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Unique and trusted film picks
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The best new, cult and classic cinema all in one place
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
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
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
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
The New Boy
Cate Blanchett is mesmerising as a feverish nun, in Warwick Thornton’s striking tale of spiritual worlds colliding in 1940s Australia.
- Drama
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2023
- 96 mins
- Warwick Thornton
Run Lola Run
Tom Tykwer’s breathtaking time-loop thriller, with a terrific Franka Potente as the titular runner attempting to save her boyfriend.
- Drama
- Thriller
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1998
- 80 mins
- Tom Tykwer
Sleep
A recently married couple find their lives turning upside down as a result of the husband’s nocturnal behaviour.
- Comedy
- Horror
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2023
- 94 mins
- Jason Yu
Point Break
Kathryn Bigelow’s pulse-pounding action thriller and heady bromance, with Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze.
- Action and Adventure
- Police drama
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1991
- 122 mins
- Kathryn Bigelow
Tangerine
A big-hearted film shot on a small phone, this LA tale of two transgender working girls out for vengeance fizzes with wild energy.
- Comedy
- Drama
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2015
- 88 mins
- Sean Baker
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Ang Lee’s exquisitely choreographed Oscar-winning epic, starring Chow Yun-fat, Michelle Yeoh and Ziyi Zhang on a quest to recover a stolen sword.
- Martial arts
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2000
- 120 mins
- Ang Lee
Certain Women
Kristen Stewart, Lily Gladstone and Jared Harris star in Kelly Reichardt's acclaimed portmanteau of women's stories; winner of Best Film at BFI London Film Festival 2016.
- Drama
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2015
- 107 mins
- Kelly Reichardt
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Movies to rent, including premieres fresh from cinemas
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
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
Unicorns
Sally El Hosaini and James Krishna Floyd have created a moving romance between an Essex mechanic and a South Asian drag queen.
- Drama
- Romance
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2023
- 120 mins
Chuck Chuck Baby
A chicken factory worker rekindles a childhood romance in this joyous musical-drama set in North Wales.
- Drama
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2022
- 102 mins
- Janis Pugh
Love Lies Bleeding
Rose Glass’s gripping and gory follow-up to Saint Maud finds a lesbian couple drawn into a web of violence in 1980s small-town New Mexico.
- Romance
- Thriller
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2023
- 104 mins
- Rose Glass
Rentals
1000s of films restored by the BFI National Archive and our partners
Armistice
Take your seat for an Armistice concert by military bands playing a medley of songs commonly sung during WWI.
- Musical
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1929
- 16 mins
Pontypridd Armistice Day Parade and Service 1952 and Coronation Festivities 1953
‘The Brave Don’t Cry’ shouts a poster advertising a film of the title, as Pontypridd citizens march past, commemorating the dead of WW1 and II. By contrast, the Coronation is fun.
- Amateur film
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1952
- 30 mins
Armistice Day Poppies
Newsreel tribute to the WWI fallen on the 10th anniversary of the war's end.
- Non-Fiction
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1928
- 0 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.