 MAY 18:10 NFT3 / MON 29 MAY 20:15 NFT1
The Night of the Hunter + intro by Anna Bogutskaya, BFI Events Programmer* USA 1955. Dir Charles Laughton. With Robert Mitchum, Lillian Gish, Shelley Winters. 92min. Digital. 12A Laughton was one of Fassbinder’s favourite actors; Fassbinder also loved this, sadly Laughton’s sole outing as director. A dark, disturbing, visually astonishing fable taken from Davis Grubb’s likewise expressionist novel, it sees a murderous preacher (Mitchum) determined to lay his tattooed hands on a naive widow’s fortune – but her children stand in his way. Depression-era America never seemed so menacing... or magical. SUN 7 MAY 20:30 NFT1 / SAT 20 MAY 18:40 STUDIO / WED 31 MAY* 18:10 NFT3
Dishonored USA 1931. Dir Josef von Sternberg. With Marlene Dietrich, Victor McLaglen, Lew Cody. 91min. 35mm. PG Fassbinder included Sternberg’s WWI espionage romance in his top ten films. Though the story of agent X-27 (Dietrich) is far-fetched, Sternberg is clearly more interested in his heroine’s powerful sexual mystique, and constructs an innuendo-laden fable around that theme. Fassbinder would surely have admired the notion of love falling foul of an oppressively constricting society, not to mention Lee Garmes’ extraordinarily ornate black and white camerawork. TUE 23 MAY 20:45 NFT1 / SUN 28 MAY 15:50 NFT3
Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom Salò, o le centoventi giornate di Sodoma Italy 1975. Dir Pier Paolo Pasolini. With Paolo Bonicelli, Giorgio Cataldi, Umberto P Quintavalle. 117min. Digital. 18 Pasolini’s final work, a controversial transposition of de Sade’s novel to Mussolini’s fascist republic of 1944, may prove too strong for some, with its explicit scenes of the humiliation and torture of young men and women by a group of wealthy, sadistic libertines. Fassbinder, however, something of a provocateur himself, admired the film sufficiently to include it in his top ten. SUN 14 MAY 20:00 NFT3 / TUE 30 MAY 20:50 STUDIO
WOMAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA
The German Sisters Die bleierne Zeit + discussion West Germany 1981. Dir Margarethe von Trotta. With Jutta Lampe, Barbara Sukowa, Rüdiger Vogler. 35mm. 106min. 15. Sisters are resisters, as Margarethe von Trotta puts revolutionary women at the heart of New German Cinema. Armed revolutionary Marianne (based on the Red Army Faction’s leader Gudrun Ensslin) argues the cause with her sister Juliane, a feminist activist and journalist. After the screening, join Club Des Femmes’ Sophie Mayer to talk about feminist strategies of resistance with historian Annie Ring, filmmaker Sarah Wood and poets Sarah Crewe and Pascal O’Loughlin. Presented in partnership with queer feminist collective Club Des Femmes
THU 18 MAY 18:10 NFT3
The Queen of Independent Animation: A Focus on Joanna Priestley + Q&A With retrospectives, awards and a significant body of work under her belt, Joanna Priestley is a distinctive and pioneering director and producer. Despite extensive international acclaim for her work in short film, her work has been criminally underseen in the UK. We are delighted to present an exclusive look at a dozen of her finest short films spanning over 30 years in the industry including Voices (1985), Pro and Con (1993), Dew Line (2005), Split Ends (2013) and Bottle Neck (2015). The screening will be followed by a rare opportunity to hear from Joanna in person about her career to date and future projects. THU 11 MAY 20:40 NFT3
BFI FLARE
The Duke of Burgundy UK 2014. Dir Peter Strickland. With Sidse Babett Knudsen, Chiara D’Anna. 104min. Digital. 18 Existing in an exclusively female world, couple Cynthia and Evelyn play out well-rehearsed sadomasochistic scenes of dominance and humiliation. But the exacting perfection of these scenarios starts to strain one partner who yearns for something different. With references to psychosexual classics like Belle de Jour, The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, and Mano Destra, Peter Strickland’s The Duke of Burgundy is a brilliantly lush creation – intensely sexy, full of haughty wit and a disarming tenderness. WED 24 MAY 20:45 NFT3 / THU 25 MAY 18:10 NFT3 / MON 29 MAY 20:20 NFT3
CULT
May + intro by programmer Michael Blyth* USA 2002. Dir Lucky McKee. With Angela Bettis, Jeremy Sisto, Anna Faris, James Duval. 93min. Format TBC. 18 Like the illegitimate lovechild of Carrie White and Frankenstein’s monster, Lucky McKee’s masterful debut tells the story of a strange young woman and her attempts to make a meaningful connection. Featuring a revelatory performance from Angela Bettis as the titular anti-heroine, this imaginative blend of creeping dread and heartbreaking pathos is often cited as one of this century’s finest horror films. MON 8 MAY 18:20 NFT2* / FRI 12 MAY 21:10 NFT2
The Woman USA 2011. Dir Lucky McKee. With Pollyanna McIntosh, Angela Bettis, Sean Bridgers, Lauren Ashley Carter. 101min. Digital. 18 Labelled a modern classic by some, ‘torture porn’ by others, McKee’s uncompromising adaptation of Jack Ketchum’s novel triggered heated debate when it first debuted. An unhinged family man captures a feral woman, subjecting her to a torrent of abuse in a disturbed effort to ‘civilise’ her. A brutal yet searingly intelligent critique of patriarchal abuse with far more than exploitation on its mind. WED 10 MAY 20:50 NFT2 / SUN 14 MAY 18:10 NFT2
CHINESE VISUAL FESTIVAL
Opening Gala: Ju Anqi in Conversation with film critic Tony Rayns Acclaimed artist and filmmaker Ju Anqi discusses his career and premieres his latest film, Drill Man. Born in 1975 in Xinjiang in Chinese Central Asia, he is a graduate of the Beijing Film Academy and today is a critically regarded multimedia artist and filmmaker. His debut, There’s a Strong Wind in Beijing (2000), marked him out as a pioneer among China’s new generation of experimental filmmakers. + Drill Man China 2016. Dir Ju Anqi. 35min A subversive and experimental work set against a rapidly developing China. This event will be followed by a reception for ticket-holders in the Blue Room
TUE 2 MAY 18:10 NFT3
Poet on a Business Trip Shi ren chu chai le China 2015. Dir Ju Anqi. 103min. Digital. Mandarin with EST This black and white hybrid of documentary and drama was shot in 2002 and edited 12 years later. Awarded at festivals, it’s an audacious and compelling work and follows poet Hou Xianbo on a self-imposed business trip through the punishing terrain of Xinjiang province as he meets 12 prostitutes and writes 12 poems. By turns intimate, observational, rude, moving and funny, it offers a compelling portrait of a character, a landscape and indeed China at a particular moment in time. WED 3 MAY 20:40 NFT2
UK Premiere: Crosscurrent Chang Jiang Tu China 2016. Dir Yang Chao. With Qin Hao, Xin Zhilei. 116min. Digital. Mandarin with EST A visually spectacular, poetic and dreamlike cinematic experience in which we follow the life, love and obsession of a barge captain as he travels upstream along the awesome and sublime Yangtze River, the artery of Chinese civilisation. The film won its director of photography Mark Lee Ping-Bing (In the Mood for Love, The Assassin) a Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution at the 2016 Berlin Film Festival. FRI 5 MAY 18:15 NFT2
Closing Gala: The Road to Mandalay Zai Jian Wa Cheng Taiwan-Myanmar-France-Germany 2016. Dir Midi Z. With Wu Ke-Xi, Kai Ko. 108min. Digital. Mandarin (Yunnan dialect) with EST From a rising star in East Asian cinema, this powerfully realised tragic drama explores the lives of two migrant workers – the utterly determined Lianqing (Wu) and her would-be partner, Guo (Ko). It follows their journey with human traffickers from Burma and their arrival and stay in Bangkok. Brilliant lead performances and a visually arresting and at times surreal treatment combine with a haunting soundscape to make this an unforgettable experience. This event will be followed by a reception for ticket-holders in the Blue Room Courtesy of Day for Night
TUE 11 MAY 18:10 NFT3
EXPERIMENTA
There’s a lot of things in life worth living for, isn’t there?’ Films from the Ruben/Bentson Moving Image Collection + intro The title of this event is inspired by the closing words in George Kuchar’s camp masterpiece Hold Me While I’m Naked. It is a simple explanatory line, both affirming and fatalistic, that sweetly sums up the driving forces behind scores of bold creative ambitions. The Ruben/Bentson Moving Images Collection at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis fortifies this audacious thinking by providing a home and a context for over 1,000 titles, bringing to light works and artists that delve into what makes life worth living. Archivist-programmer Ruth Hodgins and curator Sheryl Mousley introduce the Collection, including works by Uri Aran, Roger Jacoby, George Kuchar and Gunvor Nelson. Hodgins and Mousley will be in conversation with Benjamin Cook, Director of LUX, following the screening In partnership with LUX and the Walker Art Center
TUE 30 MAY 18:10 NFT3
AFRICAN ODYSSEYS
The Redfern Story + intro by Tony Warner, African Odysseys steering committee chair and Black History Walks director + discussion Australia 2014. Dir Darlene Johnson. 57min. Digital It was not until 1967 that Australian Aborigines were recognised as human beings in their own country. In a double bill of documentary and feature drama, we explore a history of oppression and struggle. The Redfern Story is a documentary profile of Australia’s National Black Theatre, established in 1971. The first of its kind, it became a focal point for Civil Rights activism, mixing arts with Black Power politics. + Rabbit-Proof Fence Australia 2002. Dir Philip Noyce. With Everlyn Sampi, Tianna Sansbury, Kenneth Branagh. 93min. 35mm. PG A true-life drama about three Aboriginal girls who are forcibly taken from their families in 1931 to be trained as domestic servants as part of an official Australian government policy. They make a daring escape and embark on an epic 1,500-mile journey to get back home. There is an optional Blue Room discussion following the screening SAT 20 MAY 14:00 NFT2
SILENT CINEMA Celebrating the best international restorations
A new regular strand exploring silent film at BFI Southbank brings you the best of silent cinema in the finest restorations from around the world. With more silent films coming to light than ever before, and with advancements in restoration technology, it’s time to discover the stirring experience of film that tells its story in pictures, heightened by musical accompaniment. Bryony Dixon, Curator, BFI National Archive
The Informer UK 1929. Dir Arthur Robison. With Lya de Putti, Lars Hanson. 101min. Digital. PG The 1929 adaptation of Liam O Flaherty’s The Informer has all the hallmarks of a classic film noir, just a decade too early and an ocean away. Set in the revolutionary ferment of newly independent Ireland, this tale of personal betrayal is an impressively international affair. The BFI National Archive’s new restoration of this classic silent is presented with a new recorded score by Irish composer and violist Garth Knox. Restoration supported by Matt Spick SUN 28 MAY 16:00 NFT1
PROJECTING THE ARCHIVE
The Hellions + intro by Vic Pratt, BFI UK 1961. Dir Ken Annakin. With Richard Todd, Lionel Jeffries, Anne Aubrey, Marty Wilde. 86min. 35mm. 15 Marvellous matinee thrills as a gang of ruthless outlaws terrorise a township in this strange and savage British western shot in South Africa. Standing tall, High Noon-style, is Hargis (a harassed Todd), sole representative of the law facing up to the murderous gang of marauders led by leering Luke (a superbly sinister Jeffries). This outstandingly odd and often violent oater – strikingly shot in colour – also boasts an animated Anne Aubrey, James Booth at his nastiest and British rocker Marty Wilde scowling moodily from beneath a Stetson. Deftly directed by old hand Ken Annakin, this weird western was written off by many critics, and is well overdue for a second look. THU 11 MAY 18:20 NFT1
BFI FAMILIES
May Half Term Holiday Workshops Suitable for 8 to 12-year-olds (children work in age-appropriate groups) Lights! Camera! Action! There is nowhere else to be during half term if you want to star in your very own film production or make a thrilling stop-motion animation. All you need to bring is your imagination! For more information and to book please visit bfi.org.uk/families Tickets £30 per child, siblings £20 Please bring a packed lunch parents leave their children with us for the duration TUE 30 MAY, WED 31 MAY, THU 1 JUN 11:00 – 16:00
Duck Soup Duck Soup USA 1933. Dir Leo McCarey. With Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Zeppo Marx. 68min. Digital. U. Suitable for ages 6+ The Marx Brother s find themselves caught up in escalating tensions between two small countries – and on different sides. With plenty of bad feeling, spying and personal insults flying between them, it isn’t long before they find themselves on the brink of war in this comic masterpiece. SUN 28 MAY 13:30 NFT3
The European Film Awards’ Youth Audience Award 2017 Age 12 to 14 and love film? Join us for one amazing day when youth juries in 30+ European countries watch the same new feature films and decide their winner! Find out more and apply at education@ bfi.org.uk. Deadline for applications is Fri 28 April, successful applicants notified by Mon 1 May SUN 7 MAY 09:00-18:00 STUDIO
The Cat From Outer Space USA 1978. Dir Norman Tokar. With Ronnie Schell, Ken Be rry, Sandy Duncan. 104min. Video. U. Suitable for all ages An extraterrestrial in feline form named Jake crash-lands on earth and is in a race against the clock to find a substance called ‘Org 12’ which will allow him to fly home and avoid being captured by the military and other interested parties. With a bespoke collar which enables special powers and some human assistance on offer, will this cat ret urn to outer space in time? SUN 21 MAY 13:00 NFT3
Video Stars Acting For The Screen Workshop Suitable for 8 to 12-year-olds (children work in age-appropriate groups) Have you ever wanted to audition for a short film, a Hollywood blockbuster or perform on your own YouTube channel? Or perhaps you’re looking for something where you can flex your drama skills? Whichever reason, the Video Stars workshop is just what you need! Taught by an experienced drama and film tutor, this exciting and informative one-day workshop will show you how to act in front of the camera and provide all the performance tricks and techniques you’ll need to exude true star quality at the end of the day. Tickets £30 per child, siblings £20 Please bring a packed lunch Parents leave their children with us for the duration For information, contact the BFI Family Learning Programmer: [email protected] Bookings via the BFI box office SUN 21 MAY 10:30-16:30
Funday: Beauty And The Beast USA 2017. Dir Bill Condon. With Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans. 129min. Digital 2D. PG. Suitable for ages 6+ Belle finds herself imprisoned in the Beast’s castle when she steps in to help her father. She befriends the enchanted inhabitants who live within and in time even finds herself getting closer to her beastly host. Disney’s live-action musical of this classic tale is a critical tour de force and has something for all ages to enjoy. SUN 14 MAY 13:00 NFT1
Funday Workshop: Beauty And The Beast Join us for a magical workshop which promises fun, sparkle and beastliness! Learn how to make your very own Beauty and the Beast animation, create a Lumière, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts or Chip puppet to take home, participate in a competition, and much more. This is a drop-in workshop free to Beauty and the Beast ticket-holders SUN 14 MAY 11:00-12:30 FOYER
FUTURE FILM Screenings and workshops for 16 to 25-year-olds
Future Film Labs: Marketing Your Film Future Film Labs offers industry insight, practical masterclasses, professional advice and networking for young emerging filmmakers. This month, industry experts will help set your project up for success by showing you how to define your target audience, and by sharing their marketing tips. We wrap up with free networking drinks featuring drop-in scripting, casting and funding surgeries with our partners Euroscript, Young Actors Theatre Management and Livetree. Inspiration awaits! SAT 13 MAY 12:300-17:00 NFT2 + BLUE ROOM
SONIC CINEMA Music-inspired films and events
Britain on Film: Coast and Sea Stranger on the Shore + live score UK 2017. Dir Michael Smith. 45min. Digital It’s different by the sea. A bit strange even. Stranger on the Shore is a cycle of video-poems by filmmakers Michael Smith and Maxy Neil Bianco, exploring the dockside desolation of the Thames Estuary, the spooky enchantment of Whitby, and the bohemian eccentricity of Hastings. The films feature an original--soundtrack by Andrew Weatherall, Nina Walsh and Franck Alba, who will be performing a musical/spoken word set with Michael especially for the occasion. A rare opportunity to see a unique celebration of the weirdness of the English coast. Britain on Film: Coast and Sea Four to Try on BFI Player Tickets £15, concs £12 (Members pay £2 less) WED 31 MAY 18:30 NFT1
SENIORS Matinees and talks for the over 60s
Seniors’ Free Matinee: Pinjar + intro by Lalit Mohan Joshi, director of the South Asian Cinema Foundation India 2003. Dir Chandra Prakash Dwivedi. With Manoj Bajpai, Urmila Matondkar, Sanjay Suri. Music by Uttam Singh. 188min. Digital. Hindi, Urdu with EST. 12A This feast of drama, music (Uttam Singh) and song (Gulzar) is set against the momentous Hindu, Muslim and Sikh riots that erupted as a result of the Partition of India in August 1947. Adapted from a novel by acclaimed writer Amrita Pritam, it follows the story of Puro, a Hindu woman who is abducted by a Muslim man and soon finds herself not only forced into marriage, but also living in a new country as the borders between India and Pakistan are drawn. Free for over-60s (booking by phone or in person only), otherwise normal matinee price MON 15 MAY 14:00 NFT1
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Press Contacts:
Liz Parkinson – Press Officer, BFI Southbank [email protected] / 020 7957 8918
Elizabeth Dunk – Press Office Assistant [email protected] / 020 7985 8986
About the BFI The BFI is the lead body for film in the UK with the ambition to create a flourishing film environment in which innovation, opportunity and creativity can thrive by: Connecting audiences to the widest choice of British and World cinema Preserving and restoring the most significant film collection in the world for today and future generations Championing emerging and world class film makers in the UK - investing in creative, distinctive and entertaining work Promoting British film and talent to the world Growing the next generation of film makers and audiences The BFI is a Government arm’s-length body and distributor of Lottery funds for film. The BFI serves a public role which covers the cultural, creative and economic aspects of film in the UK. It delivers this role: As the UK-wide organisation for film, a charity core funded by Government By providing Lottery and Government funds for film across the UK By working with partners to advance the position of film in the UK.
Founded in 1933, the BFI is a registered charity governed by Royal Charter.
The BFI Board of Governors is chaired by Josh Berger CBE.
The BFI Southbank is open to all. BFI members are entitled to a discount on all tickets. BFI Southbank Box Office tel: 020 7928 3232. Unless otherwise stated tickets are £11.00, concs £8.50 Members pay £1.50 less on any ticket - www.bfi.org.uk/southbank. Young people aged 25 and under can buy last minute tickets for just £3, 45 minutes before the start of screenings and events, subject to availability - http://www.bfi.org.uk/25-and-under. Tickets for FREE screenings and events must be booked in advance by calling the Box Office to avoid disappointment
BFI Shop The BFI Shop is stocked and staffed by BFI experts with over 1,200 book titles and 1,000 DVDs to choose from, including hundreds of acclaimed books and DVDs produced by the BFI. The benugo bar & kitchen Eat, drink and be merry in panoramic daylight. benugo’s décor is contemporary, brightly lit and playful with a lounge space, bar and dining area. The place to network, hang out, unpack a film, savour the best of Modern British or sip on a cocktail. There’s more to discover about film and television through the BFI. Our world-renowned archival collections, cinemas, festivals, films, publications and learning resources are here to inspire you.
*** PICTURE DESK *** A selection of images for journalistic use in promoting BFI Southbank screenings can be found at www.image.net under BFI / BFI Southbank / 2017 / May