Features and reviews

Discover the latest from the BFI, the UK’s lead organisation for film, television and the moving image.

Black Film Bulletin

“I want to make films about my community”: Akinola Davies Jr

Fresh on the heels of his Bafta win for Outstanding Debut by a British writer-director, filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr spoke to ‘Beyond Nollywood’ curator Nadia Denton about the zeitgeist, creating his own mythologies, and what comes next.

By Nadia Denton

“I want to make films about my community”: Akinola Davies Jr

Interviews

“We use the street as a studio”: music video pioneers Tim & Barry on capturing the early years of grime

By Will Swinburne

“We use the street as a studio”: music video pioneers Tim & Barry on capturing the early years of grime

Interviews

Here be tourists: how a Scottish black comedy satirises cultural Disneyfication

By Katherine McLaughlin

Here be tourists: how a Scottish black comedy satirises cultural Disneyfication

From the Sight and Sound archive

A close encounter with Steven Spielberg

By Richard Combs

A close encounter with Steven Spielberg

Interviews

“We are living in a time when it’s a superpower to be a celebrity”: Tarik Saleh on the culmination of his Cairo trilogy

By James Mottram

“We are living in a time when it’s a superpower to be a celebrity”: Tarik Saleh on the culmination of his Cairo trilogy

Festivals

“When you look at the roles I played, I made a difference in every movie”: Bruce Dern on his life in film

By Nicolas Rapold

“When you look at the roles I played, I made a difference in every movie”: Bruce Dern on his life in film

Interviews

Sigourney Weaver on Star Wars: “It was a view of the future where different aliens worked and lived side by side”

By Lou Thomas

Sigourney Weaver on Star Wars: “It was a view of the future where different aliens worked and lived side by side”

From the Sight and Sound archive

“I make a daily effort to demolish my ignorance”: Roberto Rossellini interviewed in 1976

By Philip Strick

“I make a daily effort to demolish my ignorance”: Roberto Rossellini interviewed in 1976

Interviews

Mike Figgis looks back on Leaving Las Vegas: “My credit rating had gone down a lot. I was known as a troublemaker”

By Lou Thomas

Mike Figgis looks back on Leaving Las Vegas: “My credit rating had gone down a lot. I was known as a troublemaker”

Influences and inspirations

The old movies again, in a different way: Christian Petzold shares 8 influences on Miroirs No. 3

By Nick Chen

The old movies again, in a different way: Christian Petzold shares 8 influences on Miroirs No. 3

Interviews

This is not a Vivaldi biopic: Damiano Michieletto on Primavera

By James Mottram

This is not a Vivaldi biopic: Damiano Michieletto on Primavera

Interviews

“The hope is you’ll feel you’re in a continuous dream”: Gerald Fox on Kinaesthesia

By Josh Slater-Williams

“The hope is you’ll feel you’re in a continuous dream”: Gerald Fox on Kinaesthesia

Interviews

François Ozon on his adaptation of Albert Camus’s The Stranger: “The idea was to make a very erotic movie”

By Lillian Crawford

François Ozon on his adaptation of Albert Camus’s The Stranger: “The idea was to make a very erotic movie”

Interviews

How we brought the ‘Madfabulous’ life of Wales’s ‘dancing marquess’ to the screen

By Lillian Crawford

How we brought the ‘Madfabulous’ life of Wales’s ‘dancing marquess’ to the screen

Interviews

Mink Stole and Peaches Christ talk trash, collaboration and community: “Divine eating the dog poop was way past the tolerance level of most people”

By Blake Simons

Mink Stole and Peaches Christ talk trash, collaboration and community: “Divine eating the dog poop was way past the tolerance level of most people”

Festivals

“People crave being in the dark together”: Bill Morrison looks back on Decasia and the shift to digital memory

By Georgia Korossi

“People crave being in the dark together”: Bill Morrison looks back on Decasia and the shift to digital memory

Interviews

Elijah Wood on Ready or Not 2 and the appeal of horror movies: “The stakes have to feel real”

By Lou Thomas

Elijah Wood on Ready or Not 2 and the appeal of horror movies: “The stakes have to feel real”

Interviews

“How charming it is to make a silent film”: Bi Gan on Resurrection

By David West

“How charming it is to make a silent film”: Bi Gan on Resurrection

Interviews

Phil Lord and Chris Miller on Project Hail Mary: “We wanted the movie to feel like you were in the guts of a machine”

By Lou Thomas

Phil Lord and Chris Miller on Project Hail Mary: “We wanted the movie to feel like you were in the guts of a machine”

Interviews

“The bride is very disobedient”: Penélope Cruz and Peter Sarsgaard on Maggie Gyllenhaal’s noirish Frankenstein spin-off

By Lou Thomas

“The bride is very disobedient”: Penélope Cruz and Peter Sarsgaard on Maggie Gyllenhaal’s noirish Frankenstein spin-off

From the Sight and Sound archive

“I am not afraid of anything”: Andrzej Wajda interviewed in 2008

By Michael Brooke and Kamila Kuc

“I am not afraid of anything”: Andrzej Wajda interviewed in 2008

Interviews

Plague and panic in 1870s Wisconsin: inside the apocalyptic western A Prayer for the Dying

By Lou Thomas

Plague and panic in 1870s Wisconsin: inside the apocalyptic western A Prayer for the Dying

Interviews

“We wanted to give the characters a chance to gaze back”: Mascha Schilinski on Sound of Falling

By Carmen Gray

“We wanted to give the characters a chance to gaze back”: Mascha Schilinski on Sound of Falling

From the Sight and Sound archive

“When you stop shooting, that’s when the best thing is going to happen. You have to persevere”: an interview with Frederick Wiseman

By David Jenkins

“When you stop shooting, that’s when the best thing is going to happen. You have to persevere”: an interview with Frederick Wiseman

Interviews

Choosing 100 essential Black films: an interview with Ashley Clark

By Alex Ramon

Choosing 100 essential Black films: an interview with Ashley Clark

From the Sight and Sound archive

“Until you see someone like you doing something, you can never imagine yourself doing it”: Spike Lee on Malcolm X, role models and the press

By James Verniere

“Until you see someone like you doing something, you can never imagine yourself doing it”: Spike Lee on Malcolm X, role models and the press

Influences and inspirations

“There’s a kind of wet heat in there that you can feel”: Emerald Fennell on 7 films that influenced her version of Wuthering Heights

By Lillian Crawford

“There’s a kind of wet heat in there that you can feel”: Emerald Fennell on 7 films that influenced her version of Wuthering Heights

Interviews

“Children give you permission to dream”: Akinola Davies Jr on My Father’s Shadow

By Hope Rangaswami

“Children give you permission to dream”: Akinola Davies Jr on My Father’s Shadow

Interviews

“Friedkin saw American Animals and summoned me to lunch”: Bart Layton on his LA heist thriller Crime 101

By Lou Thomas

“Friedkin saw American Animals and summoned me to lunch”: Bart Layton on his LA heist thriller Crime 101

Interviews

“Time is a better curator”: Ethan Hawke on relevance, reinvention and the new rules of engagement

By Sam Wigley

“Time is a better curator”: Ethan Hawke on relevance, reinvention and the new rules of engagement