David Farnor | On 21, Oct 2022

BBC Film and the BFI are teaming up once again for a season of British films to be shown on BBC Two.

The channel will showcase a wave of homegrown filmmakers offering fresh perspectives on UK life and experiences, with each one debuting on a Sunday night through the cold autumn and winter months. Each film will be available on BBC iPlayer after its transmission on BBC Two, and most will also be available on BFI Player.

The seven-film season will also be accompanied by a short introduction from a UK cinema programmer who has championed and played each film for their audiences. The films were all developed and produced with the support of BBC Film, and each film will be followed by the premiere of a short film to showcase work from filmmakers who are on the path to creating their first features.

Eva Yates, Director of BBC Film, says: “This is an extraordinary collection of films showcasing the talents of a vital wave of British filmmakers who have something to say, and we can’t wait for BBC audiences to fall in love with films they may not otherwise have seen. It’s been a pleasure to work with colleagues at the BBC and BFI to bring this collection to UK audiences.”

Here’s the line-up:

After Love

Showing: 9pm, 23rd October
Written and directed by Aleem Khan, introduced by Isra Al Kassi of T A P E Collective

Winner of the Best Actress Bafta for its lead, Joanna Scanlon, and the recipient of five British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) including Best Director, Best Actress and Best British Independent Film, After Love was selected for festivals including Cannes Critics’ Week, Telluride, and the BFI London Film Festival in 2020.

After Love tells the story of Mary Hussain (Joanna Scanlan), who converted to Islam when she married, and now is in her early 60s, living quietly in Dover with her husband Ahmed. Following his unexpected death she discovers that Ahmed had a secret life just 21 miles away across the Channel in Calais.

The shocking discovery compels her to go there to find out more, and as she grapples with her shattered sense of identity, her search for understanding has surprising consequences.

His House

Showing: 9pm, 30th October
Written and directed by Remi Weekes, introduced by Mathieu Ajan of Bounce Cinema

Winner of the Outstanding Debut Bafta for filmmaker Remi Weekes, and the BIFA for Best Actress for Wunmi Mosaku, His House world premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Bol (Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù) and Rial (Wunmi Mosaku) are a young couple who make a harrowing escape from war-torn South Sudan seeking asylum and a fresh start in England, but they’re tormented by a sinister force living in their new home.

Sweetheart

Showing: 9pm, 6th November
Written and directed by Marley Morrison, introduced by Allison Gardner of Glasgow Film

Nominated for five BIFAs including Best Debut Director and winner of the Glasgow Film Festival Audience Award where it world premiered, Sweetheart is is a coming-of-age story written and directed by Marley Morrison.

A socially awkward, environmentally conscious teenager named AJ (Nell Barlow) is dragged to a coastal holiday park by her painfully ‘normal’ family, where she becomes unexpectedly captivated by a chlorine smelling, sun-loving lifeguard named Isla (Ella-Rae Smith).

Here Before

Showing: 9pm, 13th November
Written and directed by Stacey Gregg, introduced by Michelle Devlin of Belfast Film Festival

Here Before world premiered at the SXSW film festival, had its UK premiere at the Belfast Film Festival and won the Best International Film award at the Galway Film Fleadh.

Here Before is a supernatural thriller written and directed by Stacey Gregg and starring Andrea Riseborough. When a new family moves in next door, their young daughter, Megan (Niamh Doran), quickly captivates Laura (Riseborough), stirring up painful memories of her own daughter, who died several years previously.

Before long Laura’s memories turn to obsession, as Megan’s unsettling behaviour begins to convince her of something supernatural. As Laura’s determination to get to the bottom of it becomes all consuming, her family begins to fracture and the line between the extraordinary and the real becomes ever more obscured, in this haunting story about a mother’s love.

Surge

Showing: 9pm, 20th November
Written and directed by Aneil Karia, introduced by Nia Childs, freelance curator and programmer

Surge had its worldwide premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, where lead actor Ben Whishaw won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting, and its international premiere was in the Panorama Section of the Berlin Film Festival.

Joseph (Ben Whishaw) is trapped in a soulless job, living a life devoid of emotion and meaning. After an impulsive act of rebellion, Joseph unleashes a wilder version of himself. He is propelled on a reckless journey though London, ultimately experiencing what it feels like to be alive.

Mogul Mowgli

Showing: 9pm, 27th November
Directed by Bassam Tariq, co-written by Bassam Tariq and Riz Ahmed, introduced by David Kapur of Massive Cinema

Mogul Mowgli world premiered at the Berlin Film Festival where it won the Fipresci prize for the best film in the Panorama sidebar. It was nominated for Best British Film at the Baftas and multiple BIFAs including Best Actor and Best Screenplay. The film follows the story of Zed (Riz Ahmed), a British Pakistani rapper, who, on the cusp of his first world tour, is struck down by an illness that threatens to derail his big break and forces him to face his past, his family and the uncertainty of his legacy.

Co-written, produced by and starring Emmy award-winning actor Riz Ahmed, Mogul Mowgli is the debut fiction feature from the award-winning documentary filmmaker Bassam Tariq (These Birds Walk), who co-wrote the screenplay with Ahmed.

Cow

Showing: 9pm, 4th December
Directed by Andrea Arnold, introduced by Melanie Iredale of Birds Eye View

Cow world premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and also played at Telluride and was nominated in the Documentary category at the 2022 Bafta film awards. The debut documentary of acclaimed British filmmaker, Andrea Arnold, Cow is a powerful film shot over seven years. It is a portrait of the life of a dairy cow called Luma. This observational documentary unflinchingly chronicles its subject’s daily life, from grazing in green fields to giving birth, making milk and everything in between.

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