The fourth Oxford Film Festival will this year celebrate the genius of director Stanley Kubrick, the visionary whose films have acted as milestones, visually, technically and controversially, for almost every film-maker since the late 1950s.

His extraordinary body of work is testament to an artist who was fearlessly provocative, meticulous (always in his choice of subjects) and stubbornly protective of his artistic integrity.

Yet equally, and uniquely, he managed to maintain the financial support of big studios throughout his career, despite his predilection for writing, shooting and directing almost solely according to time restraints of no one but himself.

And this year, the Phoenix, in Walton Street, will be screening six of his most influential works.

The festival, which is co-sponsored by our sister paper the Oxford Mail, runs from Sunday, May 9, to Friday, May 14, and includes The Shining (May 9), Dr Strangelove (May 10), 2001 A Space Odyssey (May 11), Paths of Glory (May 12), A Clockwork Orange (May 13) and Lolita (May 14), and three will be screened as new digital prints.

Phoenix manager Suzy Sheriff said: “This is our most ambitious festival so far, and we have gone to great lengths to secure the screening rights to each of these films.

“Each of these films is viewed, quite rightly, as being, to a greater or lesser degree, iconic.

“It is almost impossible to quantify to what degree cinema, as both an art form and popular entertainment, has been influenced by Kubrick.

“The imagery alone from 2001 and Clockwork Orange has become part of our shared aesthetic, while his forays into comedy (Dr Strangelove) and horror (The Shining) have changed our perception of these genres.”

Each of the films will be screened twice a day, at 1pm and 8.30pm, and anyone with a copy of that day’s Oxford Mail will be admitted for half price.

Jeremy Smith, entertainment editor of the Oxford Mail, said: “This genuinely is a must for anyone who loves film.

“Kubrick was an innovator, and unlike most of his peers who shone brightly and briefly, he kept pushing the boundaries over nearly half a century, single-mindedly carving his celluloid signature as a genuine visionary.

“Seemingly unafraid of alienating studios (and make no mistake, his style of film-making demanded huge financial resources), audiences and critics alike, he managed to create a library of work revered by all — a fact this festival hopes to illustrate by highlighting his most landmark films.”

For further information on the festival, contact the Phoenix on 01865 316570. Tickets are on sale now.