Talks, interviews and trailers

Latest videos

Strike: The Cuckoo’s Calling makers: “There’s definitely pressure when you’re adapting J.K. Rowling”

The stars of the BBC’s new detective drama on making a magic adaptation of the author’s other books.
Prejudice and Pride contributors: “We must never let anyone treat us that way again”

The makers of a documentary about how LGBTQI lives have changed since 1967 talk about their passion for pushing for equality.
Queerama director: ‘It's not OK to say “This is Queer and it represents everyone”’

Daisy Asquith on why representing 100 years of LGBTQI life with one film is an impossible task.
City of Ghosts director: “Shying away from the violence would do an injustice to the horror in Raqqa”

Director Matthew Heineman on his struggle to accurately depict the violence experienced by Syrians under ISIS rule.
BFI London Film Festival 2017: Coming Soon

The full programme for the 61st BFI London Film Festival will be unveiled on 31 August.
Hotel Salvation filmmakers: “Varanasi is a hyper-coloured place but it’s also a city of death”

How India’s holy city of Varanasi inspired a UNESCO prize-winning comedy.
Chubby Funny filmmakers: “Our production base was a pub”

The stars of a film about a struggling actor talk about making low-budget comedy.
Toby Jones on Apocalypse Now Redux: “I'm obsessed with its legend”

The venerated character actor explains why Francis Ford Coppola’s Vietnam war movie is a favourite film.
Brakes director Mercedes Grower: “I was always fascinated by the idea of splitting up”

The director of a comedy drama about the break-up of a dozen couples explains why the end of love is a good start for comedy.

In conversation

Hanna Schygulla on Rainer Werner Fassbinder: “We didn’t realise what his work was really into”

The New German cinema star describes the chaotic creation of The Marriage of Maria Braun.
Trevor Griffiths: “Gratitude is necessary towards the end of a life”

The dramatist behind The Cherry Orchard and Oi for England reflects on a life in TV, theatre and film.
Ashutosh Gowariker: “Lagaan put us on an international map”

The celebrated director behind landmark Bollywood hit Lagaan reflects on the highlights of his career to date.

Talks

John Hurt memorial: Stephen Fry, Toby Jones and Shia LaBeouf pay tribute

The family and friends of the actor remember his life and career.
Under the influence: RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Sharon Needles

RuPaul’s Drag Race champion Sharon Needles discusses the 80s horror films that inspired her drag.
Sir David Attenborough on natural history TV

The world’s pre-eminent natural history broadcaster discusses the natural world on TV in the 1950s and 60s.

In focus: documentary

Jenny Gage on All This Panic's teenage subjects: ‘Tight bonds, great friendships and some drama’

Director Jenny Gage talks about making a documentary about two teenage sisters growing up in New York City.
Louise Osmond on Versus: The Life and Films of Ken Loach

The director discusses her documentary about the life and career of the veteran filmmaker and two-time Palme d’Or winner.
Director Fenton Bailey on Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures

Fenton Bailey on his documentary about the legendary photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.

In focus: artists’ film & video

Ben Rivers and Shezad Dawood in conversation

The artist-filmmakers discuss their work, including their film The Two Eyes Are Not Brothers (2015).
Ann Guedes and Steve Sprung on Cinema Action

Members of the filmmaking collective Cinema Action (1968-1970) discuss their work and how they captured key political and union actions.
Visual Pleasure at 40: Laura Mulvey in discussion

Filmmakers and critics mark the 40th anniversary of Laura Mulvey’s landmark 1975 essay on film and feminist theory, ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’.

Video essays

How to make a Sofia Coppola film

Wealth! Pastels! Crushing loneliness! Your five-point guide to making films like the Virgin Suicides director.
How to make an Edgar Wright film

Our guide to making full-speed films like Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead and Baby Driver.
How One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest incubated a generation of supporting actors

“Miloš Forman’s film starred Jack Nicholson, but also helped a generation of character actors hatch their careers”.
How to make a David Lynch film

Make your films as weird and disturbing as David Lynch’s … in six easy steps!
Walking into Film History: Alan Clarke’s Steadicam Shots

How the cinematography of a British film and TV maverick redefined walking on screen.
Hamlet on Film: To Be or Not to Be?

What makes Hamlet so infinitely quotable, and adaptable for film? In a new video essay, we explore the journey from play to cinema.
Jean-Luc Godard as Architect

Watch this video essay focusing on the director’s interest in how buildings and spaces change over time and how they change us.
“Could You Really Say Goodbye?”: Brief Encounter’s Carnforth Station

We visited Carnforth railway station to explore its history as a key location for David Lean’s classic British romance.
The Unlovable James Bond

Watch a video essay exploring how 007’s relationships with women have changed as he’s developed into the vulnerable secret agent we now recognise.
Lips, Love and Power: 120 Years of the Cinematic Kiss

An in-depth video essay exploring over a century of the screen kiss, delving into gender, race and sexuality.