It’s the iconic artist’s 550th birthday this year, and to celebrate 550 years of Michelangelo’s extraordinary legacy, a new film Michelangelo – Love and Death by Exhibition on Screen will be released in cinemas nationwide from 20 May 2025. The public can get ready to see Michelangelo like he’s never been seen before in this intimate yet sweeping account of his extraordinary life.
The spectacular sculptures and paintings of Michelangelo seem so familiar, but what do people really know about this Renaissance giant? Michelangelo’s genius is evident in everything he touched. Beautiful and diverse works such as the towering statue of David, the moving Pietà in the Papal Basilica of St. Peter and his tour-de-force, the Sistine Chapel ceiling, still leave people breathless today.
Director David Bickerstaff’s Michelangelo – Love and Death spans the charismatic and enigmatic artist’s 88 years and takes viewers on a cinematic journey through the print and drawing rooms of Europe through the great chapels and museums of Florence, Rome and the Vatican to seek out a fresh understanding of this legendary figure’s tempestuous life, his relationship with his contemporaries and his incredible legacy.
Through expert commentary, stunning visuals and Michelangelo’s own words, this film takes a new look at a master artist whose life and genius are celebrated in every mark he made.
The film invites audiences to intimately examine Michelangelo’s art and artistic process from the Carrara marble quarries to the new technology being used to attribute his works. It promises to be an opportunity to discover why Michelangelo is, without a doubt, one of the greatest artists of all time.
Beautiful filming locations will include Casa Buonarroti in Florence, the Carrara marble mines, the Medici Chapel and the Vatican. Key contributors to the film include world-renowned art historians Martin Gayford and Jonathan Jones, Deputy Director of the Vatican Museums, Professor Arnold Nesselrath and contemporary artist Tania Kovats.
Michelangelo – Love and Death is set to come to the big screen in May 2025 to celebrate the 550th anniversary of this renowned artist’s birth.
Screening times at venues in and around Oxfordshire
| Location | Date | Time |
| Curzon, Westgate Shopping Centre, Oxford | 20 May | 6.00pm |
| Phoenix Picturehouse, 57 Walton Street, Oxford | 20 & 27 May | 6.00pm |
| Regal Picturehouse, 2 Boroma Way, Henley-on-Thames | 20 & 27 May | 6.00pm |
| The Light Banbury, Spiceball Park Road, Oxfordshire | 20 & 26 May | 6.00pm |
| Corn Exchange, Market Place, Newbury | 21 May | 5.30pm |
| MK Gallery, 900 Midsummer Boulevard, Milton Keynes | 20 May | 7.00pm |
