Catherine Deneuve's cold beauty - those immaculately arched eyebrows, and inhumanly perfect cheekbones - matched with an understated, enigmatic acting style to make her the best actress of her generation. This season at the NFT not only offers thirty years of great films, but also the chance to meet the lady herself at a Q and A on 21 September.
Fortunately, there's no risk of missing The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964), the scintillating musical that transforms a workaday romance between a shop assistant and a mechanic into the stuff of fairytale. The NFT have sensibly decided to show it 24 times, and if you haven't seen it you should get down there immediately.
For those who prefer darker fare, there's Polanski's punishing psychological thriller Repulsion (1965), in which the director famously bullied and ostracized Deneuve, forcing her into a performance of scorching integrity.
There's plenty more on offer here, from the brilliant, and shamefully underrated, vampire movie The Hunger (1983), to Lars von Trier's bleak tale of factory life Dancer in the Dark (2000). Perhaps her greatest role of all is in Belle de Jour (1967) as the bourgeois housewife who seeks illicit thrills working in a brothel, a part she played with an icy eroticism that could never be matched by any other actress.
The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival
BFI Southbank, SE1 8XT
14th October 2009 - 29th October 2009 (DATES TO BE CONFIRMED)
Every October the BFI... More
The Times BFI 52nd London Film Festival
BFI Southbank, SE1 8XT
15th October 2008 - 30th October 2008
Every October the BFI Southbank and cinemas across London... More
The Film Cafe at BFI Southbank
South Bank Centre, SE1
Admittedly, the bar inside isn't up to much, but come summertime the BFI's superb location and outdoor... More
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The Hayward Gallery has been the originator or host of influential exhibitions since 1968. It mounts temporary exhibitions of contemporary and historical art. The gallery, ... More
Level 5,
Royal Festival Hall,Belvedere Road,South Bank,
London,
SE1Map
2 minutes walk from Catherine Deneuve Season
The most comprehensive and accessible collection of poetry from 1914 in Britain, The Poetry Library within the Southbank Centre contains 90,000 items and is still ... More
As you stare across the river at this bustling, stylish, multi-faceted venue, it’s hard to believe that this riverside warehouse was once a reprocessing plant ... More
Benugo is a high class chain of cafes selling handmade sandwiches, salads and desserts. What makes it stand out from the over-crowded coffee shop market ... More
The menu here reads like a comforting childhood reminiscence with some sophisticated bunting thrown on top. Devilled kidneys on toast, followed by an excellent slow-roast ... More
The concrete promenade along the South Bank greatly benefits from this large patch of green grass for striders, strollers and sightseers to relax on. ...More
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Originally the National Film Theatre, the Southbank Centre BFI is the perfect film buff's cinema, with three screens showing 2000 films a year ranging from ... More
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