Now, to mark the 75^th anniversary of THE RED SHOES’ release, the BFI, awarding funds from the National Lottery to mount a nationwide programme celebrating the duo’s creative partnership by returning many of their films to UK screens, including in several South West locations which were used for filming or where key players, such as Kathryn Byron, Deborah Kerr, Sir Michael Redgrave and Michael Powell himself, were born, educated or settled.

Among the events regional cinemas and festivals (all part of BFI Film Audience Network) are presenting are:

In Wiltshire, screenings of A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, starring David Niven, (October 26) and BLACK NARCISSUS, starring former Bristol and Weston-Super-Mare resident Deborah Kerr, (October 27) at the Grade 1 listed Georgian Parade House Mansion.

In Hampshire, a big screen showing of BLACK NARCISSUS at the Ritz, Gosport on November 16 with an intro from Fareham College lecturer in film production Rob Hind.

In Gloucestershire, Saturday matinee screenings of BLACK NARCISSUS (Nov  18) and A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH (Nov 25), with a streamed Q&A with Michael Powell’s son, Columba Powell, hosted by Professor Ian Christie, in Avening Memorial Hall, both incorporating a walk to the church where Michael Powell got married and is buried a.

In Cornwall, as part of Cornwall Film Festival, a screening of A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH at The Poly, Falmouth, accompanied by a talk from Judith Noble, Professor of Film at Arts University Plymouth, highlighting Powell and Pressburger’s associations with the region.

In Devon, cinematic spectaculars will be on offer in Exeter and Plymouth incorporating screenings of THE RED SHOES and live ballet. The first, by Exeter Phoenix, is in the magnificent Exeter Cathedral on November 28 and will feature a champagne welcome, a corps de ballet dancing and an introductory talk by film writer and historian Pamela Hutchinson. The second will be at Plymouth Arts Cinema on December 9, as part of dance film season, when the screening will be followed by a specially commissioned new dance work by Plymouth’s Barbican Theatre.

In Bristol, Watershed will open their ‘Color by Technicolor’ season on Friday 1 December with a screening of A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH which will be followed by a Technicolor take-over of the café-bar from DJ Cheeba. Other films showing as part of the same December 1 to 22 season include Jacques Demy’s THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (1969); Alfred Hitchcock’s VERTIGO (1958); Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse in THE BAND WAGON (1953); Dario Argento’s vividly grisly SUSPIRIA (1977) and on Friday 15 December THE RED SHOES (1948) from a radiant new 35mm print and with an introduction by journalist Pamela Hutchinson (author of a new BFI book about the film).

On Sunday 10 December, from Film Noir UK, a Bristol-based off-shoot of South West Silents, the contribution will include a double bill of war films – WESTERN APPROACHES (1944) and THE BATTLE OF THE RIVER PLATE (1956) thrillers – at the former Bristol IMAX cinema with introductions from Dr Tony Haggith of the Imperial War Museum and, from the BBC’s ANTIQUE ROADSHOW, militaria expert Mark Smith.

Film Noir UK is also presenting a double bill of Powell and Pressburger thrillers – THE SPY IN BLACK (1939) and THE SMALL DARK ROOM (1949) on Saturday 2 December at the Electric Cinema, Wootton-Under-Edge, Gloucestershire – 10 miles from Avening where Michael Powell lived from the 1960s till his death and burial at Avening Parish Church.

The final Bristol highlight is a site-specific screening of Powell & Pressburger’s erotic melodrama BLACK NARCISSUS (1947) in the breathtakingly beautiful converted city centre church, The Mount Without. It stars Deborah Kerr, educated in Bristol and Weston-Super-Mare and who is one of a number of performers favoured by Powell and Pressburger who have South West links.

In Clevedon, the historic Curzon cinema is presenting Powell and Pressburger’s Oscar-nominated THE TALES OF HOFFMANN (1951) on Friday 8 December with wraparound entertainments featuring singers, dancers, a period fashion advisor, and a dress-up competition.

Maddy Probst, Film Hub South West’s managing producer, says: “We are delighted so many of our exhibition partners are creating programmes with local connections and presenting a choice of Powell & Pressburger’s films as they were made to be seen, on a big screen amid an audience. Seasoned film fans will already know why no fewer than six of their titles are included in Sight & Sound’s Greatest Films of All Time list, but this season also lets newcomers dip into a body of work that has influenced so many of today’s cultural icons, from musician Kate Bush and choreographer Matthew Bourne to Martin Scorsese and Greta Gerwig.”

Pamela Hutchinson (author of the newly-published book the Red Shoes and a member of the board of Exeter’s Bill Douglas Museum added: “The Britain of Powell and Pressburger’s films is a very special place. Partly that is because of the mysticism and spirituality that they express so well, but it is also because of their very specific references to places and the emphasis on their unique character. So it makes me very proud to be part of this project and to be introducing The Red Shoes, a Technicolor masterpiece, in Exeter cathedral, which is such a historic and beautiful location.”

Many other film clubs and cinemas in the South West and beyond are showing films as part of the Cinema Unbound: The Creative Worlds of Powell + Pressburger celebrations. To find out more, see: www.powellandpressburger.co.uk.

BFI CINEMA UNBOUND: THE CREATIVE WORLDS OF POWELL AND PRESSBURGER is a major UK-wide celebration of legendary writer-producer-director team Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and their enduring creative partnership, led by BFI and Film Hub South West who manage the Network’s Major Programme initiatives on behalf of the BFI Film Audience Network, supported by funds from the National Lottery.