BFI Member exclusives

BFI Member Picks

BFI Members share their go-to film, the one to watch on a desert island, along with reasons why you’d never tire of watching it.

Share your pick

Share your choice with us and your film could be the next to be screened in our regular strand exclusively for BFI Members and guests at BFI Southbank.
Share your pick

Member Picks screened so far

Amelie
July 2017
“Bright and whimsical, and filmed with dazzling virtuosity, Amelie is the very definition of feel-good.”
– Richard Pickard, BFI Member

Oklahoma!
May 2017
– Ray Deahl, BFI Member

Fat City
March 2017
“It's a beautiful, witty and sad film. The actors bring so much emotional weight to their characters, and the ending is perfect. This is one of the best and most undervalued films of the 70s.”
– Philip Concannon, BFI Member

Sweet Smell of Success
January 2017
“The dialogue snaps and crackles. Burt Lancaster mesmerises and Tony Curtis gets his chance to prove what a good actor he is. A truly extraordinary film.”
– Gavin Arthur, BFI Member

Born Yesterday
September 2016
“Judy Holliday’s exceptional performance as Billie says so much about the contradictory messages of what it was to be a woman in Cold War America.”
– Matthew Motyka, BFI Member

Rear Window
August 2016
“This film holds a mirror up to our own voyeurism and inadequacies. By turns witty and scary, but always gripping - it’s truly perfect.”
– Dion Blackler, BFI Member

Dog Day Afternoon
July 2016
“An amazing script, thrilling direction and great performances make a cracking story."
– Johnathan Storey, BFI Member

Odd Man Out
June 2016
“This is the greatest Irish political thriller on film, with a taut and tense plot and amazing performances."
– G Benson, BFI Member

Point Blank
May 2016
“Lee Marvin's performance is superb!”
– Alan Watson, BFI Member

Local Hero
April 2016
“Magical, funny, sad, wistful.”
– John Hackett, BFI Member

A Man For All Seasons
March 2016
“I never get tired of watching it!”
– David Ogle, BFI Member

The Women
January 2016
“I would so like to be able to bring my daughters to a screening of this film.”
– Tracey Phillipson, BFI Member

The Thing
December 2015
“This film scared, repulsed and thrilled me in equal measure when I first saw it. Great setting, actors, special effects and a fantastic ending. A classic early Carpenter.”
– Pam Creais, BFI Member

Groundhog Day
October 2015
“This very clever and funny film, with Bill Murray at his best, introduced me to the American phrase, ‘It's a Doozy!’”
– Tracy Richardson, BFI Member

Lost in Translation
September 2015
“I love how being in a strange city connects these two lost souls.”
– Amelia Hodgson, BFI Member

Top Hat
August 2015
“This is the quintessential Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movie from the historic RKO studios. A masterclass in dance and song narrative.”
– Lauren Brady, BFI Member

Don’t Look Now
July2015
“It’s a film that continually reappraises relationships as you view it through the perspective of different ages!”
– Madelaine Cooper, BFI Member

Amadeus (Director’s Cut)
June 2015
“It’s pure cinema entertainment. Indulge in maybe the finest period recreation on film – 18th-century Vienna is pure opulence.”
– Valentine Montagnani, BFI Member

Double Indemnity
May
“It’s the perfect film noir: a complicated plot that’s never predictable, two marvellous leads with electric chemistry, outstanding atmospheric cinematography and music that adds to the tense screenplay.”
– Katharine Lloyd, BFI Member

Days of Heaven
April 2015
“A sublime masterpiece”
– Cristina Calatayud, BFI Member

Ghostbusters
March 2015
“The perfect blockbuster: smart and funny, with dynamite effects and rich characters. Flawless”
- Robert Mitchell, BFI Member

Pan’s Labyrinth
February 2015
“This film is beautiful yet horrifying. Each time I watch it I gain something new. Sometimes it brings a tear to my eye, sometimes it make me angry and sometimes I just enjoy the adventure.”
– Jonathan Love, BFI Member

Jules et Jim
January 2015
“The first French New Wave film I ever saw and I loved it – the cinematography, the music and all the characters – especially, of course Jeanne Moreau.”
– Hill Harris, BFI Member

No Country for Old Men
November 2014
“A brilliant rendering of a world of no compromise.”
– Leonardo Salvagnini, BFI Member

Lawrence of Arabia
August 2014
“It’s a dreamlike wonder, a visual fantasy of heroic wartime myth and conflicted loyalties.”
– Jacob Osborne, BFI Member

Les Enfants du Paradis
July 2014
“A masterpiece.”
– Terence Thorn, BFI Member

The Big Lebowski
June 2014
“I find myself laughing at something new every time I watch it. Amazing direction and performances with countless one-liners.”
– Sean Wilkinson, BFI Member

The Passenger
May 2014
“I love this film’s disturbing yet romantic examination of what life would be like if you could switch places with another person.”
– Lee Hill, BFI Member

The Philadelphia Story
April 2014
“Laugh out loud at this funny, feisty, feel-good film.”
– Chloe Lawson, BFI Member