NOVEMBER 19 - December 03, 2021
barbican cinemas | ica | curzon soho | soas
FRIENDSHIP’S DEATH (+ SCREEN TALK)
PETER WOLLEN | 1987 | 78’
FRIDAY 03 DECEMBER | 20:30
BARBICAN CINEMA, SILK STREET, EC2Y 8DS
September 1970: an extra-terrestrial, superbly rendered by Tilda Swinton, on a peace mission to Earth misses her intended destination of MIT, and instead lands in Jordan. She is helped by a jaded war correspondent, played by Bill Paterson, covering the Palestinian revolution as the events of Black September erupt around him. Almost entirely structured around dialogue between Swinton and Paterson, the script unfolds as a series of questions about what it means to be human, and what it means to have one's humanity withheld. Directed by renowned film theorist Peter Wollen, best known as co-writer of Antonioni's The Passenger (1975), Friendship’s Death masterfully brings science fiction to bear on political history. This bizarre and profound film has been impeccably restored by the BFI National Archive and got its re-introduction at Cannes Classics 2021.
This session will be followed by a screen talk with Rebecca O’Brien and Bill Paterson, Friendship Death’s producer and actor. They will be hosted by Danny Leigh, film journalist for the Financial Times.