BFI Player’s May 2026 line-up

Chutzpah and swagger open the month as Richard Linklater recreates the first splash of the French New Wave, in Nouvelle Vague – a subscription exclusive. From Breathless we move to sleepless, and a Nordic noir in a town immune to sunsets; if you seek films that shine, there’s six Brazilian classics from Cinema Novo to the gutsy, impressive work of recent years.

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Nouvelle Vague 
France/2025
Subscription exclusive
BAFTA-winning director Richard Linklater recreates the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s seminal feature debut, Breathless.

Medusa 
Brazil/2021
Electrifying genre-bending horror about a gang of masked vigilantes who target women they deem to be sinful.

The Fever 
Brazil/2019
A security guard at the Port of Manaus in the Amazon begins to develop a mysterious fever, as news reports emerge about a wild animal on the loose.

Hard Paint
Brazil/2018 
A young Brazilian man makes money performing erotic dances in chat rooms before a passionate relationship with a rival leads to far-reaching consequences.

Macunaíma
Brazil/1969 
An anarchic 60s comedy that mixes ancient myths, racial burlesque, and urban guerrillas into a hallucinatory experience.

Black God White Devil
Brazil/1964
Wanted for murder, Manuel and his wife are on the run in Glauber Rocha’s masterpiece and banner film of Brazil’s Cinema Novo movement.

This Night I’ll Possess Your Corpse
Brazil/1967 
Brazilian horror icon Coffin Joe returns to terrorise the locals as he searches for the perfect mate.

D is for Distance
Finland/2025
Subscription exclusive
A heartbreaking and powerful film about Louis Petit’s severe memory-erasing epilepsy, as documented by his filmmaker parents.

Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore
United States/2025
An in-depth look at Marlee Matlin’s trailblazing career – from her Oscar-winning performance aged 21 through to her advocacy for the Deaf community.

The Party
United Kingdom/2017
Subscription exclusive
Following some unexpected revelations, a celebration quickly takes a turn for the worse in Sally Potter’s razor-sharp comedy starring Kristin Scott-Thomas and Cillian Murphy.

Twentynine Palms
France/2003
Subscription exclusive
A young couple take a road trip through the Californian desert towards a shocking climax in Bruno Dumont’s stripped-back horror.

Insomnia
Norway/1997
Psychological Nordic noir starring Stellan Skarsgård as a detective losing his mind while investigating a murder in a town bathed in 24-hour daylight. 

Ascendancy
United Kingdom/1983
An English aristocrat is driven to despair over the effects of violence on her family in Edward Bennett’s powerful film, which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.

Maeve
United Kingdom/1981
Pat Murphy and John Davis’ experimental film brings a feminist perspective to the conventional narrative of the Troubles and Irish nationalism.