The festival will run from the 12th to the 15th June.
The BFI have announced details for its upcoming Film on Film festival running this June, with a line up including original release print of Star Wars and pilot episode of Twin Peaks with special guest Kyle MacLachlan.
It has been announced that the festival will open on the 12th June with a glorious dye-transfer original British release print of Star Wars (1977), screening publicly for the first time in decades in its original 1977 version.
Meanwhile, this year marks the 35th anniversary since the first episode of Twin Peaks was first screened in the US. Kyle MacLachlan will be taking to the stage to present the pilot episode of the show, closing the festival on the 15th June.
While the majority of contemporary cinema screenings are digital, the festival is a celebration of the medium of ‘film’ itself, where every film, without exception, is projected from a print. The festival provides a unique, cinematic experience that enables audiences to enjoy film in all its glory, exploring its aesthetics and celebrating the skills required to work with it.
This year’s festival promises a wealth of both familiar and rare, discovery titles, (almost) all of them taken from the vast collections of the BFI National Archive, which celebrates its 90th anniversary this year. The programme spans fiction features, documentaries, artists’ work, and much more in between, across the widest range of formats, from 8mm to IMAX and everything in between, there’s even room for Pathé’s forgotten 28mm gauge.
The festival will present unique prints of THE KILLING (1956), and Stanley Kubrick’s very first short THE DAY OF THE FIGHT (1951) loaned from Kubrick’s own personal print collection.
There’s also the opportunity to see prints of comparatively recent films, such as Mary Harron’s I SHOT ANDY WARHOL (1996) which is currently unavailable on home entertainment in the UK, plus pristine release prints of Prince’s UNDER THE CHERRY MOON (1986) (ripe for reappraisal) and Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s A MOMENT OF INNOCENCE (1996).
Film on Film will also premiere five 35mm prints newly created by the BFI, part of an ongoing commitment to ensuring audiences can enjoy the rare experience of watching an excellent 35mm film print projected. These 35mm print premieres include Bill Forsyth’s LOCAL HERO (1983) and Vernon Sewell’s gripping thriller STRONGROOM (1962), a favourite of Scorsese, Tarantino and Edgar Wright, as well as screening original release 70mm prints of AMADEUS and EMPIRE OF THE SUN plus a 2018 15 perf/70mm IMAX print of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968), created under the supervision of Christopher Nolan, and screening for the first time on Britain’s biggest cinema screen at the BFI IMAX.
The documentary strand of the festival will include THE GRIERSON SISTERS: TODAY WE LIVE, a programme of BFI-created 35mm prints celebrating the innovative films of Ruby and Marion Grierson, sisters of revered documentarian John Grierson and premiering new BFI National Archive 35mm prints of their films. Deep Cuts on Super 8 and 16mm in the Experimenta programme includes artist Wendy Smith’s THERE’S ONLY ONE UNITED (1974), documenting her beloved Leeds United on Super 8 during the team’s celebrated 1973-74 season. Formed in response to the repressive state of American politics and social relations, the Newsreel Collective made dynamic use of the opportunities afforded by mobile 16mm cameras to report from the frontline on intersectional struggles. The State of the Union: The American Newsreel Collective programme retains a sense of urgency in its exploration of everyday working lives.
The festival weekend will also include a range of workshops, talks and a number of free events, including the chance to hear from expert voices from the BFI’s world-leading conservation, curatorial and projection teams.
James Bell Senior Curator of Fiction, BFI National Archive and Programme Director, BFI Film on Film Festival says, “The BFI Film on Film Festival is a true showcase for the richness of the BFI National Archive, and the expertise of our curators, archivists and projectionists. Every print in the programme is a unique object, with its own life story, and they all bear their scars with pride. They put us at touching distance to the past, and we can’t wait for audiences to experience them all. We’re grateful for the generous support from philanthropic champions who have helped us deliver a rich and exciting programme that keeps Film on Film alive.”