Regular programme

African Odysseys – an update (26 March 2025)

Over 17 years ago African Odysseys was co-founded by the BFI and our community partners to celebrate and platform Pan-African cinema. The influence of African Odysseys can be felt across all BFI programme from showcasing Black British stories to promoting new African and African diaspora voices.

We would like to reassure our African Odysseys audience that despite some internal staff reorganisation, we do not want this programme to end. However, African Odysseys is programmed in partnership with an external Steering Group, and we have not yet been able to agree on a shared approach to managing it.

In the meantime, our in-house programmers and external advisors and partners continue to ensure that Black British, African, and African diaspora stories are platformed and celebrated across the BFI’s public programme. We are very grateful to the dedication of the Steering Group who have partnered with us to deliver the programme over the years. We will reserve a space in our monthly programme for African Odysseys to return.

Thank you for your continued support. It means a great deal to us.

Ben Roberts
Chief Executive
BFI

Experimenta

Convention-breaking artist film and alternative moving-image culture.

Sound and Vision: Films by Helen Petts + Helen Petts in conversation with musician Steve Beresford

A screening of films by the acclaimed filmmaker followed by a discussion of her work.

What Did You Eat Today? Rose Lowder + Q&A with the filmmakers William English and Sandra Cross

French-Peruvian filmmaker Rose Lowder prepares and eats a meal in the first of a series of beguiling films that trace the echoes of action in unexpected places.

Film Wallahs

Showcasing new South Asian and world cinema, from documentary to drama

Hamlet

Riz Ahmed is riveting as a very modern Hamlet in Aneil Karia’s thrilling adaptation of Shakespeare’s play.

Projecting the Archive

Rediscovered British features from the BFI National Archive.

It’s Love Again + intro by Maureen Footer, author of Feel the Floor: Restoring the Life and Legacy of Jazz Choreographer Buddy Bradley

This ultra-stylish Jessie Matthews musical is a brilliant comedy of mistaken identity.

The Amazing Quest of Ernest Bliss (aka The Amazing Adventure) + intro by Charles Drazin, writer and film historian

In a rare British film appearance, Cary Grant is typically charismatic as a disaffected millionaire searching for meaning.

Restored

Masterpieces and recent discoveries from around the world, newly restored.

UK Premiere of 4K Restoration: Bashu, the Little Stranger + intro by film curator Ehsan Khoshbakht

The bond between an orphan and a strong, independent woman who defies tradition and authority lies at the heart of this drama by a filmmaker consistently censored by the theocratic regime of Iran.

UK Premiere of 4K Restoration: Letty Lynton + intro by Caroline Cassin, Women & Cocaine film curator

Joan Crawford’s most elusive film returns from cinematic exile in a stunning 4K restoration.

Seniors

Free and paid matinees, and talks for the over-60s.

Seniors’ Free Matinee: A Dry White Season + intro by Patrice Robinson, Film Curator

An ordinary man’s conscience is ignited as apartheid’s violence shatters his complacency, in a searing drama about moral courage and the cost of looking away.

Seniors’ Matinee: Blue Heron

In her astonishing and award-winning feature debut, director Sophy Romvari constructs a personal portrait of memory, childhood and family.

Seniors’ Free Matinee: After Hours + intro by Hannah Strong, Film Critic/h3>

This re-evaluated Scorsese romp sees Griffin Dunne as a chronically bored office worker who is drawn into the most chaotic night of his life.

Seniors’ Paid Matinee: Ish

A coming-of-age story for modern times, this powerful British debut explores the emotional cost of racism on our children.

Seniors’ Free Matinee: All About My Mother + intro

Pedro Almodóvar’s Oscar-winning masterpiece is a deeply moving, richly colourful tribute to motherhood, friendship and the families we create for ourselves.

Silent Cinema

Bringing you the best silent film from the BFI and around the world with live accompaniment.

UK premiere of 4K restoration: 3 Bad Men + intro by Bryony Dixon, Rosie Taylor and Makeda Doyal

This magnificent early John Ford western screens at the BFI for the first time.

The Adventures of Prince Achmed + panel discussion with musician Hugo Max and Lotte Reiniger scholar Tashi Petter

Lotte Reiniger’s strikingly beautiful film is an early animated classic and one not aimed at a young audience.

Woman with a Movie Camera

We celebrate women’s contribution to cinema and spotlight female stories.

Blue Black Permanent + pre-recorded intro by Beth Johnston, Filmmaker

The first feature by a female Scottish filmmaker finds a young woman embarking on a lyrical journey to understand her lineage.

Barbara Kopple Double Bill + intro by Dr Alice Pember

A double bill of Barbara Kopple’s gripping, Oscar-winning portraits of American workers fighting for dignity, survival and solidarity across two defining labour struggles.