Bacon's Arena

A collection of BBC archive material about painter Francis Bacon, including a previously unseen interview recorded in 1965.

Francis Bacon: Fragments of a Portrait explores the recurring themes in Bacon’s work, his influences and his life. The documentary is accompanied by a haunting score specially composed by Edwin Astley for the production.

Young Shakespeare is forced to stage his latest comedy, "Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter," before it's even written. When a lovely noblewoman auditions for a role, they fall into forbidden love - and his play finds a new life (and title). As their relationship progresses, Shakespeare's comedy soon transforms into tragedy.

(Dis)Appear follows Gabriel and Ana as they return to their hometown and explore what role photography can play when faced with personal and collective traumas of the past. It is a documentary about the powerful relationship between photography, memory and the forced disappearances and systematic murderer perpetrated by Argentina’s most recent civic-military dictatorship (1976-1983).

With amateur footage from the Centre National de l'Audiovisuel "D'Schueberfouer" takes the viewer on trip through the history of Luxembourg fairs. The footage is about the rides, the emotions and the fantasy of the children connected through the different eras of the fairs.

Regan first documented his friend’s life in the 1998 film Don’t Get High on Your Own Supply. Fehintola became hooked on heroin while working on a book about a group of drug addicts. Regan caught up with him again in the 2001 film Cold Turkey, as Fehintola attempted to break his addiction by locking himself in his flat without medication. My Friend Lanre jumps two decades, to a moment when Fehintola has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Regan never set out to document someone dying, but this is what his film becomes. Drawing from over 25 years of footage, the filmmaker presents an intensely intimate portrayal of his friendship and collaboration with Fehintola. It is charming, funny, devastating and, by its close, a bravely personal, living testament to one person’s life and work.

In China, beekeeping is an ancient and traditional profession. Every spring, beekeepers migrate huge distances with their bees in search of the best nectar to harvest the highest quality honey. Relying on the changing seasons and fluctuating temperatures, making a living is becoming increasingly difficult in this traditional industry. Flower Chasers follows the journey of young beekeeper Xiaolong and his family as they travel across China in search of flowers and honey, witnessing the precarious living conditions beekeepers face, along with the threat of an ecological crisis.