This Week
Everything Everywhere All at Once
classified 15 PS
Fri 13 May - Thu 14 July
Film
Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (collectively known as the Daniels), this emotional, mind-bending stunner is a hilarious and big-hearted sci-fi action adventure about an exhausted Chinese American woman (Michelle Yeoh) who can’t seem to finish her taxes.
Good Luck to you, Leo Grande
classified 15
Fri 17 June - Thu 7 July
Film
Emma Thompson stars alongside Daryl McCormack in this feel-good sex-positive comedy about a retired schoolteacher yearning for some more adventure in the bedroom.
Elvis
classified PG
Fri 24 June - Thu 7 July
Film
Director Baz Luhrmann explores the life and music of the hip-shakin' pelvis-rockin' Elvis Presley, seen through the eyes of his complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager.
Nitram
classified 15
Fri 1 - Thu 14 July
Film
Justin Kurzel's intensely disquieting exploration of the lead-up to one of Australia’s worst mass shootings.
Fri 1 - Thu 7 July
Film
A powerful account of a vulnerable young man flung into a world in which failure is a fate worse than death.
Iris Trans Shorts
Queer Vision
Wed 6 July 17:30
Film
This year the Festival includes an extra selection of the Best of Iris with this incredible collection of Trans Short Films showcasing bravery, hardship, acceptance and love.
Death and Bowling
classified 18 (CTBA) Queer Vision
Wed 6 July 19:00
Film
A transgender actor struggles with what it means to be seen after the beloved captain of his lesbian bowling league dies and a mysterious stranger shows up at the funeral.
Encounters Presents: Queer Joy
Queer Vision
Thu 7 July 19:00
Film
For this Pride Month, Encounters will be celebrating the moments of joy that members of the LGBTQI+ community are often denied on and off screen.
Prehension Blooms
Lunchtime Talk
Fri 8 July 13:00
In Venue Talk + Live stream
In this talk Hemma Philamore and Adrienne Hart will discuss Neon Dance and Bristol Robotics Lab's collaboration 'Prehension Blooms': a live performance work that also considers remote audience members, by providing access to creative spaces using robot avatars.
Fri 8 - Thu 14 July
Film
Filmed on a journey across Italy, Futura creates a vivid portrait of Italy as seen through the eyes of a group of teenagers who speak of the places they live in, their dreams, expectations, desires and fears.
Brian and Charles
classified PG
Fri 8 - Thu 14 July
Film
Completely isolated and with no one to talk to, inventor Brian does what any person would do when faced with such a melancholic situation: he builds a robot.
Wayfinder
classified PG
Fri 8 - Thu 14 July
Film
Set in a pandemic, Wayfinder follows the Wanderer, a young girl (Perside Rodrigues) on an intrepid journey across England.
South West Queer shorts
classified 18 (CTBA) Queer Vision
Fri 8 July 20:30
Film
Join us to celebrate this selection of shortlisted entries from Queer Vision's South West Shorts call out and appreciate the home-grown talent of these filmmmakers.
Dr. Who: Classic Movie Double Bill
classified U
Sun 10 July 14:00
Film
Lovingly restored and remastered in 4K, Gordon Flemyng's cinematic adaptations of the fabled saviour of space and time warps onto our screens in this one-off double bill screening.
Alice in the Cities
classified U S Kino Dreams - The Reveries of Wim Wenders Return To Cinemas
Sun 10 July 15:30
Film
The story of a German journalist who goes on the road in Germany to search for his daughter's mother.
Maisie
classified 18 (CTBA) Queer Vision
Sun 10 July 18:30 (DS)
Film
Meet a character more colourful than his gowns, as Britain’s Oldest Drag Artiste prepares for his 85th birthday celebrations and the unique challenges that old age brings.
Everything Everywhere All at Once
classified 15 PS
Fri 13 May - Thu 14 July
Film
Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (collectively known as the Daniels), this emotional, mind-bending stunner is a hilarious and big-hearted sci-fi action adventure about an exhausted Chinese American woman (Michelle Yeoh) who can’t seem to finish her taxes.
Nitram
classified 15
Fri 1 - Thu 14 July
Film
Justin Kurzel's intensely disquieting exploration of the lead-up to one of Australia’s worst mass shootings.
Fri 8 - Thu 14 July
Film
Filmed on a journey across Italy, Futura creates a vivid portrait of Italy as seen through the eyes of a group of teenagers who speak of the places they live in, their dreams, expectations, desires and fears.
Brian and Charles
classified PG
Fri 8 - Thu 14 July
Film
Completely isolated and with no one to talk to, inventor Brian does what any person would do when faced with such a melancholic situation: he builds a robot.
Wayfinder
classified PG
Fri 8 - Thu 14 July
Film
Set in a pandemic, Wayfinder follows the Wanderer, a young girl (Perside Rodrigues) on an intrepid journey across England.
Tue 12 July 10:00
Talk + Live Streamed Event
Part of The Future is Collective, Imagining Possibilities is a programme of talks and workshops about sustainable creative practices and climate storytelling aimed at creatives working in screen based media including video games, film and immersive experiences.
Eric Ravilious: Drawn to War
classified PG
Wed 13 - Wed 20 July
Film
Caught in the crossfire of war 80 years ago, Eric Ravilious’ legacy largely sank without trace. Until now.
Reworking Technology
Lunchtime Talk
Fri 15 July 13:00
In Venue Talk + Live stream
In this talk, artist Brian Gibson shares his process of deconstructing non-functioning objects to reveal the concealed architecture of tech through a process of assemblage, print and photography.
Fri 15 - Tue 19 July
Film
15-year-old Chiara’s close-knit family falls apart after her father abandons them in Calabria, driving her to an unsettling discovery; her family is not all that it seems.
The Good Boss
classified 18 (CTBA) S
Fri 15 - Thu 21 July
Film
Javier Bardem excels as a manipulative corporate boss of a provincial Spanish company in this ruthlessly funny corporate satire from director Fernando León de Aranoa.
Kings of the Road
classified 18 S Kino Dreams - The Reveries of Wim Wenders Return To Cinemas
Sun 17 July 19:00
Film
Kings Of The Road is about a friendship between a film projector repairman and a psychologist travelling the inner-German border.
Ithaka
classified 15
Mon 18 July 17:45
Film
At 76, John Shipton’s retirement is interrupted when his son, Julian Assange is arrested.
Eric Ravilious: Drawn to War
classified PG
Wed 13 - Wed 20 July
Film
Caught in the crossfire of war 80 years ago, Eric Ravilious’ legacy largely sank without trace. Until now.
Fri 15 - Tue 19 July
Film
15-year-old Chiara’s close-knit family falls apart after her father abandons them in Calabria, driving her to an unsettling discovery; her family is not all that it seems.
The Good Boss
classified 18 (CTBA) S
Fri 15 - Thu 21 July
Film
Javier Bardem excels as a manipulative corporate boss of a provincial Spanish company in this ruthlessly funny corporate satire from director Fernando León de Aranoa.
Reframing Film Sessions
Reframing Film
Wed 20 July 11:00
Event
For those of you working in film exhibition and archives, join some of the most distinctive voices in film curation and archiving to explore the potential of reframing film heritage.
Philip French Memorial Lecture: Samira Ahmed
Reframing Film
Wed 20 July 18:15
In Venue Talk + Live stream
Award-winning journalist, writer and broadcaster Samira Ahmed delivers this year’s Philip French Memorial Lecture reflecting on her journalistic journey through cinema.
UK Premiere: Lost Highway
classified 18 Restored & Rediscovered
Wed 20 July 20:15
Film
A brooding jazz saxophonist lives in a simmering state of jealousy with his listless and possibly unfaithful wife in this 4K restoration of David Lynch's classic thriller.
DJ Cheeba Inspired by Lynch
Reframing Film
Wed 20 July 22:40
Event
Join DJ Cheeba in the Café & Bar for a live DJ/VJ set inspired by the deliriously enigmatic work of David Lynch.
Rewriting Film History (With The Women in It)
Reframing Film
Thu 21 July 09:30
Panel Discussion
Archive activists Invisible Women speak to guest contributors including So Mayer about reimagining film history through a female-centric lens.
A Door To The Sky
classified 15 S Women’s Stories from the Global South
Thu 21 July 10:40
Film
Farida Benlyazid's poignant tribute to womanhood and spirituality is brought to life once again through the restoration efforts of the Transnational Moroccan Cinema Project from the University of Exeter.
UK Premiere: Blonde Crazy
classified PG Pre-code Hollywood
Thu 21 July 11:10
Film
James Cagney and Joan Blondell sizzle as a con-artist duo robbing hotel guests in this brilliant crime comedy.
Lunchtime Talk: Global Women’s Film Heritage Networking
Women’s Stories from the Global South
Thu 21 July 12:40
Talk
Join the team behind Global Women’s Film Heritage, a collective of researchers, archive practitioners and film exhibitors dedicated to making women and their films more visible for a networking lunch reflecting on the absences and presences of women's work in film archives.
Maangamizi: The Ancient One
classified 15 S Women’s Stories from the Global South
Thu 21 July 13:40
Film
Two women forge a connection that breaches the confines of time, history, and faith. An essential work of Tanzanian cinema being returned to audiences openly and inclusively in honour of its 20th Anniversary by collective, Ajabu Ajabu.
UK Premiere: A Free Soul
classified 12A Pre-code Hollywood
Thu 21 July 14:00
Film
Socialite Norma Shearer risks total ruination after a sordid love affair with murderous gangster Clark Gable.
Sambizanga + Q&A with Annouchka De Andrade
classified 15 S Women’s Stories from the Global South
Thu 21 July 16:20
Film
Join Annouchka De Andrade, Sarah Maldoror’s daughter, for a special screening of this unforgettable revolutionary film about a pivotal moment in Angola’s fight for freedom.
Pre-Code Hollywood: Rules are Made to be Broken
Pre-code Hollywood
Thu 21 July 16:30
Talk
Join the dream team (author, critic and film historian Pamela Hutchinson and film critic and journalist Christina Newland) for a conversation about the rights and wrongs of Pre-code Hollywood.
Sunrise: A Song of two Humans
classified U When Europe Made Hollywood
Thu 21 July 18:10
Film
Made in the twilight of the silent era Sunrise is a milestone of Film Expressionism and one of the few films to instantly achieve legendary status.
A Dessert for Constance
classified 15 S Black Paris
Thu 21 July 19:00
Film
Two Senegalese émigré street cleaners enter a “haute cuisine” competition to help their friend after stumbling upon a 19th-century cookbook.
Shanghai Express
classified PG PS When Europe Made Hollywood
Thu 21 July 20:40
Film
Marlene Dietrich is at her wicked best as Shanghai Lily, a courtesan whose reputation brings a hint of scandal to a train ride through war-torn China.
De Cierta Manera
classified 15 S Women’s Stories from the Global South
Thu 21 July 21:10
Film
Director Sara Gómez assesses the complexities of intersectional, marginalised lives in 1970's Cuba through a factual narrative that contextualises the relationship, the community, and the tensions of life in a new socialist society.
Reel To Real Shorts
classified 15 bell hooks
Fri 22 July 10:30
Film
Curator Karen Alexander presents a trio of shorts that resonate with bell hooks's seminal classic collection of essays on film, Reel To Real: Race, Class and Sex at the Movies.
Fri 22 July 10:40
Film
Set on the stunning French Riviera during the height of Nice’s world famous carnival, Georg Jacoby’s The Joker is a highly entertaining thrill-ride starring Weston-super-Mare's Henry Edwards as the charismatic ‘joker’.
Lunchtime Talk: Designing a Character, Creating a Star
Reframing Film
Fri 22 July 12:30
Talk
Former V&A Curator Keith Lodwick will explore how costume designers Adrian and Banton were central to the creation of both the character and the public image of two Golden Age stars, Dietrich and Garbo.
Nature, creativity and coaching
Lunchtime Talk
Fri 22 July 13:00
In Venue Talk + Live stream
In this talk, Roy Kareem will discuss the science of what being outdoors brings to our mental health and creativity, the stories and work that emanate from such experiences, and how we can bring more of if all into our lives.
UK Premiere: Laws of Love (Gesetze der Liebe) + Panel Discussion
classified 18 (CTBA) S Restored & Rediscovered
Fri 22 July 13:40
Film
Join author and activist So Mayer and guests for the UK Premiere of one of the first pro-gay documentaries in the history of cinema, painstakingly restored by the Munich Film Museum nearly a century after it was made.
Killer of Sheep + Short: The Horse
classified 15 bell hooks
Fri 22 July 13:50
Film
Charles Burnett's tender, witty and affectionate tale of a disillusioned slaughterhouse worker, and the solace to be found in the simplest moments of life.
Girl 6
classified 18 bell hooks
Fri 22 July 16:00, 16:05
Film
An unnamed, aspiring actress's quest for new work lands her in the warm, supportive embrace of a women-run phone sex agency in Spike Lee's overlooked comedy.
Queen of Diamonds + Q&A with Nina Menkes
classified 15 Restored & Rediscovered
Fri 22 July 16:20
Film
One of the most jarringly original independent films of the 1990s, Nina Menkes’ lost underground classic re-emerges in this gorgeous new restoration.
UK Premiere: Jewel Robbery
classified 12A Pre-code Hollywood
Fri 22 July 16:30
Film
An ode to drugs, sex, and diamonds starring veteran screen pair William Powell and Kay Francis as a gentleman thief and the posh lady who falls for him.
Queen Christina
classified U When Europe Made Hollywood
Fri 22 July 18:30
Film
One of the era’s most sophisticated examinations of gender and identity with Garbo perfect as the bisexual Swedish monarch who was raised from birth as a boy.
Finding Christa
classified 15 bell hooks
Fri 22 July 19:00
Film
A moving, yet unsentimental, view of motherhood that challenges social biases about adoption and offers new insight into mother-daughter relationships.
She Will
classified 15
Fri 22 - Thu 28 July
Film
This powerful debut from South West-based director Charlotte Colbert is a strikingly gothic psychological horror about an aging actor who taps into a mysterious power at a remote Scottish retreat.
The Afterlight with Charlie Shackleton
classified PG Reframing Film
Fri 22 July 20:40
Film
The Afterlight documents the physical presence of over three hundred actors who are no longer alive and must reconcile themselves to a life lived solely through the performances they committed to celluloid.
UK Premiere: Harold & Maude
classified 15 Restored & Rediscovered
Fri 22 July 21:00
Film
In this much-loved cult classic, an emotional and romantic bond develops between one of cinema’s most unlikely pairs.
Bristol Black Horror Club Presents: Nightbreed at 30
classified 15 Restored & Rediscovered
Fri 22 July 22:00, 22:05
Film
A hybrid fantasy/horror vision combining elements of 90s pop-culture, folk horror, and the uncanny that explores themes around redemption, identity and belonging.
Cinema Walk 1
Bristol UNESCO City of Film
Sat 23 July 09:00
Event
Join local film enthusiast and historian Mark Fuller for the first of two different, gentle, walks that between them take in the landmarks and personalities of Cinema in Central Bristol from the 1880s to the present day.
UK Premiere: The Village Detective: a song cycle + Q&A with Bill Morrison
classified 15 Restored & Rediscovered
Sat 23 July 10:30
Film
During the summer of 2016, a fishing boat off the shores of Iceland made a most curious catch: four reels of 35mm film, seemingly of Soviet provenance...
Fury
classified PG When Europe Made Hollywood
Sat 23 July 10:35
Film
Fritz Lang's first American film is a searing indictment of mob justice and lynching - and still a striking cautionary tale.
Paris Noir – African Americans in the City of Light + Q&A
classified 15 Black Paris
Sat 23 July 10:50
Film
A compelling documentary on the migration of pioneering African Americans to Paris and the ensuing cultural exchange, from Josephine Baker and beyond.
Lunchtime Talk: Notebook, a magazine by MUBI
Reframing Film
Sat 23 July 12:30
Talk
Fancy diving deeper into film culture? Whether you’re a film lover or are aspiring to work in film writing/criticism, this session will give you insights into one of the world’s most distinctive international voices in film journalism: NOTEBOOK – created, prepared and published by MUBI.
Dr Mabuse: Part 1: The Great Gambler: A Picture of the Time
classified PG Restored & Rediscovered
Sat 23 July 13:30
Film
The first part of an epic masterpiece of conspiracy that constructs its own dark labyrinth from the base materials of human fear and paranoia.
Preview: One Second
classified 12A S Restored & Rediscovered
Sat 23 July 13:30
Film
A nameless fugitive escapes from a Gansu Province labour camp, desperate to see a newsreel said to promise a glimpse of his estranged daughter.
UK Premiere: Red-headed Woman
classified 12A PS Pre-code Hollywood
Sat 23 July 13:40
Film
Jean Harlow sizzles and the dialogue crackles in this boundary-pushing comedy of sex and social-climbing.
Chameleon Street
classified 15 Restored & Rediscovered
Sat 23 July 13:50
Film
The improbable but true story of con man Douglas Street, the titular “chameleon” who successfully impersonated his way up the socioeconomic ladder.
UK Premiere: Princess Tam Tam
classified 15 S Black Paris
Sat 23 July 15:45
Film
From the makers of French musical Zou Zou, this comedy sees a mischievous shepherd girl rising through society to become a pretend princess and the toast of Paris nightlife.
Sat 23 July 16:00
Film
Araya is a poetic, visually arresting look at life on Venezuela’s Araya Peninsula, where generations of labourers have depended on mining the arid region’s salt pans for their livelihood.
Dr Mabuse: Part 2: Inferno: A Play About People of Our Times
classified PG Restored & Rediscovered
Sat 23 July 17:00
Film
The second part of Fritz Lang's epic masterpiece of conspiracy that constructs its own dark labyrinth from the base materials of human fear and paranoia.
Double Indemnity
classified PG When Europe Made Hollywood
Sat 23 July 18:20
Film
Billy Wilder's sizzling, simmering tale of seduction and murder where our wise cracking hero, insurance salesman (Fred MacMurray) is seduced way out of his depth by the bracelet charms, and more, of Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck).
UK Premiere: The Swordsman of All Swordsmen
classified 15 S Restored & Rediscovered
Sat 23 July 18:30
Film
A landmark work of wuxia cinema, Swordsman of all Swordsmen, newly restored by the Taiwan Film Institute tells the revenge story of Tsai Ying-chieh (Tien Peng).
Cape Fear
classified 15 Bristol UNESCO City of Film
Sat 23 July 20:40
Film
The gripping and tension-laden original thriller by Bristol-born J. Lee Thompson about an embittered ex-con terrorising the frightened family of the meek lawyer who put him in prison.
Paris Blues
classified 12A Black Paris
Sat 23 July 21:00
Film
Sidney Poitier and Paul Newman play a pair of American ex-pat jazz musicians living la vie bohème in Paris in this intoxicating, music-filled romance.
Cinema Walk 2
Bristol UNESCO City of Film
Sun 24 July 09:00
Event
Join local film enthusiast and historian Mark Fuller for the second of two different, gentle walks that between them take in the landmarks and personalities of Cinema in Central Bristol from the 1880s to the present day.
Chess of The Wind
classified 15 S Restored & Rediscovered
Sun 24 July 10:30
Film
Screened publicly just once before it was banned and then lost for decades, this rediscovered jewel of Iranian cinema re-emerges to take its place as one of the most astonishing works of the country’s pre-revolution New Wave.
Casablanca
classified 12A When Europe Made Hollywood
Sun 24 July 10:40
Film
A timeless love story wrapped inside a gripping wartime thriller that focuses on the rekindled love experienced by American expat Rick (Humphrey Bogart) and the beautiful, married Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman).
Curzon Cinema & Arts Open Doors
Reframing Film
Sun 24 July 12:00
Event
Fall in love with the magic of the movies at one of the oldest running cinema venues in the country, Clevedon’s Curzon Cinema & Arts.
Sun 24 July 12:30
Talk
Join 20th Century Flicks’ Dave Taylor and Daisy Steinhardt in conversation with one another as they try to figure out the answer to the eternal question: just how has 20th Century Flicks lasted so long?
The Killers
classified PG When Europe Made Hollywood
Sun 24 July 13:30
Film
Adapted from a Hemingway short story, The Killers is essential post-war existential cinema where our doomed hero awaits his inevitable violent death.
UK Premiere: Baby Face
classified 12A Pre-code Hollywood
Sun 24 July 13:40
Film
Barbara Stanwyck climbs her way to the top of New York, one man at a time, in this bold Depression-era drama.
UK Premiere: High Noon
classified U When Europe Made Hollywood
Sun 24 July 15:40
Film
Gary Cooper won an Oscar® for his role as Marshal Will Kane, forced to stand alone when an outlaw he put away returns from prison.
Burning an Illusion
classified 15 Restored & Rediscovered
Sun 24 July 16:00
Film
The late Menelik Shabazz's pioneering first feature traces the emotional and political growth of a young black couple in Thatcher's London.
UK Premiere: Forever a Woman
classified 15 S Restored & Rediscovered
Sun 24 July 18:00
Film
Kinuyo Tanaka’s third film as a director is perhaps her finest – a deeply emotional cinematic portrait of Fumiko Nakajo, an ill-fated female tanka poet.
Sun 24 July 20:30
Event
Wind down and rediscover the movie trivia hidden in the recesses of your brain with a bumper edition of our Film Quiz celebrating 20th Century Flicks’ and Watershed’s 40th Birthday co-hosted this year by 20th Century Flicks’ Daisy Steinhardt and Watershed’s Becky Sands.
She Will
classified 15
Fri 22 - Thu 28 July
Film
This powerful debut from South West-based director Charlotte Colbert is a strikingly gothic psychological horror about an aging actor who taps into a mysterious power at a remote Scottish retreat.
Love Letter
classified 12A S The Films Of Kinuyo Tanaka
Wed 27 July 17:30
Film
Kinuyo Tanaka’s directorial debut explores the professional and personal conflicts of a repatriated veteran who searches for his lost love while translating romantic letters from Japanese women to American GIs.
Building horror experiences
Lunchtime Talk
Fri 29 July 13:00
In Venue Talk + Live stream
In this talk Sophie Shaw and James Wheale, founders of Stormjar, share the learnings, insights and tools they’ve discovered along the way.
Fire of Love
classified 12A S
Fri 29 July - Thu 4 Aug
Film
Miranda July narrates a documentary packed with style, substance, love, loss - and volcanoes.
Paris, Texas
classified 15 Kino Dreams - The Reveries of Wim Wenders Return To Cinemas
Fri 29 July - Thu 4 Aug
Film
This unconventional road movie tells the story of Travis (Harry Dean Stanton), a man who wanders out of Mexico and into Texas one day in the blazing heat of the 'Big Bend'.
Hit the Road
classified 12A S
Fri 29 July - Thu 4 Aug
Film
Set amid the winding desert highways and gorgeous emerald valleys of north-west Iran, a family takes a road trip to drop their eldest son off at the border in Panah Panahi’s unforgettable debut.
Sun 31 July 11:00 - 13:00
Drop-in
Join Harriet Taylor every last Sunday of the month for Bristol's Trans and Non-Binary Creatives meet-up, a safe and inclusive environment for attendees to network, find inspiration in creative opportunities and share their personal experiences.
The American Friend
classified 15 S Kino Dreams - The Reveries of Wim Wenders Return To Cinemas
Sun 31 July 14:20
Film
A terminally ill man is convinced to become a professional hitman, who will be paid appropriately for his work and will be able to leave something behind for his wife and child. What has he got to lose?