Features and reviews

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

Interviews

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

With The Bride!, Maggie Gyllenhaal unleashes a genre‑bending, punk‑toned Frankenstein tale. We spoke to stars Peter Sarsgaard and Penélope Cruz about playing detective, favourite icons and Gyllenhaal’s unique touch.

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

Interviews

“The sexiness of queerness is that there’s no fixed role”: Julia Jackman on 100 Nights of Hero

By Blake Simons

“The sexiness of queerness is that there’s no fixed role”: Julia Jackman on 100 Nights of Hero

Interviews

“Man of Principle”: Agnieszka Holland remembers Andrzej Wajda

By Agnieszka Holland

“Man of Principle”: Agnieszka Holland remembers Andrzej Wajda

Interviews

How I became Jean-Luc Godard

By Guillaume Marbeck

How I became Jean-Luc Godard

Interviews

“Claire Foy was a natural at falconry”: Philippa Lowthorpe on H is for Hawk

By Josh Slater-Williams

“Claire Foy was a natural at falconry”: Philippa Lowthorpe on H is for Hawk

Interviews

The Incomer: director Louis Paxton on his darkly funny tale of siblings, islands and isolation

By Lou Thomas

The Incomer: director Louis Paxton on his darkly funny tale of siblings, islands and isolation

Interviews

Andrea Luka Zimmerman: “The 90s were amazing, but the brutal violence was real”

By Georgia Korossi

Andrea Luka Zimmerman: “The 90s were amazing, but the brutal violence was real”

Interviews

Nia DaCosta on 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple: “This whole movie is a tonal tightrope walk”

By Lou Thomas

Nia DaCosta on 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple: “This whole movie is a tonal tightrope walk”

From the Sight and Sound archive

“This is definitely a closing movie because I collected everything”: Béla Tarr on his final film, The Turin Horse

By Jonathan Romney

“This is definitely a closing movie because I collected everything”: Béla Tarr on his final film, The Turin Horse

Interviews

Béla Tarr on Sátántangó at 30: “The length of a movie all depends on what you want to say. I don’t care what is acceptable”

By Alex Barrett

Béla Tarr on Sátántangó at 30: “The length of a movie all depends on what you want to say. I don’t care what is acceptable”

Interviews

Avatar costume designer Deborah L. Scott on creating costumes for CGI: “I started off dropping things in a fishtank”

By Scarlett Harris

Avatar costume designer Deborah L. Scott on creating costumes for CGI: “I started off dropping things in a fishtank”

Interviews

Shoot to thrill: Kathryn Bigelow on A House of Dynamite and her dynamic career

By Henry K Miller

Shoot to thrill: Kathryn Bigelow on A House of Dynamite and her dynamic career

Interviews

“This one is a little more gothic horror”: Josh O’Connor and Rian Johnson on Wake Up Dead Man

By Lou Thomas

“This one is a little more gothic horror”: Josh O’Connor and Rian Johnson on Wake Up Dead Man

Interviews

Rob Reiner: how we made This Is Spinal Tap

By Lou Thomas

Rob Reiner: how we made This Is Spinal Tap

Black Film Bulletin

Shoot the People: Misan Harriman and Andy Mundy-Castle in conversation with Afua Hirsch

By Afua Hirsch

Shoot the People: Misan Harriman and Andy Mundy-Castle in conversation with Afua Hirsch

Interviews

Cemetery of splendour: David Cronenberg on The Shrouds

By Erika Balsom

Cemetery of splendour: David Cronenberg on The Shrouds

Interviews

“Nothing is a slam dunk anymore”: Steven Soderbergh on Black Bag

By Philip Concannon

“Nothing is a slam dunk anymore”: Steven Soderbergh on Black Bag

Interviews

Close encounters in the Atlas mountains: Sofia Alaoui on her haunting debut Animalia

By Elhum Shakerifar

Close encounters in the Atlas mountains: Sofia Alaoui on her haunting debut Animalia

Interviews

“It’s important to try and find the humanity in the people we abhor”: Ari Aster on Eddington

By Thomas Flew

“It’s important to try and find the humanity in the people we abhor”: Ari Aster on Eddington

Interviews

Enemy of the state: Jafar Panahi on It Was Just an Accident

By Jonathan Romney

Enemy of the state: Jafar Panahi on It Was Just an Accident