The BFI will stage the UK’s greatest ever celebration of film and TV comedy this winter; from boundary-pushing writers and performers who say the unsayable, to silent slapstick heroes of the past and disreputable and anarchic voices of the present, this season will celebrate the best-loved works of comic genius, with an array of talent taking part throughout the season.
In partnership with the Film Audience Network

UK wide
BFI Southbank
Explore the comedy genre
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10 great comedies set in the workplace
Working nine to five? What a thing to make a comedy about…
Thursday 15 November 2018 -
The risqué art of the Carry On poster
Saucy seaside-postcard humour and innuendo were the order of the day for these eye-popping designs from the heyday of the Carry On film.
Monday 12 November 2018 -
Prepare to be offended…
Thursday 25 October 2018 -
10 great screwball comedy films
Emerging in the 1930s, screwball comedies were a wild new strain of fast-talking farces involving battles of the sexes and a world forever on the brink of chaos. Here are 10 of the best places to start.
Thursday 12 February 2015 -
Why 1992-2002 was the golden age of the black romantic comedy
For one glorious decade, from Boomerang to Brown Sugar, a wave of American movies provided all-too-rare examples of aspirational black characters being successful and falling in love on screen.
Tuesday 6 December 2016 -
The General: the greatest comedy of all time?
No comedy came higher in Sight & Sound’s Greatest Films of All Time poll than Buster Keaton’s 1926 classic The General. But it wasn’t high enough…
Thursday 23 January 2014 -
There’s never been a better time to celebrate the French comic tradition. Liberté, égalité, hilarité!
Thursday 21 April 2016 -
10 great comedy films of the 21st century
As the LOCO London Comedy Film Festival rolls in to blow away the January blues once again, we decided it was time to take stock of some of the 21st century’s finest, funniest achievements in film comedy.
Thursday 22 January 2015 -
The recipe for the Marx Brothers’ greatest comedy: Duck Soup
Which special ingredients make the Marx Brothers’ breakneck satire Duck Soup one of the very best comedies Hollywood has produced? And how much credit should we give its director?
Friday 16 January 2015 -
Chaplin’s first masterpiece: The Vagabond
The sublime run of comedies Charlie Chaplin made for the Mutual company show an artist developing complete control of his medium. They include his most moving film of the time.
Tuesday 2 June 2015 -
10 great comedies about history
Tudor England gets a ribbing in the new film from the team behind TV’s Horrible Histories. The story of Shakespeare’s lost years, Bill joins a sparkling tradition of historical farces in which the past is a funny country.
Thursday 17 September 2015 -
10 great romcoms starring people of colour
Why do romcoms only ever feature white people falling in love? This list rounds up the finest examples of English language romantic comedies that break the trend.
Thursday 12 November 2015