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The best new, cult and classic cinema all in one place
Wilding
A dying landscape is healed against all odds, going on to thrive in astonishing ways, in this hopeful story of ecological regeneration.
- Documentary
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2023
- 75 mins
- David Allen
Tchaikovsky's Wife
Award-winning director Kirill Serebrennikov (Petrov's Flu) charts the tumultuous relationship between the 19th-century composer and his wife, in this poignant and powerful biopic.
- Biopic
- Drama
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2022
- 144 mins
- Kirill Serebrennikov
Body Double
An unemployed actor is drawn into a world of voyeurism, seduction, mystery and murder, in Brian De Palma's playful and satirical homage to Hitchcock.
- Thriller
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1984
- 114 mins
- Brian De Palma
Red Rooms
The allure of the serial killer is explored in this deeply unsettling and unforgettable exploration of the impact of extreme violence.
- Drama
- Horror
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2023
- 118 mins
- Pascal Plante
Samsara
Berlin Film Festival award winner Lois Patiño’s assured third feature transports us to magical places in Laos and Zanzibar, where the visible and the invisible merge.
- Drama
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2023
- 114 mins
- Lois Patiño
The Origin of Evil
Laure Calamy stars in this devious, involving French thriller by Sébastien Marnier, playing an outsider tangled in a web of upper-class family malice.
- Thriller
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2022
- 123 mins
- Sébastien Marnier
The Last Detail
Jack Nicholson is at his very best in this highly-acclaimed dramatic comedy from Hal Ashby about three sailors on the loose.
- Comedy
- Drama
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1973
- 104 mins
- Hal Ashby
The Queen of My Dreams
Soulful story of the love and war between a queer woman and her mother, spanning across decades and continents.
- Comedy
- Drama
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2023
- 99 mins
- Fawzia Mirza
The Man from London
Tilda Swinton stars in this profoundly nocturnal Georges Simenon adaptation.
- Drama
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2007
- 139 mins
- Béla Tarr
Starve Acre
Dark and sinister forces invade a couple’s home in this wildly eerie British folk horror, with unflinching performances from Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark.
- Horror
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2023
- 98 mins
- Dan Kokotajlo
Red Island
French writer-director Robin Campillo offers a searching exploration of memory and politics, in this boldly conceived story of boyhood in 1970s Madagascar.
- Drama
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2023
- 117 mins
- Robin Campillo
Watership Down
An apocalyptic vision pushes a group of rabbits to abandon their warren in search of a new home, in this landmark British animation.
- Animation & Artists Moving Image
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1978
- 92 mins
- Martin Rosen
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Movies to rent, including premieres fresh from cinemas
Only the River Flows
Shujun Wei's slow-burn noir draws us inexorably into its mysterious psychological journey.
- Crime
- Drama
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2023
- 102 mins
- Shujun Wei
Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat
Johan Grimonprez’s involving film essay, anchored by the rhythm of American jazz, reveals disturbing truths about the decolonial struggle between global political powers.
- Documentary
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2024
- 150 mins
- Johan Grimonprez
Small Things Like These
Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy delivers a stunning performance as a coal merchant who discovers horrific secrets about his local convent.
- Drama
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2024
- 99 mins
- Tim Mielants
The Critic
Ian McKellen is in delicious form as London's most vicious critic, who strikes a Faustian pact with a struggling actor (Gemma Arterton).
- Period drama
- Thriller
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2023
- 101 mins
- Anand Tucker
Timestalker
What if unrequited love spanned the centuries? Alice Lowe's time-jumping fantasy rom-com is a colourful, darkly funny treat.
- Comedy
- Fantasy
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2024
- 89 mins
- Alice Lowe
Kneecap
Fantastically outlandish biopic about the anarchic Belfast rap trio and their fight to save the Irish language.
- Drama
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2024
- 105 mins
- Rich Peppiatt
Girls Will Be Girls
Teenage romance simmers in a strict Himalayan boarding school in this sublime coming-of-age tale. Winner of a 2024 Sundance audience award
- Drama
- Romance
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2024
- 119 mins
- Shuchi Talati
Night Courier (Mandoob)
A desperate delivery driver gets caught up in the dark underworld of Riyadh in Ali Kalthami’s gripping, pitch-black satire.
- Comedy
- Thriller
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2023
- 112 mins
- Ali Kalthami
About Dry Grasses
Turkish Palme d’Or-winner Nuri Bilge Ceylan returns with an icy portrait of a teacher whose life unravels following an accusation of inappropriate behaviour.
- Romance
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2023
- 198 mins
- Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Kensuke's Kingdom
Michael Morpurgo’s beloved novel is brought to life in this delightful, animated tale of a young castaway who discovers he’s not alone.
- Animation & Artists Moving Image
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2023
- 84 mins
- Neil Boyle and Kirk Hendry
My Favourite Cake
Life begins at 70 for Mahin, who decides to shake her life up in this charming, quietly subversive tale from Iran.
- Romance
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2024
- 97 mins
- Maryam Moghadam and Behtash Sanaeeha
Close To You
Simmering apprehensions surround a family get-together as Elliot Page’s Sam returns home for the first time since transitioning, in this highly collaborative feature.
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2023
- 99 mins
- Dominic Savage
Rentals
1000s of films restored by the BFI National Archive and our partners
New Year Resolutions
Drinking, smoking, gambling: what are you giving up? It's new year's eve 1970 and the people of Birmingham tell us about their resolutions.
- News
- Non-Fiction
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1970
- 2 mins
The January Sales
January Sales
- Current affairs
- News
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1977
- 1 mins
Snow in January
Snowcastles, rather than sandcastles, are the order of day as Aberystwyth’s beach, promenade, bandstand and streets are covered in the white stuff, as is an outlying area.
- Home movie
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1959
- 1 mins
Damaged Goods
A tragic story is played out by porcelain figurines residing in a bric-a-brac shop.
- Animation & Artists Moving Image
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2008
- 9 mins
The Strange Case of Penny Allison
Imelda Staunton and Hugh Laurie as you've not quite seen them before: in a comedy training video for Britain’s National Blood Service.
- Government sponsored film
- Training film/TV programme
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2002
- 18 mins
LFF Trailer 1995
Aardman turn the cinema screen into a mirror and offer this delightful portrait of the typical film festival audience
- Animation & Artists Moving Image
- Documentary
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1995
- 1 mins
Jack Johnson Paying a Visit to Manchester Docks
The legendary world heavyweight boxing champion, John Arthur 'Jack' Johnson, visits Manchester.
- Non-Fiction
- 2 mins
Shippam's Sandwichmakers
Boring sandwiches get a tasty Shippam's make-over in this classic comedy commercial from the 70s starring the legendary Roy Kinnear
- Advert
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1981
- 1 mins
Life in Her Hands
Kathleen Byron - of Black Narcissus fame - stars in one of the most ambitious recruitment films ever made.
- Instructional film/TV programme
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1951
- 55 mins
Poet Goes North
A long-lost BBC documentary of John Betjeman reflecting, in his unhurried manner, his sense that something vital was being lost and singling out what should be preserved.
- Documentary
- Instructional film/TV programme
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1968
- 26 mins
Outlying
A documentary on one of Scotland’s most isolated and breathtaking islands, where all 35 residents prepare for the remarkable roll-out of fibre-optic broadband.
- Documentary
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2019
- 11 mins
Everywhere is a Wildlife Park
No need to queue, and nothing to pay. All you need is a good pair of eyes ... because ‘everywhere is a wildlife park’.
- Amateur film
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1970
- 19 mins
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Critics' picks
Revealing the stories behind the films
In depth and on point. Film critic Mark Kermode provides weekly must-watch movie recommendations.