BFI Player’s July 2025 line-up
Plunge into July’s BFI Player line-up, which once again gathers the greatest in world cinema, white-hot and riveting.
Immerse yourself with a dive into the cooling waters of celluloid swimming pools. Come up for air with a celebration of the majestic Moviedrome, BBC2’s Sunday-night film school for the soul that gathered brilliant cult cinema for a new audience – a mission that BFI Player is proud to continue.
BFI Player is the go-to streaming platform for independent film lovers where you can discover critically acclaimed and award-winning new, cult and classic movies anytime from just £6.99 per month.
For a limited time only, enjoy a whole year of streaming for just £50 when you subscribe annually using voucher code SUMMER50 – terms apply. Head to player.bfi.org.uk to take up this offer and start your 14-day free trial.
1 July
Insomnia
2002/US
Al Pacino shines in Christopher Nolan’s smart psychological thriller about a weary detective chasing a murder suspect in remote Alaska.
Following
1998/UK
Christopher Nolan’s gritty neo-noir first feature about a young London writer who gets drawn into a criminal underworld.
Student Services
2010/France
A cash-strapped student becomes an escort exposing the stark realities of economic exploitation in this uncompromising gritty French drama.
The Long Walk
2019/Laos
An old Laotian farmer, haunted by past trauma, encounters a ghost who transports him back in time, in Mattie Do’s evocative genre-bending film.
7 July
April
2024/Italy
Subscription exclusive: A doctor in rural Georgia faces scrutiny after a baby dies during childbirth in this affecting and atmospheric abortion drama.
Morvern Callar
2002/UK
Samantha Morton plays the enigmatic title character in Lynne Ramsay’s dreamy and atmospheric road movie.
9 July
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
2024/Germany
Subscription exclusive: Mohammad Rasoulof’s powerful, vital, Oscar and BAFTA-nominated thriller about a bureaucrat torn between loyalty to his family and the Iranian regime.
There Is No Evil
2020/Iran
Mohammad Rasoulof’s critical anthology film tells the stories of four executioners in Iran and the profound psychological impact of the practice.
10 July
Five Easy Pieces
1970/US
Jack Nicholson excels in Bob Rafelson’s vivid study of a middle-class musician rebelling against his family – and himself.
Fat City
1972/US
A washed-up boxer (Stacy Keach) and young hopeful (Jeff Bridges) navigate dreams and despair in John Huston’s gritty boxing drama.
To Sleep with Anger
1990/US
Charles Burnett’s brilliant drama about an African American family reeling from a surprise visit from an old friend, played by Danny Glover.
The Reckless Moment
1949/US
Joan Bennett and James Mason become entangled in a web of secrets and unexpected attraction in Max Ophüls’ masterful domestic noir.
A Bullet for the General
1966/Italy
At the height of the Mexican Revolution, a mysterious gringo infiltrates a gang of bandits in Damiano Damiani’s radical western.
Django
1966/Italy
Sergio Corbucci’s iconic and hugely influential western follows the titular coffin-dragging drifter as he becomes embroiled in a mortal feud.
Highway Patrolman
1991/Mexico
Alex Cox’s Mexican film follows the journey of a highway patrolman whose idealism eventually gives way to inevitable corruption.
The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey
1988/New Zealand
A group of medieval English villagers find themselves transported to ’80s New Zealand in Vincent Ward’s fusion of fantasy and time-travel.
White of the Eye
1987/UK
British visionary Donald Cammell directs this kaleidoscopic, highly stylised thriller about a series of brutal murders in an isolated community.
Society
1989/US
Teenager Bill Whitney (Billy Warlock) has always felt like the odd one out in his wealthy, upper-class Beverly Hills family. For some reason, he just doesn’t seem to fit in.
16 July
Swimming Home
2024/UK
Subscription exclusive: A family finds a stranger floating naked in their swimming pool in this sensual, sun-baked drama starring Christopher Abbot.
17 July
La Piscine
1969/France
A ménage à trois stirs passion and jealousy beside a secluded pool in this sultry, French cult-thriller.
Swimming Pool
2003/France
A crime novelist seeks peace but gets a dangerous muse in this twisted bilingual thriller from François Ozon.
21 July
Subscription exclusive: Hugely creative biographical film full of charm and intrigue, uncovering the remarkable story of Geraldine Flower and a suitcase of love letters.
Jarvis Cocker performs live in a cave in this spectacular concert film captured by BAFTA-nominated filmmaking duo, Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard.
Paradise Lost?
2015/UK
Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard’s extraordinary interpretation of John Milton’s classic tale, starring Florence Pugh.
Edit
2014/UK
Short film by musician Joe McAlinden (BMX Bandits) and artists Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard (20,000 Days on Earth) about loss, truth and the emotional power of the sea
24 July
The Ear
1969/Czechoslovakia
An official finds his home under surveillance and his marriage facing turbulence in this Orwellian portrait of life in Communist-era Czechoslovakia.