Cycling Film Night: A Sunday in Hell – plus William Fotheringham talk/Q+A

About the show

The Guardian’s William Fotheringham introduces a rare cinema screening of ‘A Sunday in Hell’, the classic documentary on Paris-Roubaix, cycling’s toughest one-day race.

Danish director Jorgen Leth’s revolutionary film-making techniques capture the unique atmosphere of the race, as riders led by Eddy Merckx take on the gruelling, cobble-strewn course on a hot, dusty day in 1976.

‘A Sunday in Hell’ is widely regarded as one of the greatest-ever sports films, a groundbreaking documentary made with more than 20 cameras along the race route, as well as a footage shot from a helicopter – techniques that went on to become standard in high-level sports coverage.

William is the author of a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film: ‘Sunday in Hell: Behind the Lens of the Greatest Cycling Film of All Time’. William will tell us the inside story of the film and the race, and there will be a Q&A after the screening.

William Fotheringham has covered professional cycling for over 30 years and is a former editor of both Cycle Sport and Procycling magazines. His many acclaimed books include ‘The Greatest: The Times and Life of Beryl Burton’; ‘Put Me Back on My Bike: In Search of Tom Simpson’; and ‘Merckx: Half-Man, Half-Bike’. William also worked with Bradley Wiggins on his autobiography, ‘My Time’.

We will be showing the slightly longer Danish version of the film, with subtitles. This version is 1 hour 51.