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Flipside - Cult British Cinema
With films from the BFI's Flipside collection - and beyond - we cherish those British films that have fallen through the cracks.
With cult favourites from the BFI’s Flipside DVD label – and more besides - the collection delves into British cinema's dark and strange underbelly; making a fresh case to revist the overlooked, the sidelined and the undervalued.
Film: Deep End
Deep End Deep End
Drama 1970 92 mins Director: Jerzy Skolimowski
Jerzy Skolimowski’s darkly comic and utterly compelling story of teenage infatuation in a run-down swimming pool.
Film: The Appointment
The Appointment The Appointment
Horror 1981 89 mins Director: Lindsey C. Vickers
An evil and enigmatic entity throws a family into turmoil in Lindsey C. Vickers' much sought-after cult horror.
Requiem for a Village Requiem for a Village
Documentary 1975 68 mins Director: David Gladwell
The idyllic, pastoral past of a Suffolk village is reborn through memory in this extraordinary, little-known film from director David Gladwell.
Radio On Radio On
Road movie 1979 100 mins Director: Chris Petit
A haunting blend of edgy mystery story and existential road movie.
Pressure Pressure
Drama 1978 121 mins Director: Horace Ové
Hailed as Britain's first black feature film, Pressure is a hard-hitting, honest document of the plight of disenchanted black youths in 1970s London.
Film: Oss Oss Wee Oss
Oss Oss Wee Oss Oss Oss Wee Oss
Performance 1953 17 mins Director: Alan Lomax
A short playful film about the famous May Day ceremony of Padstow, a fishing village in Cornwall.
Film: Blood on Satan's Claw
The Queen of My Dreams The Queen of My Dreams
Comedy 2023 99 mins Director: Fawzia Mirza
Soulful story of the love and war between a queer woman and her mother, spanning across decades and continents.
Film: Visions of Ecstasy
Visions of Ecstasy Visions of Ecstasy
Drama 1989 20 mins Director: Nigel Wingrove
Nigel Wingrove's experimental depiction of the erotic imaginings of the 16th Century Carmelite nun.
Film: Haunters of the Deep
Haunters of the Deep Haunters of the Deep
Children's 1984 61 mins Director: Andrew Bogle
A ghostly boy returns from the grave to warn against reopening 'The Devil's Mine' in this spooky drama.
Film: The Passion of Remembrance
The Passion of Remembrance The Passion of Remembrance
Historical drama 1986 83 mins Director: Maureen Blackwood and Isaac Julien
In this London-set drama, the Baptiste family are caught in intergenerational debates reflecting Black viewpoints on life in Britain.
Film: The Last of England
The Last of England The Last of England
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1987 91 mins Director: Derek Jarman
Derek Jarman's passionate and poetic lament on the rise of Thatcherism and corporate dealings.
Film: Gallivant
Gallivant Gallivant
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1997 100 mins Director: Andrew Kötting
Andrew Kötting takes a terrific, twisting coastal tour of the UK with his family.
Film: Kelly + Victor
Kelly + Victor Kelly + Victor
Drama 2013 90 mins Director: Kieran Evans
In modern Liverpool, a couple meet and begin a transgressive, sexually charged affair set against a background of crime and encroaching danger.
Film: Face
Face Face
Crime 1997 101 mins Director: Antonia Bird
Robert Carlyle and Ray Winstone are members of a criminal gang that tears itself apart after a heist goes wrong, in Antonia Bird’s stylish thriller.
Film: Being Blacker
Being Blacker Being Blacker
Documentary 2018 89 mins Director: Molly Dineen
Molly Dineen’s acclaimed documentary about renowned Brixton-based music producer Blacker Dread.
Film: Moonlighting
Moonlighting Moonlighting
Drama 1982 97 mins Director: Jerzy Skolimowski
When martial law is declared back home, a Polish builder (Jeremy Irons) decides not to tell his colleagues in Jerzy Skolimowski's Cannes-winning drama.
Film: London
London London
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1994 85 mins Director: Patrick Keiller
The first in Patrick Keiller’s highly imaginative trilogy of films is a photographic trip through London, recounted by our unseen narrator.
Film: All is Vanity
All is Vanity All is Vanity
Fantasy 2021 72 mins Director: Marcos Mereles
Marcos Mereles’ archly funny, endlessly inventive and reflexive puzzle piece explores a strange disappearance at a hip London fashion shoot.
Film: The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea
The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea
Drama 1976 105 mins Director: Lewis John Carlino
When an English widow, Anne (Sarah Miles, Ryan’s Daughter) falls in love with a dashing American sailor (singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson), her jealous teenage son goes to horrific lengths to restore the status quo.
Film: Play Me Something
Play Me Something Play Me Something
Drama 1989 69 mins Director: Timothy Neat
Tilda Swinton stars in a playful and ingenious cine-essay on the art of storytelling, from art critic John Berger and filmmaker Timothy Neat.
Film: Earwig
Earwig Earwig
Fantasy 2021 114 mins Director: Lucile Hadzihalilovic
French cinema’s dream weaver Lucile Hadžihalilović returns with a haunting, eerie tale about a child with teeth of ice and her anxious guardian.
Film: The Ghoul
The Ghoul The Ghoul
Thriller 2017 82 mins Director: Gareth Tunley
A British indie crime film of great style and ingenuity, executive produced by Ben Wheatley and starring Tom Meeten and Alice Lowe.
Film: Way of the Morris
Way of the Morris Way of the Morris
Documentary 2010 64 mins Director: Tim Plester and Rob Curry
Filmmaker Tim Plester's deeply personal journey to reclaim Morris dancing from national joke to one of England's most ancient and enduring roots traditions.
Film: The Falls
The Falls The Falls
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1980 195 mins Director: Peter Greenaway
Following a series of inventive shorts, Peter Greenaway arrived fully formed as a feature filmmaker with this highly confident, audacious epic.
Film: Black Joy
Black Joy Black Joy
Comedy 1977 99 mins Director: Anthony Simmons
Ben, an innocent immigrant from a remote village in Guyana, arrives in Brixton and falls prey to an assortment of streetwise characters in Anthony Simmons' Palme d’Or nominated comic drama.
Film: Far from the Apple Tree
Far from the Apple Tree Far from the Apple Tree
Horror 2019 89 mins Director: Grant McPhee
Grant McPhee’s chilling fairytale horror about a young art student who gets her dream job working for a famous artist.
Film: Under the Skin
Under the Skin Under the Skin
Melodrama 1997 83 mins Director: Carine Adler
Carine Adler’s sexy and dark debut, starring Samantha Morton in her first major feature film role.
Film: Nighthawks
Nighthawks Nighthawks
Drama 1978 113 mins Director: Ron Peck
A schoolteacher juggles everyday life with nights spent cruising for Mr Right in this fascinating landmark in British gay cinema
Film: Ray & Liz
Ray & Liz Ray & Liz
Drama 2018 104 mins Director: Richard Billingham
In this personal film, Richard Billingham delves into his upbringing to recreate family memories and desperate living in Thatcher’s Britain.
Film: The Baby of Mâcon
The Baby of Mâcon The Baby of Mâcon
Period drama 1993 122 mins Director: Peter Greenaway
An apparently miraculous birth is exploited by the authorities in medieval France in Greenaway's disturbing film about corruption.