BFI announces David Cronenberg: Mind, Body, Reality season at BFI Southbank

The British Film Institute has announced a major two-month retrospective dedicated to maestro of body horror David Cronenberg. Running from 1 January to 16 March 2027 at BFI Southbank, David Cronenberg: Mind, Body, Reality will present over twenty films from the acclaimed Canadian auteur.

Curated by journalist and podcaster Mike Muncer, the season is organized into three thematic strands: Mutated Identities, Diseased Realities, and Bodies in Collision. Screenings will explore Cronenberg’s five-decade career examining human identity, visceral horror, technology, and taboo desires.

Highlights include BFI IMAX screenings of Crash (1996), The Fly (1986), Videodrome (1983), and Dead Ringers (1988). Additionally, titles such as The Brood (1979), Naked Lunch (1991), and The Shrouds (2024) will be available to stream on BFI Player, alongside 35mm presentations of Scanners (1981), Rabid (1977), and A Dangerous Method (2011).

The season features a series of special contextual events. On 11 January, a free talk for the BFI 25 and Under scheme will unpack Cronenberg’s cinematic legacy. On 13 January, Muncer’s podcast The Evolution of Horror will host a live recording with filmmaker Prano Bailey-Bond and critic Jamie Graham. Further events include a Cronenberg-inspired Sip and Paint session on 21 January, a Philosophical Screens discussion on A History of Violence (2005) on 9 February, and a fan trivia quiz on 5 March.

Tickets for January screenings go on sale to BFI Patrons on 30 November, BFI Members on 1 December, and the general public on 3 December. Tickets for February and March events open to the public on 14 January.