https://www.bfi.org.uk/articles Discover the latest from the BFI, the UK’s lead organisation for film, television and the moving image. 343c8f7d-802d-4acb-887a-3c3bbc947fca https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/darkest-hour-first-ever-film-solar-eclipse Ahead of the solar eclipse on 12 August, we shed some light on a pioneering film from 1900 which is believed to be the earliest surviving astronomical film. In this piece from our August 2019 issue, Bryony Dixon explores its backstory and how early cinema mixed science, entertainment and magic. Bryony Dixon Tue, 11 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT c4118241-d5e0-4feb-bd1b-3946e5163707 https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/bfi-supported-escapes-make-cinema-free-accessible-nationwide-with-over-100-national-lottery-funded-screenings-i-swear Escapes continues its mission to bring cinema to all, celebrate independent cinemas and bring new audiences to local venues. Emily Maskell Mon, 10 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT 7e5df4ef-b1c4-48dc-a90f-bcb8917b416e https://www.bfi.org.uk/london-film-festival/news/industry-forum-70th-bfi-london-film-festival-spotlights-uk-producers-with-pippa-harris-james-wilson-headlining The LFF Industry Forum runs from 8 to 15 October at Picturehouse Central, with accreditation for industry and press delegates now open. Mon, 10 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT 8b83ee03-904a-49b9-bdf3-b4d350092361 https://www.bfi.org.uk/interviews/incomer-director-louis-paxton Filmed on the windswept fringes of Caithness and inspired by abandoned Scottish island communities, Louis Paxton’s debut – which opens the Edinburgh International Film Festival on 13 August – blends surreal comedy, fantasy and family tension as it follows two isolated siblings and an interloper from the mainland. Lou Thomas Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT 851a1280-3a08-4009-bcbe-3452b34f7c0d https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/brian-robinson-obituary-bfi-press-officer-programmer-with-incomparable-flair The much-loved BFI press officer and long-serving programmer of BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival had an irrepressible passion for cinema history and queer culture. Simon McCallum Fri, 07 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT 1972e14c-919e-4bd5-a8e2-a744e8728772 https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/revealed-bfi-uhd-blu-ray-dvd-releases-october-december-2026 Highlights include the previously announced, gloriously nutty Madness film from 1981, Pier Paolo Pasolini's most notorious work, a classic animation from John Halas and Joy Batchelor, and a new love letter to nature, filmed on Super 8. Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT d04da480-0f93-488f-9691-18f08c500f7f https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/10-great-british-tv-shows-1976 As Nuts in May debuts on Blu-ray, we turn the clock back 50 years to see what else we were watching on British TV in 1976. Alex Ramon Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT 0ff7b706-3519-4379-b486-cfb50116aa12 https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/ken-russells-devils-definitive-4k-restoration-launch-ahead-major-bfi-retrospective BFI Distribution and Warner Bros. Clockwork unveil a 30 October 2026 cinema release and a major BFI Southbank retrospective celebrating Ken Russell’s work in summer 2027. Wed, 05 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT f61748b0-4e84-40f8-aa8d-f029cb6fef16 https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/it-earns-every-hair-it-stiffens-alejandro-amenabars-others 25 years ago, The Others chilled audiences with its creeping unease and haunted house horrors. The devil is in the details of Alejandro Amenábar’s Turn of the Screw-style story, argued Nick James in our November 2001 issue. Nick James Tue, 04 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT 9b3c8eff-b0de-422f-9aa7-946c07430475 https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/bfi-network-alumni-growth-progress-success-celebrate-2026 From BAFTA wins and major festival premieres to international development opportunities and feature debuts, BFI NETWORK alumni continue to make their mark on the global screen industry, demonstrating the long-term impact of investing in emerging filmmaking talent across the UK. Tue, 04 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT b0bee21d-1c5f-4f87-b219-ae72f39c73d2 https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/bfi-backed-ish-premieres-luton From its roots in Luton to acclaim on the international festival circuit, Imran Perretta’s debut demonstrates how National Lottery funding helps bring underrepresented stories and distinctively British voices to the screen. Emily Maskell Tue, 04 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT eebe0da5-2c1f-4ee4-923c-a253d9008a15 https://www.bfi.org.uk/london-film-festival/news/jesse-eisenberg-debut-70th-bfi-london-film-festival The LFF Closing Night Gala is hosted at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall on 18 October with screenings around the UK. Tue, 04 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT 3195dfd6-ac4a-44fa-b75b-24351130751d https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/how-nuclear-attack-locations-from-peter-watkins-war-game-look-today Sixty years after the premiere of Peter Watkins’ shocking docudrama about a nuclear attack on Britain, we go looking for the Kent locations where Watkins set the scene for a radioactive apocalypse. Adam Scovell Tue, 04 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT 46b3fc78-2a85-4a4f-ae4e-e676a5248d9e https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/ice-cream-man-sweet-treats-turn-sour-eli-roths-gory-story-evil-kids-attacking-adults A mysterious vendor serves up new flavours of ice cream that compel children to kill their parents and other authority figures in this extravagantly violent but narratively insubstantial horror flick. Kim Newman Mon, 03 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT b66c26c8-0c42-4253-adb3-5fe3d3841244 https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/watch-play-rise-video-game-adaptation With the success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, The Last of Us and Fallout, the film and TV industries are plugged into video games like never before. A genre historically spurned as a merchandising cashgrab now has some of the best filmmakers of their generation at the controls. Stuart Burnside Mon, 03 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT 7d4c0525-05a7-41bc-9951-8bcd604cf0a8 https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/spider-man-brand-new-day-underwhelming-spidey-spectacle-0 Tom Holland’s Peter Parker returns amid an existential crisis in a brand-extension blockbuster that lacks the springy spontaneity of Spider-Man: Homecoming. Adam Nayman Fri, 31 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT 6fe82846-ecae-45f2-bfde-751183b71050 https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/animal-farm-cutesy-adaptation-george-orwells-text-falls-flat Director Andy Serkis’s animation updates Orwell’s political satire into a kid-friendly triumph over adversity with sloppy slapstick and an extended fart gag. Leigh Singer Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT d0a237ee-5ffa-41ee-b6f6-6a56561996c3 https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/peter-watkins-journey-longest-film-grassroots-vision At 14.5 hours, Peter Watkins’ nuclear arms opus The Journey is one of the longest films ever made. Ahead of a rare cinema screening, we look at how – in the face of Armageddon – Watkins’ epic pieces together a blueprint for global solidarity. Benjamin Cook Wed, 29 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT f85948dd-5f55-4b0a-b102-c119c172cf60 https://www.bfi.org.uk/london-film-festival/news/simon-stone-elsinore-70th-bfi-london-film-festival The LFF Opening Night Gala is hosted at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall on 7 October with screenings around the UK. Wed, 29 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT 897789be-b87d-421e-bbc4-6c61ffdbdbf6 https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/news/sight-sound-september-2026-issue On the cover: Award-winning director Christopher Nolan on The Odyssey, oral tradition and Imax Inside: tributes to Tony Rayns, Il Cinema Ritrovato report, Becca Voelcker looks back on Chantal Akerman and Martin Scorsese’s New York, Gary Owen on bringing Effi O Blaenau to the screen, Pedro Almodóvar on Bitter Christmas, his most autofictional film to date, Maite Alberdi on her new film A Child of My Own, and as the BFI Southbank hosts a retrospective we return to our Winter 1970/71 interview with Claude Chabrol Wed, 29 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT a816bd10-854c-4281-9aac-518367402fde https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/dorde-kadijevic-obituary-leading-director-serbian-horror-radical-black-wave-movement The Serbian director – who has died aged 93 – transformed film language as a key figure of the Yugoslav Black Wave during the 1960s, made the country’s first horror and brought remarkable versatility to decades of work across film, television and drama. Mina Radovic Tue, 28 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT ed8c6067-b15c-43aa-afdf-f72a5bb5f7c6 https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/he-was-giant-work-michal-leszczylowski-editor-sacrifice-andrei-tarkovsky Now 40 years old, Andrei Tarkovsky’s final film The Sacrifice returns to cinemas this week. In this piece from our Autumn 1987 issue, the film’s editor Michal Leszczylowski recounts the year he spent collaborating with Tarkovsky, who fell ill shortly after shooting concluded. Michal Leszczylowski Thu, 17 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT c151107a-bfc0-42bc-8e74-17dc8735dd4b https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/bfi-players-august-2026-line-up A major Mark Jenkin retrospective, the welcome return of La notte and an eclectic selection of world cinema highlights make for an unforgettable August on BFI Player. Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT 1b979169-0316-4e96-be36-711d5b660760 https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/on-the-beach-stanley-kramer A haunting nuclear apocalypse drama that pairs A-list stars with an unusually intimate sense of doom, Stanley Kramer’s newly reissued On the Beach imagines humanity’s final months, finding romance, regret and fragile hope at the end of the world. Chloe Walker Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT b59203b4-c2d9-4e95-97dc-7016969701dc https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/child-my-own-maite-alberdis-tricksy-documentary-about-woman-who-stole-newborn-paints-moral-grey-areas-with-shades-pink Chilean filmmaker Maite Alberdi probes the case of Eleonor Alejandra Marín Mendoza – a Mexican woman who, after three miscarriages, faked a pregnancy and kidnapped a baby – in her stylised documentary, which seeks to understand its subject’s choices without excusing them. Katie McCabe Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT cb0f412a-7f05-4aaa-b07b-357126884b83 https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/bfi-national-lottery-creative-challenge-fund-opens-further-applications Fund will invest up to £3 million in project development programmes across the UK over three years. Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT 5c84907e-8b48-498d-b75b-72e22b4dcab9 https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/bouchra-striking-animation-about-identity-connection-creativity An animated New York populated by anthropomorphic animals is the backdrop for directors Meriem Bennani and Orian Barki’s tale of a queer filmmaker channelling her complicated relationship with her Moroccan mother into art. Blake Simons Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT 859dad56-3817-4c1e-8f4e-f8a57d39a89b https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/10-great-east-german-films Between the end of World War II and the fall of the Berlin Wall, the weird and wonderful film production line in communist East Germany included sci-fi, westerns, film noir and some uniquely disturbing fairytales. Eighty years after the formation of the DEFA film company, and with many of the films emerging on Blu-ray, we select 10 of the best. Craig Ian Mann Thu, 23 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT 7d6be5a6-ba89-4e4f-94b9-53d0c675303c https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/small-masterpiece-cinematic-storytelling-chicken-run-reviewed-2000 In his review of Nick Park and Peter Lord’s Chicken Run, Kim Newman celebrated Aardman’s feature debut as an ingenious homage to wartime escape films, brought vividly to life through expressive stop-motion animation. Kim Newman Thu, 23 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT 7d014f39-2a2d-4759-99ba-c4d7591a4699 https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/isabel-davis-appointed-director-bfi-national-lottery-filmmaking-funds Isabel Davis will lead the BFI’s £20 million annual Filmmaking Funds and its strategic support for UK independent filmmakers when she joins from Screen Scotland as Director on a five-year contract starting in October 2026. Thu, 23 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT