This film programme will screen in person at BFI Southbank on Thursday 9 December and online on Friday 10 December.
Sandra Lahire (1950–2001) was central to the experimental feminist filmmaking movement that emerged in Britain through the 1980s. Using the optical printer at the London Filmmakers Co-operative, Lahire made 16mm films that addressed issues around the body, illness, feminist politics, lesbian identity, environmental concerns and the anti-nuclear movement.
A significant and under-recognised figure, her work shows a commitment to challenging subjects and unconventional methods of production. It includes two trilogies; a series of anti-nuclear films made in the 1980s; and Living on Air, focusing on the life and poetry of Sylvia Plath from the 1990s.
In new digitisations from the artists’ moving image collection LUX, it is possible to see the full scope of her body of work, introducing her concerns and processes to new generations while they remain as urgent as ever.
We are very proud to present this selection by LUX Collection & Archive Director Charlotte Procter.
Further reading: Sandra Lahire was Courtisane Film Festival’s Artist in Focus for 2021. Read their online guide: Living on Air: the films and words of Sandra Lahire