Beyond the Frame: Women Filmmakers and their Archives

‘My practice is concerned with unheard voices, untold stories. In other words: who is allowed to speak? Who do the stories belong to? Who is the intended audience?’
– Tina Gharavi

As part of two major projects on the archives of women filmmakers, we present a short season of films and events exploring the legacy of Tina Gharavi and Gurinder Chadha. Both filmmakers embrace themes of identity, gender and politics, and their archives provide insight into what it means to be a global majority filmmaker within the industry. Their films engage with some of the most pressing questions of our time.

The programme considers their body of work in the context of their archives, currently being researched and catalogued at the BFI National Archive as part of Women’s Screen Work in Archives Made Visible project which seeks to make the work of women in film and their archives more discoverable, and the Our Screen Heritage project which explores how we capture filmmakers’ digital archives for current and future audiences.

Wendy Russell and Grace Johnston, season curators

In Frame: Tina Gharavi

A chance to hear from acclaimed director Tina Gharavi about her work and legacy.

In Frame: Gurinder Chadha

Gurinder Chadha joins us to talk about the cultural impact of her beloved filmography.

I Am Nasrine + intro by Wendy Russell, BFI Screencraft Archivist

The BAFTA-nominated drama about Iranian siblings making a new life for themselves in the UK.

The Short Films of Tina Gharavi + intro by Chantelle Boyea, BFI Assistant Curator of Television

This collection of Tina Gharavi’s short film work highlights the talent and vision that resulted in her international acclaim.

Bend It Like Beckham + discussion with artists Athen Kardashian and Nina Mhach Durban

Gurinder Chadha’s feel-good sports comedy is a smart, funny and uplifting tale of ambition, identity and friendship.

Bride and Prejudice + intro by Grace Johnston, BFI Special Collections Digital Archivist

Gurinder Chadha’s inspired take on the classic Jane Austen novel makes the most of culture clashes to deliver a supremely entertaining portrait of cultural difference.

Installation

Even if the world forgets me, you please don’t

See this new artwork installation by Athen Kardashian and Nina Mhach Durban, responding to the archive of filmmaker Gurinder Chadha OBE.

The Gurinder Chadha Collection and the Tina Gharavi Collection are both held at Screencraft, BFI National Archive, Conservation Centre, Berkhamsted.

Presented with the support of the BFI Screen Heritage Fund, awarding National Lottery funding. Women’s Screen Work in the Archives Made Visible is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The project is led from the University of Exeter, with a project team at the BFI, Universities of Southampton, Swansea and Bill Douglas Cinema Museum.