BFI Beginnings

A showcase of first or early films by major British directors, from the British Film Institute archive

Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott
Boy and Bicycle - the first film made by director Ridley Scott, about a boy who spends the day on his bicycle, instead of going to school
DURATION: 28 MINS
FORMAT: Video
Film
Ken Russell
Ken Russell
Amelia and the Angel by Ken Russell, the second in a showcase of first or early films by major British directors
DURATION: 66 MINS
FORMAT: Video
Film
Stephen Frears
Stephen Frears
The Burning, the first film made by director Stephen Frears, which is a meditation on the first day of revolution in South Africa
DURATION: 30 MINS
FORMAT: Video
Film
Lynne Ramsay
Lynne Ramsay
Kill the Day, one of director Lynne Ramsay's first films, is a powerful, disturbing portrait of a recovering drug addict
DURATION: 18 MINS
FORMAT: Video
Film
Gurinder Chadha
Gurinder Chadha
I’m British but…, the first film from Gurinder Chadha, uncovers a defiant popular culture, part Asian, part British
DURATION: 30 MINS
FORMAT: Video
Film
Shane Meadows
Shane Meadows
Shane Meadows' directorial debut, Where's the Money, Ronnie? is a playful early short, offering four different versions of an East Midlands robbery
DURATION: 12 MINS
FORMAT: Video
Film

For the launch of The Space we chose to showcase a mini-festival of first or early films by major British directors, from the BFI National Archive.

Together they offer a fascinating insight into the filmic and narrative worlds of six diverse film makers: the earliest dating from 1958 and the most recent from 1996.