BFI Player’s July 2026 line-up
Otherworldly visitors meet radical homegrown visions in a July line-up spanning sci-fi classics, Free Cinema landmarks and early Peter Weir gems.
Strangers from strange lands dominate as those Invaders from Mars fly back, while off-world visitors include Tilda Swinton in Friendship’s Death, and the real story of Ripley and the Nostromo. Back in reality, we celebrate Free Cinema, stream a 1919 documentary of Antarctic survival and move from water to Weir, with two early features from the Australian master prior to Hollywood glory.
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1 July
Ultras
Subscription exclusive
Forget the dramatic headlines and take a joyful deep dive into ‘the world’s most popular subculture’: football’s infamous ultras.
Christopher Marlowe’s 16th-century play is radically adapted by Derek Jarman in one of his most powerful films, starring Tilda Swinton.
Two deaf-mute dock workers eke out a humble existence in London’s East End in Lorenza Mazzetti’s striking example of Free Cinema.
6 July
Tilda Swinton plays an extra-terrestrial android discussing life’s big questions in this unique sci-fi by influential film theorist Peter Wollen.
Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not on Mulholland Drive anymore…the fascinating influence of The Wizard of Oz on David Lynch’s filmmaking.
A film for frenetic times, this soothing documentary explores the celebrated composer’s 8-hour concept album as it is performed around the world.
The untold origin story behind Ridley Scott’s Alien, one of Hollywood’s most beloved and iconic shockers.
13 July
Palestine ‘36
Subscription exclusive
Acclaimed Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir’s most ambitious work is a powerful exploration of the events leading up to the Arab Revolt of 1936.
The ground-breaking debut feature from Sally Potter (Orlando) stars Julie Christie and is a key film in early 1980s feminist cinema.
This restored treasure from the BFI National Archive is an authentic portait of the visionary Gerrard Winstanley who led a group of impoverished ‘Diggers’ to assert their common rights.
20 July
From 300 million miles away… invaders from Mars! A landmark in sci-fi cinema, this sci-fi horror inspired filmmakers as wide ranging as Don Coscarelli, Brad Bird and John Carpenter.
A key film of the Black Film Workshop movement – this London-set visual mosaic by Maureen Blackwood and Isaac Julien captures the richness and complexity of 1980s Black British life.
Five strangers explore their fantasies over a period of five days in Stephen Dwoskin’s remarkable experimental film.
An extraordinary story of Shackleton’s survival in the wastes of Antarctica, now considered the world’s first documentary feature.
27 July
Colin Hickey’s stunning black-and-white film is a dreamlike, free flowing portrait of growing up in coastal Ireland.
Peter Weir’s debut feature – a favourite of Kubrick’s and a direct inspiration for George Miller’s Mad Max series – is a mordant black comedy satirising small-town life and a gem of Ozploitation cinema.
Biting and unpredictable social satire from Peter Weir about a young student troubled by repeat visits from her building’s gregarious repairman.
