The first special public events and screenings for the BFI Film Audience Network's new UK-wide season Rip It Up have been announced.
From Derry to the Isle of Bute, and Derby to Bath, the season explores and celebrates the transformative energy and changing face of youth rebellion, culture and expression on screen in the UK.
From Q&A screenings and discussions with special guests, to zine-making, illustration and graffiti workshops, live music and DJ nights, island-hopping film tours and much more besides, Rip It Up emphasises youth-led programming and event curation, empowering young voices and creative talent at the intersections of film and music, fashion, spoken word, craft and more.
Running from June to October 2026, the programme features events across the country, with more activity in the North still to come.
The first highlights to be announced include:
- SCREEN ARGYLL: Sea Change Young Programmers - Rip it Up will support the first-ever Young Programmers group for Sea Change Film Festival 2026 (Isle of Tiree). They will focus on the films of Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham, Bride and Prejudice, Blinded by the Light), alongside British independent coming-of-age films like Scrapper and Rocks. The group will empower young people in remote island communities to develop a special programme, which will also tour Argyll and the Isles (Isle of Mull, Isle of Bute Oban and Dunoon).
- QUEENS FILM THEATRE, BELFAST: Including a punk zine workshop, Q&A screenings, plus collaborative events with Belfast Record Fair, the Naughton Gallery, Us Folk illustration agency and Belfast Pride, QFT’s season will offer new and old audiences a reminder of why music has been the dominant youth culture in the UK for the last 75 years.
- CELLB, BLAENAU FFESTINIOG: CellB’s Video Hud is turning up the volume as it explores Welsh subcultures from the 1990s Cool Cymru movement to today’s emerging DIY creative scenes. Curated by young programmers Gwenno and Cian, this project combines archive film (Video Hud) with new youth-made work including Glasbren. Through screenings, discussions, live music and participatory activity, the programme platforms authentic Welsh youth voices often underrepresented on screen, connecting past and present expressions of rebellion, identity and creativity while engaging new audiences across North Wales.
- FILMGAGE, MIDLANDS: Victoria Park Productions presents We Are The Rebellion, a celebration and showcase of the West Midlands strong tradition of local activism, reflecting on film and archive sharing Midlands and global majority lived experiences, identities, and cultural interests within the UK.
- BATH FILM FESTIVAL: Rebel Moves: Youth, Sport and Self-Expression is a new event exploring youth culture, identity and self-expression through film, movement and community. Featuring Bend It Like Beckham, Polite Society and Whip It, the programme takes in football pitches, martial arts mayhem and roller derby rebellion through three bold, funny and fiercely independent stories about finding your people and forging your own path.
Rip it Up season film titles screening at cinemas across the UK include:
- WORLD PREMIERE OF NEW 4K RESTORATION OF BILLY LIAR: A defining classic of the British New Wave cinema of the 1960s, John Schlesinger’s film is comic portrait of post-war British youth, embodied in the restless character of Billy (Tom Courtney), rebelling against the mundane conformity of the 1950s reaching for the liberating, swinging spirit of the ‘60s (in the shape of Julie Christie). New 4k restoration courtesy of STUDIOCANAL, back in UK cinemas from 31 July and in a new UHD Collector’s Edition on 3 August.
- UK & IRELAND CINEMA RELEASE OF ISH: BFI Distribution brings Imran Perretta’s feature film debut to UK and Irish cinemas. Ish follows 12-year-old best friends, Ish and Maram, who wrestle to hold on to their friendship in the wake of a police stop and search. As the ripples take hold, the boys try to make sense of the men they are becoming – and how ‘letting go’ can be the hardest part of growing up.
- COMING OF AGE: Growing up in Britain and telling your own unique story: from self-expression to teenage angst and the joy of finding your people, including East Is East (1999), Bend It Like Beckham (2002), and Rocks (2021).
- PRIDE, PREJUDICE AND PROTEST: Rage against the machine with stories of protest, fighting injustice and standing up for your rights, from Quadrophenia (1979) and Babylon (1980), Pride (2014) and This is England (2006), which is 20 years old in 2026.
- CLUBS, DRUGS, PUBS AND PARTIES: Raves, drugs and the hedonistic lifestyle of being young: Young Soul Rebels (1991), and Human Traffic (1999).
About Rip It Up
With film and television offering a direct window into the staggering impact of youthful creativity on our society, Rip It Up invites UK audiences of all ages to reflect on their own lived experiences, identities, and distinct cultural interests as young people growing up against an evolving social fabric.
From mod rebellion and the birth of the teenager, to hedonistic self-expression in music and fashion scenes, to climate activism and the issues facing the next generation, Rip It Up also charts the emotional rollercoaster that simply is being a teenager – all of which have been portrayed on screen in a multitude of ways.
Over the past 75 years, the narrative has shifted from one of class-conscious post-war subcultures to a more fluid, digitally connected, and globally aware contemporary expression, but that generational desire for change and belonging has endured; and youth rebellion continues to play an important regenerative role in society; perhaps more important than ever.
With the Southbank Centre marking the 75th anniversary of the Festival of Britain - a landmark moment of post-war cultural renewal - and the 50th anniversary of Punk being celebrated in 2026, Rip It Up showcases an array culturally significant British films and TV across decades, alongside national and regional archive materials, many of which are underseen or underappreciated.
Main image credit © Ish, Primal Pictures
Other image credits: © Rocks, Altitude Films; East is East, Park Circus and Film Four
