This week we’re excited to be able to give you a first glimpse of what’s coming to our screens in October. Plus we’ve another batch of Phoenix at Home recommendations, focusing on Essential Cinema – genre-defining, ground-breaking movies from around the world that we think should been seen by all cinema fans – and you can find even more in our main film recommendations section.
We can’t wait to welcome you back through our doors to enjoy the best in independent and world cinema, and there’s so much to look forward to in the next few months. Our film programme manager Jake Harvey gives us a taste of what’s coming up.
During World War II, reclusive writer Alice (Gemma Arterton) enjoys her life of solitude in a windblown cottage on the seaside cliffs. Shocked at the ‘inconvenience’ of being told she has to adopt a young London evacuee called Frank, against her own expectations Alice begins to bond with the young boy – and discovers they have more in common than she had first assumed. Arterton is on fine form in this moving and beautifully filmed story of enduring love and hope.
In any normal year, awards media would be filled with acclaim for Alfre Woodard’s scintillating performance in Chinonye Chukwu’s brilliant drama. But this is obviously not a normal year. Having been included in our Phoenix at Home recommendations over the summer, we wanted to give Clemency the big screen attention it rightly deserves. Woodard plays prison warden Bernadine Williams, haunted by her work on death row and struggling with its effect on her marriage.
Arriving on the big screen in a new 4K restoration, this stunning 25 year-old film speaks directly to our present. Mathieu Kassovitz’s La Haine follows the lives of three young men in the banlieues of Paris, and caused a sensation on its release with the French Prime Minister demanding that it be watched by his entire cabinet. The film’s effect, influences and issues are still being felt today; later in October we’ll be screening Ladj Ly’s sublime Les Misérables, the heir apparent to La Haine, which has shocked President Macron into taking action on poverty.
As we reopen, we want to reaffirm our commitment to screening films that state who we are, and why Phoenix is here. Outside the City is special to us – a great film from a local filmmaker that struck a chord with our audiences and was a huge success. The monks of Leicestershire’s Mount St Bernard Abbey are a community of 25 men, half of them over 80 years old. Director Nick Hamer spent a year with the monks, gaining privileged access to document their hidden lives as they attempt to open the first Trappist brewery in the UK.
★★★★ – Empire. Antonio Banderas delivers a career-best performance as an ageing film director, wrestling with his mortality and confronting the ghosts of his life. Pedro Almodóvar’s deeply personal, semi-autobiographical drama is “bittersweet perfection” (The Guardian).
★★★★★ – Guardian. Gorgeous and heart-breaking, Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight scooped the Oscar for Best Picture against the odds, and should be regarded for its beauty and power rather than that La La Land blunder. Split into three chapters, the film follows the life of Chiron – a young black man growing up in Miami – through childhood, adolescence, and adulthood as he struggles with his sexuality.
★★★★★ – Guardian. South Carolina, 1902. Three generations of women from the same family grapple with the decision to migrate north, leaving behind the Gullah culture they inherited from their West African slave ancestors. An avowed influence on Beyoncé’s album Lemonade, Julie Dash’s masterpiece broke new ground in its representation of black women on screen, and is a luminous, vital portrait of black life.
★★★★★ – Guardian. Winning him his third Oscar, Federico Fellini’s hallucinatory 1963 masterpiece is regarded by many as the most iconic movie about filmmaking. Film director Guido Anselmi (Marcello Mastroianni) wrestles with his dreams and memories as he struggles to find inspiration for his next project. Blending visions with reality, his artistic crisis deepens as his life unravels around him.
Throughout lockdown we’ve been bringing you specially-curated film seasons, including Sound on Screen, New British Cinema, Documentaries on BBC iPlayer, Must-See South Korean Cinema, and our pick of BFI Japan 2020. With 46 films featured across these seasons, you’ll be spoilt for choice.
From Toy Story to Persepolis, and Snow White to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, animation is a broad genre with a complex and exciting history. Tutor Kenton Hall explores film animation, from early shorts to today’s blockbusters. Originally planned as a one-day course, this will now be delivered online via Zoom over three sessions. Starts Thursday 24 September, 7pm. Online bookings only – member discounts available.
Perhaps no other author is more synonymous with their genre than Agatha Christie. With Kenneth Branagh’s Death on the Nile due for release in October, tutor Kenton Hall leads this visual tour of the many films and TV series adapted from, and inspired by, Christie’s work. Delivered via Zoom. Starts Tuesday 6 October, 7pm. Online bookings only – member discounts available.
With the Trump vs Biden race for the White House nearing its conclusion, this four-week online course explores the history of the US Presidency on screen, and considers how cinema’s portrayals have shaped people’s view of America and its leaders. Delivered via Zoom. Starts Tuesday 3 November, 7pm. Online bookings open Monday 28 September
Mental health is finally beginning to get the attention it deserves, thanks to high-profile individuals speaking openly about their experiences. Join us for this introductory course looking at how mental health and mental illness have been portrayed – for better or worse – in cinema. Delivered via Zoom. Starts Thursday 26 November, 7pm. Online bookings open Monday 28 September.
For the latest in our series of online commissions exploring the theme of idleness, artist collective Compiler have created Are / You / Actually – a quiz that explores how even our digital downtime is exploited. As participants answer questions, an abstracted visualisation of their answers begins to develop, creating a space to play with the aesthetics and underlying structures of meditative apps and games.
screen_share is a new event for artists making screen-based work to come together, share what they’ve made and talk about it in a friendly and open environment. The first screen_share will be livestreamed on Friday 25 September from 7pm, and we’re inviting submissions of artwork to be shown at the event. (Deadline for submissions is midnight on Monday 14 September.)
Using open source and experimental tools to discover filmmaking, this FREE three-part course will take you through some basic techniques for planning a film, making an animation and getting started with editing. Suitable for ages 12+.
With our gallery temporarily closed it’s a perfect time to delve into our archive, which brings together a decade’s worth of highlights from our art and digital culture programme going back to the opening of the building back in 2009.
Our FREE course takes you through the basics of 3D design, exploring a range of digital 3D modelling and design tools. Over the course of four video tutorials we’ll show you how to create 3D designs that can be used in computer games, animations and 3D printing. Suitable for ages 12+.
Take a look at our gallery to see the fabulously inventive work that children have made in some of our regular workshop sessions that give kids the chance to get creative with the latest digital technologies. The Colour-a-Frame gallery also includes instructions and access to the resources, so you can have a go at the activity yourself at home.
MyPhoenix Members and Friends can get 90 days FREE access to MUBI’s fantastic movie collection, including their newly-opened film library. Not a MyPhoenix Member ? Join online now and we’ll then email you details of how to access MUBI’s incredible offer.
MyPhoenix Members & Friends can get an additional 4 weeks free on BFI Player’s subscription service (on top of the standard 14 day free trial) giving you access to thousands of critically acclaimed and classic movies. Not a MyPhoenix Member ? Join online now and we’ll email you details of how to access the offer.
Don’t miss out! To thank our Members & Friends for your ongoing support, we are offering 18 months for the price of 12 to anyone who joins or renews a membership by 30 September. Check the terms and conditions of this offer.
Help us understand our digital audiences and share your thoughts on our online programme by taking our Phoenix at Home survey
