Comedy Genius: Slapstick to Subversive Festival strand revealed

23 Aug 2018

4 mins
Duck Soup (Marx Brothers)
Duck Soup (Marx Brothers)

We're delighted to reveal that Comedy Genius: Slapstick to Subversive is the sixth and final strand to be announced for the 2018 Into Film Festival. Complementing the BFI's own Comedy Genius blockbuster autumn season, our Festival strand will encompass everything from archive classics to modern side-splitters, as we bring the rich history of cinematic comedy to young people across the UK this November.

With the Into Film Festival taking place from 7-23 November 2018, this exciting strand showcases stand-out comedians from throughout film history. Being one of the more diverse genres of cinema, our comedy strand features films that fit into these sub-categories:

  • Action
  • Horror
  • Silent
  • Subversive
  • Screwball
  • Black and white slapstick
  • Colour slapstick
  • Romantic
  • Satire

Our Festival programme boasts two comedy-infused films from each of the above genres, as well as a selection of exciting and hilarious new releases and - naturally - some perennial comedy favourites from the Into Film catalogue.

Our Comedy Genius strand was part-compiled with the help of young programmers from our Youth Advisory Council and the BFI's Film Audience Network (FAN) programming groups, who have each provided their views on what constitutes comic genius.

The BFI's own Comedy Genius season takes place across the UK between 22 October 2018 - 31 January 2019, and will take audiences "from boundary-pushing writers and performers who say the unsayable, to silent slapstick heroes of the past and disreputable and anarchic voices of the present", and promises to be "the UK's greatest ever celebration of film and TV comedy." Find out more over at the BFI's website.

The Into Film Festival is the largest free youth film festival of its kind, and welcomes almost half a million 5-19 year old students and their teachers at screenings and events across the UK. Bookings are now live, and all tickets are completely free, so be sure to secure your places today.

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