David Farnor | On 03, Jun 2020

BFI Player, the BFI’s streaming platform, is a gateway to global film, offering a collection of arthouse and world cinema to subscribers, alongside its pay-per-view rental releases and free archive titles and silent movie shorts. This month, it continues its focus on Japan, with a major season originally planned for BFI Southbank spanning a wealth of the country’s finest filmmakers. Last month was Kurosawa, this month it’s Ozu, as BFI Player releases a new collection of 25 of the director’s films, the vast majority of which have never been available on VOD before. (For more information and a full BFI Japan schedule, click here.)

Here’s what’s coming to BFI Player’s subscription service this month:

BFI Japan: Ozu – 5th June

Famed for his distinctive technical and visual style, and often cited as cinema’s greatest director, Yasujirô Ozu’s films use minimalist storytelling and an emphasis on character to paint a portrait of family life and the relationships between the generations. The films included are:

I Was Born, But… (1932)
The Flavour Of Green Tea Over Rice (1952)
Tokyo Story (1953)
Late Autumn (1960)
Early Summer (1951)
Good Morning (1959)
An Autumn Afternoon (1962)
Equinox Flower (1958)
Late Spring (1949)
Walk Cheerfully (1930)
I Flunked, But… (1930)
Where Now Are the Dreams of Youth? (1932)
Early Spring (1956)
That Night’s Wife (1930)
The Lady and the Beard (1931)
A Mother Should Be Loved (1934)
The Only Son (1936)
What Did the Lady Forget? (1937)
There Was a Father (1942)
A Hen in the Wind (1948)
Dragnet Girl (1933)
Days Of Youth (1929)
Woman Of Tokyo (1933)
Tokyo Twilight (1957)
Brothers And Sisters Of The Toda Family (1941)

Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) – 1st June

In John Carpenter’s crime thriller, an unlikely partnership forms between a Highway Patrol Officer, two criminals and a station secretary to defend an almost deserted Los Angeles precinct office when it is subjected to an all-night raid by a bloodthirsty street gang.

Women Make Film: A New Road Movie Through Cinema: Part 3 – 1st June

Written and directed by Mark Cousins, this five-part, 14-hour documentary uses hundreds of clips from films directed by women to show how movies are made, presented in thematic chapters. Narrators include Tilda Swinton, Jane Fonda, Debra Winger and Thandie Newton. Part 3 includes chapters on sex, religion and politics.

Women Make Film: A New Road Movie Through Cinema: Part 4 – 8th June

Written and directed by Mark Cousins, this five-part, 14-hour documentary uses hundreds of clips from films directed by women to show how movies are made, presented in thematic chapters. Narrators include Tilda Swinton, Jane Fonda, Debra Winger and Thandie Newton. Part 4 includes chapters on melodrama, memory and sci-fi.

Girlhood – 8th June

In the tough suburbs of Paris, sixteen-year-old Marieme decides to reinvent herself when she joins a girl gang. Excluded from school and in fear of her overbearing brother at home, Marieme changes her name and appearance and escapes into a new, liberating world outside of society’s conventions. Don’t miss the chance to catch Céline Sciamma’s 2014 gem.

Little Joe – 15th June

Against company policy, plant breeder Alice (a Cannes Best Actress-winning performance from Emily Beecham) takes home a newly created species as a gift for her teenage son, Joe. They christen it ‘Little Joe’ but as it grows, so too does Alice’s suspicion that her new creations may not be as harmless as their nickname suggests…

Women Make Film: A New Road Movie Through Cinema: Part 5 – 15th June

Written and directed by Mark Cousins, this five-part, 14-hour documentary uses hundreds of clips from films directed by women to show how movies are made, presented in thematic chapters. Narrators include Tilda Swinton, Jane Fonda, Debra Winger and Thandie Newton. Part 5 includes chapters on love, death and the meaning of life.

 

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