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3 You Must See
Your time is precious, so we've done some of the hard work for you.
3 of the best from the world's greatest filmmakers, themes and cinematic movements.
Radu Jude
Explore the back catalogue of a Romanian master…
Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the WorldDo Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World
Comedy2023163 minsDirector: Radu Jude
Radu Jude’s follow-up to the Golden Bear-winning Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn is a pin-sharp, caustically funny critique of workplace culture and oppression.
Everybody in Our FamilyEverybody in Our Family
Drama2012103 minsDirector: Radu Jude
Radu Jude delivers on the promise of his first feature, The Happiest Girl in the World, with this superb black comedy.
Bad Luck Banging or Loony PornBad Luck Banging or Loony Porn
Comedy2021106 minsDirector: Radu Jude
Berlin Golden Bear winner, Radu Jude’s scathing satire finds schoolteacher Emi threatened with dismissal when a private sex tape goes viral.
True Crime
Because few things command attention like the taking of a life…
In Cold BloodIn Cold Blood
Crime1967135 minsDirector: Richard Brooks
Powerful adaptation of Truman Capote’s true-crime novel about the massacre of a family in Kansas, and the manhunt for the killers.
SnowtownSnowtown
Crime2011120 minsDirector: Justin Kurzel
Justin Kurzel's shocking dramatisation of Australia's most notorious serial killings.
MM
Crime1931111 minsDirector: Fritz Lang
Peter Lorre is unforgettable as the compulsive child murderer on the run from both police and criminals alike, in Fritz Lang’s seminal crime film.
Andrzej Wajda
Meet a filmmaker of distinction, through the films of his revered and remarkable War Trilogy…
A GenerationA Generation
War195585 minsDirector: Andrzej Wajda
With gripping set-pieces, Andrzej Wajda’s debut depicts the establishment of a teenage anti-German resistance group.
KanalKanal
War195693 minsDirector: Andrzej Wajda
Andrzej Wadja’s clammy and nightmarishly claustrophobic depiction of the 1944 Warsaw uprising.
Ashes and DiamondsAshes and Diamonds
War195899 minsDirector: Andrzej Wajda
Andrzej Wajda’s best-known, visually remarkable film starring Zbigniew Cybulski.
Holidays from Hell
We've gone on holiday by mistake…
HolidayHoliday
Thriller201888 minsDirector: Isabella Eklöf
A lavish trip to the Turkish Riviera goes horribly awry in this disturbing tale of power, exploitation and complicity from the writer of Border.
Stranger by the LakeStranger by the Lake
Drama2013100 minsDirector: Alain Guiraudie
A young man witnesses a violent crime at a gay cruising ground and becomes obsessed with the killer in Alain Guiraudie’s acclaimed mystery-thriller.
MoreMore
Drama1969116 minsDirector: Barbet Schroeder
The first feature by Barbet Schroeder (Maîtresse, The Valley), More created a sensation when it was released in 1969, quickly becoming a cult classic and famed for its Pink Floyd soundtrack.
World Photography Day
BFI Player uses the moving image to celebrate life through a lens…
GodlandGodland
Drama2022143 minsDirector: Hlynur Pálmason
With his third feature, Hlynur Pálmason (A White, White Day) delivers a breathtakingly inventive and ambitious historical epic, set in mid-19th-century Iceland.
Everything at OnceEverything at Once
Documentary2021103 minsDirector: Alberto Fuguet
A peek behind the scenes at the homoerotic photography zine Kink, which has cultivated an intimate style employing non-professional models.
Man With a Movie CameraMan With a Movie Camera
Documentary192967 minsSilentDirector: Dziga Vertov
Dazzling document of Soviet life, by Dziga Vertov, showing a living city and the people and machines that propel it.
EIFF
Celebrate the Edinburgh International Film Festival with our picks from last year's slate
ScrapperScrapper
Comedy202390 minsDirector: Charlotte Regan
A gorgeous and colourful heart-warming gem from Charlotte Regan, one of the best new voices in British film.
AfireAfire
Comedy2023103 minsDirector: Christian Petzold
Fires rage around a pompous novelist and his awkward desires in Christian Petzold’s sharp comedy drama.
Raging GraceRaging Grace
Drama2023100 minsDirector: Paris Zarcilla
Writer-director Paris Zarcilla’s debut film elegantly balances gothic horror and social drama, producing an unholy child of a film that provokes as much as it spooks.
Odyssey
Join these pilgrims on a journey of discovery, told three ways…
WalkaboutWalkabout
Drama1970101 minsDirector: Nicolas Roeg
Jenny Agutter plays the teenage girl reliant on a young Aboriginal (David Gulpilil) for her survival, in Nicolas Roeg's stunning Australian outback drama.
The OrnithologistThe Ornithologist
Drama2016118 minsDirector: João Pedro Rodrigues
A lone scientist in Portugal’s Douro region embarks on an unexpected transcendental journey. Beautiful, erotic and baffling.
Small BodySmall Body
Drama202189 minsDirector: Laura Samani
This strikingly original and enthralling feature debut from Laura Samani details the odyssey of a young mother as she tries to save her baby’s soul.
Cinema Rediscovered Festival
Cinema Rediscovered, supported by the BFI Audience Projects Fund, gives classic films a new audience.
Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 BruxellesJeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles
Drama1975202 minsDirector: Chantal Akerman
Chantal Akerman's magnificent epic of experimental cinema offering a feminist perspective on recurrent events of everyday life.
VarietyVariety
Drama1984101 minsDirector: Bette Gordon
Bette Gordon’s groundbreaking, gloriously subversive neo-noir thriller is one of the very best American underground films.
TogetherTogether
Animation & Artists Moving Image195648 minsDirector: Lorenza Mazzetti
Two deaf-mute dock workers eke out a humble East End existence in Lorenza Mazzetti's striking and poetic example of Free Cinema.
Discomfort Movies
Vintage depravity, cruelty and collapse from three films that earn their squirm. Enjoy!
CrashCrash
Drama1996100 minsDirector: David Cronenberg
Technology and sexuality meet in head-on collision in David Cronenberg’s controversial adaptation of writer J.G. Ballard’s hugely transgressive 1973 novel, starring James Spader and Holly Hunter.
DogtoothDogtooth
Drama200993 minsDirector: Yorgos Lanthimos
Yorgos Lanthimos' scary, witty tale of a dysfunctional Greek family is original, ingenious and sadly relevant as a study of parent-child relationships
LovelessLoveless
Drama2017127 minsDirector: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Andrey Zvyagintsev (Elena, Leviathan) delivers a masterpiece in this caustic look at contemporary Russian society, a failed marriage and the disappearance of a child. A major prize winner at both Cannes and BFI London Film Festival.
Pride Month 2024
Today marks the start of Pride Month, a celebration of the many forms of LGBTQIA+ life…
City of Lost SoulsCity of Lost Souls
Comedy198390 minsDirector: Rosa von Praunheim
Jayne County, Angie Stardust and Tara O'Hara star in Rosa von Praunheim's trans-punk groteskes-musical.
LonesomeLonesome
Drama202299 minsDirector: Craig Boreham
Fleeing a mysterious scandal in his hometown, rancher Casey heads to Sydney in search of shelter and connection. There he meets the similarly wounded Tib in this erotic Australian drama.
Loving HighsmithLoving Highsmith
Documentary202287 minsDirector: Eva Vitija
A beautifully textured study revealing the rich and troubled private life of the writer behind Carol.
Cannes
This weekend, bring the Croisette to you with our selection of standout winners from across the years…
The SquareThe Square
Comedy2017151 minsDirector: Ruben Östlund
From director Ruben Östlund (Force Majeure) comes a satire on the hypocrisy of the art world, starring Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss and Dominic West. Winner of the Palme d'Or.
UndergroundUnderground
Comedy1995170 minsDirector: Emir Kusturica
Set against the backdrop of 50 turbulent years of Yugoslavian history, this deeply moving and masterful tragic-farce from director Emir Kusturica earned him his second Palme d'Or.
Paris, TexasParis, Texas
Drama1984145 minsDirector: Wim Wenders
The late, great Harry Dean Stanton's finest role came as the near-mute Travis, on a journey across America to reunite his family, in Wim Wenders' moving tale of loss and redemption.
Italian Neorealism
Finding the hidden drama in everyday life…
Rome, Open CityRome, Open City
Drama1945103 minsDirector: Roberto Rossellini
Roberto Rossellini’s landmark of Italian neorealism often cited as one of the greatest films ever made.
Bicycle ThievesBicycle Thieves
Drama194889 minsDirector: Vittorio De Sica
Vittorio De Sica’s story of a father and son searching for a stolen bicycle on the streets of Rome is a classic of post-war Italian cinema.
Journey to ItalyJourney to Italy
Drama195486 minsDirector: Roberto Rossellini
Roberto Rossellini's acerbic but finally very moving masterpiece about marital crisis boasts great performances from Ingrid Bergman and George Sanders
Heist Films
Everybody be cool, this is a robbery…
Bande à partBande à part
Crime196495 minsDirector: Jean-Luc Godard
Godard's playful tribute to the Hollywood pulp crime movies of the 1940s, executed with typically Gallic cool.
FaceFace
Crime1997101 minsDirector: Antonia Bird
Robert Carlyle and Ray Winstone are members of a criminal gang that tears itself apart after a heist goes wrong, in Antonia Bird’s stylish thriller.
Before the Devil Knows You're DeadBefore the Devil Knows You're Dead
Thriller2008117 minsDirector: Sidney Lumet
Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke star as criminal brothers whose botched heist leads to escalating turmoil, in Sidney Lumet's twisty thriller.
Earth Day
Earth Day aims to activate the environmental movement to celebrate and protect the planet – it’s a sentiment these filmmakers share…
The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the FutureThe Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future
Fantasy202299 minsDirector: Francisca Alegría
Francisca Alegría brings together family trauma and ecology into a poetic journey of rebirth. A mysterious and poetic tale on our collapsing ecosystem and finding balance.
Enys MenEnys Men
Horror202291 minsDirector: Mark Jenkin
Mark Jenkin follows Bait with this chilling, endlessly mysterious folk horror tale, beautifully shot on grainy 16mm.
Last and First MenLast and First Men
Animation & Artists Moving Image202070 minsDirector: Jóhann Jóhannsson
Two billion years ahead of us, a future race of humans finds itself on the verge of extinction. Tilda Swinton narrates this visually stunning lament for humanity by acclaimed composer Jóhann Jóhannsson (Sicario, Arrival).
Flare
BFI Flare ensures the best LGBTQIA+ cinema shines brighter than ever…
Kamikaze HeartsKamikaze Hearts
Drama198687 minsDirector: Juliet Bashore
Juliet Bashore’s queer docufiction, starring Tigr and real-life girlfriend porn star Sharon Mitchell, was shot in and celebrates the heady days of the San Francisco underground in the 1980s.
UndertowUndertow
Drama2009101 minsDirector: Javier Fuentes-León
Miguel, a young married fisherman with a baby on the way, struggles to reconcile his devotion to his male lover within his town’s rigid traditions.
JoylandJoyland
Drama2022128 minsDirector: Saim Sadiq
A conservative family in Pakistan is torn apart when a son falls in love with a transgender erotic dancer, in Saim Sadiq’s riveting queer drama.
BAFTA Film Awards
And the winner is… you, with a choice of three brilliant Bafta victors from years past.
The Quiet GirlThe Quiet Girl
Drama202191 minsDirector: Colm Bairéad
A neglected girl lives a joyful summer in Colm Bairéad's Academy Award-nominated debut that combines outstanding beauty and heart-wrenching performances.
Nil by MouthNil by Mouth
Drama1997129 minsDirector: Gary Oldman
Twenty-five years old and newly restored, Gary Oldman’s BAFTA-winning debut as writer-director remains a magnificent achievement.
Wild TalesWild Tales
Comedy2014122 minsDirector: Damian Szifron
This Oscar-nominated, Almodóvar-produced anthology of six tales of ordinary madness is the most riotously enjoyable portmanteau film since Pulp Fiction.
Great Composers
A trio of notable scores from past and present talent
WalkaboutWalkabout
Drama1970101 minsDirector: Nicolas Roeg
Jenny Agutter plays the teenage girl reliant on a young Aboriginal (David Gulpilil) for her survival, in Nicolas Roeg's stunning Australian outback drama.
The Battle of AlgiersThe Battle of Algiers
Drama1966121 minsDirector: Gillo Pontecorvo
Gillo Pontecorvo’s masterpiece about the last years of French colonial rule in Algeria, seen from the perspective of both the revolutionaries and the French authorities.
Tom of FinlandTom of Finland
Biopic2017116 minsDirector: Dome Karukoski
The story of a gay icon is brought to life in Dome Karukoski’s handsome biopic of Touko Laaksonen, the artist whose homoerotic drawings gave visual expression to a growing gay culture.
Sundance
Three recent hits from the kingmaker and loudhailer for independent cinema
ClemencyClemency
Drama2019112 minsDirector: Chinonye Chukwu
Alfre Woodard is quietly devastating as a weary prison warden presiding over her twelfth execution, in this Sundance-winning death row drama.
The SouvenirThe Souvenir
Drama2018120 minsDirector: Joanna Hogg
Sight and Sound's 2019 film of the year is the compelling, semi-autobiographical drama from acclaimed writer-director Joanna Hogg.
KlondikeKlondike
Drama2022100 minsDirector: Maryna Er Gorbach
Set in Donetsk against the backdrop of the downing of Malaysian flight MH17 in 2014, a Ukrainian family attempts to live a normal life amid the absurdity and futility of conflict, in Maryna Er Gorbach’s visually striking film.
Michele Soavi
Welcome to the twisted visions of Milanese maestro Michele Soavi
StageFrightStageFright
Horror198790 minsDirector: Michele Soavi
Dario Argento's protégé, Michele Soavi, made his directorial debut with this deliriously stylish slasher opus.
The ChurchThe Church
Horror1989102 minsDirector: Michele Soavi
A librarian discovers an ancient evil lurking underneath a cathedral, in this spectacular gothic horror co-written and produced by Dario Argento.
The SectThe Sect
Horror1991117 minsDirector: Michele Soavi
Michele Soavi's delirious and surreal satanic horror follows a teacher drawn into the schemes of an evil cult.
Powell + Pressburger: Phantom Threads
Highlighting films by other directors with links to the Archers’ own works.
La RondeLa Ronde
Drama195089 minsDirector: Max Ophuls
Ophuls’ exquisite, imaginative adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler’s play about a carousel of erotic encounters involving characters of different social status.
Black OrpheusBlack Orpheus
Romance1959107 minsDirector: Marcel Camus
Academy Award and Palme d'Or-winning adaption of the Orpheus myth, incorporating the music, costume and dance of Brazil’s Rio Festival.
French CancanFrench Cancan
Period drama1955104 minsDirector: Jean Renoir
Based on the story of Moulin Rouge founder Charles Zidler, Jean Renoir’s tale of an impresario’s commitment to his art is a masterpiece of Technicolor brilliance.
So Good They Remade It
Update your watchlist with three exceptional originals…
IkiruIkiru
Drama1952143 minsDirector: Akira Kurosawa
A bureaucrat’s life finds new meaning in Kurosawa’s classic original, the source for Bill Nighy’s brilliant drama, Living.
Wings of DesireWings of Desire
Fantasy1987128 minsDirector: Wim Wenders
In director Wim Wenders' (Paris, Texas) most metaphysical work, a guardian angel desires nothing more than to be human. Presented in a stunning new restoration.
Bad LieutenantBad Lieutenant
Crime199296 minsDirector: Abel Ferrara
Abel Ferrara's disturbing character study of a corrupt N.Y.C. cop and his slide into insanity, starring Harvey Keitel in a career-best performance.
Carnival Spirit
We're banging the steel drum this weekend, for Notting Hill and beyond…
Black OrpheusBlack Orpheus
Romance1959107 minsDirector: Marcel Camus
Academy Award and Palme d'Or-winning adaption of the Orpheus myth, incorporating the music, costume and dance of Brazil’s Rio Festival.
BabylonBabylon
Drama198095 minsDirector: Franco Rosso
A young Rastafarian toaster (rapper) aims for success at a Reggae Sound System competition, in this cult classic from Franco Rosso that pulsates with an irresistible dub soundtrack.
The Story of Lover's RockThe Story of Lover's Rock
Documentary2011100 minsDirector: Menelik Shabazz
Menelik Shabazz (Burning an Illusion) shines a light on the music genre often dubbed ‘romantic reggae’; a uniquely black British sound that developed in the late 70s and 80s against a backdrop of riots, racial tension and sound systems.
Albert Serra
Three artistic and immersive films from the Catalan maestro
LibertéLiberté
Drama2019138 minsDirector: Albert Serra
Albert Serra’s explicit and opulent exploration of the limits of the erotic imagination is realised in this remarkably radical and subversive cinematic experience.
The Death of Louis XIVThe Death of Louis XIV
Historical drama2016115 minsDirector: Albert Serra
The last days of the Sun King, evoked with sombre beauty by Albert Serra. The legendary Jean-Pierre Léaud brings ineffable presence to the title role.
Story of My DeathStory of My Death
Drama2013144 minsDirector: Albert Serra
Maverick auteur Albert Serra’s imagines a meeting between the ageing Casanova and Count Dracula in this deliciously eccentric baroque reflection on pleasure and erotic desire.
Abel Ferrara's crime stories
The director has a high time among the low-lifes of his native New York City
Bad LieutenantBad Lieutenant
Crime199296 minsDirector: Abel Ferrara
Abel Ferrara's disturbing character study of a corrupt N.Y.C. cop and his slide into insanity, starring Harvey Keitel in a career-best performance.
King of New YorkKing of New York
Crime1990103 minsDirector: Abel Ferrara
Christopher Walken is the dogged drug-lord determined to keep his empire together, in Abel Ferrara's brutally gritty crime thriller.
Fear CityFear City
Crime198497 minsDirector: Abel Ferrara
Tom Berenger, Melanie Griffith and Billy Dee Williams star in this tough crime thriller about a talent agent who takes the law into his own hands when his strippers are targeted by a serial killer.
Ingmar Bergman's The Faith trilogy
"I want to be one of the artists in the cathedral on the great plain"
Through a Glass DarklyThrough a Glass Darkly
Drama196189 minsDirector: Ingmar Bergman
The first part of Ingmar Bergman's 'Faith Trilogy', about a writer (Björnstrand) who joins his daughter, son and son-in-law on holiday, where tensions soon arise.
The SilenceThe Silence
Drama196395 minsDirector: Ingmar Bergman
Two sisters, one ailing, the other with her young son, check into a hotel in a foreign city readying itself for war, in Ingmar Bergman's nightmarish vision of emotional isolation.
Winter LightWinter Light
Drama196281 minsDirector: Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman's highly personal treatise on the torments of faith, in which a widowed village pastor struggles to deal with his parishioners and ex-lover.
Harris Dickinson
Triangle of Sadness is just the latest film for a singular talent
Postcards from LondonPostcards from London
Drama201889 minsDirector: Steve McLean
A stylish, sensuous film about a young man’s journey into an unusual form of escort work.
Beach RatsBeach Rats
Drama201798 minsDirector: Eliza Hittman
Gripping account of repressed sexual desire in a hyper-masculine environment, with British newcomer Harris Dickinson as a virulently macho Brooklyn teen.
County LinesCounty Lines
Crime201990 minsDirector: Henry Blake
Blistering thriller of a teen groomed to work for a brutal, organised drugs network.
François Truffaut
The pioneer of a new kind of cinema.
The 400 BlowsThe 400 Blows
Drama1959100 minsDirector: François Truffaut
François Truffaut’s French New Wave landmark is one of the greatest movies about adolescence.
Jules et JimJules et Jim
Drama1962106 minsDirector: François Truffaut
François Truffaut’s hugely popular classic depicts one of cinema’s most captivating love triangles
The Woman Next DoorThe Woman Next Door
Drama1981105 minsDirector: François Truffaut
Happily married Bernard (Gérard Depardieu) has his life is thrown into turmoil when Mathilde (Fanny Ardant) - an old flame - moves into the house opposite.
Fassbinder
A fearless artist who knew no taboos, he combined scathing criticism with profound human insight
The Marriage of Maria BraunThe Marriage of Maria Braun
Drama1978120 minsDirector: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
With a blazing star performance from Hanna Schygulla in the title role, this was the greatest critical and commercial success of Fassbinder’s career.
QuerelleQuerelle
Drama1982109 minsDirector: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Jeanne Moreau plays a jaded brothel madam caught up in the violent sexual awakening of Brad Davis' naïve young sailor in Fassbinder's fever dream of subversive eroticism.
Fear Eats the SoulFear Eats the Soul
Melodrama197493 minsDirector: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Fassbinder’s international breakthrough, this unconventional love story combines lucid social analysis with devastating emotional power.
Ingmar Bergman
Bergman's work still dazzles - tackling love, life and reflection in a way that feels ageless and vital.
The Seventh SealThe Seventh Seal
Fantasy195796 minsDirector: Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman’s best-known film is a brilliant allegorical drama starring Max von Sydow as a knight trying to elude his own death.
Wild StrawberriesWild Strawberries
Drama195788 minsDirector: Ingmar Bergman
Victor Sjöström is magnificent as the crabby professor taking a nostalgic road trip with his daughter-in-law, in Ingmar Bergman's elegiac masterpiece.
Summer with MonikaSummer with Monika
Drama195397 minsDirector: Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman’s scandalous tale of two lovers enjoying the freedom of youth.
A-list meets arthouse
When established stars chose rawer, more challenging pictures
Only God ForgivesOnly God Forgives
Crime201390 minsDirector: Nicolas Winding Refn
Ryan Gosling takes on Bangkok’s criminal underworld in this kaleidoscopic revenge fantasy from cult director Nicolas Winding Refn.
Personal ShopperPersonal Shopper
Drama2016106 minsDirector: Olivier Assayas
Kristen Stewart reunites with Olivier Assayas to play an A-List celebrity's personal shopper, who keeps receiving strange text messages from an unknown source.
Journey to ItalyJourney to Italy
Drama195486 minsDirector: Roberto Rossellini
Roberto Rossellini's acerbic but finally very moving masterpiece about marital crisis boasts great performances from Ingrid Bergman and George Sanders
New York Stories
Three tales from the city so good they named it twice, and filmed it much, much more...
King of New YorkKing of New York
Crime1990103 minsDirector: Abel Ferrara
Christopher Walken is the dogged drug-lord determined to keep his empire together, in Abel Ferrara's brutally gritty crime thriller.
Frances HaFrances Ha
Comedy201286 minsDirector: Noah Baumbach
Barbie creators Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach hit their stride with this critical smash about an awkward girl and her complex passions.
News From HomeNews From Home
Documentary197689 minsDirector: Chantal Akerman
Chantal Akerman reads letters sent to her from her mother in Belgium, against a tableau of shots of 1970s New York.