Delighted and spellbound to spend last night at BFI with Tilda Swindon & Wes Anderson

Tilda Swindon & Wes Anderson answer questions at BFI

Tilda Swinton and Wes Anderson on stage: a magical tour of cinema. The two greats shared clips and anecdotes about their favourite films and influences and then answered some questions from young film makers

And what did they have to recommend? First up was Powell and Pressburger’s 1946 existential fantasy A Matter of Life and Death. Both Tilda and Wes praised its extraordinary set design, music and in camera effects. #WesAnderson #TildaSwinton #FilmTwitter

2. Staying with Powell and Pressburger their second pick was I Know Where I’m Going. Tilda called it ”incredibly romantic” and insisted we all mimic the film and get the sleeper train to Scotland (together I hope?)

3. Both Tilda and Wes professed their love of Ealing comedies and selected the classic Kind Hearts and Coronets. Alec Guinness has a fabulous turn playing no less than 8 roles (!) in this fantastic farce

4. Wes selected Satyajit Ray’s Days and Nights in the Forest, a 1970 Bengali language film about 4 friends who who take a road trip out to the country. The cuts and framing of group shots are echoed in Anderson’s own work

5. Their final pick was 1931 drama Other Men’s Women, a drama featuring the first on screen dance performance from a young James Cagney. A surprising sight at the time when he was being typecast as Hollywood’s go-to tough guy