Censored for more than half a century, Ken Russell’s visionary masterpiece returns to the big screen fully restored in 4K and cut to Russell’s direction - the first publicly released version of the film as intended by the filmmaker. An enduring masterpiece of cinema starring Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave, Ken Russell’s The Devils is a prescient epic of obsession and corruption, and a defining work of art from a seminal filmmaker.
Inspired by the true story of 17th-century priest Urbain Grandier, accused of bewitching a convent of nuns, the film lays bare the collusion of church and state through a searing vision of religious persecution, collective hysteria and institutional corruption. Unveiled at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, the definitive version arrives 55 years after the film’s original release.
In addition to powerhouse performances from Reed and Redgrave, Ken Russell’s The Devils showcases the stunning work of artists at the peak of their craft. Warning: The linked trailer contains flashing images which may affect viewers who are susceptible to photosensitive epilepsy.
Offering an important East Asian perspective on queerness, Edhi Alice: Take is a visually stunning, thoughtful and uncompromising documentary, exploring the trans experience and allyship in South Korea. Director Ilrhan Kim interrogates how documentaries about trans communities are made: the creative decisions, relationships, and ethical questions involved.
The subject of the documentary is Edhi, who works as a counsellor for LGBTQ+ teens in Seoul, and has decided to undertake gender reassignment surgery. Edhi’s story intertwines with that of Alice, the lighting technician on the film crew and an older trans woman, who is preoccupied with challenging popular stereotypes about female and male bodies.
The film explores queer and trans existence not as an abstract question of identity but as something continually negotiated through everyday life, performance, work, relationships, visibility, and self-representation. This screening includes a recorded introduction by director Il-rhan Kim.
Kim is a member of PINKS, a queer feminist media group based in South Korea that has been highlighting the voices of marginalised communities on topics of gender diversity, social movements, and labour rights since 2004.