BFI’s epic nationwide Art of Action season is produced in Bristol

If you’ve ever marvelled at action choreography on screen, the BFI Film Audience Network’s (FAN) latest big nationwide season Art of Action is for you.

Celebrating the artistry of these great spectacles through the ages, the season has been produced in Bristol by BFI Film Audience Network season producer Timon Singh, of Bristol Bad Film Club and the Forbidden Worlds Film Festival fame.

“After the triumph of Everything Everywhere All At Once and the continued success of franchises like John Wick and Mission: Impossible, it’s clear that the thrill of watching ‘real action’ done by stunt performers, as well as stars like Michelle Yeoh and Tom Cruise, still captivates audiences,” Timon says.

“This season looks at the cinematic artistry, skills and craft involved in creating iconic action sequences and films, as well as engage with the historic roots and cross-cultural influences of the genre.

“We’ll celebrate the skill and daring of actors and stunt performers and their extraordinary on-screen exploits and provide opportunities to get behind-the-scenes insights into the daring world of action design which will thrill and entertain, and hopefully inspire the next generation of creatives.”

The season runs from October to December, with much of the action, as it were, taking place in November. Several local cinemas and organisations are participating.

Afrika Eye film festival has two events at the Trinity Centre. On November 9, you can see The Woman King. That’s followed on November 15 by a double bill of vintage Pam Grier vengeance movies: Coffy and Foxy Brown.

Note the change of dates from those previously announced for both of these screenings.

Art of Action and BFI FAN producer Timon Singh

The Watershed is still confirming its contribution to The Art of Action, but here’s what we know so far.

Bristol-based Polite Society writer/director Nida Manzoor is co-curating a Women In Action programme, under the splendid banner Girls Just Wanna Have Guns.

As part of this, Sunday matinees throughout November will be a bunch of women-led Hong Kong action flicks: Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock in Yes, Madam! (Nov 3); Sibelle Hu, Cynthia Rothrock and Kara Ying Hung Wai in The Inspector Wears Skirts (Nov 10), followed by an akido demonstration; Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh in Police Story 3: Supercop (Nov 17); and Michelle Yeoh, Anita Mui and Maggie Cheung in The Heroic Trio (Nov 24).

On November 9, the Watershed also has the regional premiere of the new 4K restoration of Kathryn Bigelow’s Point Break, to delight original fans and a new generation of those who identify as “young, dumb and full of cum”.

The premiere will be followed by a beach party in the cafe bar, organised in collaboration with The Wave, promising beach décor, surfer sounds, drinks and snacks and, it is hoped,  a surf simulator to try.

Point Break is then showing daily for at least a week, with a Deaf Conversations screening on Monday 11 and a relaxed matinee on Wednesday.

‘Yes, Madam!’ Image copyright Eureka Entertainment

Other action classics getting runs at the Watershed in November are The Matrix (Fri 15 & Sat 16) and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Fri 22 & Sat 23).

‘Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon’. Image © 2000 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.

Finally, this year’s Cary Comes Home festival gets in on the action action with a Cary Grant – Acrobat! season at the Bristol Megascreen and Spiegeltent from November 29 to December 1.

This focuses on the how the great Bristolian star’s early training as a physical comedian, stilt-walker and acrobat set him up for many of his greatest screen performances and paved the way for none other than James Bond.

This year’s festival concludes with a closing night gala screening of To Catch a Thief plus a live circus performance.

Tickets for individual events go on sale on November 1, but you can view the full programme here.

Main pic from Point Break. All images, except where stated: BFI