Step into the glittering world of fashion, scandal and shameless self promotion that made John Singer Sargent the painter who defined an era. Explore the unique creative process of the late 19th century’s favourite portrait artist and the way in which his portraits captured the spirit of a vibrant and rapidly changing age.

John Singer Sargent is known as the greatest portrait artist of his era. What made his ‘swagger’ portraits remarkable was his power over his sitters, what they wore and how they were presented to the audience. Through interviews with curators, contemporary fashionistas and style influencers, Exhibition on Screen’s film will examine how Sargent’s unique practice has influenced modern art, culture and fashion.

Filmed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Tate Britain, London, the exhibition reveals Sargent’s power to express distinctive personalities, power dynamics and gender identities during this fascinating period of cultural reinvention. Alongside 50 paintings by Sargent sit stunning items of clothing and accessories worn by his subjects, drawing the audience into the artist’s studio.

Sargent’s sitters were often wealthy, their clothes costly, but what happens when you turn yourself over to the hands of a great artist? The manufacture of public identity is as controversial and contested today as it was at the turn of the 20th century, but somehow Sargent’s work transcends the social noise and captures an alluring truth with each brush stroke.

Just out of jail and still searching for his late beloved Beniamina, crumpled English archaeologist Arthur (Josh O’Connor) reconnects with his wayward crew of tombaroli accomplices – a happy-go-lucky collective of itinerant grave-robbers who survive by looting Etruscan tombs and fencing the ancient treasures they dig up. Arthur isn’t interested in the artefacts, though; he’s seeking a legendary door to the underworld, and to Beniamina.

In an adventurous journey between the living and the dead, between forests and cities, between celebrations and solitudes, the intertwined destinies of these characters unfold, all in search of the Chimera.

“A joyous, masterful work of folk magic.”

BFI

“Alice Rohrwacher makes movies like no one else.”

- Hollywood Reporter

"It made me eurphorically happy!"

- Greta Gerwig

Friends of the Forum members can claim a £5 ticket to any performance of La Chimera by simply booking with their membership.

We will be regularly offering selected films at the reduced cost of £5 to our members in the hopes of you discovering a new film, so be sure to check our website listings frequently to see what’s on offer.

When Kit Vincent, a young filmmaker, receives a terminal diagnosis aged 24, his first instinct is to turn on his camera and document those closest to him. Kit’s divorced parents are naturally having a hard time grappling with the reality of their son’s illness, and his father, Lawrence, begins a transition of his own-a conversion to Judaism. Following along with his father’s process of grieving for his son’s upended future, Red Herring captures the absurdity of the things we do to find solace in times of inexplicable tragedy.

In this personal and touching documentary about a life cut short, Vincent walks the line between humour and grief to helm this love letter to the relationships that keep us going through the dark stages of life.

Each week we are selecting a new film for our 16-25 members to discover with the reduced ticket cost of just £3.

To claim your £3 ticket for Red Herring simply book using your 16-25 membership, online, by phone or at our box office. You can sign up for a free 16-25 membership by any of these methods.