Possession (1981): Scalarama Liverpool Closing Screening

Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession (1981) comes to the big screen in Liverpool for the closing event of Scalarama Liverpool 2026. Presented collaboratively by Obscure Film and Fringe Flicks, the screening takes place at 81 Renshaw as part of Liverpool’s month-long celebration of independent and DIY cinema. Set against Cold War Berlin and starring Isabelle Adjani and Sam Neill, Possession begins with the collapse of a marriage before spiralling into paranoia, obsession, body horror and increasingly surreal territory. Fiercely performed and notoriously difficult to categorise, the film moves between relationship drama, psychological horror and an increasingly unstable visual world. The screening is accompanied by a few appropriately strange additions. After the film, audience members can choose to take part in a Possession scene-recreation challenge inspired by one of its most infamous sequences, with prizes to be won. Obscure Film is also producing a specially commissioned alternative Possession poster, screen printed at Liverpool Community Print Station and available on the night. Participation in the additional activity is entirely optional. Audiences are equally welcome simply to come along and experience the film collectively on the big screen.