Come beat the blues with the Week 5 Film Night special screening of The Forty-First (USSR, 1956), directed by Grigori Chukhrai. WHEN: Wednesday 12 November, 5-7pm WHERE: RFB Media Centre, 1st floor

The Forty-First is lauded as the first Soviet film to fully benefit from the loosening of censorship or 'Thaw' that occurred following the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953.* Set during the Revolutionary War that broke out following the Bolshevik Revolution, the tragic tale traces the burgeoning romance between a Red Army woman sniper and the White Army officer prisoner she is tasked with escorting to HQ. The film featured at Cannes in 1957, where it was awarded with a Special Jury Prize for its "genuine script, humanism and high poetry".

There will be kvas and Russian snacks, a brief introduction to the film, and a discussion afterwards.

* If you are interested in reading a little more about the film and its censorship, see here for the Soviet Artistic Council discussions.