This film is currently unavailable
Duffer
A bizarre study of obsession focusing on a teenage boy who is torn between the charms of a fleshly female prostitute and the sadism of an older man.
Director: Joseph Despins and William Dumaresq
Overview
Shot in South West London in 1971, Duffer is an intense and bizarre study of obsession that is by turns beautiful and disturbing. It tells the story of a teenage boy (Duffer) who is caught between the womanly charms of a kindly prostitute called Your Gracie and the sadistic attentions of an older man named Louis-Jack. And then Duffer gets pregnant ... Both whimsical and disturbing, with a quirky sense of the grotesque, Duffer is a film that defies easy comparison (perhaps Eraserhead comes close). The director and writer were two ex-pat Canadians in London, and the score is by Galt MacDermot, the Grammy award-winning composer of Hair. The trio would reunite to make their London-set musical, The Moon Over the Alley.
This title is also available on DVD / Blu-ray in the BFI’s Flipside collection.
Contains strong language and one scene of sexual violence
Related
Palestine 36 Palestine 36
Period drama 2025 120 mins Director: Annemarie Jacir
Acclaimed Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir’s most ambitious work is a powerful exploration of the events leading up to the Arab Revolt of 1936.
Plainclothes Plainclothes
Drama 2025 97 mins Director: Carmen Emmi
Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey lead a Sundance-prize winning ensemble in this knockout cruising drama from debut director Carmen Emmi.
Young Hearts Young Hearts
Drama 2024 99 mins Director: Anthony Schatteman
A gentle and sincere story of queer love between two young teenage boys, told with warmth and humour.
Solo Solo
Drama 2025 102 mins Director: Sophie Dupuis
Emerging drag queen Simon begins a passionate, yet destructive relationship with an alluring new man, as his mother re-enters his life after 15 years
Christy Christy
Drama 2025 95 mins Director: Brendan Canty
Deeply moving portrait of a young man thrown out of his foster home, trying for a new start after moving in with his estranged brother in Cork.
A Night Like This A Night Like This
Drama 2025 101 mins Director: Liam Calvert
Two seemingly mismatched men form an unexpected connection over the course of one cold London night, in this warm-hearted debut from Liam Calvert.
The Goob The Goob
Drama 2015 84 mins Director: Guy Myhill
A teen seeks meaning as an East Anglian summer and a violent outsider threaten to overwhelm.
The Wonders The Wonders
Drama 2014 111 mins Director: Alice Rohrwacher
An enchanting, otherworldly coming-of-age drama about a teenage girl who enters her unwilling family into a TV talent show.
Electricity Electricity
Drama 2014 96 mins Director: Bryn Higgins
Agyness Deyn stars in a powerful story seen through the eyes of a young woman whose epilepsy brings extraordinary hallucinations.
Me without You Me without You
Drama 2001 103 mins Director: Sandra Goldbacher
Anna Friel and Michelle Williams star as two troubled girls whose tumultuous friendship takes many twists and turns.
Pauline at the Beach Pauline at the Beach
Comedy 1982 95 mins Director: Eric Rohmer
Eric Rohmer's final collaboration with the great cinematographer Néstor Almendros follows a holidaying teenager as she begins to navigate the adult world.
Heathers Heathers
Comedy 1989 103 mins Director: Michael Lehmann
Winona Ryder and Christian Slater star in the endlessly quotable cult black comedy that subverted expectations of teen movies forever.
The Moon over the Alley The Moon over the Alley
Musical 1977 108 mins Director: Joseph Despins
The Moon Over the Alley is a bizarre and compelling musical exploring the problems of multicultural Notting Hill residents in the early 1970s.
The Ceremony The Ceremony
Thriller 2024 92 mins Director: Jack King
When night falls, two Bradford car wash workers are dragged into an escalating moral crisis.
Palestine 36 Palestine 36
Period drama 2025 120 mins Director: Annemarie Jacir
Acclaimed Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir’s most ambitious work is a powerful exploration of the events leading up to the Arab Revolt of 1936.
Ghost Trail Ghost Trail
Thriller 2024 106 mins Director: Jonathan Millet
Tense, morally complex political thriller about a man hunting down fugitive war criminals from the Assad regime in Syria, inspired by true events.
Plainclothes Plainclothes
Drama 2025 97 mins Director: Carmen Emmi
Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey lead a Sundance-prize winning ensemble in this knockout cruising drama from debut director Carmen Emmi.
What Have You Done Today Mervyn Day? What Have You Done Today Mervyn Day?
Documentary 2005 45 mins Director: Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly’s second collaboration with pop band Saint Etienne traces the hidden history of East London’s Lower Lea Valley before its Olympic makeover.
Young Hearts Young Hearts
Drama 2024 99 mins Director: Anthony Schatteman
A gentle and sincere story of queer love between two young teenage boys, told with warmth and humour.