Press room

Barbican Cinema’s February ScreenTalks highlights include Director Lukas Dhont being joined by co-writer Angelo Tijssens to discuss their latest film Close, and Director Georgia Oakley, Actor Rosy McEwen and Producer Hélène Sifre will be in conversation following the opening night screening of Blue Jean. Director David Easteal talks about his film The Plains, screening as part of Barbican Cinema’s Experiments in Film series.

Preview: Close (12A) + ScreenTalk with director Lukas Dhont and co-writer Angelo Tijssens

France/Netherlands 2022, Dir Lukas Dhont, 104 min

Fri 10 Feb, 6:10pm, Cinema 1

Nominated for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy-Awards, director Lukas Dhont’s elegant and moving study of masculinity and broken childhood friendships is as evocative as it is visually stunning, set against the rich landscape of the Belgian countryside.

Thirteen-year-old best friends Léo and Rémi are inseparable. As they start a new school year, the pressures of burgeoning adolescence challenge their bond with unexpected and far-reaching consequences.

Director Lukas Dhont and co-writer Angelo Tijssens will be discussing this profound coming of age story after this exciting early preview screening.

Also in February:

Blue Jean (15) + ScreenTalk

UK 2022, Dir Georgia Oakley 97 min

Fri 10 Feb, 8:20pm, Cinema 1

As Margaret Thatcher's government is days away from a decade in power, the spectre of Section 28, a law banning local authorities and schools from 'promoting homosexuality', looms large on the England's queer community.

PE teacher Jean (Rosy McEwen) is caught between her public and private life when a new student at her school arrives in need of support that only she can provide.

The screening will be followed by a conversation with writer-director Georgia Oakley, Actor Rosy McEwen and Producer Hélène Sifre, hosted by Creative Producer Mekella Broomberg.

The Plains (12A) + ScreenTalk with Director David Easteal

Australia 2022, Dir David Easteal, 180 mins

Wed 22 Feb, 6:30pm, Cinema 2

The latest film in Barbican Cinema’s Experiments in Film series, this screening is followed by a ScreenTalk with Director David Easteal.

Taking place entirely within a car, The Plains follows the everyday reflections and musings of a man during his drive home in Melbourne, shooting at the same time of evening for a period of 12 months. With the camera shooting through the windscreen, this ordinary commute of a man in his mid-50s develops into a portrait of his motivations, work, home, family and love life as we move through urban space and a labyrinth of interlocked roads and other vehicles.