Legendary film producer Jeremy Thomas drives from England to the Cannes Film Festival with acclaimed filmmaker Mark Cousins. On their intimate, visual five-day road movie through rural France, they remember some of the most acclaimed and controversial films ever made: The Last Emperor, which won nine Oscars; David Cronenberg’s Crash and its Cannes scandal; the masterpiece of sexual obsession, Bad Timing. Thomas introduces us to his remarkable world of movie stars and the journey is intercut with acclaimed actors Tilda Swinton and Debra Winger, who give exclusive insights into the man and his work. The Storms of Jeremy Thomas is a a film school and a passionate call to arms for movies that get to the heart of life.
Mark Cousins dissects world cinema from 2010 to 2021, and starting with key works from these years, he explores the evolution of cinematic language, the role of technology in contemporary cinema, and the industrial and cultural revolution that cinema is undergoing. From Parasite to Black Panther, Cousins sifts through films, filmmakers, and communities underrepresented in mainstream cinematic histories, with a focus on Asian and Middle Eastern works, but also genres in their continuing evolution. And as the pandemic recedes, Cousins reflects on what lies ahead in the age of streaming: how we have changed as cinephiles, and how cinema will continue to transform in the digital century, to our collective delight and wonder.
As he prepares for surgery to restore his vision, Mark Cousins explores the role that visual experience plays in our individual and collective lives. In a deeply personal meditation on the power of looking, he guides us through the riches of the visible world, a kaleidoscope of extraordinary imagery across cultures and eras. At a time when we are more assailed by images than ever, he reveals how looking makes us who we are. He shares the pleasure and pain of seeing the world, in all its complexity and contradiction, with eyes wide open. As the Covid-19 pandemic brings another dramatic shift of perspective, he travels to the future to consider how his looking life will continue to develop until the very end.
