I know this is a vain and stupid hope, but does the BFI on the South Bank in London have a page on their website that tells you what’s on? (The What’s On tab doesn’t do that.) I’ve not been in years without someone actively inviting me. Because it’s impossible to find out what might be showing. - ThreadSky

gralefrit.bsky.social • 24 days ago

I know this is a vain and stupid hope, but does the BFI on the South Bank in London have a page on their website that tells you what’s on? (The What’s On tab doesn’t do that.)

I’ve not been in years without someone actively inviting me. Because it’s impossible to find out what might be showing.

Comments

juux.com•24 days ago

Here’s today. Click the calendar at the bottom to see different dates?

tomafro.net•24 days ago

@neillyneil.bsky.social I often have this problem too, when I just want to see what's on today/tomorrow. I know you can click the calendar, but I think it could be more intuitive.

neillyneil.bsky.social•24 days ago

Hello. Will share this with the team. Be assured we're working on a total do-over and a beta will be available to play with soon. Current usability issues are a consequence of too tightly integrating whats on content with a box office system that is not designed to present a complex programme...

neillyneil.bsky.social•24 days ago

We're also making (and have made) tweaks in the existing setup to make it better, where we can. And as well as decoupling and designing a new user-centred programme experience, we'll be reprocuring the box office system itself .

So... Bear with us, we know, and it will all get better.

cantalpii.bsky.social•24 days ago

Wonderful, thank you 🫡

Also very interesting looking at your bio about SDAM. I have a degree of Aphantasia and always wondered if it was connected to my not great recollection of the past.

cooraysmith.bsky.social•24 days ago

Thank you. While you’re here, having to log in twice during Festival booking is madness, as is not being able to spend credit on your account online. Thanks again.

gralefrit.bsky.social•24 days ago

Fantastic. It’s been an issue for so long, that I worried nobody inside the organisation knew what it feels like from outside.

movietrubs.bsky.social•24 days ago

The only real way i know to do it is to click on the date on the calendar.

jondrytay.bsky.social•24 days ago

The ROH website is the world leader. If you want to find out who is in a particular opera/ballet, you have to go from the home page, to 'What's On', then to the title page of the show and then click 'Buy Tickets'. This brings up a list of the *surnames* of *some* of the principals.

gralefrit.bsky.social•24 days ago

This makes me suspect it is all a No Riff Raff move.

jondrytay.bsky.social•24 days ago

Haha probably, people have complained about it for years.

On a related note, an EPK for one of their new productions popped up on my Facebook the other day. Voxpops with cast and conductor, production footage etc. It's just that neither the EPK nor the post said WHAT THE OPERA WAS.

drmatthewsweet.bsky.social•24 days ago

It’s mystifyingly bad!

gralefrit.bsky.social•24 days ago

It’s in there, but it’s really hidden. You get the feeling they want people to become members and get the magazine. It’s like a breakaway fundamentalist wing of the Real GPO who want the Phone Book back.

gralefrit.bsky.social•24 days ago

I’ve given up and downloaded the PDF of the magazine before.

mattleys.bsky.social•24 days ago

It's absolutely baffling, and it would be SO easy to improve.

paulframe85.bsky.social•24 days ago

paulframe85.bsky.social•24 days ago

levparikian.bsky.social•24 days ago

Genuinely offputting.

gralefrit.bsky.social•24 days ago

I don’t know if they realise that the refusal to engage with non-members makes it feel like a strange club you wouldn’t want to join. I’ve often wondered why I’m not a member - when I love the place and all it stands for - but I suspect it’s that. (I’m a member of about four cinemas. Not the BFI.)

saskiadanielceramics.com•24 days ago

THIS this this

unamccormack.bsky.social•24 days ago

I’m a member and I’ve never been able to book anything on that website.

cooraysmith.bsky.social•24 days ago

Oh they don’t engage with members or even champions either. Trust me on that.

gralefrit.bsky.social•24 days ago

Oh, that and the bars closing the moment a screening chucks out. It’s only possible to have a pleasant evening if you’ve an AAA pass for the green room.

rosieniven.bsky.social•24 days ago

How does that work. Surely they have multiple screenings throughout the evening. Are the bars opening and closing all the time?

gralefrit.bsky.social•24 days ago

That’s not a good look. You’ve got a beautiful riverside venue, and they just want you to move on and run along home, thanks.

mattleys.bsky.social•24 days ago

It's a real shame, because everything about the place is wonderful except for actually having to go there.

bryce.lol•24 days ago

The best way I've found is with the calendar at the back of the PDF magazine download, page 82 onwards. No, I'm not kidding. https://core-cms.bfi.org.uk/media/39545/download

gralefrit.bsky.social•24 days ago

Yeah. That’s ridiculous, isn’t it?

bryce.lol•24 days ago

It's been shit for years and somehow it keeps on getting worse. Easy to imagine the meeting where 24 divisional managers want their remit represented on the front page and the designer's notepad looks like a Sumerian tablet.

keithcowans.bsky.social•24 days ago

You can click on each day of the calendar to see what's on, or immediately below that there is a link to 'download bfi southbank guides'.

hesaiddangerous.bsky.social•24 days ago

Works for me? Or is that not what you mean? https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/default.asp

gralefrit.bsky.social•24 days ago

No. Not arranged by season or theme. What’s on in each screen *today*. Like other cinemas have. Or a calendar for the forthcoming weeks so I can plan a visit.

hesaiddangerous.bsky.social•24 days ago

Okay, this must be a language barrier thing. That’s exactly what I think I’m getting. Taking this chance to tell you how much I enjoy your Comfort Blanket podcast!

blueski2050.bsky.social•24 days ago

Seems fixable ? @neillyneil.bsky.social

neillyneil.bsky.social•24 days ago

Answered here :)
https://bsky.app/profile/neillyneil.bsky.social/post/3lh4ad43r5c2h

davidsh.bsky.social•24 days ago

Weirdly IMDB has a good listing https://www.imdb.com/showtimes/cinema/UK/ci0959458/UK/N8

mrsnodes.bsky.social•24 days ago

I think they see the impenetrability as a badge of honour. Keeps the riff-raff out.

rochelle.bsky.social•24 days ago

Perhaps there's a "friends of BFI" scheme with better access to info? But idk

f1ddlest1cks.bsky.social•24 days ago

Now I can tell if you’re joking, but equally, you’re correct and it’s been like that for years. It’s like a test of your desire, and a way to stop the riffraff.

On the What’s on Page click Explore Our Programme, then click a day on the calendar.

f1ddlest1cks.bsky.social•24 days ago

Or you can trick Google (which used to be better at showtimes) into telling you what’s on today using this one neat trick: “bfi southbank showtimes near me”.

And yeah, you need the “near me” 😂

f1ddlest1cks.bsky.social•24 days ago

*can’t!

jonnyjon.bsky.social•24 days ago

I read that as FBI. I’ve got to get off the internet for a while.

nickcroom.bsky.social•24 days ago

It's an exercise in "what if making users do a dozen clicks is good actually"

Although is there a single good cinema website?

gralefrit.bsky.social•24 days ago

Picturehouse works fine for me most of the time. And I like being able to choose a bunch of venues as favourites, and have them as a menu shortcut. Makes “what’s on” really easy. BFI should look at that.

nickcroom.bsky.social•24 days ago

Hmm, I hadn't seen you could select multiple cinemas. It's not as pleasant as it could be for "what's coming up at my local cinema in the next two weeks" but it works

shinyshep.bsky.social•24 days ago

Peckham Plex is good also the least spendy cinema in London

nickcroom.bsky.social•24 days ago

I find the website an "acquired taste". But love the cinema more generally.

shinyshep.bsky.social•24 days ago

Just realised it’s you Nick! Hey! Hello!

nickcroom.bsky.social•24 days ago

I hadn't realised it was you!

shinyshep.bsky.social•24 days ago

How are you doing? Long time no see!

annawaits.bsky.social•24 days ago

Isn't it absolutely baffling

bwianair.bsky.social•24 days ago

I love the BFI but that website is one of the worst things ever. I'm surprised enough people are able to actually book tickets for things to sell out.

ladyof7.bsky.social•24 days ago

greasepaintpeel.bsky.social•24 days ago

I’ve found it’s a similar case with amateur dramatics societies’ websites. So many of them want you to become a “friend”, instead of telling you how to join them. It’s one area where Facebook is still useful in terms of finding out information on readings/auditions etc.

qgty.bsky.social•24 days ago

The Alumni Association of my univerity - tells you everything about being an alumnus, but nothing about becoming one.

So I'm not.

pakutin.bsky.social•19 days ago

Little side project made with a friend covers this: https://cinemate.app/london/cinemas/bfi-southbank/2025-02-06 (there’s a mobile app, too!)

sidslim.bsky.social•24 days ago

Yeah, if you go to the home page - not the What's On page! - there's a calendar you can click to see what's on any given day

gralefrit.bsky.social•24 days ago

Yeah. You wouldn’t want to find what’s on on the What’s On page. That’s what they’d be expecting. No element of surprise.

sidslim.bsky.social•24 days ago

It's definitely geared more towards members who read the programme each month and go to the site knowing what they want to book

lauridonahue.bsky.social•24 days ago

You can Google “movie times London” and scroll down to bfi.

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