Locarno Film FestivalThe Locarno Film Festival has been running since 1947 and, in 1954, became the first international festival to run a retrospective alongside its annual review of new cinema, and the festival’s retrospectives have over the years been celebrated for how extensive and well-programmed they are. The 2025 retrospective, programmed by Iran-born, London-based film programmer Ehsan Khoshbakht, was no exception. Called Great Expectations, it focused on British cinema 1946-1960, teasing out the ways it addressed the post-war mood and pointed towards the future. The programme was developed in collaboration with the BFI National Archive – led by us, BFI National Archive curators James Bell and Jo Botting – and prints from the BFI National Archive formed a significant resource for the programme. showcased the rich variety of train-related material held within the BFI National Archive’s collections – much of which can be sampled on BFI Player.