Nights of Cabiria (dir. Federico Fellini, 1957): free screening with Ali Smith

A free screening of Fellini's classic 'Nights of Cabiria' (1957), curated by the writer Ali Smith. Part of the 2017 Swedenborg Film Festival exploring the theme of 'dreams' and taking place at the heart of Bloomsbury.

Shortlisted for the 2017 Man Booker Prize and one of today's most significant and original storytellers, Smith has curated a season of films – from rarely seen cinematic masterpieces to contemporary artist shorts – on the theme of 'dreams'. All screenings take place in grade-II-listed Swedenborg Hall, 'one of London's most atmospheric venues' (Guardian).

About the film:

'The star's prize-winning, heartbreaking performance, the story's allegorical resonance and Fellini's sweeping, soulful vision of a Roman prostitute's resilient humanity mark Nights of Cabiria as a cinematic masterpiece.

As an outgrowth of characters played by Miss Masina in her husband's earlier films, The White Sheik, Il Bidone and La Strada, the unforgettable Cabiria is a tiny, scrappy survivor who drifts almost magically among the film's varied realms. In three astonishing long sequences here, she is taken under the wing of a movie star, disillusioned by a religious pilgrimage with carnival overtones and cruelly tricked by a hypnotist who exposes her once-secret dreams. In the course of her eventful travels, Cabiria undergoes the profound spiritual evolution that gives the film its lingering grandeur. Anyone dismayed by the hyperkinetic emptiness of so much current film spectacle will find the antidote – a deep, wrenching and eloquent filmgoing experience – right here.' (The New York Times)

FURTHER INFORMATION

THE 2017 SWEDENBORG FILM FESTIVAL explores the theme of 'dreams', with a season of iconic features and visionary shorts chosen by the writer Ali Smith. With free admission, screenings take place in grade-II-listed Swedenborg Hall at the heart of Bloomsbury. Smith is also guest judge of the annual Swedenborg Short Film competition, featuring international artists with new moving image works responding to the theme of 'dreams'. The festival will conclude with the screening of the 2017 shortlist and Smith's announcement of the winner.

SCHEDULE:

2 November: Céline and Julie Go Boating (dir. Jacques Rivet, 1974)

9 November: Nights of Cabiria (dir. Federico Fellini, 1957)

16 November: An Evening of Short FIlm with Ali Smith

18 November: Short Film Festival Screenings & Announcement of Winner

THE SWEDENBORG FILM FESTIVAL is curated by Gareth Evans (Whitechapel Gallery) and Nora Foster (Frieze). The only film festival in the world inspired by the work of a single philosopher, the SFF has received a huge response from thousands of filmmakers around the world since its launch in 2010. For the 2017 edition, filmmakers were invited to explore the concept of 'dreams' – a theme encountered in the work of scientist, philosopher, theologian and visionary, Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) as well as those he influenced, from William Blake to Jorge Luis Borges. Artists including Bridget Smith, Andrew Kötting, Jeremy Millar and Lech Majewski have shown work at or judged the SFF. For 2017, Ali Smith was invited to guest judge the short film competition and curate a season of films on the theme of 'dreams'.

ALI SMITH was born in Inverness in 1962. She is the author of Free Love and Other Stories; Like; Other Stories and Other Stories; Hotel World; The Whole Story and Other Stories; The Accidental; Girl Meets Boy; The First Person and Other Stories; There but for the; Artful; How to be both; and Public Library and Other Stories. Hotel World was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the Orange Prize and The Accidental was shortlisted for the Man Booker and the Orange Prize. How to be both won the Baileys Prize, the Goldsmiths Prize and the Costa Novel Award and was shortlisted for the Man Booker and the Folio Prize. Ali Smith li