The BFI: 75 Years of Cinema
The crowd lazily strolling along the Southbank will soon have another reason to show off their summer tans: in September the British Film Institute will be 75 – and will celebrate with their ground-breaking history and great plans for the future. Throughout the month the BFI will surprise and delight audiences and guests of all ages with a bumper programme.
Film – it could be argued - is the most important art form of the 21st century. It’s certainly one of the most popular. And the BFI has championed cinema which has the power to change lives, to reveal different visions and voices and to challenge our understanding of the world and our place in it.
But the next 75 years promise to be just as exciting. The BFI not only protects and promotes the extraordinary collections of film and television in the BFI National Archive, but through digital distribution is also developing new platforms to bring film to many more people.
So for its 75th the BFI wants to reflect on where it has come from and where it’s headed. With a month of special programming, events and surprises at BFI Southbank, offerings around the UK, regional partnerships and touring programmes, there’ll be something for everyone and enough reason to stick on a party hat and celebrate.
The 75th centrepiece season at BFI Southbank, The Time Machine examines cinema’s unique relationship with time. It includes a selection of films featuring extended runs of the Powell and Pressburger’s A Matter of Life and Death, Terrence Malick’s Badlands and Eric Rohmer’s The Romance of Astrea and Celadon. Plus, the second part of the Clint Eastwood season, the early films of Charlie Chaplin, highlights from the British Silent Film Festival, the launch of thriller festival Crime Scene 2008, and a plethora of special previews.
And with film increasingly merging with other arts there will be an exhibition of paintings by French actress Juliette Binoche, along with a tribute season of her films and an on-stage Guardian interview. This particular exhibition ties in with the premiere of her new dance piece In-I at the National Theatre. The All Seeing Eye – a mesmerising video installation by inventive French duo Pierre Bismuth and Michel Gondry, celebrated for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
The birthday party kicks off on Thursday 25 September with a gala event celebrating the BFI story. Back to the Future the next day sees the BFI teaming with the AV Social to present an evening of electronic music and live visuals hinting at the future possibilities of cinema.
On Saturday, in collaboration with The Big Chill festival, there will be live performances by artists including The Light Surgeons, Future Loop Foundation and VJ Anyone.
The Weekender also features all-night screenings of time-travel classics at BFI IMAX; free screenings of Mitchell & Kenyon’s early cinema experiments with live scores; pop-up talks around the venue on the future of cinema; a special 75th-birthday edition of the ever-popular BFI Film Quiz; the return of the White Coffin Club nostalgia night; and photos to take home in association with HP Printers. Plus, of course, our regular programmes to enjoy.
Families can join the slapstick Charlie Chaplin workshop, practice their funny walk and have it filmed, or make a Charlie Chaplin badge. Plus the usual Movie Magic features for younger audiences continue throughout the month.
But the BFI is not just about the big screen: 75 BFI DVDs will be reduced for just £9.99 each for the whole of September, plus special box set offers from selected retailers. There will also be the release of Addressing the Nation – the first of three BFI double-disc DVDs featuring highlights from the GPO Film Unit. Moreover, you can download a fantastic selection of 75 short films for just 75 pence each throughout the whole of September.
Vera Brozzoni
To find out more about the BFI’s special 75th programmes, free events and cultural extravaganzas visit www.bfi.org.uk/75.
