BFI Distribution hire out films on DCP, 35mm, 16mm and DVD/Blu-ray for theatrical, non-theatrical and educational screenings in cinemas and other venues across the UK and internationally.
Prints are available from their regular distribution collection and the extensive holdings of the BFI National Archive.
For Scalarama 2018, BFI are offering two recent releases of theirs at a discount.
Arcadia
UK, 2017 / Directed by Paul Wright / Music by Adrian Utley, Will Gregory / 78mins/ cert 12A
Scouring 100 years of archive footage, BAFTA-winner Paul Wright constructs an exhilarating study of the British people’s shifting — and contradictory — relationship to the land. The film goes on a sensory, visceral journey through the contrasting seasons, taking in folk carnivals and fetes, masked parades, water divining and harvesting. Set to a grand, expressive new score from Adrian Utley (Portishead) and Will Gregory (Goldfrapp) alongside folk music from the likes of Anne Briggs, Wright’s captivating film essay captures the beauty and brutality, and the magic and madness of rural Britain.
“Arcadia is a revolutionary document” — Paul Kingsnorth, author
“An exhilarating audio-visual journey” — Sight & Sound
“There is magic in this film. 9/10” — Uncut
Available on DCP, Blu-ray, DVD. Discounted rate of 25% of box office OR £65 + VAT (whichever is more). To book email film.bookings@bfi.org.uk quoting Scalarama to access the offer.
La Belle et la Bête (Beauty and the Beast)
Dir. Jean Cocteau / France / 1946 / Black & white / 93 mins / Cert PG
Cast: Jean Marais, Josette Day
More beautiful than ever in a new 4K digital restoration, Cocteau’s spellbinding, sensuous masterpiece was recently described by Guillermo del Toro as ‘the most perfect cinematic fable ever told’.
A hapless merchant, lost in a dark forest, seeks refuge in the castle of a hideous monster who threatens to kill him unless one of his three daughters will agree to take his place. But when Beauty appears, the Beast falls madly in love with her. Hauntingly portrayed by Jean Marais, the Beast is all repressed lust and melancholy refinement, while Beauty (Josette Day) is no mere damsel in distress, overcoming her fears to explore a glittering, shadowy realm which abounds in supernatural terrors and delights. Might she secretly relish this adventure which will help unlock her deepest desires? Cocteau aspired towards a ‘realism of the unreal’, working with cinematographer Henri Alekan and designer Christian Bérard to conjure up a world of living statues, talking mirrors and candelabras clutched in disembodied hands. With the addition of an eerie orchestral score from Georges Auric, so magical is the entire effect that we are tempted to wonder – along with Beauty – ‘Do such marvels really exist?’ The answer must be an enthralled ‘yes’. (Margaret Deriaz)
Available on DCP, Blu-ray, DVD. Discounted rate of 25% of box office OR £65 + VAT (whichever is more). To book email film.bookings@bfi.org.uk quoting Scalarama to access the offer.