The BFI Announces Its May Programme At The BFI Southbank And The BFI IMAX
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Carl Roberts 
The BFI programme highlights for May include seasons dedicated to Guillermo del Toro. The schedule also features a survey of Brazilian film and British Postwar cinema.
The BFI today announces the programme for BFI Southbank and BFI IMAX from 1 – 31 May. The run begins with GUILLERMO DEL TORO, in celebration of del Toro being awarded the BFI’s highest honour, a BFI Fellowship. The season includes a centrepiece Guillermo del Toro in Conversation event on 8 May. On that day, the multi–Academy Award-winning filmmaker, one of the most distinctive voices in modern cinema, will be on stage at BFI Southbank. He will discuss his long and illustrious career. Guillermo del Toro will participate in eight in-person events at BFI Southbank and BFI IMAX from May 8-11.
During this time, he’ll introduce three films and hold four post-screening Q&A sessions. The BFI Fellowship recognises del Toro’s extraordinary contribution to film and the distinctive artistry that runs through his work across animation and live action. This includes his most recent multiple Academy Award and BAFTA-winning adaptation of FRANKENSTEIN.
Films playing in the season include MIMIC (1997), presenting both the original and director’s cut versions. THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE (2001). BLADE II (2002). HELLBOY (2004). PAN’S LABYRINTH (2006). HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY (2008). PACIFIC RIM (2013). CRIMSON PEAK (2015). TALES OF ARCADIA (2016). Best Picture Academy Award winner THE SHAPE OF WATER (2017). Both NIGHTMARE ALLEY (2021) and the subsequently released black and white version, NIGHTMARE ALLEY: VISION OF DARKNESS AND LIGHT. GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO (2022). His most recent, triple Academy Award-winning, FRANKENSTEIN (2025). Plus two of del Toro’s early Mexican shorts, GEOMETRIA (1987) and DOÑA LUPA (1985).
CRONOS
BFI Distribution is re-releasing del Toro’s fresh and bracing feature debut CRONOS (1992) back in cinemas in the UK and Ireland from 15 May. The release includes an extended run at BFI Southbank. CRONOS announced the arrival of a strikingly original cinematic voice. With its interest in family and the true nature of horror, it set a course for things to come in del Toro’s career. Inventively employing vampirism in its assessment of the relationship between the USA and Mexico. This darkly comic film remains a highlight in del Toro’s incredible body of work.
The BFI previously released CRONOS on BFI Blu-ray. The edition was restored at 4K resolution using the original 35mm camera negative, under the supervision of del Toro himself. UK-wide audiences will also have an opportunity to watch some of del Toro’s favourite films with an exclusive subscription collection. This selection, Guillermo del Toro Selects, will be available on BFI Player.
BRAZIL ON FILM
BRAZIL ON FILM is a major two-month season at BFI Southbank running from 1 May to 30 June. It is presented as part of the UK/Brazil Season of Culture 2025–26. Spanning almost a century of filmmaking from 1931 to the present day, this extensive programme brings together more than 40 titles. The line-up celebrates the richness, diversity, and global impact of Brazilian cinema. From internationally acclaimed, award-winning works to rediscovered and recently restored gems. The season arrives at a moment of renewed international attention for Brazilian filmmaking. This follows the success of recent titles, including Walter Salles’ Academy Award-winning I’M STILL HERE (2024). And Kleber Mendonça Filho’s multi-award-nominated THE SECRET AGENT (2025). The season explores key movements such as Cinema Novo. Cinema Marginal and the Retomada. Meanwhile, it traces the evolution of Brazilian cinema through periods of political, social, and cultural change.
Alongside iconic films such as CITY OF GOD (2002), the programme also showcases a vibrant wave of contemporary filmmaking. Recent titles include MARS ONE (2022), MANAS (2024), WHITE HOUSE (2024), and DOLORES (2025). Filmmakers featured include Walter Salles. Fernando Meirelles. Kleber Mendonça Filho. Daniela Thomas. Kátia Lund. Glauber Rocha. Eduardo Coutinho. Anna Muylaert and Karim Aïnouz. Additionally, emerging voices shaping the future of Brazilian cinema are present as well. A special focus marks 80 years since the birth of the late Héctor Babenco. This is highlighted through screenings including PIXOTE (1980) and KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN (1984). The programme also foregrounds Indigenous and Amazonian perspectives. Highlighting stories of identity, territory, and resistance. Furthermore, it is accompanied by a programme of events at BFI Southbank and a UK-wide curated collection on BFI Player.
BRITISH POSTWAR CINEMA 1945-1960
After the end of the Second World War. And as its overseas empire began to crumble, Britain had to embark on the rocky road to national recovery and revival. Originally showcased at the 2025 Locarno Film Festival, GREAT EXPECTATIONS: BRITISH POSTWAR CINEMA 1945-1960 features curatorial work by Ehsan Khoshbakht. The project was produced in collaboration with the BFI National Archive and Cinémathèque Suisse, with support from Studiocanal. GREAT EXPECTATIONS showcases the cultural response by the nation’s filmmakers, writers, producers, performers, and studios. These creative talents collectively tried to make sense of the transformations of this turbulent new era.
BFI Southbank will screen handpicked highlights from the Locarno programme, selected by Khoshbakht. They reveal the humanity, exuberance, and existentialist edge of these British postwar classics. Many prints screening come from the BFI National Archive collection. The season paints a rich and diverse picture of contemporary life in the postwar years. GREAT EXPECTATIONS traces different shades of popular cinema from this golden period. These films are grounded in reality yet shaped by distinct generic, authorial, and formal convictions.
VAL GUEST
Filmmaker Alexander Payne described Val Guest’s exhilarating Hammer-produced police procedural, HELL IS A CITY (1960), as his major discovery of the Locarno Film Festival. Join season curator Ehsan Khoshbakht and BFI National Archive curators James Bell and Josephine Botting after the screening on 8 May. They will hold an introductory discussion about the wider season. Other films include A DIARY FOR TIMOTHY (1945), Humphrey Jennings celebrated cinematic letter to a newborn child. Charles Crichton’s HUNTED (1952) stars Dirk Bogarde as a fugitive murderer on the run with a war-orphaned boy who witnessed his crime. Daniel Birt’s semi-gothic tale, THE THREE WEIRD SISTERS (1948), is one of only two fiction films written by the poet Dylan Thomas. Elsewhere Jill Craigie’s pioneering feminist documentary TO BE A WOMAN (1951), examines the role of women in 20th-century Britain.
Adapted from Graham Greene’s script, THE FALLEN IDOL (1948) is directed with devastating precision by Carol Reed. An Ealing anthology film that combines comedy and drama in an unusual but effective way, TRAIN OF EVENTS (1949) examines the lives of a train’s passengers prior to a rail disaster. From the legendary team of Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat, THE HAPPIEST DAYS OF OUR LIVES (1950), starring Margaret Rutherford and Alastair Sim, hilariously skewers bureaucracy. It joyfully celebrates the chaos that would later define Launder and Gilliat’s THE BELLES OF ST. TRINIAN’S. Legendary script supervisor Angela Allen joins us for a special intro to the film on 13 May.
MORE FILMS IN THE GREAT EXPECTATIONS SEASON
One of Alexander Mackendrick’s lesser-known films, MANDY (1952), is a heartfelt, poignant tale of a deaf girl. And the efforts of her mother and teacher to help her connect with the world. A young Joan Collins stars in Jack Lee’s assured neorealist-influenced TURN THE KEY SOFTLY (1953), exploring the cold indifference of the city. J. Lee Thompson’s breakthrough film THE YELLOW BALLOON (1953) showcases his bold and gritty vision. An unflinching drama set against the backdrop of the bombed-out ruins of London. Elsewhere, John Krish’s evocative THE ELEPHANT WILL NEVER FORGET (1953) documents London’s final tram service. Compton Bennett’s THE FLYING SCOTSMAN (1957) is a masterclass in unrelenting suspense aboard the Edinburgh-to-London sleeper. Alongside, Wendy Toye’s ‘diabolical’ THE STRANGER LEFT NO CARD (1952).
Joseph Losey’s searing indictment of capital punishment, TIME WITHOUT PITY (1957) stars Michael Redgrave as an alcoholic father who has 24 hours to try and save his wrongly accused son. John Guillermin’s gripping thriller NEVER LET GO (1960) features Richard Todd in a standout performance as he embarks on a mission to recover a stolen car. His journey pits him against a ruthless London gang, led in an unconventional role by Peter Sellers. In both comedies and thrillers, the shadow of the war continues to loom over characters’ motives. And scars the urban landscapes they inhabit, where life and its meagre joys remain rationed. GREAT EXPECTATIONS charts a nation’s rise from the ashes of conflict and its faltering steps toward reconstruction.
FESTIVAL OF BRITAIN
75 years ago, the FESTIVAL OF BRITAIN saw London’s South Bank overhauled and invigorated with new buildings. New ideas and the promise of a new era. Alongside GREAT EXPECTATIONS’ focus on British postwar cinema, we look back on BFI Southbank’s origins as a venue and the optimism of that moment. From the dreamers of 1951 to the youth of today. Muriel Box’s beautifully observed, vivacious comedy. THE HAPPY FAMILY (1952), set to premiere on May 25, tells the story of the Lord family. Faced with an order to vacate their home for South Bank’s shiny new construction project, they take a stand by barricading themselves inside in protest.
FESTIVAL OF BRITAIN: THROUGH THE EYES OF THE ARCHIVE on 25 May, will see experts from the BFI National Archive surface contemporary perspectives from our collections. Shedding light on the festival experience in the summer of 1951, the legacy it left behind, and the role film had to play. Transforming the landscape of London’s South Bank, the Festival of Britain introduced the Royal Festival Hall and the futuristic Telekinema. Forging the origins of the National Film Theatre and today’s BFI Southbank.
RIP IT UP
RIP IT UP on 3 May will celebrate the changing face of youth rebellion, culture, and expression. From the birth of the teenager in the 1950s through to the present day. Inviting young curators and speakers to exhibit work by and about young people. Dive into the youth-driven movements that have defined our cultural identity. The agonies and ecstasies of growing up in Britain, and the issues facing the next generation. From teddy boys to microtrends. 90s rave culture to social activism, moving image, film, and television will be a window into the staggering impact of youthful creativity on our society. The RIP IT UP weekender ties into Southbank Centre’s pop culture spectacular You Are Here.
The centrepiece of the Southbank 75 celebrations is an electrifying journey through 75 years of British Music, dance, theatre, fashion, and film, directed by Danny Boyle with a cast of hundreds, taking place on the same day. Embrace hedonistic impulses, rage against the machine, and throw yourself headfirst into a Southbank-wide takeover led by the youth of today. Full details of the BFI Southbank RIP IT UP programme to follow separately. From May to October, the 2026 BFI FAN UK-wide season RIP IT UP will explore the changing face of youth rebellion, culture and expression, from joy to heartbreak, on screen at venues across the UK, supported by BFI National Lottery funding.
FILM PREVIEWS
Film previews at BFI Southbank this month will include NORMAL (2025) on 11 May, followed by a Q&A with director Ben Wheatley. Sheriff Ulysses works a quiet beat in the snowy Midwestern town of Normal. However, when an armed robbery goes down at the local bank, things soon pick up. Based on a story by lead actor Bob Odenkirk and screenwriter Derek Kolstad, Wheatley’s latest is a riotous shoot-em-up that has more than its fair share of surprises and pure mayhem.
A TV Preview of FREE NELSON MANDELA (2026) on 7 May will include a Q&A with director James Rogan and crew. The image of Nelson Mandela walking free from prison after 27 years is one of the most iconic moments in late 20th century history. It was the outcome of a fierce political struggle and cultural battle to bring about the end of Apartheid. With access to those who fought for his freedom and the people at the heart of the anti-Apartheid movement, FREE NELSON MANDELA captures this era-defining moment. Meanwhile, György Pálfi’s audacious allegorical drama HEN (2025) on 21 May follows a Leghorn hen who escapes an industrial farm and seeks refuge in the courtyard of a struggling, family-run restaurant. As she navigates turkey hierarchies, cunning foxes, and the theft of her eggs, a grim human story of exploitation and smuggling unfolds around her.
QUEER EAST
QUEER EAST, the cross-disciplinary festival that showcases boundary-pushing LGBTQ+ cinema, live arts, and moving image work from East and Southeast Asia, returns to BFI Southbank from 1 May to 6 June for its seventh edition at venues across London. Exploring what it means to be queer and Asian today, films playing at BFI Southbank this year will include the UK premieres of OPEN ENDINGS (Nigel Santos, 2025) and BETWEEN GOODBYES (Jota Mun, 2024), among other screenings.
UK ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL
Meanwhile, the UK ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL is the longest-running South Asian film festival in the UK and returns from 1 – 10 May. Showcasing award-winning filmmakers from across the globe, the festival offers bold storytelling that expands perspectives and deepens appreciation of film and television. The theme of its 28th edition, Stories That Bind Us, explores identity, belonging, migration, love, and loss, Revealing the universal human search for connection and meaning. Films playing at BFI Southbank will include the Opening Night GHOST SCHOOL (2025) on 1 May, including a Q&A with writer-director Seemab Gul, plus a separate masterclass with Gul on creating socially engaged cinema on 2 May, MERA LYARI (2025) on 2 May, including a Q&A with director Abu Aleeha and cast. Plus the Closing Night SHADOWBOX (Tanushree Das, Saumyananda Sahi, 2025) followed by a Q&A with cast and crew on 10 May. For more information, go to tonguesonfire.com.
DOCTOR WHO-THE MOVIE
The 4K restoration of DOCTOR WHO: THE MOVIE (1996) on 16 May will be followed by a Q&A with director Geoffrey Sax and actor Paul McGann. Some six years after the seventh Doctor left our screens, he returns to pass the mantle to his successor in this reboot of the beloved series, now featuring McGann in the title role. Set at the turn of the 21st Century, the Doctor arrives in San Francisco, where he must deal with an old adversary. This feature version, celebrating its 30th anniversary, was shot on film and has been restored, scanned, and released in visually dazzling 4K.
THE BOUNTY AND MARK KERMODE LIVE IN 3D
Meanwhile, Reece Shearsmith presents THE BOUNTY (Roger Donaldson, 1984) on 19 May. The story of Captain Bligh, Fletcher Christian, and the Mutiny on the Bounty is brought thrillingly to life in this hugely enjoyable drama. Originally intended as a David Lean production, Donaldson’s colourful historical epic has gradually achieved cult status over the years. This is a rare opportunity to see this film on the big screen and marvel at its colossal star power. Including Anthony Hopkins on top form – and unbridled ambition. Finally, MARK KERMODE LIVE IN 3D returns on 11 May with surprise guests and discussion of upcoming releases. Cinematic treasures, industry news, and even some guilty pleasures.
NEW AND RE-RELEASES
Films playing on extended run throughout the month at BFI Southbank will include the BFI Distribution re-release of Guillermo del Toro’s CRONOS (1992), & TUNER (Daniel Roher, 2025). The continued run of BFI Distribution release ROSE OF NEVADA (Mark Jenkin, 2025), alongside Mark Jenkin’s other acclaimed Cornwall-set features BAIT (2019) and ENYS MEN (2022). Further details can be found here.
BFI IMAX
New releases playing at BFI IMAX throughout April will include STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU (Jon Favreau, 2026) and the third edition of a special collaboration between BFI IMAX and the Super 8 filmmaking challenge, Straight 8, STRAIGHT 8 2026 WORLD PREMIERE: THE BEST 25 SUPER 8 FILMS OF 2026.
BIG SCREEN CLASSICS
Whether it’s a Black actor trying to catch his big break in the movie biz. A classic tale of talkies taking over Hollywood. Merging identities in a Lynchian noir or tabloid scandal-turned-arthouse aspiration. This month’s BFI Southbank daily screenings of classic movies for just £9.50 are all about the art and artifice of acting on stage and screen, with all of its contradictions. Films playing throughout May will include ALL ABOUT EVE (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1950). SUNSET BOULEVARD (Billy Wilder, 1950). SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN (Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen, 1952). THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL (Vincente Minnelli, 1952). A STAR IS BORN (George Cukor, 1954). THE HERO (Satyajit Ray, 1966). OPENING NIGHT (John Cassavetes, 1977). HOLLYWOOD SHUFFLE (Robert Townsend, 1987). IRMA VEP (Olivier Assayas, 1996). NAKED ACTS (Bridgett M. Davis, 1996). BEING JOHN MALKOVICH (Spike Jonze, 1999). LOST IN TRANSLATION (Sofia Coppola, 2003) and MAY DECEMBER (Todd Haynes, 2023).
The full details of our line-up can be found here. In addition to our £9.50 ticket offer for BIG SCREEN CLASSICS, audience members aged 25 and under can buy tickets for BFI Southbank screenings (in advance or on the day) and special events and previews (on the day only) for just £4, through our ongoing ticket scheme for young audiences.
Plan your March visit to the BFI Southbank and the BFI IMAX today.
Introducing Carl! As the News Editor at Future of the Force, Carl has been an invaluable member of our team since early 2016. His expertise and dedication have made him an integral part of our editorial staff. Beyond his professional role, Carl is a fervent supporter of Liverpool F.C. and an avid follower of pop culture. He has a deep passion for Halloween, Friday the 13th, and the iconic movie franchises Star Wars and Star Trek.
He can be found either at his neighborhood cinema, enjoying the latest releases on the big screen, or at home streaming the newest blockbuster movies.
