BFI announce programme highlights for January 2025

The BFI announce the programme for January 2025 at BFI Southbank, starting with SIDNEY POITIER: HIS OWN PERSON, a major celebration of the trailblazing actor, director and activist who broke barriers with a filmography that showcased his dazzling vitality and made him cinema’s first Black superstar.

The season, programmed by Jonathan Ali, will reflect on the progression of Poitier’s vast career and commemorate his legacy, from early work such asNO WAY OUT (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1950) and BLACKBOARD JUNGLE (Richard Brooks, 1955), to the films in which he was Hollywood’s biggest box office draw,GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER (Stanley Kramer, 1967) and IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (Norman Jewison, 1967). Conscious of a responsibility that came with his success, Poitier initially cultivated a persona of virtue and respectability, but when audiences began to demand an edgier Black hero he also used his clout to direct and star in films reflecting the new mood. As times changed, so did the Poitier persona – from actor, to director, to legend – and the season also features films that demonstrate this era in his career, includingTHE LOST MAN (Robert Alan Arthur, 1969), A WARM DECEMBER (Sidney Poitier, 1973), THE WILBY CONSPIRACY (Ralph Nelson, 1975), STIR CRAZY (Sidney Poitier, 1980) and SNEAKERS (Phil Alden Robinson, 1992).A special event on the second anniversary of Poitier’s passing (6 January), For Love of Sidney Poitier will see season programmer Jonathan Ali and a panel of special guests consider Poitier’s key roles and films, positioning his filmography in the wider landscape of Hollywood while reflecting on his legacy and his role in inspiring future generations.  

Also taking place in January will be LUCHINO VISCONTI: DECADENCE AND DECAY, curated by film critic Christina Newland and presented in partnership with Cinecittà, who are providing several 35mm prints and 4K restorations for the season.A pioneer of the Italian neorealism movement, as well as a maestro of luxurious historical drama, Visconti was an artist of great contradiction and a singular product of his time.  With an eye for the darkness of dynastic power struggles and the volatility of men obsessed by the past, his work revelled in wry humour and bold sensuality, from his early neorealist pictures to the opulent period pieces he would become known for.Behind the painterly elegance, Visconti’s cinema is one of queer desire, hysteria and transgression, and the BFI season will feature something for audiences both familiar with his work, and those discovering it for the first time – from lesser-known gems to canonical classics. The centrepiece will be the BFI Distribution re-release of ROCCO AND HIS BROTHERS (1960), in select cinemas UK-wide and on BFI Player from 3 January, a beautiful epic of family, love, pugilism and tested loyalty, starring Alain Delon as the eponymous Rocco. Further titles screening will include OSSESSIONE (1943), LA TERRA TREMA (1948), THE LEOPARD (1963), THE DAMNED (1969), DEATH IN VENICE (1971), LUDWIG (1973) and THE INNOCENT (1976). For audiences wishing to delve deeper into his work, there will be a season launch event on 9 January, a talk for members of the BFI’s 25 & Under scheme on 11 January, and a City Lit course running from 15 January – 6 February.

Special events in January will include a preview of MEMOIR OF A SNAIL (Adam Elliott, 2024), which won the Best Film Award at this year’s BFI London Film Festival, followed by a Q&A with Adam Elliot on 17 January.This funny and moving stop-motion triumph, starring Sarah Snook, Eric Bana and Jacki Weaver, follows twins Grace and Gilbert who are separated in 1970s Australia due to tragic circumstances.While Gilbert is ensconced with a religious fundamentalist family, Grace is sent to live with a ‘swinger’ couple. Her life changes when she meets old Pinkie, who has ‘done it all’ – from making love to John Denver, to playing ping pong with Fidel Castro. Meanwhile, a TV preview of BRIAN AND MAGGIE (Channel 4/Baby Cow Productions, 2024) on 27 January will be followed by a Q&A with Steve Coogan, Harriet Walter and key members of the creative team. From writer James Graham (Sherwood) and director Stephen Frears, this scintillating drama reconstructs the seismic LWT interview that reshaped national opinion and, in many ways, signalled the end of Thatcher’s premiership, starring Coogan as politician-turned-journalist Brian Walden and Walter as Margaret Thatcher.

Also in January will be a focus on Alain Tanner, a filmmaker who was concerned with the connection between artists, the state, and the political landscapes that formed them. ALFONSO CUÁRON PRESENTS: ALAIN TANNER is curated by the Academy Award® winning director Alfonso Cuáron, who has chosen to screen four films by Tanner, all of which will play from digital restorations: CHARLES, DEAD OR ALIVE (1969), THE SALAMANDER (1971), JONAH WHO WILL BE 25 IN THE YEAR 2000 (1976) and IN THE WHITE CITY (1983). January sees the return of FOCUS HONG KONG, including the UK Premiere of TRUE LOVE, FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE (Siu Koon-ho, 2024),ALL SHALL BE WELL (Ray Yeung, 2024) and SHANGHAI BLUES (Tsui Hark, 1984). Meanwhile, the annual LONDON SHORT FILM FESTIVAL also returns with a programme dedicated to the work of Deaf filmmakers as well as four Competition programmes of new UK and International shorts. This year’s LSFF also features a special programme,HOLIDAYS ON MARS: THE 16MM FILMS OF HARRY HILL, featuring rare 16mm shorts made in the 90s by then-rising-star Harry Hill and experimental filmmaker and projectionist David Leister. Both Hill and Leister will take part in a Q&A following a screening of these madcap DIY shorts on 19 January, projected from original 16mm prints.