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A fierce declaration about the state of our world and cinema’s place within it, French New Wave veteran Jean-Luc Godard’s The Image Book, was awarded a special Palme d’Or at Cannes this year.

For this film essay, one of cinema’s living giants splices together a wealth of images — from early film and newsreels to Godard’s own works and mobile phone footage. Scenes are interrupted, narratives are broken, and shots are re-framed and re-colourised. Cannes juror Cate Blanchett noted that The Image Book “almost sat apart from the other films, almost outside time and space”. Narrated by Godard, The Image Book covers topics ranging from cinema history to the Arab Spring. Within this rich assemblage, cinephiles will be able to recognise scenes from Jaws 1975, Vertigo 1958, Young Mr Lincoln 1939, Johnny Guitar 1954, Elephant 2003, Salo or the 120 Days of Sodom 1975 and many more.

Ages 15+