Set in a gorgeously photographed Technicolor England and a monochrome heaven, A Matter of Life and Death took the imaginative daring of jointly credited writer-producer-directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger to new heights.

David Niven plays a British airman who survives a plane crash and falls in love with an American radio operator (Kim Hunter), only to be summoned to the afterlife by a heavenly ‘Conductor’ (Marius Goring). But is heaven just a hallucination brought on by brain injury?

Powell and Pressburger layer breathtaking visual tricks on top of this whimsical premise, such as a celebrated point-of-view shot in which our hero’s eyelid closes over the camera lens. The film also works as a sly satire on Anglo-American relations at the end of WWII.

“There are more stunning ideas in this one film, concerning a mistake made in heaven about a WWII pilot who should be dead but isn’t, than the whole of British cinema can usually muster in a decade.” Nick James

“A most peculiar and potent cocktail of romance, theology, global bridge-building and national tub-thumping, this thoughtful drama about one pilot’s deferred mortality remains, if nothing else, a definitive monument to the power of Technicolor. The vivid imagery and the cineliterate style(s) deployed by a creative team at the top of their game express the film’s intricate worldview. It searingly conveys a world grappling with uncharted new places, trying to pick up the pieces after unimaginable calamity.” James Healy

Screening as part of our Around the World in Technicolor Season

Stuck at home and put to work by her spoiled Step-Sisters, Cinderella’s life is dreary and dull. Everything changes when she helps a mysterious woman out...With a little bit of magic, she is transported into an ethereal new world – one where fairies bring the gifts of the seasons, where pumpkins turn into carriages, and where true love awaits.

This enchanting ballet by The Royal Ballet’s Founding Choreographer Frederick Ashton is a theatrical experience for all the family and will transport you into an ethereal world where a sprinkling of fairy dust makes dreams come true.

Cast:  

Cinderella FUMI KANEKO

The Prince WILLIAM BRACEWELL

Cinderella’s Step-Sisters BENNET GARTSIDE, JAMES HAY

Cinderella’s Father THOMAS WHITEHEAD

The Fairy Godmother MAYARA MAGRI

The Fairy Spring ISABELLA GASPARINI

The Fairy Summer MARIKO SASAKI

The Fairy Autumn MEAGHAN GRACE HINKIS

The Fairy Winter CLAIRE CALVERT

The Jester DAICHI IKARASHI

Creatives:

Choreography FREDERICK ASHTON

Music SERGEY PROKOFIEV

Conductor JONATHAN LO

Set Designer TOM PYE

Costume Designer ALEXANDRA BYRNE

Lighting Designer DAVID FINN

Video Designer FINN ROSS

Illusions CHRIS FISHER

Conductor JONATHAN LO