Festival of Britain: Through the Eyes of the Archive

Alongside the BFI’s month-long Great Expectations series spotlighting British postwar cinema, the BFI Southbank also reflects on its own origins as a venue with a look at the public experience of the 1951 Festival of Britain

The discussion Festival of Britain: Through the Eyes of the Archive will see experts from the BFI National Archive surface contemporary perspectives from the BFI’s collections, shedding light on the festival experience in the summer of 1951, the legacy it left behind, and the role film played.

Transforming the landscape of London’s South Bank, the Festival of Britain brought the addition of the Royal Festival Hall and the futuristic ‘Telekinema’ which forged the origins of the National Film Theatre and today’s BFI Southbank.

Also showcasing the Festival of Britain - look out for a screening of screening at 6:10pm of The Happy Family (1952), a vivacious comedy that follows the Lord family, who, having been ordered to vacate their home for South Bank’s shiny new construction project, barricade themselves inside in protest.