Previews and In Person

Salomé and Wilde Salomé

A unique double feature and in conversation with Al Pacino, Jessica Chastain and Stephen Fry

This event has now sold out.

21 September, 4:00 PM
NFT1, BFI Southbank

This event has now sold out.

Salomé

2013
Directed by Al Pacino
With Jessica Chastain
78 min

Oscar Wilde’s most controversial play is the story of a princess who lived in the time of Jesus. Salomé (Jessica Chastain) is in love with prophet John the Baptist, whom her stepfather, King Herod (Al Pacino), has imprisoned in a well for heresy. But her love is spurned, and after the king drunkenly promises the princess anything she wants in exchange for an erotically charged dance, Salomé puts Herod in a terrible position by demanding the head of John the Baptist - the only man the king fears.

It is a scintillating tale of lust, greed and betrayal that has spawned multiple stage productions, an opera by Richard Strauss, and influenced work by musicians including Nick Cave and U2. This stage production was filmed during its run at the Wadsworth Theatre in Los Angeles.

Wilde Salomé

2011
Directed by Al Pacino
95 min

This filmic collage captures the highs and lows of presenting a challenging work by one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, Oscar Wilde. Staging the play live in Los Angeles, director Al Pacino tackles its problems and issues and helps discover a new star, Jessica Chastain, in the title role of Salomé. Pacino also grapples with Wilde’s need to express something utterly different from anything he had written before, and with finding a way to make a movie of the entire event. An unusual, revealing and avant-garde journey into the light and heart of Oscar Wilde's masterwork.

Following the presentation of these films Al Pacino will be joined on stage by Stephen Fry ‎in a conversation that will be broadcast to cinemas across the UK.

Tickets £35, concs £30 (Members pay £1.50 less) on sale to Patrons/Champions/Members from 4pm on Tue 3 June before being made available to the public from 11:30am on Wed 4 June. Tickets limited to two per person. This ticket is inclusive of both plays and the conversation. It is not possible to buy tickets solely for the conversation.

BFI Patrons and Members enjoy priority booking to previews and events at BFI Southbank all year round as well as a great package of other benefits. Find out more at bfi.org.uk/supportus

Presented in association with Omniverse Vision and Cinestage