Programmed by Sophie Monks Kaufman, a new season of films by Claire Denis featuring “some established bangers, some rarer gems” launches at BFI Southbank (JUN 2019). Here’s all you need to know.

By RADIANT CIRCUS

Twitter @radiantcircus | Instagram @radiantcircus

It’s hard to imagine a more passionate fan of filmmaker Claire Denis than the programmer of new, monthlong season THE ORIGINAL SIN OF CLAIRE DENIS at BFI Southbank. Signing off her recent 5/5/5 review of HIGH LIFE in Little White Lies (No.79 MAR/APR ’19), Sophie Monks Kaufman said: “The art we love works to expose our values, our tastes. My taste for Claire Denis leaves me feeling totally exposed, like a baby burbling to a benign authority while adult emotions twist in the darkness of the universe.”

According The Rough Guide To Film (still one of our favourite A to Zs…) Denis is “a white liberal director who spent her formative years living in colonial Africa” before becoming “one of the most original and daring directors to emerge from France”. Kaufman describes Denis’ cinema as one focused on finding “pleasure and grief in our status as ‘fallen’ beings” (BFI Programme, JUNE 2019). These themes are reflected across a body of work from Denis’ directorial debut CHOCOLAT (1988) – nominated for the Palme d’Or and winner of a César for Best First Work – to multiple festival wins at Venice for THE INTRUDER (2004) and WHITE MATERIAL (2009) and at Sitges for “the most romantic cannibal movie you’re ever likely to see” (ibid), TROUBLE EVERY DAY (2001).

In addition to the lineup of films – those “established bangers, some rarer gems” – the BFI season features an opening night talk The Visions of Claire Denis (03 JUN 18:30) as well as introductions from Kaufman for THE INTRUDER 35mm (09 JUN 14:15) and Anna Bogutskaya – BFI programmer and one half of The Final Girls – for TROUBLE EVERY DAY 35mm (20 JUN 18:20). Two panel discussions give you yet more chances to take the deeper dive: The Politics and Poetics of Desire (12 JUN 18:20); and, Philosophical Screens: BEAU TRAVAIL and the Philosophy of the Body on Screen (19 JUN 20:10).

Critically acclaimed, Denis’ films deserve bigger audiences in the UK. Let’s just hope the Robert Pattinson fans who gave RADIANT CIRCUS our widest ever circulation thanks to their retweets of our content from HIGH LIFE at Ciné Lumière, decide to follow their star…

FULL PROGRAMME

THE ORIGINAL SIN OF CLAIRE DENIS screens at BFI Southbank (JUN).

The Visions of Claire Denis talk (03 JUN 18:30).

VENDREDI SOIR 35mm d. Claire Denis, 2002 (03 JUN 20:45 / 12 JUN 20:45).

CHOCOLAT 35mm d. Claire Denis, 1988 (05 JUN 18:20 / 07 JUN 20:50).

BEAU TRAVAIL 35mm d. Claire Denis, 1999 (05 JUN 20:40 / 19 JUN 18:20).

TROUBLE EVERY DAY 35mm d. Claire Denis, 2001 (08 JUN 20:40).

THE INTRUDER 35mm d. Claire Denis, 2004 + Intro by Sophie Monks Kaufman (09 JUN 14:15).

WHITE MATERIAL d. Claire Denis, 2009 (09 JUN 20:15 / 22 JUN 18:20).

I CAN’T SLEEP 35mm d. Claire Denis, 1994 (10 JUN 20:45).

The Politics and Poetics of Desire panel discussion (12 JUN 18:20).

ALL THE BOYS AND GIRLS OF THEIR TIME: U.S. GO HOME d. Claire Denis, 1994 (15 JUN 20:45 – FREE!/Booking by phone or in person only).

Philosophical Screens: BEAU TRAVAIL and the Philosophy of the Body on Screen panel discussion (19 JUN 20:10).

TROUBLE EVERY DAY 35mm d. Claire Denis, 2001 + Intro by Anna Bogutskaya (20 JUN 18:20).

BASTARDS d. Claire Denis, 2013 (22 JUN 20:45 / 25 JUN 20:50).

THE INTRUDER 35mm d. Claire Denis, 2004 (23 JUN 20:00).

LET THE SUNSHINE IN d. Claire Denis, 2017 (24 JUN 18:15 / 30 JUN 20:25).

BFI SOUTHBANK

London’s mothership of moving pictures is responsible for promoting and preserving film and filmmaking across the UK. BFI Southbank holds a permanent place in our listings thanks to encyclopaedic – almost extravagant – seasons, an abundance of festivals and programmes that draw impressively from a vast archive. A commitment to the diversity of films, filmmakers and audiences as well as strands dedicated to experimental and cult cinema result in an unrivalled scope. Q&As with cast and crew come thick and fast, making BFI Southbank a place to rub shoulders if there ever was one…

Web bfi.org.uk | Instagram @britishfilminstitute | Twitter @BFI

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