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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.

 

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Deep EndDeep End

Drama197092 minsDirector: Jerzy Skolimowski

Jerzy Skolimowski’s darkly comic and utterly compelling story of teenage infatuation in a run-down swimming pool.

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The AppointmentThe Appointment

Horror198189 minsDirector: Lindsey C. Vickers

An evil and enigmatic entity throws a family into turmoil in Lindsey C. Vickers' much sought-after cult horror.

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Requiem for a VillageRequiem for a Village

Animation & Artists Moving Image197568 minsDirector: David Gladwell

The idyllic, pastoral past of a Suffolk village is reborn through memory in this extraordinary, little-known film from director David Gladwell.

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Radio OnRadio On

Road movie1979100 minsDirector: Chris Petit

Chris Petit's cult classic is one of the most striking feature debuts in British cinema – a haunting blend of edgy mystery story and existential road movie.

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PressurePressure

Drama1978121 minsDirector: 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; now available in its new restoration.

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Oss Oss Wee OssOss Oss Wee Oss

Performance195317 minsDirector: Alan Lomax

A short playful film about the famous May Day ceremony of Padstow, a fishing village in Cornwall.

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The Blood on Satan's ClawThe Blood on Satan's Claw

Horror197196 minsDirector: Piers Haggard

Depraved sexual practices and satanic violence envelop a remote country village in this exciting period horror.

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Visions of EcstasyVisions of Ecstasy

Drama198920 minsDirector: Nigel Wingrove

Nigel Wingrove's experimental depiction of the erotic imaginings of the 16th Century Carmelite nun remains the only film ever to banned under Britain's blasphemy laws.

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Haunters of the DeepHaunters of the Deep

Children's198461 minsDirector: Andrew Bogle

A ghostly boy returns from the grave to warn against reopening 'The Devil's Mine' in this spooky drama.

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The Passion of RemembranceThe Passion of Remembrance

Animation & Artists Moving Image198683 minsDirector: 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.

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The Last of EnglandThe Last of England

Animation & Artists Moving Image198791 minsDirector: Derek Jarman

Derek Jarman's passionate and poetic lament on the rise of Thatcherism and corporate dealings.

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GallivantGallivant

Animation & Artists Moving Image1997100 minsDirector: Andrew Kötting

Andrew Kötting takes a terrific, twisting coastal tour of the UK with his family.

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Kelly + VictorKelly + Victor

Drama201390 minsDirector: Kieran Evans

In modern Liverpool, a couple meet and begin a transgressive, sexually charged affair set against a background of crime and encroaching danger.

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FaceFace

Crime1997101 minsDirector: 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.

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Being BlackerBeing Blacker

Documentary201889 minsDirector: Molly Dineen

Molly Dineen’s acclaimed documentary about renowned Brixton-based music producer Blacker Dread.

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MoonlightingMoonlighting

Drama198297 minsDirector: 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.

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LondonLondon

Animation & Artists Moving Image199485 minsDirector: Patrick Keiller

The first in Patrick Keiller’s highly imaginative trilogy of films is a photographic trip through London, recounted by our unseen narrator.

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All is VanityAll is Vanity

Fantasy202172 minsDirector: Marcos Mereles

Marcos Mereles’ archly funny, endlessly inventive and reflexive puzzle piece explores a strange disappearance at a hip London fashion shoot.

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The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the SeaThe Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea

Drama1976105 minsDirector: 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.

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Play Me SomethingPlay Me Something

Drama198969 minsDirector: 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.

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EarwigEarwig

Fantasy2021114 minsDirector: 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.

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The GhoulThe Ghoul

Crime201782 minsDirector: Gareth Tunley

A British indie crime film of great style and ingenuity, executive produced by Ben Wheatley and starring Tom Meeten and Alice Lowe.

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Way of the MorrisWay of the Morris

Documentary201064 minsDirector: 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.

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The FallsThe Falls

Animation & Artists Moving Image1980195 minsDirector: Peter Greenaway

Peter Greenaway's epic first feature, constructed as an excerpt from an imagined, filmic directory listing everyone affected by VUE – the Violent Unknown Event

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Black JoyBlack Joy

Comedy197799 minsDirector: 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.

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Far from the Apple TreeFar from the Apple Tree

Horror201989 minsDirector: Grant McPhee

Grant McPhee’s chilling fairytale horror about a young art student who gets her dream job working for a famous artist.

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Under the SkinUnder the Skin

Melodrama199783 minsDirector: Carine Adler

Carine Adler’s sexy and dark debut, starring Samantha Morton in her first major feature film role.

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NighthawksNighthawks

Drama1978113 minsDirector: Ron Peck

A schoolteacher juggles everyday life with nights spent cruising for Mr Right in this fascinating landmark in British gay cinema

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Ray & LizRay & Liz

Drama2018104 minsDirector: Richard Billingham

In this astonishingly personal film, artist Richard Billingham delves into his Black Country upbringing to recreate visceral family memories and desperate living in Thatcher’s Britain.

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The Baby of MâconThe Baby of Mâcon

Period drama1993122 minsDirector: Peter Greenaway

An apparently miraculous birth is exploited by the authorities in medieval France in Greenaway's disturbing film about corruption, starring Julia Ormond and Ralph Fiennes.