My Beautiful Laundrette + Q&A

We are delighted to welcome lead actor Gordon Warnecke to Kiln for an in person Q&A reflecting on the forty years since the release of My Beautiful Launderette.

My Beautiful Launderette is a ‘lightning in a bottle’ film that captures a group of talents who were all in the ascendant. One of the UK’s landmarks of queer cinema, it also proved the breakout roles for Daniel Day-Lewis and co-star Gordon Warnecke. Hanif Kureishi burst onto the scene with the screenplay for this tale of a British-Pakistani man caught at a societal crossroads, with director Stephen Frears (The Queen, Philomena) making his first major cinema outing with this classic.

Omar (Warnecke) is caretaker for his father, suffused in grief and disappointed by England. His uncle, by contrast, is taking a big slice of Thatcher’s Britain and promises to raise his nephew up by making him manager of a shabby launderette. Attacked one night by racist thugs, he realises one is Johnny (Day-Lewis), his childhood friend. They become business partners and more, but can they walk across the fractures of ‘80s Britain? My Beautiful Launderette’s unique, cheeky and honest portrayal of modern Britain is as pertinent as ever.

Presented by Filmscope CIC with Kiln Cinema.
Part of Rip It Up, a BFI FAN season celebrating UK youth culture over the last 75 years. Supported by BFI FAN with National Lottery funding.