This film is currently unavailable

This film is certified

brief images of dead bodies, suicide references

I accept this guidance

Title of error

Letters from Baghdad

Tilda Swinton narrates the extraordinary journey of Gertrude Bell, a singular woman who played a significant – often unrecognised – role in British imperial policy making in Iraq.

Biopic 2017 91 mins

Director: Sabine Krayenbühl and Zeva Oelbaum

Rent for £3.50

Overview

Gertrude Bell was a pioneering English writer, archaeologist, diplomat and spy whose travels through the Arabian desert gave her local knowledge unparalleled by her British peers. Recruited by British Military Intelligence after World War I, she played a significant - often unrecognised - role in British imperial policy-making in the Middle East, notably Iraq. Openly critical of colonial practices, Bell's insights are a singular, prescient prism through which to understand both the Middle East and the all-male inner sanctum of British colonial power.

Reflecting on the life, work and character of this remarkable woman, Sabine Krayenbühl and Zeva Oelbaum weave together a rich tapestry of fascinating archive alongside Bell's writings, letters to her parents voice by Tilda Swinton, and testimony from peers including TE Lawrence and Vita Sackville-West. Though writing a century ago, the acute contemporary relevance of Bell's words is astonishing - at times even chilling.

Director

Sabine Krayenbühl and Zeva Oelbaum

Featuring

Tilda Swinton , Michael Higgs , Eric Loscheider and Rachael Stirling

Genres

Biopic and Documentary

Certificate

brief images of dead bodies, suicide references

Country

United Kingdom

Language

English

Accessibility

Rent for £3.50

Jackie Jackie

Biopic 2017 100 mins Director: Pablo Larraín

Natalie Portman is exceptional as the iconic First Lady who has to quickly adjust to the world-shaking trauma of her husband’s assassination.

Rent for £3.50

I, Tonya I, Tonya

Biopic 2017 120 mins Director: Craig Gillespie

Athlete. Champion. Villain. Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie) played them all…

Rent for £3.50

Tracks Tracks

Biopic 2014 113 mins Director: John Curran

Mia Wasikowska stars in this inspirational true story about one woman’s extraordinary odyssey through the Australian Outback.

Rent for £4.50

Dark Waters Dark Waters

Biopic 2019 126 mins Director: Todd Haynes

Mark Ruffalo plays an attorney trying to uncover the corporate scandal of a chemical company poisoning a local community, in this searching ecological drama from Todd Haynes (Safe, Carol).

Rent for £3.50

Mr. Turner Mr. Turner

Biopic 2014 150 mins Director: Mike Leigh

Mike Leigh’s Cannes-winning account of the later years of J. M. W. Turner, brilliantly played by Timothy Spall.

Rent for £3.50

Trumbo Trumbo

Biopic 2015 124 mins Director: Jay Roach

Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad, Argo) gives a cracking performance as Dalton Trumbo, the Oscar-winning screenwriter who became a Hollywood outcast.

Rent for £3.50

Orlando Orlando

Fantasy 1993 93 mins Director: Sally Potter

Tilda Swinton stars in Sally Potter's dazzling interpretation of Virginia Woolf's novel.

Rent for £3.50

A Bigger Splash A Bigger Splash

Thriller 2015 125 mins Director: Luca Guadagnino

Ralph Fiennes delivers a sensational performance as one of four passionate souls sharing a villa in the Sicilian sunshine, with jealousy, intrigue and violence simmering beneath the surface.

Rent for £3.50

The Souvenir Part II The Souvenir Part II

Drama 2020 107 mins Director: Joanna Hogg

The second chapter of Joanna Hogg’s semi-autobiographical masterpiece and winner of Sight and Sound's 'Best Films of 2021' poll.

Rent for £3.50

Friendship's Death Friendship's Death

Science Fiction 1987 72 mins Director: Peter Wollen

Tilda Swinton plays an extra-terrestrial android discussing life’s big questions with a British war correspondent in this unique sci-fi by influential film theorist Peter Wollen.

Rent for £3.50

The Personal History of David Copperfield The Personal History of David Copperfield

Drama 2019 120 mins Director: Armando Iannucci

Armando Iannucci brings David Copperfield fizzing to life with all-star collaborators in this exuberant, entertaining and sharply pertinent adaptation.

Rent for £3.50

Women Make Film: A New Road Movie Through Cinema Part 2 Women Make Film: A New Road Movie Through Cinema Part 2

Documentary 2019 179 mins Director: Mark Cousins

Mark Cousins' epic journey continues with focuses on movement, simplicity of style, the story of films about children, dreams, the power of the close-up.

Rent for £3.50

South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic

Documentary 1919 81 mins Silent Director: Frank Hurley

An extraordinary story of survival in the wastes of Antarctica.

Rent for £4.50

Night Courier (Mandoob) Night Courier (Mandoob)

Comedy 2023 112 mins Director: Ali Kalthami

A desperate delivery driver gets caught up in the dark underworld of Riyadh in Ali Kalthami’s gripping, pitch-black satire.

Rent for £3.50

The Ballymurphy Precedent The Ballymurphy Precedent

Documentary 2018 108 mins Director: Callum Macrae

John Pilger's film on the conflict in Northern Ireland is a skilful mix of investigative journalism, documentary storytelling and reflections on contemporary history.