Projecting the Archive: Bryan Forbes at 100

Actor, writer, director, producer – few figures in British cinema have displayed so much talent across as many spheres as Bryan Forbes. Frustrated by the paucity of good screen acting roles, he began writing his own, before turning to producing and directing. Later, as head of EMI, he added The Go-Between and The Railway Children to the canon of British cinema, before becoming a successful novelist.

From a working-class background, Forbes proved skilful at the sympathetic presentation of marginalised groups, particularly women; figures too often caricatured or demonised on screen were humanised through his keen observation and perceptive dialogue. His refusal to compromise, either his creative vision or his message, has bequeathed us a filmography of powerful, moving works. To celebrate his centenary year, this expanded Projecting the Archive brings six of his films to the screen, each with an introduction.