Against The Grain

At the beginning of the 1980s, writer Colin Welland famously said "the British are coming" as he picked up his Oscar for Chariots of Fire's original screenplay. They never quite arrived in the way they were expected. Instead the industry and audience went into near terminal decline. However, amidst these turbulent times and against the political and social upheaval of Thatcherism, seeds of renewal could be seen dotted across the independent film community; from the arrival of Channel 4 to the rise of maverick distributor/producer Palace Pictures and the emergence of new filmmaking voices. This season presents some of these ambitious and now influential films and filmmakers who redefined British independent cinema and who went against the grain of the decade.

This event is part of Cinema Rediscovered on Tour, which is a Watershed project in collaboration with Park Circus and StudioCanal. With support from BFI awarding funds from The National Lottery.