Powell & Pressburger: A Matter of Life and Death + Introduction by Steve Rawl

This screening features a live introduction by Steve Rawl of York St John University. Screening as part of Cinema Unbound: The Creative Worlds of Powell + Pressburger, a UK-wide film season supported by National Lottery and BFI Film Audience Network.

When young British pilot Peter Carter (David Niven) miraculously survives a fiery plane crash, his feat proves to be a problem for the afterlife’s administrators, who believe he was meant to die there. But by the time heaven's bureaucrats realise their mistake, Peter's fallen in love – with the radio operator who saw him through his near-fateful crash (Kim Hunter). Is the afterlife pulling him back merely a hallucination, or must he defend his right to life – and love – against those who control destiny?

Set between a monochrome heaven and a Technicolour earth, Powell and Pressburger’s magical wartime fantasy is a sublime showcase for the pair at their most vibrant, imaginative, and swooningly romantic.