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The writer of Man Up (2015), Tess Morris, talks about this specialised genre and the different structures behind film and TV romantic comedies. Drawing upon the book "Writing the Romantic Comedy" by Billy Mernit, Morris provides tips on writing romcoms, using examples from Annie Hall (1977) and Tootsie (1982) to illustrate the formulas and resolutions of love.
Find more films to fall in love with, films to break your heart with BFI Love season: http://www.bfi.org.uk/love
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"When did you last kiss in a cinema? When did you last cry? Could you still believe in romance? Or is it just a fairy tale, a movie you once saw?
Film and TV’s most seductive illusion is to immerse us in the intensity and passion of other people’s lives and loves. The best love stories have a timeless quality, but any history of romance on screen must reflect the transformations wrought by the sexual revolution and the progress of LGBT rights, which fundamentally question and update our notions of romantic love. Our season celebrates a broad sweep of film and TV, from the swooning silent era to the present day, including Hollywood melodrama, British period drama, Bollywood song and dance and the European erotic thriller.
Three key themes arise within our two-month season: The Power of Love presents epic tales that show the struggle to hold on to tenderness, and each other; Fools For Love offers romantic comedies filled with warmth, wit, charm and poignancy; and Fatal Attractions expose the follies of desire, the violence of passion, and the intensity of obsession.
Open your heart."
Rhidian Davis, season programmer