Studio 74 10th Anniversary: A Decade of Difference
Published October 27, 2025
Celebrating 10 years of studio 74: The Home of Independent Cinema
This year marks 10 years of Studio 74; a whole decade of eye-opening documentaries, special events, film festivals, exclusive previews, and unique experiences.
To celebrate, we’re looking back at the first 10 films programmed at our iconic cinema here at Exeter Phoenix. These films capture the spirit of what Studio 74 has always been about: bold, brave cinema that draws from the old, the new and the unseen.
Join us on a trip down memory lane and revisit some of our first ever screenings with us!
BRIEF ENCOUNTER
Brief Encounter first arrived in Studio 74 ten years ago and was originally programmed alongside the BFI LOVE season. You can read our 'Behind the Scenes' review of Brief Encounter from 2015 here.
In December, it returns to Studio 74 as part of our Too Much: Melodrama on Film series — a chance to experience David Lean’s timeless story of love, restraint and what might have been, exactly where it belongs: on the big screen. Get your tickets here.
THE WOLFPACK
Directed by Crystal Moselle, who later directed a programmers’ favourite, Skate Kitchen featured as part of our WOW Exeter programme.
This screening came with a post-show conversation with some of the UK’s most epic roller and board sportspeople, including regional surfer Sophie Hellyer.
Read our Q&A from the year 2015 with Crystal Moselle here.
IT FOLLOWS
David Robert Mitchell’s unsettling horror about a teenager haunted by a nightmarish vision after a sexual encounter. The director’s new film Flowervale Street opens in 2026, and we can’t wait to screen it!
THE LIVES OF OTHERS
Part of our Crossing the Line season and winner of Best Foreign Film at the Oscars, The Lives of Others captures the tense world of a police surveillance officer in 1980s East Germany.
THE DESCENT
Hands up — who went caving after watching this one? This sell-out screening partnered with Exeter’s Underground Passages, who hosted a pre-show spooky stroll through the subterranean tunnels beneath the city. We even had a personalised intro from the director.
Fun fact: The Descent turns 20 this year — sounds like an anniversary worth celebrating…
BLUE VELVET
David Lynch has a special place in our hearts (and on our screens) and bringing Twin Peaks to Studio 74 earlier this year was a standout moment.
Blue Velvet featured as part of the BFI LOVE season — complete with hidden “ears” under the seats and prizes for those who found them.
SUFFRAGETTE
Directed by Sarah Gavron, who went on to create Rocks (screened at Studio 74 in 2019).
Suffragette championed the power of British filmmaking and the stories of women who fought for their rights.
THE LOBSTER
This was when Yorgos Lanthimos met Colin Farrell — before they teamed up again for the multi-award-winning The Favourite.
In this macabre, dystopian and absurd second feature, single people are turned into an animal of their choice if they fail to find a partner.
For fans of Lanthimos, his latest film Bugonia screens at Studio 74 from November, with a special event screening on the Sat 01 Nov 2025.
TAXI TEHRAN
Iranian director Jafar Panahi has been a Studio 74 regular across our first decade. Taxi Tehran is a playful, on-the-fly look at everyday life, following Panahi as a taxi driver capturing candid conversations across Tehran. His films are always humane, heartfelt and quietly rebellious.
We were also recently privileged to host a preview of his latest film It Was Just An Accident (with thanks to Mubi) on Sat 25 Oct 2025.
LADY IN THE VAN
Alan Bennett’s true story of Miss Shepherd comes to life in this Nicholas Hytner adaptation starring Maggie Smith as the eccentric lady living on Bennett’s driveway. It was a crowd-pleaser with real warmth and wit.
RARE EXPORTS
“The most wonderfully demented, off-the-rails Christmas movie you’ll ever see.”
A frequent festive visitor to Studio 74, this Nordic anti-Santa tale spreads joy through its message of community spirit — with a side of chaos. Nothing says Christmas like having to take down Santa and his little helpers with your fellow villagers on Christmas Eve.
Here’s to the Next 10!
10 years in, Studio 74 remains a space for bold, brave cinema that inspires and connects. From cult classics to contemporary voices, packed-out previews to cinematic discoveries, every screening has added to the vision of Studio 74 that we set out to create back in 2015.
Here’s to the next 10 years, and to all of you who make Studio 74 a home for independent film!