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Friendship's Death - BFI LFF 2020 - Q&A
Tilda Swinton and Bill Paterson join BFI curators to look back at the unique sci-fi film Friendship's Death at the 2020 BFI London Film Festival.
Overview
Stars Tilda Swinton and Bill Paterson, along with producer Rebecca O'Brien and cinematographer Witold Stok join BFI curators Will Massa and Jo Botting at the 2020 BFI London Film Festival to talk about Friendship's Death, a unique sci-fi by influential film theorist Peter Wollen, remastered by the BFI.
In Friendship's Death, Friendship (Swinton) has been sent to Earth on a peace mission. Heading for MIT, she inadvertently lands in Amman, Jordan during the 1970 ‘Black September’ war and is ushered to safety by journalist Sullivan (Bill Paterson). Holed up in a hotel as the conflict rages outside, the pair enter into a series of fascinating conversations about mortality, technology and the nature of warfare. Swinton gives a captivating early-career performance as she calmly debates with a wry and world-weary Sullivan. Together they ask: are we worth saving? Political and prescient, Wollen’s only solo feature film is a witty exploration of human-machine relations that feels remarkably relevant today.
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