A Matter of Life and Death - Talk & Film

Award Winning films from Cornwall Film Festival

A Matter of Life and Death | Dir Emeric Pressburger & Michael Powell | 1946 | 1h 44m | UK | Fantasy / Romance | English | U

Introduction by Judith Noble  In this introduction to Powell and Pressburger’s cult classic, Judith Noble’s new research uncovers the fascinating mix of occult and mystical philosophies and references from contemporary art, including the work of Paul Nash, that found their way into the film. She will also talk about the production design that plays such a key role in the film and its South West locations and connections. 

This iconic World War Two romance follows an RAF pilot who must defend himself in Heaven after cheating death.  David Niven stars as RAF pilot Peter Carter, who falls in love with an American radio operator (Kim Hunter) shortly before surviving a plane crash. Peter is called to Heaven and informed that his survival was a bureaucratic mistake, and he must then defend his right to stay on Earth and pursue the woman he loves.   Powell and Pressburger’s 1946 classic traverses time and space to make a case for the transcendent value of love and is a moving masterpiece. Shot in both bold technicolour and sleek monochrome, A Matter of Life and Death is a landmark of British cinema.   

Judith Noble  Judith Noble is Professor of Film and the Occult at Arts University Plymouth (UK). She began her career as an artist-filmmaker, exhibiting work internationally and worked for over twenty years as a production executive in the film industry, working with directors including Peter Greenaway and Amma Asante. Her current research centres on artists’ moving image, Surrealism, the occult, and work by women artists, and she has published on filmmakers including Maya Deren, Derek Jarman, and Kenneth Anger. Her most recent publication (as editor) is The Dance of Moon and Sun – Ithell Colquhoun, British Women and Surrealism (2023, Fulgur). She continues to practice as an artist and filmmaker; her most recent film is Fire Spells (2022), a collaboration with director Tom Chick. Her recent work can be found at www.iseu.space. Her film work is distributed by Cinenova.  

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