Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £6.99 a month
Aniara
The passengers on an interstellar space-liner are thrown into turmoil when their mission goes off course, in this compassionate and thought-provoking sci-fi drama.
Director: Pella Kågerman and Hugo Lilja
Overview
Fleeing an ecological disaster past the point of no return, what’s left of humanity must escape the hell on Earth they’ve created and fly to the stars. Giant interstellar cruise liners, outfitted with every luxury money can buy, take the human race on a three-week journey to their new home: Mars. On one such space liner, a woman known only as Mimaroben (Emelie Jonsson) assists the passengers as they use MIMA, an advanced AI, to lose themselves in memories of a time when the earth still thrived. Days into their voyage, disaster strikes the ship; debris throws them off course, depletes their fuel and cuts their comms. As the ship floats aimlessly through space with no sign of rescue, MR holds on to hope as society crumbles around her. She looks past certain doom to find a way to help her fellow survivors live, love and do whatever is necessary to hold on to their humanity.
Based on the iconic poem by Swedish Nobel laureate Harry Martinson, Aniara explores the challenges faced by humankind with a deeply compassionate eye. Featuring a career-making star performance from Jonsson, Aniara is a “Masterful Example Of Smart, Relevant Sci-Fi Cinema” (Forbes).
strong sex, nudity
Related
Je t'aime, je t'aime Je t'aime, je t'aime
Drama 1968 95 mins Director: Alain Resnais
A mysterious time-travel experiment becomes a warped voyage through memory, in this mesmerising sci-fi from acclaimed director Alain Resnais.
Xtro Xtro
Horror 1983 87 mins Director: Harry Bromley Davenport
A man who was abducted by aliens returns to his family years later with a sinister purpose, in this outrageously bizarre British horror.
Tomorrow I'll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea Tomorrow I'll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea
Comedy 1977 90 mins Director: Jindrich Polák
A deliciously demented Czech time-travel romp that's both hilariously silly and impressively ingenious.
The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey
Period drama 1988 91 mins Director: Vincent Ward
A group of medieval English villagers find themselves transported to '80s New Zealand, in Vincent Ward's fusion of fantasy and time-travel.
The Long Walk The Long Walk
Horror 2019 116 mins Director: Mattie Do
An old Laotian farmer, haunted by past trauma, encounters a ghost who transports him back in time, in Mattie Do’s evocative genre-bending film.
Welcome II the Terrordome Welcome II the Terrordome
Drama 1995 94 mins Director: Ngozi Onwurah
A ferocious dystopian nightmare, this was the first film directed by a Black British woman to receive a UK theatrical release.
Metropolis Metropolis
Science Fiction 1927 150 mins Silent Director: Fritz Lang
Fritz Lang’s expressionist, dystopian vision is one of the first science fiction feature films, and is arguably the most influential.
The Day the Earth Caught Fire The Day the Earth Caught Fire
Science Fiction 1961 100 mins Director: Val Guest
The BFI’s HD remaster of the British sci-fi classic. A journalist discovers that the Earth has been knocked off its axis and is moving ever closer to the sun. Is the Earth doomed?
High Life High Life
Science Fiction 2019 113 mins Director: Claire Denis
The messiness of sex, the mysteries of birth and the moving spectacle of devoted parenting in the face of impending oblivion.
Little Joe Little Joe
Horror 2019 105 mins Director: Jessica Hausner
Jessica Hausner’s cool, witty and unsettling sci-fi starring Emily Beecham and Ben Whishaw.
Ghost in the Shell Ghost in the Shell
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1995 83 mins Director: Mamoru Oshii
Mamoru Oshii's beautifully animated and disturbingly prophetic anime classic about the hunt for a supreme hacker in a transhumanist dystopia.
Code 46 Code 46
Science Fiction 2004 93 mins Director: Michael Winterbottom
Michael Winterbottom's cult sci-fi stars Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton as star-crossed lovers in a totalitarian world; set to an intoxicating soundtrack by David Holmes' Free Association.
Pharaoh Pharaoh
Historical drama 1965 146 mins Director: Jerzy Kawalerowicz
Dazzling epic, in which the young Pharaoh Ramses XIII clashes with Egypt's clergy over influence on the affairs of the state and its coffers.
Desire: The Carl Craig Story Desire: The Carl Craig Story
Documentary 2024 91 mins Director: Jean-Cosme Delaloye
An intimate portrait of legendary techno producer, DJ and record label creator Carl Craig and an ode to his beloved city, Detroit.
Je t'aime, je t'aime Je t'aime, je t'aime
Drama 1968 95 mins Director: Alain Resnais
A mysterious time-travel experiment becomes a warped voyage through memory, in this mesmerising sci-fi from acclaimed director Alain Resnais.
La Reine Margot La Reine Margot
Historical drama 1994 158 mins Director: Patrice Chéreau
Sumptuous historical drama starring Isabelle Adjani and Daniel Auteuil; a thunderous yarn full of dastardly plots, familial hatred and perverse desire
Scrubbers Scrubbers
Drama 1982 93 mins Director: Mai Zetterling
1980s borstal drama – billed as the female Scum – featuring Amanda York and Kathy Burke as inmates in a ruthless women’s prison.
Mona Lisa Mona Lisa
Gangster 1986 100 mins Director: Neil Jordan
An ungainly cockney chauffeur navigates the seedy streets of London, gradually falling for the elegant and mysterious prostitute who is his passenger.