There are some artists whose work demands to be seen on the big screen, and Jack Cardiff is one of them. In May, the NFT will be celebrating the work of the great cinematographer who died last year, with a season of his beautiful films. It will offer us another opportunity to enjoy his legendary collaborations with Powell and Pressburger – in fact, I'm going to see The Red Shoes once more this afternoon – as well as highlighting a few of his lesser-known works. Chief among these if Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, which is a film I have wanted to see for years and will be released in an extended run from May 14th. During May, the NFT will also be welcoming Nouvelle Vague legend Agnès Varda, who will be in town to introduce a number of screenings during her retrospective. Cleo From 5 to 7 will enjoy an extended run from this weekend, and she will also be introducing one of her own favourite films, Federico Fellini's Amarcord, as part of the Screen Epiphanies strand. Two other screen icons – Leslie Neilsen and Tippi Hedren – will be attending the NFT this month as well, with both taking part in on stage interviews after screenings of Airplane! and The Birds.
Animation fans should head down to the Barbican at the end of the month for Animate the World, a series of screenings and events celebrating the best in contemporary animation, from recent hits such as Fantastic Mr Fox and Up to small-scale and more diverse fare like Metropia and The Secret of Kells. There is also an intriguing Japanese double-bill comprising of Mamoru Hosoda's Summer Wars and a new take of Dante's Inferno, which has been created by a team of animation filmmakers from around the world. The Barbican will also be celebrating the work of Eric Rohmer throughout the month by screening five of the French director's films. Finally, the Apollo will be the setting for the London Sci-Fi Film Festival, while the Terracotta Film Festival will be showcasing great new films from the Far East at the Prince Charles cinema.
If you know of any upcoming film events that you'd like me to include in future articles, please let me know at philipconcannon@googlemail.com.