TRANSMISSION: Youth Across Generations
A multi-event programme exploring how youth culture has shaped identity, belonging and collective memory in Britain from the 1980s to the present.
Transmission: Youth Across Generations is a multi-event programme exploring how youth culture has shaped identity, belonging and collective memory in Britain from the 1980s to the present.
Developed as part of BFI FAN's Rip It Up season, the programme will be delivered through a series of eventised screenings, using cinema as a meeting point between generations, inviting audiences to share experiences, memories and perspectives through discussions, live music, creative workshops and participatory activities.
At its heart is a simple question: How do we recognise ourselves in other people's youth? Rather than treating youth culture as nostalgia, Transmission explores how film, music and shared cultural experiences connect generations. Rather than presenting films as standalone screenings, each event treats cinema as a catalyst for conversation, creativity and shared cultural experience, encouraging audiences to reflect on youth culture while engaging in meaningful intergenerational dialogue.
Transmission asks how different generations continue to recognise themselves in one another through film, music and shared cultural experience.
SCREENINGS & EVENTS
Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché + Q&A with filmmaker Paul Sng
curated by Shivani Krishna
30 SEPTEMBER, 8.20pm | FILMHOUSE
As the first woman of colour in the UK to front a successful rock band - X-Ray Spex - Poly Styrene was a blazing voice of rebellion in the chaos and upheaval of 1970s Britain - singing about identity, consumerism, postmodernism, and everything she saw unfolding with a rare prescience and a female perspective.
Screening preceded by Patch it Up! A clothes customisation workshop inspired by the DIY punk aesthetic (must be booked separately)
Patch It Up! A punk-inspired clothes customisation workshop
30 SEPTEMBER,7pm | FILMHOUSE
Inspired by Poly Styrene, Cinetopia will be hosting Patch It Up! A punk-inspired clothes customisation workshop - bring along an item of clothing like a denim jacket or t-shirt and turn it into a unique statement piece with studs, fabric paint, pins, patches and more.
HUMAN TRAFFIC (1999) + 90s DJ SESSION
curated by Rowan Sharp
7 OCTOBER, 7pm-late | VOODOO ROOMS
Tired of their mundane jobs, five friends set out on a drug-fuelled weekend in Cardiff, hopping from pubs, clubs and parties. A cult classic of the ‘Cool Cymru’ era, Human Traffic is a charming social commentary about 90s rave culture and the alienation of a generation. An unapologetic exploration of youthful hedonism and rebellion, this is the debut film by 25 year old Welsh writer/director Justin Kerrigan. Celebrating music that shaped the generation, featuring Orbital, Underworld and Primal Scream, the film is also packed with numerous cameo performances as well as a young Danny Dyer in his debut feature. Recently restored in 4k courtesy of the BFI.
Following the screening, Cinetopia will be hosting an interactive exhibition, exploring Scottish nightlife across different generations. Reminiscing on beloved venues of the past that have embedded themselves in culture. Attendees of all ages are invited to share stories and engage in dialogue about the art of a good night out.
We wrap the night with a DJ session packed with 90s bangers and tunes inspired by the film.
