Control + Collapse
This screening of Under the Skin marks the first instalment under the theme Control + Collapse, a series of events, films, and sound works that examine systems under pressure, where structure, reality, and authority begin to fracture under unseen or unforeseen forces.

Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin follows an alien (Scarlett Johansson) moving through Glasgow in a van, seducing men not into companionship, but into a strange black void as part of a larger, unseen system of extraction. Adapted loosely from Michel Faber’s novel, the film keeps its logic deliberately out of reach, creating a world that feels eerie, dreamlike, and quietly disturbing.

As she moves through the city, an ominous figure known as the Motorcycle Man lingers in the background, observing and erasing traces of her existence. But after an unexpected moment of human kindness, something begins to shift. Gradually, she starts to experience empathy and a growing sense of self beyond the role she arrived to perform, blurring the boundary between alien and human.

Minimal, haunting, and hypnotic, Under the Skin is anchored by Scarlett Johansson’s extraordinary performance and Mica Levi’s unforgettable score.

This screening also features a pre-gig performance by pianist and composer Tim Funnell, whose work moves between jazz traditions and free improvisation, balancing structure and spontaneity in real time.

About Naked Eye Collective

Naked Eye Collective is a formation of creative individuals based in Bristol, curating immersive, cross-disciplinary events across local venues. Our aim is to tell stories that provoke, entertain, unsettle, and connect using film, sound, performance, and space itself as part of the experience.

We believe there is still value in personal, ambitious projects, in revisiting overlooked works, and in creating spaces where people can gather around ideas, images, and conversation. Our events often evolve through collaboration with local artists, musicians, lecturers, performers, and curious individuals who want to contribute something distinct to the experience.

We are interested in silent films, ecology, commerce, social critique, French cinema, and forms of storytelling that resist easy resolution. We support local artists, activate hidden venues, and build layered, interactive cultural events that sit somewhere between screening, installation, and happening.

Control + Collapse

Our current programme explores films and sound works that examine systems under pressure, where structure, reality, and authority begin to fracture under unseen or unforeseen forces.

Each screening is preceded by a live or composed sound response by a local artist.

Films in the Control + Collapse series:

Under the Skin - 14th June at Southbank
Ex Machina - Venue and date TBC
Dogtooth - Venue and date TBC
Possessor - Venue and date TBC
Reality - Venue and date TBC

This is just one strand of the wider Naked Eye programme. We’re developing multiple event series rolling out across summer and autumn.