The Short Films of David Lynch + DumbLand
The BFI have announced details for their January season, DAVID LYNCH: THE DREAMER at BFI Southbank and BFI IMAX (1 January – 1 February), paying tribute to a true multidisciplinary artist and unique visionary. Honouring David Lynch’s enduring influence and legacy, the programme is a chance for reflection a year on from his passing and what would have been his 80th birthday.
Although he was a certified grandmaster of the surreal, and frequently characterised as a maker of challenging films, the true defining quality of David Lynch’s work is its power to connect with audiences. He crafted distinct dreamscapes, through his rich visuals, idiosyncratic music choices and haunting sound design, that are charged with human emotion, moving us to both frightening and nostalgic places and taking us on journeys to examine and understand the darkness that lurks under everyday pristine facades. Lynch embraced a spectrum of creative outlets. Unarguably one of the most influential filmmakers of the last 50 years, David Lynch’s brilliance reshaped cinema, television, music, art and the internet, leaving his mark and creating some of the most iconic moments that continue to reverberate in popular culture. Lynch challenged our perceptions of what art could be, and whatever his medium, he was an artist of pure singular visions without compromise. His very name an adjective that has entered the cinematic lexicon.
The season, curated by BFI Lead Programmer Kimberley Sheehan and Head of Cinema Programme Justin Johnson, includes his great masterpieces screening at BFI Southbank, BFI IMAX as well as a selection available on BFI Player, his innovative short films and playful digital experiments, documentary portraits, plus a series of contextual events and a TWIN PEAKS inspired immersive installation.
Throughout his career, Lynch harboured an enthusiasm for short-form work and animation. He embraced the digital video early and was a pioneer of using the internet as a creative medium. THE SHORT FILMS OF DAVID LYNCH on 11 January will present six of his shorts, including The Alphabet (1968) and The Grandmother (1970) followed by all eight episodes of his animated web series DUMBLAND (2002).
- Six Men Getting Sick
USA 1967. Director David Lynch. 4min. Digital - The Alphabet
USA 1968. Director David Lynch. 4min. Digital - The Grandmother
USA 1970. Director David Lynch. 34min. Digital - The Amputee – Version 1 and Version 2
USA 1974. Director David Lynch. 9min. Digital - Premonitions Following an Evil Deed
USA 1995. Director David Lynch. 1min. Digital - DumbLand Episodes 1-8
USA 2002. Director David Lynch. 34min. Digital
For a full list of events as part of the BFI’s January season DAVID LYNCH: THE DREAMER, visit whatson.bfi.org.uk