Features and reviews

Discover the latest from the BFI, the UK’s lead organisation for film, television and the moving image.

From the Sight and Sound archive

“Offers more hope than any other British film of the 1980s so far”: Local Hero reviewed in 1983

As a new 35mm print of Local Hero plays at the BFI Film on Film Festival, we revisit our review of Bill Forsyth’s Ealing-esque comedy from our Spring 1983 issue.

By Nick Roddick

“Offers more hope than any other British film of the 1980s so far”: Local Hero reviewed in 1983

Reviews

Lollipop: an emotional rollercoaster through the UK’s Kafka-esque social housing system

By Catherine Wheatley

Lollipop: an emotional rollercoaster through the UK’s Kafka-esque social housing system

10 great

10 great British animated feature films

By Jez Stewart

10 great British animated feature films

Interviews

“Sometimes you don’t need to have gone to film school”: Daisy-May Hudson on her debut fiction feature Lollipop

By Rachel Pronger

“Sometimes you don’t need to have gone to film school”: Daisy-May Hudson on her debut fiction feature Lollipop

News

Sam Riley thriller Islands to be released by BFI Distribution in the UK and Ireland

Interviews

Backwards through the backwoods: music editors Dean Hurley and Lori Eschler on Twin Peaks

By Sam Davies

Backwards through the backwoods: music editors Dean Hurley and Lori Eschler on Twin Peaks

Festivals

Celluloid celebration: the BFI Film on Film Festival 2025

By Pamela Hutchinson

Celluloid celebration: the BFI Film on Film Festival 2025

Then and now

60 years of Repulsion: how the London locations look today

By Adam Scovell

60 years of Repulsion: how the London locations look today

News

Using iterative possibility research sprints to redevelop our cinema websites

By Olivia Gerber

Using iterative possibility research sprints to redevelop our cinema websites

Black Film Bulletin

Black Rodeo: the cinematic wild west re-envisioned

By Mia Mask

Black Rodeo: the cinematic wild west re-envisioned

Black Film Bulletin

Paulin Soumanou Vieyra at 100: a quiet construction

By Tambay Obenson

Paulin Soumanou Vieyra at 100: a quiet construction

Interviews

Takeshi Kitano, a rare interview: “There are diverse patterns of queerness in Japanese society”

By Blake Simons

Takeshi Kitano, a rare interview: “There are diverse patterns of queerness in Japanese society”

Black Film Bulletin

Blacks Britannica: ‘storm chasing’ in search of Black Britishness

By Lanre Bakare

Blacks Britannica: ‘storm chasing’ in search of Black Britishness

From the Sight and Sound archive

“One thing this endlessly prurient film never shows is female sexual pleasure”: Showgirls reviewed in 1996

By Claire Monk

“One thing this endlessly prurient film never shows is female sexual pleasure”: Showgirls reviewed in 1996

News

Dr Clive Chijioke Nwonka appointed as BFI Professor in Practice

News

BFI and CoSTAR launch report on generative AI for the screen industries

Interviews

The game of observation: a new interview with Darling and Eyes Wide Shut screenwriter Frederic Raphael

By Alex Ramon

The game of observation: a new interview with Darling and Eyes Wide Shut screenwriter Frederic Raphael

News

Future Film goes full-time: BFI launches the year-round Future Film Programme for 16 to 25s

10 great

10 great films set in Las Vegas

By Rory Doherty

10 great films set in Las Vegas

Reviews

Ballerina: a lifeless John Wick spin-off

By Adam Nayman

Ballerina: a lifeless John Wick spin-off

From the Sight and Sound archive

“I’m telling the story of me... it might set a trend”: George Lucas on the set of Star Wars

By Philip Strick

“I’m telling the story of me... it might set a trend”: George Lucas on the set of Star Wars

Reviews

The Encampments: timely documentary captures the spirit of university students’ pro-Palestine protests

By Tara Judah

The Encampments: timely documentary captures the spirit of university students’ pro-Palestine protests

Festivals

Die My Love: Lynne Ramsay unlocks a fearless performance from Jennifer Lawrence

By Jessica Kiang

Die My Love: Lynne Ramsay unlocks a fearless performance from Jennifer Lawrence

News

BFI 4K UHD and Blu-rays announced for August and September: Kurosawa, Herzog and a long unavailable sci-fi series

From the Sight and Sound archive

“We need to proceed with great caution”: Natasha Lyonne on AI and the Sag-Aftra strike

By Dominic Lees

“We need to proceed with great caution”: Natasha Lyonne on AI and the Sag-Aftra strike

Interviews

“I wanted to approach the curation from a position of abundance”: Wanda and Beyond curator Elena Gorfinkel on her season around one-feature filmmaker Barbara Loden

By Rachel Pronger

“I wanted to approach the curation from a position of abundance”: Wanda and Beyond curator Elena Gorfinkel on her season around one-feature filmmaker Barbara Loden

Finest hours

Finest hours: Tony Curtis in The Boston Strangler

By Brogan Morris

Finest hours: Tony Curtis in The Boston Strangler

Obituaries

Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina obituary: the first Arab and African director to win Cannes’ Palme d’Or

By Joseph Fahim

Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina obituary: the first Arab and African director to win Cannes’ Palme d’Or

Interviews

“The audience will forgive bad animating but they’ll never forgive a bad story”: Adam Elliot on Memoir of a Snail

By Katie McCabe

“The audience will forgive bad animating but they’ll never forgive a bad story”: Adam Elliot on Memoir of a Snail

Reviews

The Ballad of Wallis Island: A folk duo is reunited by an obsessive fan in this bittersweet British comedy

By Francesca Steele

The Ballad of Wallis Island: A folk duo is reunited by an obsessive fan in this bittersweet British comedy