Collections Featured collections Woman with a Movie Camera A celebration of work by female directors past and present. Gerard Johnson: Criminally Underrated Sight and Sound's Kim Newman called him 'the most underrated director currently working at the top of his game in Britain.' Gerard Johnson earned that praise after just four films, shadowing fallible people in extreme situations. Watch them all, and know why. The Great Unwatched The greatest films you've probably never seen. Subscription Exclusives Only available on BFI Player subscription. Genres Action Throwing you into the explosive world of action. Comedy Celebrating a world of side-splitting cinema, from slapstick legends to today's anarchic voices. Crime Revenge, money, power and love – the passions that push moral and immoral alike into a shady underworld. Documentaries Documentaries can be as expressive, surreal and experimental as any work of fiction. This collection explores a world made up of people and places. Experimenta Bringing together films and videos by artists that have transformed our experience of the moving image. Our collection includes films from outside the sphere of experimental filmmaking, including the celebrated surrealists and challenging works of narrative fiction. Fantasy Perverse fairytales and wayward visions meet, as Pasolini, Hadžihalilović, Cocteau and their fellow dreamers create films that burrow into memory. Horror Tales of terror have been embraced by cinema since its birth. Melodrama Vivid visual language and heightened dramatics invite you to leave your cynicism at the door and feel something. Sci-fi Few genres stretch like science fiction, a marketplace for idle prediction, utopia, apocalypse and wonder. Silent Classics The first three decades of cinema gave us some of the greatest films ever made, which had to tell their stories purely visually, giving us countless unforgettable images. Thriller Who Can You Trust? Country of origin British Cinema From established classics to new discoveries, from the mainstream to the bizarre, we celebrate the breadth and diversity of British cinema. Classic American Indie Celebrating the outsiders and mavericks whose independent methods rewrote the rulebook for American cinema. Hispanic Cinema Celebrating the art and influence of Spanish-speaking films and filmmakers. French Cinema From the New Wave to poetic realism and cinéma vérité, French cinema takes many forms and offers endless delights. Italian Cinema Fellini, Antonioni, Pasolini, Rossellini, Argento – the melodic names that conjure up the best of Italian cinema. German Cinema Chaos, hostility and murder are, said one of these directors, our common denominator. Another had scandal as a hobby and human nature as a focus. Japanese Cinema From the samurai thrillers of Kurosawa to Koreeda's beautiful domestic dramas, this collection celebrates the extraordinary diversity of Japanese cinema. Korean Cinema Celebrating the vibrance and immediacy of South Korean cinema. Themes and subjects Subscription Exclusives Only available on BFI Player subscription. 3 You Must See Your time is precious, so we've done some of the hard work for you. 3 of the best from the world's greatest filmmakers, themes and cinematic movements. Acting Hard This collection explores representations of working-class masculinity in British cinema from the Thatcher era to the present day. Backed by BFI Internationally acclaimed films, with success at the box office, festivals and awards ceremonies, the BFI is proud to support the breathtaking range of the UK’s filmmaking talent. Based on the Book… Literature has inspired some of the greatest films ever made. Black Cinema Consider these films as milestones on a long and winding road. Black Debutantes Rógan Graham curates this collection of early works by Black women directors. Chasing the Real: Italian Neorealism The film movement that changed cinema forever, and which today still hails the thrill of freedom. Classic Collaborations Filmmaking is a team sport, and these creative partnerships have proved consistently rewarding. Coming of Age Filmmakers love it, audiences live it. The rites-of-passage film enables us the chance to relive the past with wisdom, but not angst. Controversial Classics A collection of the bold and the banned; causes célèbre to incite, provoke and arouse. Cult Japanese Cinema Charting the wilder extremes of Japanese cinema: twisted visions, deranged erotica, and badass women. Discomfort Movies A collection contemplating those films that challenge us the most. Filmmaking in Focus The camera flips inward to film the creative process. Discover the lives behind the artists and obsessives who make movies what they are. Fresh Starts Films to help you make a change in 2026. Great Debuts These features launched some of cinema's highest achievers, showing the themes and techniques to which many would return. Girlfriends Let’s hear it for the badass buddies, the inseparable gal-pals, the obsessive duos and the wisecracking girl gangs of cinema. The Great Unwatched The greatest films you've probably never seen. Instant Film School Essential viewing for cinephiles. Islands in the Stream Joining escapees, outsiders and castaways on their adventures. London From the seedy streets of '60s Soho to the city's metropolitan sheen. Welcome to the London collection. Masters: Remastered (4K films) Films with high stakes, streamed in high-res. Cult Movies Celebrating Moviedrome, the inspirational BBC film series that posed the question, 'What is a cult film?' Laura Mulvey: Thinking Through Film Celebrating Laura Mulvey’s impact on film culture, theory and visual language. Nineties Cult Classics Exploring the films and filmmakers that broke the rules of cinema in the 1990s. Northern Voices Exploring the northern talent and creativity that drive such distinctive storytelling. Parallax Views: Anthology Films Multilinear and many stranded stories that snake and branch... Political Pictures These films chart events and people, real and imagined, heroes and monsters who yearned for change, for power, for more. Remakes and Fresh Takes New spins on old favourites; plus classics that have themselves been remade. Screen Classic Sunday Update your watchlist with these films of distinction. Scala: Sex, drugs and rock and roll cinema In tribute to the legendary venue and the new documentary celebrating its influence, a collection of the greatest cult hits from the world’s wildest cinema. Seductive You can resist everything except temptation. Sex Despite the accessibility of erotica, audiences still seek out the more substantial approaches to sex that only narrative cinema can offer. Sonic: Music in Movies Personal, powerful and lyrical, this is where music and film collide, a meeting place for rock biopics, probing documentaries, groundbreakers and old stagers. Sophia Loren Highlighting the the versatility and magnetism of this singular star. Summer in the City Everything under the sun: spin the globe and start your adventure Summertime Feel the warmth of the sun and dip into our selection of summer films. Tilda Swinton Celebrating the extraordinary, convention-defying career of the chameleonic performer. To the Ends of the Earth Journey across the planet’s most challenging terrain in this ode to exploration and endurance. True Crime Because few things command attention like a crime story... Under 90 Minutes When time is of the essence. Woman with a Movie Camera A celebration of work by female directors past and present. Working Class Heroes A collection of films lit up by the charisma of working-class stars. Celebrating fine actors in remarkable leading roles. Awards and festivals BFI London Film Festival Catch up with a range of recent successes including previous winners of the festival’s top prizes. BFI Flare LGBTQIA+ From landmark LGBTQIA+ portraits to the next generation of queer classics. Award Winning Great works that have won the praise of peers over the years. Classic Cannes Festival The red carpet remains forever unfurled in this selection from the world’s most famous film festival. Best of British Independent Film Awards Striking, ambitious and delicious: the best indie films from the UK and around the world. Academy Awards Cinema's ultimate prize, the Academy Awards. These nominees and winners show the medium at its electric best. Best of BAFTA A selection of past nominees and winners, honouring the world’s most inventive storytellers and creators. Directors Chantal Akerman: Adventures in Perception Formally audiacious works from the maker of the minimal masterpiece, Jeanne Dielman. Ingmar Bergman A selection of penetrating masterworks from one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. Park Chan-wook Witness a grand career take shape, as Park Chan-wook evolves into a master filmmaker… Terence Davies ‘I do passionately believe in the poetry of the ordinary.’ - Terence Davies. Rainer Werner Fassbinder Dead by 37, openly bi-sexual, constantly controversial: Rainer Werner Fassbinder was arguably post-war Germany’s greatest filmmaker. Peter Greenaway Tales of carnal bargaining, conspiracy, subversion and rage. Peter Greenaway's maverick work embodies all of these and more. Michael Haneke Films of precision, purpose and humanity from the master of provocation. Werner Herzog The leading light of New German Cinema who has progressed to become something of an international treasure, Herzog is famed for making all types of films - in all sorts of strange places. Derek Jarman Startling and subversive works from an inspirational figure in British cinema. Akira Kurosawa Discover an astonishing range of works, from early classics to avowed masterpieces such as Seven Samurai. Hirokazu Koreeda Celebrating the master of contemporary Japanese cinema and his diverse, beautiful and human stories. Laura Mulvey: Thinking Through Film Celebrating Laura Mulvey’s impact on film culture, theory and visual language. Yasujirō Ozu Along with Kurosawa, the director Yasujirō Ozu is a true master of Japanese cinema whose work has its place among the all-time greats. Roberto Rossellini One of the key figures in cinema history, Rossellini initiated a new movement and evolved the language of film. Martin Scorsese A collection of films exploring the great American director’s connection to a rich vein of cinema history... François Truffaut Our online tribute to a leading figure of the nouvelle vague. Luchino Visconti Key works from the Italian neorealist pioneer and maestro of luxurious historical drama. Frederick Wiseman With a career spanning seven decades, Frederick Wiseman is one of the great American storytellers. Poll and Popular London Critics' Circle - BFI Player Top 20 Over 200 of the UK's leading film critics were polled to select the greatest films on BFI Player. Sight and Sound Greatest Films Poll Top 100 Meet the elite: hand-picked highlights from the 2022 Sight and Sound 100 Greatest Films of All Time Poll. Sight and Sound Greatest Films Poll 101 - 250 Meet the elite: hand-picked highlights from the 2022 Sight and Sound 250 Greatest Films of All Time Poll. Staff Picks: Must-Watch Films Too much choice, not enough time? Let the BFI Player team do the choosing. Most Popular British Indie 2025 Your favourite homegrown or British-backed films of the year Most Popular Classic Cinema 2025 Hannibal Lecktor, police inspectors, Wim Wenders and other splendours... Most Popular World Cinema 2025 Spin the globe and sample… Most Popular LGBTQIA+ 2025 Lust and laughter meet stories of defiance and discovery in a selection of films to quicken the heart
