Film Hub North members celebrate the explosive world of the action genre
Published:
22 Nov 2024
BFI FAN’s new UK-wide season Art of Action celebrates the artistry of the real action choreography that’s kept audiences on the edge of their seats since the early days of cinema.
Art of Action explores the skill and craft involved in creating iconic sequences and films, as well as engage with the historic roots and cross-cultural influences of action cinema.
Film Hub North members, as part of BFI Film Audience Network, applied to access support to present seasons, events, and screenings that celebrate the art of action. We’ve shared our funded projects below – expect behind-the-scenes insights into the daring and ground-breaking world of the film action community, and opportunities for the next generation of creatives.
Art of Action is playing in cinemas across the UK and online on BFI Player from October to December 2024.
Interested in becoming a Film Hub North member? Learn more here.
Blackpool Film Festival
Blackpool Film Festival are celebrating Art of Action with screenings of joyous satirical comedy, Polite Society. The lead screening at the new Backlot Cinema will be followed by a panel discussion hosted by women’s organisation Reclaim Blackpool, with special guests including a stunt star from the film and other industry professionals from the world of action. The festival will also deliver a stunt performer workshop for young women and non-binary people in partnership with Blackpool Sixth Form College, and additional film club and social screenings will take place at Aunty Social throughout October.
We’re really looking forward to celebrating the BFI: Art of Action season at Blackpool Film Festival this November. We’re keen to explore and share our love of the genre while shining a spotlight on the work of female stunt performers. It’s always been a dream of ours to connect local audiences with industry professionals, and this event is a great opportunity for local people to talk to the people they see on the big screen.
We are so pleased to have the support of Film Hub North, who have played a huge part in Blackpool Film Festival’s journey and have helped us to deliver vibrant and memorable film experiences over the last 10 years.
Bradford Queer Film Festival
Bradford Queer Film Festival are delivering ‘Women Kings and Stunt Queens’, a series of screenings that showcase the contribution of LGBTQIA+ stunt people, and the rich history of action films with LGBTQIA+ storylines. The programme will shine a light on the often under-appreciated 'camp' effect of action films particularly with women leads, inviting audiences to reimagine their ideas of action and stunt work. This fun and feisty programme, shown across traditional and community-based cinemas, will be accompanied by a playful series of events from Queer inclusive martial arts lessons to art workshops.
CULTPLEX
CULTPLEX, Manchester invites audiences to an eclectic programme celebrating the breadth and artistry of action cinema around the planet, with a focus on south and southeast Asian cinema. Their House of Yeoh all-dayer will celebrate the illustrious career of Michelle Yeoh, whilst their East Via West Strand will explore eastern masterpieces and western films that have pushed the boundaries of action cinema. They will run a marathon of Jackie Chan’s Police Story Trilogy and their monthly themed programming fixtures Arrow Video Club and MOVIE CHURCH will showcase The Way of The Dragon and Seven Samurai respectively.
HOME
Art of Action at HOME is a celebration of action filmmaking through the ages – a high-octane season of screenings and special events which champions silent cinema pioneers, master filmmakers who laid the blueprint for modern action movies, and the maverick directors and performers who redefined the possibilities of the genre. Art of Action includes a focus on Sam Peckinpah, one of the most influential action directors of all time, alongside a celebration of essential feminist interventions within the genre – from the luchadoras of 1960s Mexican pulp cinema to the long-awaited big screen return of Point Break, Kathryn Bigelow’s 1991 cult classic. The Manchester venue will close its season with a special live score screening of The General starring cinema’s original daredevil stuntman, Buster Keaton.
Hyde Park Picturehouse
Hyde Park Picture House’s Burning Rubber, Crossing Borders programme will encourage audiences to explore the history of car races and chases in global action cinema, featuring a wide-ranging series of talks and Q&As with academics, car enthusiasts and stuntwomen that explore elements of style, the impact of industrial and technological shifts, and stardom and performance. The season will include a day-long educational session as part of Hyde Park Picture House’s Film School strand including screenings of Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) and Initial D (2005) Hong Kong street racing film based on a popular Japanese manga from the 1990s.
Pictureville Cinema
The National Science and Media Museum's Pictureville Cinema are screening a season of films which explore the development of the female action hero over the past six decades, celebrating female representation in a traditionally male-orientated genre. From swordfights in ancient China to squaring up to xenomorphs in space, their Art of Action season sees action heroines take centre screen. The museum in Bradford, the world’s first UNESCO City of Film, is home to three cinema spaces and looks forward to welcoming audiences back to Pictureville whilst the museum remains closed for major refurbishment.
It’s important to us to be consistently celebrating a diverse range of characters and stories so we’re really excited to be showcasing female-led films within the action genre. Especially as part of something accessible and fun like the Art of Action season – who doesn’t want to see strong women heroes kicking butts on the big screen!
Showroom Cinema
Sheffield’s Showroom Cinema planned an extended celebration of the cinematic artistry, skill and craft involved in creating action cinema, engaging with the historic roots and cross-cultural influences of the genre. Alongside screenings of the beloved blockbuster menu titles, featured events include a keynote lecture from a silent film expert, a spotlight on Michelle Yeoh, martial arts demonstrations for young people, and late-night global action movie marathons. Mini seasons will showcase women’s contribution to the genre and films that transcend typical depictions of disability, alongside a focus on stunt pioneers and chase sequences.
We're really excited at Showroom Cinema to be a part of the BFI Art of Action season. We've programmed an extended season of films and activities - alongside some very exciting partners - that explore aspects of the action genre across film history.
Our season includes spotlights on the action genre and how it has shaped cinema since the silent era. We also felt it was important to highlight that the genre has often been progressive and intellectual in its themes, which is sometimes overlooked or missed beyond the spectacle of the action itself. We have activities focusing on women in action, action films that explore complex political issues, and a focus on powerful action heroes with disabilities, which are just some of the ways that filmmakers have used the genre to create empowering kick-ass narratives.
Storyhouse
Storyhouse, Chester is screening a season of 10 films exploring the art of action – from the earliest swashbuckler Mark of Zorro to the revenge thriller Monkey Man – a programme curated with the aim of displaying diverse talent on screen and behind the camera. Along the way they will celebrate one-time Chester student Michelle Yeoh with a weekend dedicated to her extraordinary action career and by hosting a special careers day for 16- to 18-year-olds interested in physical education followed by a screening of Polite Society.
