This Week's Recommendations

New Release: Fanny Lye Deliver'd (18)

“★★★★ – all aspects of Thomas Clay’s gritty, immersive historical drama blaze with visceral authenticity” – Empire. On an isolated Shropshire farm in 1657, Fanny Lye (Maxine Peake) lives an oppressive life with her puritanical husband John (Charles Dance) and young son. But the discovery of two strangers in their barn, who claim to have been robbed and left for dead, leads to tension and violence as Fanny begins to reject her God-fearing life, with shattering consequences.

Streaming now on Curzon Home Cinema

New Release: A White, White Day (unrated)

★★★★★ – “Dreamlike and intense, the film inexorably draws you in” – Little White Lies. In a remote Icelandic town, widower and off-duty police chief Ingimundur (Ingvar Sigurdsson) begins to suspect a local man of having had an affair with his late wife. Gradually his obsession for uncovering the truth endangers himself and those he loves. We’ll receive 25% of the net sales, so you’ll be supporting Phoenix as you watch.

Available to stream from 3 July

New Release: The Girl With A Bracelet (unrated)

“★★★★ – classy courtroom drama” – Observer. When 16-year-old Lise is accused of murder, the trial begins to reveal her secret life. As the plot thickens, we find ourselves asking how well do we really know the ones we love? Newcomer Melissa Guers delivers a stunning central performance in this powerful and complex drama. Join writer-director Stéphane Demoustier for a live Q&A at 8.30pm on Thursday 2 July, as part of Curzon’s Living Room Q&As series.

Streaming now on Curzon Home Cinema

New Release: Joan of Arc (15)

Director Bruno Dumont boldly cast 10-year-old Lise Leplat Prudhomme as Joan in this retelling of the young French heroine’s life. 1429, and France is at war with England. Believing she has been chosen by God, young Joan leads the French King’s army and lifts the Siege of Orléans, enabling him to be crowned as Charles VII. But she is captured and charged with heresy. Rental revenue is split 50/50 between Phoenix and the film’s distributor, so you support us as you watch.

Available to stream now

New Release: Carmine Street Guitars (12A)

★★★★ – Guardian. At the heart of New York’s Greenwich Village sits Rick Kelly’s Carmine Street Guitars – a sacred destination for some of the world’s most famous musicians. Ron Mann’s glorious behind-the-scenes documentary celebrates this NY institution and those local business-owners who dedicate their time and craft to the community. Rental revenue is split 50/50 between Phoenix and the film’s distributor, so you support us as you watch.

Available to stream now

White Riot (15)

★★★★ – Observer. It’s back! Winner of Best Documentary at BFI London Film Festival, Rubika Shah’s acclaimed documentary charts the Rock Against Racism movement of the 1970s, revealing the amazing power of music and grass roots activism to drive social change. Screening as part of Glastonbury’s Cineramageddon Film Arena and the Edinburgh International Film Festival online edition. Rental revenue is split 50/50 between Phoenix and the film’s distributor, so you support us as you watch.

Available to stream until 5 July

New Release: Family Romance, LLC (unrated)

A real-life Tokyo company’s rent-a-family service is the inspiration for Werner Herzog’s new Japanese drama, in which a man is hired to impersonate the missing father of a young girl. The Oscar-nominated auteur mixes fact and fiction in this sensitive exploration of loss, loneliness, and the emotional value of fabricated happiness. Rental revenue is split 50/50 between Phoenix and the film’s distributor, so you support us as you watch.

Available to stream from 3 July

Japan 2020: Tokyo-Ga (U)

Wim Wenders’ fascinating and moving portrait of his cinematic hero, Yasujiro Ozu, celebrates the work of a director whose films dealt with life itself. Twenty years after Ozu’s death, Wenders travels to Tokyo hoping to find the spirit of the director still present. Saddened by what he finds, and accepting that cinema itself has changed over the intervening decades, Wenders transforms his film into a treatise on the nature of recording everyday life. Screening as part of the BFI Japan 2020 season.

Available on BFI Player

The Last Tree (15)

★★★★ – Guardian. Shola Amoo’s (A Moving Image) outstanding, BIFA-winning drama tells the semi-autobiographical story of Femi, a young British boy of Nigerian heritage who, after being fostered in rural Lincolnshire, returns to live with his birth mother in inner-city London where he struggles to adapt to his new environment. A compassionate and profoundly moving coming-of-age tale.

Available now on BFI Player

Summertime (15)

“★★★★ – full of powerful moments and dramatic choices” – Observer. Paris, 1971. Farmer’s daughter Delphine moves to the city, seeking independence. There she falls in love with Carole, a feminist activist, but when events force Delphine to return to the family farm, it’s clear that attitudes to their relationship are different in the countryside. Catherine Corsini directs this sensual and graceful portrait of blossoming love.

Available now on MUBI

National Theatre: Les Blancs

“★★★★ – Jaw-dropping” – Time Out. Captured on film in 2016, Lorraine Hansberry’s final play tells the powerful story of an African country teetering on the brink of civil war as it prepares to claim an independent future, free of its colonial past. Available FREE for seven days from 7pm on Thursday 2 July.

Watch FREE from 2 July

Bristol Old Vic: The Grinning Man

“★★★★ – Blackly comic brilliance” – Telegraph. Based on Victor Hugo’s The Man Who Laughs, this acclaimed production premiered as part of Bristol Old Vic’s 250th Anniversary season before transferring to the West End, and is available to stream FREE until 3 July.

Watch FREE now

New British Cinema: Amma Asante

Our New British Cinema season continues with a mini-season of films from BAFTA winning screenwriter and director Amma Asante MBE, who made her directorial debut in 2004 with A Way of Life for which she won the award for the Most Promising Newcomer at the 2005 BAFTAs.

See what's on

Must-See South Korean Cinema

Following the phenomenal success of Parasite, which became the first foreign-language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, we’ve selected six must-see South Korean films from some of the best directors in the business.

See what's on

FREE ACCESS TO BFI PLAYER FOR PHOENIX MEMBERS

MyPhoenix Members & Friends can now get an additional 4 weeks free on BFI Player’s subscription service – on top of their usual 14 day free trial – giving you access to thousands of critically acclaimed and classic movies. We’ll email details of how to take advantage of this fabulous offer to all our Members & Friends later this week.

Free access to MUBI for My Phoenix Members

MUBI are giving MyPhoenix Members and Friends 90 days access to their fantastic film collection completely free. Not a MyPhoenix Member ? Join online now and we’ll then email you details of how to access MUBI’s incredible offer.

More about MUBI

Up to 15% off Curzon Home Cinema

Curzon are offering our customers up to 15% off any films available for streaming in their (NOT) In Cinemas Now selection. Simply enter discount code CHCJUN when purchasing a film from Curzon’s (NOT) In Cinemas Now selection to stream online.

More about Curzon Home Cinema

Phoenix Membership: 18 MONTHS FOR THE PRICE OF 12

To thank all our MyPhoenix Members and Friends for your continuing support, we are offering 18 months for the price of 12 to anyone who joins or renews a membership during our closure (which began on 18 March). Check the terms and conditions of this offer.

Find out more about membership

Compassion on Screen

Join tutor Kenton Hall for this 4-week online course that celebrates the best of the human condition, explores how films deal with the subjects of compassion and empathy, and uncovers how cinema has been a force for good in the world. Using Zoom, the course will offer film clips and tutor-led group discussion – the same Phoenix content, but in the comfort and security of home. Starts 7 July, online bookings only.

Find out more and book a place

Virtual Film Camps for Kids

Our annual summer Film Camps for 7–19 year olds are moving online this year! The format will be different, but our brilliant tutor Keith Allott will still cover all the key elements of filmmaking and production through daily online meet-ups, tutorials and tasks for you to work on at home. At the end of the week each group will have created a series of mini-films that’ll be collected together and shared online with friends and family. Online bookings only.

Find out more and book a place

More online courses coming soon

We’re just finalising the details of more online courses – including courses on Christopher Nolan, Film on Demand, and some new regular film discussion groups – and these will be on sale via our website soon. Look out for details in our weekly e-shot.

Selected 10

Selected 10 brings together a vibrant programme of films by some of the UK’s most exciting emerging artists – all chosen by the artists shortlisted for the prestigious Jarman Award 2019. Established 10 years ago, the ‘Selected’ programme supports artist filmmakers to gain greater visibility and bring new, diverse moving image work to audiences.

Available to view FREE from 6 – 12 July

PHOENIX ART ARCHIVE

With our gallery currently closed, it’s the perfect time to explore our art archive. The archive brings together a decade’s worth of exhibition highlights from our art and digital culture programme, going back to the opening of the building in 2009, and features work by established and emerging artists from around the world.

Explore the archive

SIAN FAN: DOWNTIME

Simulating a tranquil digital landscape, Downtime is an interactive online artwork that is counter to the hyper-productivity of the online world, virtually embodying the experience of ASMR into a calming interactive environment. The user navigates via their computer arrow keys to explore the aimless world and discover aural sensations.

Explore Downtime

FTP Artist Meet-Up

FTP is our monthly, open session for learning about new tools for the development of digital arts projects. It is a space to share current projects or create new collaborations with peers. The meet-up is free and open to all, and sessions are happening online while we’re closed. Next session: July, details to follow

Find out more

FREE Video tutorials: Game Design

All four parts of our FREE online game design course are now available on our website. Using experimental tools like Bitsy and Twine, we’ll take you through the basics of building and publishing story-telling games. Suitable for ages 12+.

View our FREE video tutorials

Free Scratch projects for kids

We usually host free monthly workshops and activities for families, but as this isn’t possible at the moment we’ve put together a range of projects that you can download and try at home. We’ve got 11 different ones to choose from, so take a look and get creative!

Check out our FREE activities