The DFT’s popular annual screenings of the British Arrows—those uniquely creative “adverts” of British television assembled into a feature-length program screened in select cinemas worldwide—were forced to pause during COVID. Now the Arrows are back on the big screen, in a program that combines the best of 2022’s winners with the highlights we missed in 2021.

The compact storytelling that’s possible in films of only a minute or two provides endless surprises—some of the winners are sharp and effective public service messages, others extol the virtues of beloved brands of tea, ale and chocolate (not to mention certain inexplicably popular British breakfast foods).

Regardless of the product being sold, it’s hard to not be bowled over by the inventiveness and playfulness on display in these British advertisements, all designed to deliver a message while also providing an engaging cinematic kick. (80 min.)