The Bigger Picture, presented by The British Film Institute

Kirk Douglas died this week. In this special episode of the British Film Institute's flagship podcast the BFI's Digital editor, Henry Barnes, pays tribute by introducing clips from an archive interview with the star, which was recorded at the National Film Theatre in 1972. Douglas talks about his roles in classics like Spartacus, as well as the fun he had playing the bad guy and playing with his public image.This episode of the podcast was written, presented and edited by Henry Barnes. Production and mixing by Peter Sale. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 2010s saw huge changes in the way films were watched and talked about. In the final episode of this series of The Bigger Picture (and the final episode of this decade) Anna, Hen and Pete explore the trends in film and telly - including #MeToo, streaming, Marvel and TV's REAL golden age - that developed over 10 extraordinary years in screen culture.Plus! Anna shares what she's learnt about film, herself and the world during te 2010s and Hen exclusively reveals his pick for the greatest screen experience of the last decade. Clue: it ain't classy.Thanks to all of The Bigger Picture's listeners for spending time with us this year. We wish you all happy holidays and a peaceful, prosperous 2020.The Bigger Picture, presented by the BFI is ...BFI Digital editor Henry BarnesAnna Bogutskayaand producer Peter Sale. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Greta Gerwig's take on Little Women, Louis May Alcott's classic novel, starts fast and speeds up from there. We talk about how Gerwig's antic adaptation barely pauses for breath, but still makes room in its period setting for a very modern take on women, work, money and freedom.Starring Saoirse Ronan as aspiring writer Jo Marsh, Little Women tells the story of Jo and her sisters - Meg, Amy and Beth - as they leave adolescence and find their way in the world. It's Gerwig's second film as director after the Oscar-nominated Lady Bird, which also starred Ronan.Elsewhere in this episode: witch stories, clockwork games and Anna swoons and swoons again over the lovely (for now) Timothée Chalamet, who plays this Little Women's Laurie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Heartless, irrational, unstoppable - zombies and the sea are natural soul(less) mates and Mati Diop's debut film pairs them beautifully. Atlantics, which took home the first feature award at this year's London Film Festival, is a love story between a Senegalese woman and her departed lover. It hits the high water mark for stories of supernatural love.Anna, Hen and Pete talk about what makes a ghoulish love story glimmer, how the sea shines as a metaphor on film and why love stories in which one person is dead are the most beautiful and tragic of all.!WARNING: Contains spoliers for Atlantics!The Bigger Picture, presented by the BFI, is ...BFI Digital editor Henry BarnesAnna Bogutskayaand producer Peter Sale. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A paperwork thriller. A chit-chat drama. The Report, the true story of the US Senate intelligence officer who investigated the CIA's torture of detainees after 9/11, uses dialogue - lots and lots of dialogue - to tell a slow-burning story of an instution reaching far beyond its limits.In this episode of The Bigger Picture Hen, Anna and Pete describe how watching the film is more akin to listening to long-form narrative podcast than going to the cinema, why the film remains a thrill despite its slow pace and how - bizarrely - scenes of state-sanctioned torture have become a trope unto themselves.The Bigger Picture, presented by the BFI, is ...BFI Digital editor Henry BarnesAnna Bogutskayaand producer Peter Sale. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alejandro Landes's Monos has teen soldiers running wild in the mountains of an unspecified south American country. Hen, Anna and Pete take a trek up into the weird world of guerrilla warfare, presided over by a cow called Shakira.They talk about the film's treatment of Colombia's long-running war, how Landes masterfully creates an atmosphere of tension out of teen tomfoolery and Mica Levi's awesome score. Plus, nonsense chat about what we'd call a cow if one were gifted to us.The Bigger Picture, presented by the BFI, is ...BFI Digital editor Henry BarnesAnna Bogutskaya, Dice's Head of Arts and Cultureand producer Peter Sale Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dum-de-dum dum. Dum-de-dum de-dum dum-de-dum-de. Singin' in the Rain, the Gene Kelly classic, has been re-released by the BFI as part of a three-month musicals season. To celebrate Hen, Anna and Pete take a tour through the finger-clicking, puddle-stomper and talk about how, as well as being a timeless musical, the film endures as a Hollywood satire.Plus, Anna recommends her pick of the films she saw at this year's London Film Festival and Hen gets into Fortnite, a mere two years too late.The Bigger Picture, presented by the BFI, is ...BFI Digital editor Henry BarnesAnna Bogutskaya, Dice's Head of Arts and Cultureand producer Peter Sale Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joker, Todd Phillips's gunky take on DC Comic's supervillain, gives us the origins story of a lonely guy with mental health issues who finds himself through violence. Anna, Hen and Pete talk about the films great debt to Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy, examine what the film adds to the character's lore and wonder if asking us to pity the fool was the best strategy.Plus, Hen recommend a documentary on the civil rights activist and archivist, no ... hoarder ... no, archivist ... no, hoarder Marion Stokes and Anna heads back to her favourite streaming service for Unbelievable, a police procedural centred on the pursuit of a serial rapist.The Bigger Picture, presented by the BFI, is ...BFI Digital editor Henry BarnesAnna Bogutskaya, Dice's Head of Arts and Cultureand producer Peter Sale Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

No Anna this ep, but Hen and Pete are joined by a special guest, filmmaker Shola Amoo. Shola's in to talk about his new film, The Last Tree, which sees a British-Nigerian kid plucked from his rural foster home by his birth mum, who expects him to take root and thrive in London.Shola talks about the social rules inherent in growing up black in the city, how the expectations on second-generation kids have changed with the arrival of the internet and why grime - "Britain's best black export", according to Shola - offers a template for what black British filmmakers could do with film.Plus, Shola recommends a under-rated Kanye West album and Hen waves a placard for the Guardian's Anywhere But Westminster video series.The Bigger Picture, presented by the BFI, is ...BFI Digital editor Henry BarnesAnna Bogutskaya, Dice's Head of Arts and CultureProducer Peter Saleand special guest, filmmaker Shola Amoo. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hen, Anna and Pete get a line on a reel-y good film. Bait, BFI-backed and brilliant to boot, is written and directed by Mark Jenkin. Set in Jenkin's native Cornwall, it's a drama about the effects of gentrification on a village fishing community and it says a lot about the state of Britain today.Bait follows Martin (Edward Rowe), a fisherman without a boat raging against the wealthy Londoners who have bought his childhood home. In the face of tourism and city money, angry, displaced Martin is left floundering. These situations, Jenkin seems to be saying, are where Brexit came from.Elsewhere in the ep, Anna is hopped up on the Zendaya-starring TV series Euphoria, Hen has been spending time with San Quentin prison's in-house podcast Ear Hustle AND an incredibly awkward bit in which one of the pod earnestly reads out song lyrics about the corrosive effect of captalism on communities. Yay!The Bigger Picture, presented by the BFI, is ...BFI Digital editor Henry BarnesAnna Bogutskaya, Dice's Head of Arts and CultureProducer Peter Sale Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pedro Almodóvar returns with Pain and Glory, a deeply personal film about an ageing film director (played by Antonio Banderas) struggling with the physical and psychological ailments that are preventing him from making films.Hen, Anna and Pete tuck into Pedro's pain, exploring how the director joins the ranks of artists across cultures who have worked out how to make their personal tragedy accessible to a wide audience. This episode also features ... moon-eyed discussions about Kendrick Lamar's genius, PERSONAL INFORMATION on the PERSONAL LIFE of Anna Bogutskaya (kind of) and the first ever Bigger Picture remix, spun by producer Pete out of our chat about Jeremy Deller's brilliant acid house documentary Everybody in the Place: An Incomplete History of Britain 1984-1992.The Bigger Picture, presented by the BFI, is ...BFI Digital editor Henry BarnesAnna Bogutskaya, Dice.fm's Head of Arts and CultureProducer Peter Sale Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Clamber into your double denim and strap your hands across our engines! On this episode of The Bigger Picture we've got the goss on a film inspired by The Boss: Blinded by the Light, in which a British-Pakistani teen finds an escape from the racism and conformity of 1980s Luton through the music of Bruce Springsteen.Hen, Anna and Pete explore how hard it is to portray fandom in film, what a Springsteen-centric story has to say to a millennial audience and how Gurinder Chadha's film follows Bend it Like Beckham in exploring how passion can cross cultures and generations.The Bigger Picture, presented by the BFI, is ...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna Bogutskaya. BFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter Sale Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whoah. The Bigger Picture logs on for series 3. This episode we're plugging into The Matrix, the Wachowskis' cyber-hacking kung-fu smacking techno western. Anna, Hen and Pete see through the 1s and 0s to discover how the film - 20 years old this year - has aged, work out what it got right about the internet and argue about whether it's a really a love story between Morpheus, Neo and their online dating profiles. There may be a spoon.The Matrix is screening at the BFI Southbank as part of the BFI's Nineties season. More information here:https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=nineties&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id=The Bigger Picture, presented by the BFI, is ...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna Bogutskaya. BFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter Sale Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Season 3 of The Bigger Picture podcast, brought to you by the BFI, starts July 18th 2019. Here Anna, Hen and Pete offer a sneak peek at what's coming up on the show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How can those with extraordinary talent survive fame's spotlight? We're struggling, so we went looking for answers in the films of Asif Kapadia, specifically: Senna, Amy and his new documentary, Diego Maradona.The doc tells the story of the Argentine footballer whose genius touch made him a demi-god to the denizens of his adopted home, Naples. In this episode, the last one of season two of The Bigger Picture, we talk about the personal strain of being a public figure, how talent is co-opted by capitalism and - lofty theory alert! - why talented celebrities are the gods we're allowed to hate.Diego Maradona is screening at BFI Southbank from Thursday 13th June, when we will host a post-screening Q&A with Asif Kapadia. It's on general release in the UK from Friday 14th June.The Bigger Picture, presented by the BFI, will return for series 3 in July and is ...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna Bogutskaya. BFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter SaleMake it your goal-aaaaahhh! to check these out:• Watch the Maradona trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuErPYsoaR4• The city where Diego Maradona rose from the dead (via The Observer): https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/jun/02/the-city-where-diego-maradona-rose-from-the-dead-documentary-asif-kapadia-senna-amy• Maradona and the Mercenaries (via The New Yorker): https://www.newyorker.com/sports/sporting-scene/maradona-and-the-mercenaries Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anna's in Cannes and calls from the Croisette to fill Hen and Pete in on the best new films that have premiered at this year's festival. Included in Anna's picks: Robert Pattinson wants to get into the lighthouse, even though he's already in The Lighthouse; Georgian ballet boys fight for their place on the floor in And Then We Danced and the cure for depression is a plant-based panacea in the Ben Whishaw-starring Little Joe. Plus! Beach-time, walkouts and hangovers in Hen's Cannes Cuiz. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Booksmart, Olivia Wilde's racous directorial debut, shows teenage girls being loud, funny, crass and disgusting. Anna and Hen talk about why it's so rare to see that on-screen, recount (a bit) of their own school days and talk about why the American high school movie has become a guidebook for teenagers everywhere.Booksmart, starring Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever, is out in UK cinemas on May 27th. It follows two teens - Molly (Feldstein) and Amy (Dever) - facing down graduation as they realise they've spent too long at school studying and not enough time partying.The Bigger Picture, presented by the BFI, is...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna Bogutskaya. BFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter Sale Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello, you people! The Goonies, re-released in 4k recently, has delighted and inspired a generation of film-makers and film fans. Unfortunately, Hen is not one of them. Anna explains why Richard Donner's action-adventure is ace and Hen is dead inside. Set in 1980s Astoria, Oregon, The Goonies, starring Sean Astin, Corey Feldman and Josh Brolin, follows a gang of kids on the hunt for 17th-century pirate treasure. Based on a story by Steven Spielberg and a script by Chris Columbus, the film builds a kids-only world where the adults - namely, the mafioso crime family The Fratellis - are monstrous and the thrills strictly PG.Anna and Hen talk about the film's substantial influence, its place in pre-teen fantasy cinema and Anna's favourite moments.The Bigger Picture, presented by the BFI, is...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna Bogutskaya. BFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter SaleOn shuffle:• Behind the scenes on The Goonies looks fun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6Hm2wox660• Young Chunk wows Wogan: https://www.facebook.com/BBCArchive/videos/1985-wogan-jeff-cohen/726164067768233/• Why Stranger Things is basically The Goonies: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/11-ways-stranger-things-basically-goonies Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Roll up, roll up for a big-top Bigger Picture all about Tim Burton's Dumbo. Thrill! At Anna, Hen and Pete's soaring appraisal of Disney's 1941 original! Gasp! At the flap they get themselves into tearing down the new one! Wonder! at Hen winging it through an extended rant about the wonders of booze! All this and a musical number too!The Bigger Picture, presented by the BFI, is...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna Bogutskaya. BFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter SaleStuff for your eyes:Just leaving this here ... https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/aug/16/why-i-love-dumbo-pink-elephantsHow Dumbo could be seen to subvert racist stereotypes: https://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/jimcrow/links/essays/reversal.htmSob: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHYGzJIUn58 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Strap on your pointe shoes and join Anna, Henry and Pete as they hit the floor with an episode about the Soviet ballet dancers who defected to the west. Inspired by Ralph Fienne's The White Crow, a biopic of the ballet supremo and defector Rudolf Nureyev, the gang track the careers of Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov and the contemporary Ukrainian dancer Sergei Polunin, asking what it takes for these dancefloor geniuses to make it in western pop culture.The Bigger Picture, presented by the BFI, is...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna Bogah...Anna Bogurts... Anna Bogutskaya. BFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter SaleNext steps:• The Guardian's Simon Hattenstone interviews Sergei Polunin: https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2019/mar/07/sergei-polunin-sacked-putin-tattoo-interview• Four great Soviet ballet dancers (via Russia Beyond): https://www.rbth.com/arts/2015/08/11/dancing_their_way_to_freedom_4_great_soviet_ballet_defectors_48425.html• Gregory Hines and Mikhail Baryshnikov strut their stuff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qDGVHy5iTM Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ridley Scott's space slasher, Alien, was released 40 years ago this September. To celebrate Anna and Hen dive into the film, wriggle around its inner-workings and burst out the other side. We're looking at what influenced Alien, what effect it had on screen culture and why it stills scares the bejusus out of viewers to this day. Plus! Inspired by Charles Dixon-Graham's piece for BFI.org, we talk about Alien as workplace drama, Anna unpacks the Netflix series Russian doll and Hen tells an involved story about the time he trod on a sea urchin. True body horror.The Bigger Picture, presented by the BFI, is...BFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter SaleFor tickets to the Alien (+ Aliens) screenings at the BFI Southbank, go here: https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=alien2019&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id=Dig into this lot:Charles Graham-Dixon's piece on Alien as a working class hero story: https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/alien-40-ridley-scott-sigourney-weaverA 90s documentary on the making of Alien: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTr-ptJGp0cRidley Scott's "1984" Apple ad ... (which we meant to talk about, but didn't): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNy-7jv0XSc Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back, renamed as The Bigger Picture, but as bumbling, charming and cor-gosh-blimey British as ever!This episode - at the start of our second season - we're talking about Notting Hill, which has been re-released for Valentine's Day. Richard Curtis's film, about a famous film star who falls for an everyman, sold the world a vision of Britain that was posh, white and amiable. We talk about the film and its place in the rickety genre of British romcoms: what they were, why they happened and why they died. On the way we go gaga for Hugh Grant, because... why wouldn't you?The Bigger Picture, presented by the BFI, is...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna BogutskayaBFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter SaleFlowers, chocolates, reading:• Why we fell out of love with the British romcom (via the Guardian): https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jul/02/not-love-actually-british-romcoms-bridget-jones-relationship-go-so-wrong• Hugh Grant talks about his iconic film roles (via GQ): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2YoUbAEFTI• The best romcoms that pass the Bechdel test (via Broadly): https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/wj4xd4/best-netflix-romantic-comedies-that-pass-the-bechdel-test Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yippee-ki-yay Christmas lovers! It's our festive special, so we're talking about Die Hard (which is a Christmas film). Join Anna, Hen and Pete as we examine what makes John McTiernan's tower block action romp a classic, covering everything from Run-DMC to Frank Lloyd Wright, the Bolshoi Ballet to American imperialism. Plus! How Bruce Willis's feet changed the action genre for good.This is the last BFI podcast of this series, but we'll be back in February for series two. Get in touch with us to tell us what you'd like to hear from us in future (details below). In the meantime, happy holidays and thanks for listening.The BFI podcast is...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna BogutskayaBFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter SaleHo ho ho, now we have further reading:• 11 film-makers explain how Die Hard influenced them (via SlashFilm): https://www.slashfilm.com/die-hard-influence/• Family is a curse in Hereditary (via AV Club): https://film.avclub.com/family-is-a-curse-in-the-harrowing-deeply-frightening-1826616606• Hollow Knight review (via Eurogamer): https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-06-28-hollow-knight-a-slick-stylish-and-super-tough-metroidvania Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anna and Hen talk about The Old Man & The Gun, a heist film from director David Lowery that stars Robert Redford as a twinkly-eyed, charming bank robber. Why does the lovable rogue's popularity endure? Why do certain rogues beguile us so? And why has Hen taken to suggestive homoeroticism quite so passionately? Join us as we talk about the films that invite us to catch a thief... and give him a big hug.The BFI podcast is...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna BogutskayaBFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter SaleMore leads:• The true story of seasoned bank robber Forrest Tucker (via the New Yorker): https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/01/27/the-old-man-and-the-gun• The Old Man & The Gun trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdLQb9zN9OE• See?! All of the best action films have "powerfully homoerotic undertones", says The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/point-break-all-the-best-action-films-have-powerful-homoerotic-u/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join the crew - Anna, Hen and producer Pete - as they walk down a corridor in slow-motion towards this episode's topic: girl gangs. We talk about Mean Girls, Clueless, The Craft, Jawbreakers and Assassination Nation, director Sam Levinson's very 2018 take on the Salem witch trials.Assassination Nation paints a picture of an America pulled apart along gender lines, with a gang of young women thrown into violent rebellion against the men of their town after they're hacked and have their private communications leaked to the internet. Join us as we talk about gender, Trump, 90s alt-rock and - finally, FINALLY - Matt Damon's turn as a skate-punk god in the 2004 grossout comedy Euro-trip.The BFI Podcast is ...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna BogutskayaBFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter SaleMore:• Christine #1: Christine McConnell turned her parents house into a Halloween nightmare palace (via Eater): https://www.eater.com/2018/10/29/18037622/christine-mconnell-netflix-show-parents-house-halloween-decorations• Christine #2: Chris (formerly Christine and the Queens) interviewed by the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/sep/22/christine-and-the-queens-ive-just-discovered-sex-i-cant-stop-yet• As If: The 10-year retrospective (via Digital Spy): http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/feature/a621341/as-if-10-year-retrospective-of-the-cult-channel-4-teen-drama-part-2/• Scotty Doesn't Know: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_AKr1BEajA Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anna and Hen clock in to talk about 9 to 5 - the 1980 comedy, starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton - in which a trio of women take down their tyrannical boss. We look at how film and TV has portrayed women office workers since the film was released and wonder what fictional female bosses, including Working Girl's Katharine Parker and The Devil Wears Prada's Miranda Priestly, say about our opinions of powerful women at work. PLUS! Hen raises workplace morale by instigating a sing-song.The BFI Podcast is ...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna BogutskayaBFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter SaleHomework:• Pure poetry in the original 9 to 5 trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R2WsyoS2FM&t=2s• Dolly on Oprah - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-M0PlFYZeg&t=658s Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ayyyyyyyy-oh! And welcome to our music biopic special, performed - with Queen-ish grandiosity - in five movements. Join us as we work out what makes a musician's story sing on screen.This episode look at the crucial elements you need to compose a truly great film about musicians and their music. We ask whether the truth matters, who decides which music biopics get made, pick our favourites of the form and tell Hollywood which musical acts' stories they should be counting in next.The BFI Podcast is ...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna BogutskayaBFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter SaleRock on:• Hen on why the truth and music often sound off-key - The Guardian• The making of the Bob Dylan biopic I'm Not There - The New York Times• The actual best Queen song Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Slasher icon Michael Myers is as much part of Halloween as hiding behind the curtains hoping those 16-year-old Trick or Treaters will go away. This episode we look back at Mike's work by examining the venerable Halloween franchise and take a stab at reviewing David Gordon Green's revamp.Joining us to talk stabbing and screaming is Mike Muncer, creator and host of The Evolution of Horror podcast. Mike and Anna talk us through the Halloween franchise's history, talk about Jamie Lee Curtis's changing role in the story and explain how gender roles in the series have changed across the ages. Hen makes some scarily bad dad jokes.Plus! Recommends for Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House, indie drama Blindspotting and AI point-and-click adventure2064: Read Only Memories.The BFI Podcast is ...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna BogutskayaBFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter SaleScarily good:• How to watch the Halloween films and have them make sense (via Digital Spy)• John Carpenter likes playing Destiny 2• Queens of the Stone Age's Hangin' Tree is the Halloween theme sped up. Really! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hollywood resurrects A Star is Born - the story of a young woman shepherded into stardom by a self-destructive older man - roughly once every other decade. The latest version, the directorial debut of Bradley Cooper, stars Lady Gaga as a club singer whose career is shot into the stratesphere after a chance meeting with Cooper's famous and grizzled country music star.In this episode of The BFI Podcast we look back at the three versions of the story that preceded Cooper's take - from the 1930s, 1950s and 1970s - and explore what they say about men and women, fame and their era.Plus! We explain why Killing Eve is killer.The BFI Podcast is ...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna BogutskayaBFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter SaleStellar content:The New York Times tries to get Bradley Cooper to explain A Star is Born.Hadley Freeman of The Guardian charts the story's changing gender politics.Anna's new favourite song. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This much is true: we made a podcast about the film American Animals and the spate of docu-dramas (The Imposter, The Act of Killing, Catfish etc) between 2010-12 that muddled fact and fiction into an entertaining, ethically-iffy new artform.American Animals, directed by Bart Layton, is the true-ish story of four college kids who decided to rob some rare books from their local university library. Told via interviews with the robbers and dramatisations of their story, the film leaves you with the impression that you're never quite being told the whole truth.Back in the 2010s there was a whole spate of films that did this. Films like Catfish, The Act of Killing, I'm Still Here and The Imposter (also directed by Bart Layton). We talk about why this moment happened, what it meant and where it's left us now. Plus, we hear from Bart about the importance of truth in documentary, even when you're repeating a lie.The BFI Podcast is ...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna BogutskayaBFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter SaleTrust us, these are good:• The Vanity Fair story on the Transy Book Heist.• The original, true (?) story of The Imposter's Frederic Bourdain.• Why Catfish is cooked (Vulture) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writer-director-actor Desiree Akhavan (Appropriate Behaviour) joins Anna and Hen in the BFI's "glitzy" green room (there are mirrors on the ceiling) to talk about her new film, The Miseducation of Cameron Post and her new TV series, The Bisexual. Desi talks about why America loves pro-life cinema, the art of the sex scene and why it's alright to remain a teen at heart. Elsewhere, Anna slaps Hen down for knowing nothing about Joan Crawford, while Hen goes ... bananas for Mike Leigh's Nuts in May. The BFI Podcast is ...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna BogutskayaBFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter SaleThanks to our guest, Desiree Akhavan. Watch The Miseducation of Cameron Post trailer and find out more about The Bisexual. Screen therapy: • Watch Nuts in May (BBC iPlayer)• Five things you (and Hen) should know about Joan Crawford (BFI.org)• Listen to another brilliant Desiree Akhavan interview (WNYC) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BlacKkKlansman, the latest film from Spike Lee, tells the story of the black Colorado cop who konned (sorry) the klan into accepting him as a member, then brought down a chapter of the white supremicist group from the inside. Critics Kelli Weston and Kambole Campbell join us to talk Spike, race, "passing" and, inevitably, Trump.Elsewhere, Anna's been CTRL+Ting herself silly thanks to her love of desktop documentaries, while Hen thinks Last Chance U - Netflix's documentary series about small-town American football - can't lose.The BFI Podcast is ...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna BogutskayaBFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter SaleSpecial thanks to our guests, Kelli Weston and Kambole Campbell.Things to see and do:• The Guardian's Charlie Phillips on desktop docs.• The Slenderman documentary, A Self-Induced Hallucination.• Transformers 4: The Pre-make.• GQ on Last Chance U• Spike Lee's alma mater - the traditionally black Morehouse College, invites white students to attend (from Vice).• The best (old) Spike Lee interview out there. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Check your damage at the door as we raise a cup of Hull Clean to the greatest, bleakest teen movie - Heathers. Thirty years old, but still looking fresh, the film's a cynical, nasty, brilliant work. Anna interviews its director, Michael Lehmann and actor Lisanne Falk, who played Heather McNamara.Elsewhere on the show ... Hen says CONTINUE to an article about the making of the Street Fighter film, we handle Sharp Objects and try to think about what The Rock is like in bed. AND... the definitive answer to the question that's been plaguing Heathers fans for 30 years.The BFI Podcast is ...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna BogutskayaBFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter SaleMore Very:Seven Things We Love About HeathersSharp Objects Is Stunning, Raw, and Violently BeautifulThe Rock: Friend or Foe? 'I punched him so hard he cried': inside the Street Fighter movieThe Last Line Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Maurice, released in 1987 was "the OG Call Me By Your Name" (says Anna). This episode we examine the impact the Hugh Grant-starring gay love story had on film culture, rave about Atlanta season 2 and review First Reformed, Paul Schrader's glorious sermon on grief, faith and capiltalism.Anna and Henry are on Twitter. More on producer Pete at his website.Further reading / watching / listening:Where to begin with Agnès Varda.Karina Longworth's You Must Remember This.That amazing New Yorker profile of Donald Glover.ScreenPrism's video essays.Hugh Grant on Maurice.Paul Schrader on First Reformed.This episode of the BFI podcast contains clips from the following:You Must Remember This. Written and performed by Karina Longworth, 2018.Atlanta Season 2 trailer, HBO / FX Network, 2018Maurice, directed by James Ivory in 1987. Re-released by BFI Distribution, 2018.A Very English Scandal, directed by Stephen Frears and released by the BBC, 2018.First Reformed, directed by Paul Schrader, released by A24 in 2018.Our theme music is a track called Throwback Jack, written and performed by Tim Garland in 2013. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're talking about Westworld, so we'll need another host. Anna Bogutskaya - events programmer at the BFI Southbank - starts on the pod as co-host from this episode. We talk - well argue, really - about the Westworld season 2 finale, review the new British bullying drama Pin Cushion and hear from Arcadia director Paul Wright.When you're done with the show you can watch Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan's full Q&A, dig into Arcadia and get stuck into Anna's interview with Deborah Haywood about Pin Cushion. You can also contact Hen and Anna with your thoughts, fears and feedback and find out more about producer Pete.This episode of The BFI Podcast contains clips from the following:• Westworld, Season 2 (various promotional clips), released by HBO in 2018.• Arcadia, directed by Paul Wright and released by the BFI in 2018.Our theme tune is a song called Throwback Jack, written and performed by Tim Garland (2013) and used under licence through Audio Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Archive chat this episode from Vanessa Redgrave, talking to Simon Callow in 1991 about Antonioni, the "terrifying" British film industry of the 1960s and shaving her head for the concentration camp film Playing for Time. Elsewhere we talk to Pin Cushion DoP, Nicola Daley about creating the candy-coloured world of the phantasmagoric bullying drama, discuss the future of film criticism with Cinema Rediscovered producer Tara Judah and find out what kind of babysitter revolutionary fashion designer Alexander McQueen was, thanks to his nephew, Gary.The BFI Podcast is written, presented and produced by Henry Barnes. This episode contains clips from the following:Pin Cushion. Directed by Deborah Haywood and released in 2018 by Pinpoint.McQueen. Directed by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui and released in 2018 by Lionsgate.The following tracks are used under licence through Audio Network, unless otherwise credited:Throwback Jack, written and performed by Tim Garland and released in 2013.Lazy Daze, written and performed by Barrie Gledden and released in 2003.Apartment, written and performed by Chris Blackwell and released in 2009.Silent Future, written and performed by Christopher Alcock and Nick Ramm and released in 2017.Games, written and performed by Bob Bradley, Nick McEnally and Josh Weller and released in 2018. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From the stars to the gutter this episode as we plummet from the Star Wars galaxy - via an interview with Solo: A Star Wars Story third AD Donald Bentley - to the monstrous creations at the heart of Alex Winter's Freaked, which opens Glasgow's Weird Weekend festival (tickets here). Plus, Ian McKellen reminiscences about acting in his 1969 feature debut, A Touch of Love, and My Friend Dahmer director Marc Meyers wrestles with the issue of making a biopic of Jeffrey Dahmer's pre-murderous days.The BFI Podcast is written, presented and produced by Henry Barnes. This episode contains clips from the following:In the Heart of the Sea. Directed by Ron Howard and released in 2015 by Ron Howard.Solo: A Star Wars Story. Directed by Ron Howard and released in 2018 by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.My Friend Dahmer. Directed by Marc Meyers and released in 2018 by Aperture Entertainment.Freaked. Directed by Tom Stern and Alex Winter and released in 1993 by 20th Century Fox.Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam. Directed by Çetin Inanç and released in 1982 by DVD Rulers.Crime Wave. Directed by John Paizs and released in 1985.The following tracks are used under licence through Audio Network, unless otherwise credited:Throwback Jack, written and performed by Tim Garland and released in 2013.Rogue Moon, written and performed by Joachim Horsley and released in 2018.Obscurity, written and performed by Richard Lacy and released in 2017.Amongst Friends, written and performed by Gerard Presencer and released in 2016.Butter Queen, written and performed by Butthole Surfers and released in 1993. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Move 'em on, head 'em up! Head 'em up, move 'em on! This episode we round up, rope, tie and brand some archive audio of Clint Eastwood as part of the BFI Southbank's Sergio Leone season. Speaking in 1985, the actor, writer and director talks about playing The Man With No Name, explains why female actors play better psychopaths and remembers the time Muhammed Ali requested that he run him out of town. AND! Special bonus content as listeners Christopher Attaway and Bethan Lewis introduce their audio series I've Never Seen a Western.Elsewhere, we mark the marriage of Harry and Megan with Wedding Bells, a collection of free films exploring how British wedding films have changed over the years, and talk to Bath Film director Holly Tarquini about the F-Rated Day, an event spun-off from her feminist film classification system, The F Rating. Finally, we interview Filmworker director Tony Zierra, who's documentary tells the story of Leon Vitali, a man who worked himself to exhuastion in the service of the great Stanley Kubrick.LINKS:• Listen to the rest of Christopher Attaway and Bethan Lewis's I've Never Seen a Western.• Watch our free Wedding Bells films on BFI Player.• Find out more about Bath Film's F-Rated Day.The BFI podcast - four stories from across the British film industry - is written, presented and produced by Henry Barnes.This episode contains clips from the following:- Rawhide "Incident of the Hostages", directed by Don McDougall and released in 1963 by CBS.- For a Few Dollars More, directed by Sergio Leone and released in 1965 by United Artists.- A Fistful of Dollars, directed by Sergio Leone and released in 1964 by United Artists.- The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, directed by Sergio Leone and released in 1967 by United Artists.- Play Misty for Me, directed by Clint Eastwood and released in 1971 by Universal Pictures.- Filmworker, directed by Tony Zierra and released in 2018 by Dogwoof.This episode contains the following music, all used under license via Audio Network, unless otherwise stated:- Throwback Jack, written and performed by Tim Garland. Released in 2003.- Space Race, written and performed by Ivor Dvorkin and Duncan Pittock. Released in 2007.- Opas Dance, written and performed by Chaz Kkoshi. Released in 2011.- Western Sky, written and performed by Philip Guyler and Lincoln Grounds. Released in 2012.- Mother 2, written and performed by Guimba Kouyate, Jon Grandcamp, Pablo Love and Campbell E Browning. Released in 2014. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We go wild this week with a menagerie of animal-based filmic bits and bobs from across the British film industry. Weekend and 45 Years director Andrew Haigh leads in Lean On Pete, his Pacific Northwest-set drama about a wandering teen and an ageing racehorse; Writer-director Michael Pearce introduces his sprightly, nasty debut Beast and film-maker John Bradburn displays an infectious enthusiasm for Pandemic, his interactive film about pig-human hybrids. Plus, we talk to New York film journalist Nick Pinkerton about The Other Side of the 80s, his extended feature about alternative 80s film-making, which makes Sight and Sound's front cover next issue. Nick is technically an animal, which we mention only to stretch our conceit to its breaking point. *Play Pandemic here! https://blog.sciencemuseum.org.uk/pandemic-behind-the-scenes/* The BFI podcast - four stories from across the British film industry - is written, presented and produced by Henry Barnes: twitter.com/henryhbarnes?lang=en. This episode contains clips from the following: - Lean On Pete, directed by Andrew Haigh and released in 2018 by Curzon Artificial Eye. - Pandemic, directed by John Bradburn and released in 2018 by The Science Museum. - Cutter's Way, directed by Ivan Passer and released in 1981 by United Artists. - The Breakfast Club, directed by John Hughes and released in 1985 by Universal Pictures. - E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, directed by Stephen Spielberg and released in 1982 by Universal Pictures. - The Terminator, directed by James Cameron and released in 1984 by Orion Pictures. - Back to the Future, directed by Robert Zemeckis and released in 1985 by Universal Pictures. - Beast, directed by Michael Pearce and released in 2017 by 30 West. This episode contains the following music, all used under license via Audio Network, unless otherwise stated: - Throwback Jack, written and performed by Tim Garland. Released in 2003. - Island Love, written and performed by Tom Peters and Lorenzo De Feo. Released in 2017. - Your Love Part Two, written and performed by Lyndrey Holder. Released in 2017. - Time is on Your Side, written and performed by Pete Masitti and John Andrew Barrow. Released in 2017. - Left of the Dial, written and performed by Alex Chilton and The Replacements. Released in 1985. - Don't Skip Out on Me, written and performed by Richmond Fontaine. Released in 2016. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The BFI Podcast: Hugh Grant, Rupert Everett and Robin Campillo We round up the highlights of BFI Flare, Europe’s largest LGBTQ+ film festival, which included Rupert Everett instructing an audience on the fine art of re-creating Oscar Wilde’s genitals, Robin Campillo explaining how his film, 120 BPM, carries the spirit of the French Aids activist group Act Up and Hugh Grant, reflecting on the experience of “playing gay” across the years and the time he snogged a Bear (Paddington Bear AKA Ben Whishaw ... in character ... for the BBC’s upcoming Jeremy Thorpe biopic). The BFI podcast - four stories from across the British film industry - is written, presented and produced by Henry Barnes: twitter.com/henryhbarnes?lang=en.This episode contains clips from the following:- Maurice, directed by James Ivory and released in 1987 by Cinecom Pictures.- 120 BPM, directed by Robin Campillo and released in 2018 by Memento Films.- Torch Song Trilogy, directed by Paul Bogart and released in 1988 by New Line Cinema.- Three Men and a Baby, directed by Leonard Nimoy and released in 1987 by Buena Vista Pictures.- Modern Family – “The Wedding”, directed by Alisa Statman and released in 2014 by 20th Century Fox. This episode contains the following music, all used under license via Audio Network, unless otherwise stated:- Throwback Jack, written and performed by Tim Garland. Released in 2003.- Shortie, written and performed by Bob Bradley and Chris Egan. Released in 2002. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Journeyman DOP Laurie Rose tells us how he helped Paddy Considine's boxing tragedy Journeyman get into shape; The UK's best new film critic (who's 10) explains what it's like to win an Into Film award; a punk rocker presents New Wave, the new season being held as part of the BFI's African Odysseys strand; and we find some archive audio of Derek Jarman saying cheeky things about the royals. The BFI podcast - four stories from across the British film industry - is written, presented and produced by Henry Barnes: https://twitter.com/henryhbarnes?lang=en.This episode contains clips from the following: - Journeyman, directed by Paddy Considine and released in 2018 by StudioCanal.- Journey's End, directed by Saul Dibb and released in 2017 by Lionsgate. This episode contains the following music, all used under license via Audio Network, unless otherwise stated:- Throwback Jack, written and performed by Tim Garland. Released in 2003.- Soul Brother 2, written and performed by Gareth Johnson and Justin Johnson. Released in 2009. - Eastern Mystique, written and performed by Bruce Maginnis and Daniel Weltlinger. Released in 2011.- Down the Pun, written and performed by Bob Bradley and Chris Egan. Released in 2013. - Dream Number 9, written and performed by Stephanie Phillips, Chardine Taylor-Stone and Kiera Coward-Deyell. Released in 2014. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Four stories from across the British film industry, brought to you by the British Film Institute. Oscar golden boy Guillermo del Toro visited the BFI in October with his film, The Shape of Water. We used his best director and best picture wins at this week's Academy Awards as an excuse to reel out some hilarious archive audio of the event (and some fishy puns). Elsewhere, we check into Hotel Salvation, the Indian family drama about living out the last of your days in style; talk to BFI Flare senior programmer Michael Blyth about his picks from the upcoming LGBTQ+ festival and put the spotlight on the Gentle/Radical film club, a Cardiff-based group run by and for ethnic minority women. This episode of the BFI podcast includes audio clips from the following:- Throwback Jack, released in 2013. Written and performed by Tim Garland.- Smooth Grove, released in 2005. Written and performed by Gareth Johnson.- Just Let Yourself Go, released in 2017. Written and performed by Christopher Alcock and Nick Ramm.- Hidden Pearl, released in 2006. Written and performed by Tom Quick.- Desejo, released in 2012. Written and performed by Tom Quick.- Bayou, released in 2005. Written and performed by Christian Marsac. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The BFI podcast returns, rewound and restarted with a new format: four sections, four stories from across the British Film Institute. This episode we talk to Greta Gerwig about bringing home Lady Bird; find out from another 2018 Oscar-nominee, Three Billboards Outside Ebbings, Missouri editor Jon Gregory, what in his work makes the cut; preview the BFI Southbank's upcoming Working Class Heroes season; and dig into the archive to hear some vintage waffle from Ingmar Bergman regular Max von Sydow.This episode of the BFI podcast includes short clips from the following: - Lady Bird. Directed by Greta Gerwig and released by A24 in 2017. - Paper Moon. Directed by Peter Bogdanovich and released by Paramount Pictures in 1973. - The Seventh Seal. Directed by Ingmar Bergman and released by AB Svensk Filmindustri in 1957. - The Greatest Story Ever Told. Directed by George Stevens and released by United Artists in 1965. - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Directed by Martin McDonagh and released by Fox Searchlight Pictures in 2017. - Naked. Directed by Mike Leigh and released by Thin Man Films in 1993.This episode of the BFI podcast includes audio clips from the following: - Throwback Jack, released in 2013. Written and performed by Tim Garland.- Alice Childress, released in 1995. Written by Ben Folds and Anna Goodman and performed by Ben Folds Five. - It's a Feel Thing, released in 2011. Written and performed by Tim Garland.- Village Outback, released in 2013. Written and performed by Terry Divine-King. - Smoke, released in 2016. Written and performed by Bob Bradley and Neil Harland. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lewis and Matimba met up to talk about Lewis' career directing iconic TV like Humans, Broadchurch and Banana. They also ate cake. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Daniel Kaluuya joins Matimba in her kitchen to talk about writing Skins at 17 years old, shaking up Hollywood and working with people who have something to say.***Please note this podcast contains adult language.***Produced by: Marie HornerMusic by: Rory Dempsey : https://soundcloud.com/rorydempsey Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Film-making brothers James and Dave Franco popped into the BFI last week to screen The Disaster Artist, a good film about the making of one of the worst: Tommy Wiseau's The Room. James and Dave explain why The Room is lovable, despite its many flaws and how Tommy Wiseau's unorthodox career looks familiar to anyone who's tried to make it in Hollywood.This episode of the BFI podcast contains short clips of the following: - The Room, directed by Tommy Wiseau and released in 2003 by Chloe Productions and TPW Films. - The Disaster Artist, directed by James Franco and released in 2017 by A24 and Warner Bros. Pictures. The following music tracks were used under license through Audio Network: - Throwback Jack. Written and performed by Tim Garland, released i 2003. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A wide-ranging discussion on the past, present and future of artists' film in Asia with curators and artists active in the region. The symposium explores current initiatives, considering the national contexts in which the panellists work. Chaired by writer, curator and academic May Adadol Ingawanij with Hung Tran Duy, writer, curator and producer (Vietnam), Manshur Zikri, curator and researcher (Indonesia), Shai Heredia, artist and director of Experimenta India. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Focusing on Andrea Luka Zimmerman’s creative process in making her new long form work Erase and Forget, this Salon event examines the production history of the film. Chair Experimenta programmer Helen de Witt is joined by the artist, and members of her team, producers Ameenah Ayub Allen, Gareth Evans, Marta Michalowska, and editor Taina Galis for an illustrative conversation that forensically examines the complex production journey of the incredible Erase and Forget. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join NEW:VISION Award-winning artist Chen Zhou in conversation with art critic, researcher and senior lecturer at King’s College London Erika Balsom for a salon that takes Chen’s Life Imitation as a starting point for a conversation about identity, subjectivity and desire in a technologically mediated world where the fragility of the self intersects with the hyper-stereotyped gender roles of online representations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Questions of how international artists’ film engages with political realities and histories were the focus for this Experimenta Salon bringing together artists Filipa César (Spell Reel) and Narimane Mari (Le Fort des Fous) in conversation with Experimenta programmer Helen de Witt. The conversation explored legacies of violent expansionism by European colonial powers, questions of migration and the failure of current economic systems. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the first of the BFI London Film Festival’s 2017 Experimenta Salons we invited two artists featured in the programme but who have never met to discuss their work with Experimenta programmer and director of LUX Benjamin Cook. The Salon explored potential points of connections in Anne-Marie Copestake’s (A Blemished Code) and Shambhavi Kaul’s (Hijacked) work in the context of contemporary moving image practice and in relation to the wider Experimenta programme. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Powell and Pressburger’s story of war, love and the other world is being re-released by the BFI in UK cinemas in December. To celebrate BFI podcast host Henry Barnes looks back at the making of the one of the duo’s best-loved films. Starring David Niven, Kim Hunter and Roger Livesey, A Matter of Life and Death tells the story of a WWII airman (Niven) who – after surviving bailing out of his plane without a parachute – has to argue with the gatekeepers of the afterlife over his right to stay on earth. The British Film Institute's podcast is an audio adventure through the BFI's archives. Each fortnight host Henry Barnes digs into a cinematic passion, be it an actor, a director, a genre, a franchise or meme.This episode of The BFI Podcast contains clips from the following:- A Matter of Life and Death. Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger an Archers Film Productions and released in 1946 by Eagle-Lion Films. - The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp. Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger an Archers Film Productions and released in 1943 by General Film Distributors and United Artists- Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey. Directed by Pete Hewitt produced and released in 1991 by Orion Pictures. The following audio tracks were used under license from Audio Network:-Throwback Jack. Written and recorded by Tim Garland and released in 2013.- I Promise You. Written and recorded by Barrie Gledden and Tim Reilly and released in 2012. -Wish For It. Written and recorded by Christopher Brooke and released in 2014. -Coffee Cup. Written and recorded by Jason Pedder, Ashley Barnes and Douglas Brown and released in 2015. -Bizarre Outcome. Written and recorded by Paul Mottram and released in 2016. -Bearded Lady. Written and recorded by David O’Brien and released in 2017. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 61st BFI London Film Festival 2017 is here! Back in February we spoke to the festival's director Clare Stewart on growing such a world renowned festival.Produced by: Marie HornerMusic by: Rory Dempsey : https://soundcloud.com/rorydempsey Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the BFI NETWORK podcast Talent Development Manager Matimba Kabalika travels to Yorkshire to talk to writer/director Francis Lee about the making of his critically acclaimed debut feature, God's Own Country.Produced by: Marie HornerMusic by: Rory Dempsey : https://soundcloud.com/rorydempsey Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eight years ago, frustrated by mainstream Hollywood, Steven Soderbergh quit filming directing. He un-quit last week with Logan Lucky, the rural American take on his Ocean's heist movies. The director - restless and creative - continues to take artistic risks in pursuit of interesting new ideas. Often his films don't work, but there's something to love in even his worst. Here Henry Barnes presents the case for calling Soderbergh the best director in the business and shares clips from an interview with Soderbergh (and his regular star George Clooney)from the BFI archive.The British Film Institute's podcast is an audio adventure through the BFI's archives. Each fortnight host Henry Barnes digs into a cinematic passion, be it an actor, a director, a genre, a franchise or meme.This episode of The BFI Podcast contains clips from the following:- The Girlfriend Experience. Directed by Steven Soderbergh and released in 2009 by Magnolia Pictures.- Erin Brockovich. Directed by Steven Soderbergh and released in 2000 by Universal Pictures and Columbia Pictures.- Logan Lucky. Directed by Steven Soderbergh and released in 2017 by Bleecker Street and Fingerprint Releasing.The following audio tracks were used under license from Audio Network:- Throwback Jack. Written and recorded by Tim Garland and released in 2013.- Gentleways. Written and recorded by Paul Mottram and released in 2014.- Tough It Out. Written and recorded by Gareth Johnson, Simon Clarke and David Bronze and released in 2015. - Monster Groove. Written and recorded by James Taylor and released in 2016. - Ice Cream Sky. Written and recorded by Bob Bradley, Jason Pedder and Ben Ziapour and released in 2012. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Simon McCallum, programmer of the BFI's Gross Indecency season, introduces Victim, the 1961 film, starring Dirk Bogarde, that was a mainstream crime thriller unlike any other. The first English-language film to use the word "homosexual", Victim was a campaigning work, calling for an end to legislation that made homosexual relationships illegal and left thousands of men vulnerable to blackmail. Here Simon takes us through the making of the film and talks about the bravery of its star, a gay man who chose not to reveal his sexuality, but still to take a stand.The British Film Institute's podcast is an audio adventure through the BFI's archives. Each fortnight host Henry Barnes will be joined by a special guest to dig into their cinematic passion, be it an actor, a director, a genre, a franchise or meme.This episode of The BFI Podcast contains clips from the following:- Victim. Directed by Basil Dearden and released in 1961 by Rank Film Distributors.- Penny Princess. Directed by Val Guest and released in 1952 by General Film Distributors.- Death in Venice. Directed by Luchino Visconti and released in 1971 by Warner Brothers. The following audio tracks were used under license from Audio Network:- Throwback Jack. Written and recorded by Tim Garland and released in 2013.- I Need You. Written and recorded by Jason Pedder, Ashley Barnes and Douglas Brown and released in 2015.- Have a Dream. Written and recorded by Lincoln Grounds and Pat Reyford and released in 2016.- Late Night Tipsy. Written and recorded by Neil Sidwell and released in 2016.- Mooch. Written and recorded by Mark Allaway and Jeff Lardner and released in 2017. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Special guest Sam Wigley introduces Claude Chabrol, "the French Hitchcock", whose 50-plus films explored the psychology of murder with a mischievous flair. Chabrol, the first of the French New Wave directors to make a film, is often overshadowed by his flashier contemporaries. Here, Sam makes the case for celebrating the godfather of the scene: a gourmand, a revolutionary and a bit of scamp.The British Film Institute's podcast is an audio adventure through the BFI's archives. Each fortnight host Henry Barnes will be joined by a special guest to dig into their cinematic passion, be it a director, a genre, a franchise or a meme.This episode of The BFI Podcast contains clips from the following: - Le Boucher. Directed by Claude Chabrol and released in 1970 by Cinerama Releasing Corporation.- La Rupture. Directed by Claude Chabrol and released in 1970 by Gaumont Film Company and New Line Cinema. The following audio tracks were used under license from Audio Network: - Throwback Jack. Written and recorded by Tim Garland and released in 2013.- Cunning Plan. Written and recorded by Tim Garland and released in 2010.- Swinging Clock. Written and recorded by Bob Bradley and released in 2015. - Silent Desire. Written and recorded by Angel Lam and released in 2013. - Captain Jack. Written and recorded by Barry Gledden and Kes Loy and released in 2015. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The story of the New German Cinema film-makers, who magicked one of the world's most exciting cinema movements out of the creative ruin of the second world war. As the BFI's Rainer Werner Fassbinder season continues, Henry Barnes digs up archive audio of the stars of the movement, including Werner Herzog and Wim Wenders.The British Film Institute's podcast is an audio adventure through the BFI's archives. Each fortnight host Henry Barnes will be joined by a special guest to dig into their cinematic passion, be it a director, a genre, a franchise or a meme.This episode of the BFI podcast contains clips from the following: - Paris, Texas. Directed by Wim Wenders and released by 20th Century Fox in 1984. - Faraway, So Close! Directed by Wim Wenders and released by Sony Pictures Classics in 1993.The following tracks were used under license from Audio Network:- Throwback Jack. Written and performed by Tim Garland. Released in 2013.- Zen Tea Tent. Written and performed by Bob Bradley. Released in 2009.- Cosmic Hustle. Written and performed by Barrie Gledden,Tim Reilly and Jeff Dale. Released in 2014. - Obvious Youth. Written and performed by Alexis Smith and Joe Henson. Released in 2014. - Flesh and Bones. Written and performed by Tom Boddy. Released in 2015. - Sleepwalker. Written and performed by Terry Devine-King. Released in 2015. - Feel Good. Written and performed by Alex Arcoleo. Released in 2016. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sight & Sound production editor Isabel Stevens guest hosts on an episode about the history of all-female director-actor partnerships, from Frances Marion and Mary Pickford's box office busting silent films to Michelle Williams and Kelly Reichardt's collaboration, which has produced films like Wendy & Lucy and Meek's Cutoff - stories of women challenging patriarchal assumptions about their place in society. Plus, we look at the troubling relationship between director Catherine Breillat and actor Roxane Mesquida - whose second film together explored the experience of shooting of an exploitative sex scene in their first.The British Film Institute's podcast is an audio adventure through the BFI's archives. Each fortnight host Henry Barnes will be joined by a special guest to dig into their cinematic passion, be it a director, a genre, a franchise or a meme. This episode includes clips from the following films: - Dawson’s Creek, “Road Trip”, Season 1, episode 9. Directed by Steven Robman and released by Columbia TriStar Television in 1998.-Wendy & Lucy. Directed by Kelly Reichardt and released by Oscilloscope Laboratories in 2008.-Meek’s Cutoff. Directed by Kelly Reichardt and released by Oscilloscope Laboratories in 2010. -Certain Women. Directed by Kelly Reichardt and released by IFC Films in 2017.-Taxi Driver. Directed by Martin Scorsese and released by Columbia Pictures in 1976The following tracks were used under license from Audio Network: -Throwback Jack. Written and performed by Tim Garland. Released in 2013.-Sunlight. Written and performed by David O’Brien. Released in 2007. -Sunshine’s Coming Up. Written and performed by Neil Williams and Gerard Presencer. Released in 2011. -Get Connected. Written and performed by Jason Pedder, Ben Ziapour and Jamie Ziapour. Released in 2013. -Remember Our Day. Written and performed by Jeff Meegan, David Tobin, Andrew Duncan and Jason Pedder. Released in 2017.-Uluru. Written and performed by Bruce Maginnis. Released in 2017. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Part two of our special double episode on an American indie cinema heavyweight, Martin Scorsese. This episode we hear how Robert De Niro pigged out to play Raging Bull's Jake La Motta, why Scorsese angered Lorraine Bracco by pretending to be her on the set of Goodfellas and how Scorsese and one of his closest confidantes - editor Thelma Schoonmaker - have managed to keep working together for over 40 years.The British Film Institute's podcast is an audio adventure through the BFI's archives. Each fortnight host Henry Barnes will be joined by a special guest to dig into their cinematic passion, be it a director, a genre, a franchise or a meme. This week, BFI Southbank chief programmer Geoff Andrew joins us again for part two of our Marty party.This episode contains short clips from the following:- Raging Bull. Directed by Martin Scorsese, released by United Artists in 1980. - Goodfellas. Directed by Martin Scorsese, released by Warner Brothers in 1990. The following audio tracks are used under license from Audio Network Limited:- Throwback Jack by Tim Garland, released 2013.- Meltwater by Richard Lacy, released 2013.- Silent Desire by Angel Lam, released 2013.- Chicanery by Terry Divine-King and Paul Clarvis, released 2014- Progress by Bryce Jacobs, released 2017For more on the BFI's Scorsese season go to bfi.org.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The new podcast from the British Film Institute launches with the first of a two-part episode on Martin Scorsese, featuring a previously unreleased interview with the film-maker from 1987, as well as clips from the archive of writer-director Paul Schrader and actor Robert De Niro revealing what it's like to work with one of the most precise directors in film. Join Henry Barnes every two weeks for an audio adventure through the BFI's archives. Each fortnight Henry will be joined by a special guest to dig into their cinematic passion, be it a director, a genre, a franchise or a meme. This week, BFI Southbank chief programmer Geoff Andrew clambers into the pod to kick off our Marty party. This episode contains short clips from the following: - Citizen Kane. Directed by Orson Welles, released by RKO Productions and Mercury Productions in 1942. - 8 1/2. Directed by Federico Fellini, released by Cineriz and Francinex in 1963. - Rocco and his Brothers. Directed by Luchino Visconti, released by Titanus and Les Films Marceau in 1960. - New York, New York. Directed by Martin Scorsese, released by Chartoff-Winkler Productions and United Artists in 1977. The following audio tracks are used under license from Audio Network Limited: - Throwback Jack by Tim Garland, released 2013. - String Theory by Terry Divine-King, released 2012. - Canyon Lands by Adam Drake, released in 2011. - Angel Island by Terry Divine-King, released in 2015. - Good Deeds by Sam Wedgwood, released in 2017. For more on the BFI's Scorsese season go to bfi.org.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tyler Perry became a media power player through Madea, his riotous spin on the mammy stereotype. Now the richest man in entertainment, Perry's success lies in serving a black audience that has been consistently ignored by Hollywood. In the final episode of our Black Star mini-series, we look at how stars like Perry, Spike Lee and Shonda Rhimes have begun to re-wire the industry. We also examine the role of the black star in Trump's America. This episode of the Black Star contains short clips from the following: - Marlon Wayans's appearance on the Essence Live chatshow on 21 January 2016.- Boo! A Madea Halloween, directed by Tyler Perry and released by Tyler Perry Studios and Lionsgate in 2016. - The Fresh Prince of Bel Air episode "For Sale by Owner", directed by Shelley Jensen and released by The Stuffed Dog Company, Quincy Jones productions, David Salzman Entertainment and NBC Productions in 1994. - Annie, directed by Will Gluck and released by Village Roadshow Pictures, Overbrook Entertainment and Columbia Pictures in 2014.- And Fences, directed by Denzel Washington, which is set for release by Bron Creative, Macro Media, Scott Rudin Productions and Paramount Pictures on Christmas day Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the last of our suite of salons, Experimenta programmer and BFI head of cinemas Helen de Witt takes Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor’s (aka Desperate Optimists) Further Beyond and Alia Syed’s On a Wing and a Prayer as the point of departure for a conversation about journey, exile, and personal and formal risk-taking. Raising questions about the unreliability of mediation through narrative, and responding to a hazardous situation through recreating and embodying biographical details, both films use bravely exposed formal innovation to throw light on all too current questions of migration and displacement. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anja Kirschner (Moderation), Larissa Sansour and co-director Søren Lind (In the Future, They Ate from the Finest Porcelain) are invited into the BFI Studio for a lively conversation with Experimenta programmer and curator of artists’ moving image at the BFI National Archive, William Fowler. From horror to sci-fi and beyond, this salon explores how artist filmmakers are reinterpreting and manipulating genre filmmaking, what notions of genre cinema might mean when situated within an art discourse, and other related questions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To celebrate the London Film Festival screening of EXPRMNTL, a documentary about the first experimental film festival, founded in 1949, we reflect on where we have got to in the intervening years. Is there still a place for experimental film festivals? What are they for? What is the relationship between the mainstream and the fringe in contemporary film culture? To discuss these and other questions Experimenta programmer and director of LUX Benjamin Cook is joined by the directors of two of the foremost 'experimental' film festivals Amy Fung, artistic director of Toronto’s Images Festival and Peter Taylor, director of Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Questions of how the past intersects with, and is activated by, the present are concerns addressed in this Experimenta Salon that brings together Sarah Pucill (Confessions to the Mirror) and Ruth Maclennan (Hero City) in conversation with Experimenta programmer and BFI head of cinemas Helen de Witt. Creating dialogues between past and present across spans of time, both artists investigate the role of their own subjectivity in revisiting different pasts; activating those through their individual contemporary aesthetic practice to allow something new to arise from the dialogue. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Back to the 90s and the ascent of the black star as box office titan. Following in the footsteps of Pam Grier and Richard Pryor, actors like Eddie Murphy and Whoopi Goldberg used their immense popularity as comedians to push for top billing and some of the biggest pay packets in the business.- Whoopi Goldberg: Direct from Broadway. Directed by Thomas Schlamme and released by Vestron in 1985- The Color Purple, directed by Steven Spielberg and released in 1985 by Warner Brothers- Ghost, directed by Jerry Zucker and released in 1990 by Paramount Pictures- The Toy, directed by Richard Donner and released in 1982 by Columbia Pictures- Sister Act 2, directed by Bill Duke and released in 1993 by Touchstone Pictures and Buena Vista Pictures Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The one, the only, the mighty ... Pam Grier. This week the Black Star podcast pays tribute to the figurehead of the Blaxploitation movement: a star who became one of the only black women to take the fight to the men in the action genre. We also track Blaxploitation's influence, from the hip hop of Snoop Dogg and the Geto Boys to the genre's late-90s resurgence thanks - in part - to Quentin Tarantino.The Pam Grier episode of Black Star contained short clips from the following: -Foxy Brown, directed by Jack Hill and released in 1974 by American International Pictures-Coffy, directed by Jack Hill and released in 1973 by American International Pictures-Original Gangstas, directed by Larry Cohen and released in 1996 by Orien Pictures-Jackie Brown, directed by Quentin Tarantino and released in 1997 by A Band Apart, Mighty Mighty Aphrodite Productions, Laurence Bender Productions and Miramax.-Black Dynamite, directed by Scott Sanders and released in 2009 by ARS Nova and ApparitionAnd a clip from the Fox TV show Empire, first broadcast in 2015 and released by Imagine Television, Lee Daniels Entertainment, Danny Strong Productions, Little Chicken Inc and 20th Century Fox Television. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Black Star podcast continues with the story of a civil rights campaigner, who also happened to be one of the 1950s' biggest movie stars: Harry Belafonte. Tracing Belafonte’s political awakening back to Paul Robeson – and that star’s unlikely political awakening thanks to a group of striking Welsh miners – we see how Belafonte’s activism has inspired a whole new generation of political black stars. The Black Star podcast is a six-week series celebrating some of the most influential black film stars across the ages. This episode of Black Star contains short clips of the following: -The Banana Boat Song, performed by Harry Belafonte and released by RCA Victor in 1956-Jesse Williams’s speech at the 2016 BET awards, held on June 26th of this year and presented by BET Networks-Amandla Stenberg’s video essay, Don’t Cash Crop My Cornrows, produced by Quinn Masterson and Amandla StenbergAND-Harry Belafonte’s address to the 2016 #MKNOW event, footage directed by Paul Fant Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The first black person to win an Oscar, Hattie McDaniel struggled to escape the maid archetype that was the source of her success. A trailblazer, the Gone with the Wind star nevertheless became went on to perpetuate the black maid stereotype, even after her Oscar win. In the years since, black Oscar nominees have consistently been rewarded for playing abused, impoverished characters with ties to crime. We ask how much things have improved since Hattie's time. This is episode two of the BFI's Black Star podcast, a six-part series presented as part of the Black Star season, which celebrates the power and versatility of black actors.This episode of the Black Star podcast contains a clip of Hattie McDaniel accepting her Oscar in 1939, which is owned by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.It also contains short clips from: - Gone with the Wind. Directed by Victor Fleming, produced by Selznick International Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Released in 1939.- 12 Years a Slave. Directed by Steve McQueen; produced by Summit Entertainment, Regency Enterprises, River Road Entertainment, Plan B Entertainment, New Regency Productions and Film4 Productions. Released in 2013- Precious. Directed by Lee Daniels; produced by Lee Daniels Entertainment, Smokewood Entertainment, Harpo Films, 34th Street Films. Released in 2009- The Help, directed by Tate Taylor; produced by DreamWorks Pictures, Reliance Entertainment, Participant Media, Image Nation, 1492 Pictures and Harbinger Pictures. Released in 2011. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the Black Star podcast, part of the BFI's Black Star season, a UK nationwide series of screenings and events celebrating the power, range and versatility of black performers. Over six weekly episodes we'll be looking at the black film-makers who helped define their era of cinema. This week it's the story of one of the first black film directors, the prototype movie mogul who vied with DW Griffith to control the conversation about race in America in the early 20th century. His name? Oscar Micheaux. This episode of Black Star includes a clip from Selma, directed by Ava DuVernay, produced by Pathé, Plan B Entertainment, Cloud Eight Films and released in 2014.It also includes a clip from the 2016 Oscars telecast. Directed by Glenn Weiss, produced by David Hill and Reginald Hudlin and broadcast in 2016.And it includes music from the BFI's centenary edition of The Birth of a Nation. Released in 2015. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Producer Ivana Mackinnon, writer Bola Agbaje and director Caroline Bartleet talk about the challenges and opportunities in the film industry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Development Executive Angeli Mcfarlane asks some tough questions, including how to find a unique and different voice as a writer and how do you know if your script is any good? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Development Executive Angeli Mcfarlane tackles character development: what should you be asking your character and how do they relate to other people, places and problems. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Development Executive Angeli MacFarlane untangles storytelling with a group of filmmakers who had submitted to the Postroom. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matthew Bates, Sayle Screen, talks about the ins and outs of being an agent, client/agent relationships, and what agents look for when signing new talent. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jordan McGarry, Vimeo, talks about Vimeo's role in the ever evolving world of online content, having a strategy for uploading work, and that all important staff pick. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Will Massa, British Film Council, talks film festival strategy for emerging filmmakers and getting your film out there in the UK and international markets. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rachael Prior, Big Talk Pictures, talks about how she finds new writers, what she's looking for and working with some of the biggest writers in UK comedy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ben Roberts, Director of the BFI Film Fund, discusses the current landscape for filmmakers trying to make their first feature and how the BFI can support them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.