Leading creatives reveal the films that inspire them in new online BFI Player series

Bringing together superstar cultural creators to explore independent films that have made them who they are, our unique VOD service BFI Player today launches THE CUT. This monthly series of free-to-view short films features celebrated artists and creatives from the worlds of fashion and music, science and art and design, each sharing their passion for cinema and the films that have most inspired them in their life and work.

Revealing her love for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Nymphomaniac and Jean Cocteau’s classic fantasy Orphée, THE CUT kicks off with British designer Es Devlin, one of the world’s leading stage and set designers.

Best known for her kinetic stage sculptures for artists including Beyoncé, Kanye West and Lady Gaga, as well as her role in staging the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Devlin has designed for many of the major UK theatre companies, including the Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Court Theatre and the Old Vic.

“I want to get lost in a film,” explains Devlin in THE CUT. “I want to be absolutely taken over… Some of the most extraordinary and important experiences that I’ve had in a cinemas have been, if I analyse it, independent cinema. It’s the experiences where you know you’re having a distinct engagement with a voice that hasn’t been diluted.”

Upcoming guests on THE CUT include actor, rapper and comedian Ben Bailey Smith (also known as Doc Brown) and world-renowned physicist Brian Cox, with further names to be announced.

A new short will arrive on BFI Player every month from January through to September 2018, with each artist revealing the independent films from around the world that they love. Reaching beyond the film world, THE CUT offers unique insights into how the lives and careers of iconic and respected creatives in other fields have been shaped and influenced by cinema. Each of their chosen films can be found on BFI Player, introducing audiences to titles they might not have been aware of or were hesitant to explore.

THE CUT is supported by Creative Europe, providing new content for BFI Player, a video streaming service that combines free, rental and subscription offers to provide access to the world’s greatest global cinema. It contains classic and contemporary films as well as titles hand-picked from BFI festivals, cultural programme and the BFI National Archive.