Cinema Unbound is a major UK-wide film and events programme led by BFI in partnership with BFI FAN / Film Hub Midlands’ Major Programmes, taking place Oct-Dec 2022.
CINEMA UNBOUND: THE CREATIVE WORLDS OF POWELL AND PRESSBURGER, a major BFI UK-wide film celebration of one of the greatest and most enduring filmmaking partnerships in the history of cinema: Michael Powell (1905-1990) and Emeric Pressburger (1902-1988), best known for their iconic films including The Red Shoes (1948), A Matter Of Life And Death (1946) and Black Narcissus (1947), comes to big screens nationwide this autumn.
The UK-wide celebration kicks off with the BFI Distribution re-release of I Know Where I’m Going! (1945), back in UK-wide cinemas from 20 October. I Know Where I'm Going! was recently restored by the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation in association with ITV and Park Circus, with funding for the restoration provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation with additional support provided by Matt Spick.
BFI Distribution is also re-releasing the iconic dance film The Red Shoes (1948), in honour of its 75th anniversary from 8 December. The Red Shoes was previously restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive in association with the BFI, The Film Foundation, ITV Global Entertainment Ltd., and Janus Films. Restoration funding for the film was provided by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, The Film Foundation, and the Louis B. Mayer Foundation.
Both restorations have been licensed from Park Circus/ITV.
A new restoration of Peeping Tom (1960) restored by the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation in association with Studiocanal will be released in UK cinemas by Studiocanal on 27 October.
In the Midlands, 3 FAN members are exploring the monsters of horror, with special curated seasons and unique one-off events:
Lucid Dreaming from Flatpack Festival will shed new light on the work of Powell and Pressburger through a series of special events in Shropshire and Birmingham. Acting as a curtain-raiser is a special screening of the 1949 adaptation of Mary Webb’s Gone To Earth in Much Wenlock (28 October), Webb’s hometown and the film’s principal location. Bournville’s spectacular Serbian Orthodox Church plays host to A Matter of Life and Death (November) followed by a series of talks and screenings at MAC in Birmingham where audiences will have a chance to delve into a range of
themes from Orientalism and ballet, to PTSD and Kate Bush.
Broadway Cinema in Nottingham, will screen a season curated by local Nottingham, under 25 film collective, Lounge Trip, regular Broadway programme partners, exploring Powell and Pressburger’s attitude towards style and extravagance (from November to December). This includes screenings and talks with a selection of iconic Powell and Pressburger titles and work from contemporary filmmakers that widen the scope of British filmmaking, to take a more stylised approach than the stereotype of gritty social-realist dramas. Alongside the screenings, Lounge Trip will invite young Nottingham artists and writers to respond to the films, the results of which will be published in a zine to accompany the season.
Days of Wonder presented by the FILM/GAGE team in Birmingham (1 October) is a fantastical immersive journey into the British legacy of Powell and Pressburger’s cinematic worlds with a programme of screenings and behind the scenes discussions and events, exploring their lasting creative influence, introducing audiences to worlds of fantasy and days of wonder.
For more Midlands screenings and UK Wide listings take a look at the dedicated programme website