This year’s festival will take place from the 9th to the 20th October.
The 68th BFI London Film Festival (LFF) has now announced the full line up for this year’s festival when it takes place next month.
Taking place across 12 days in October, the LFF will present screenings at itsflagship venues in the heart of London – BFI Southbank and the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, which between them host Galas, Special Presentations and Official Competition titles. Films and Series from all strands of the Festival will screen in many of central London’s iconic cinemas with global film talent from behind and in front of the camera in attendance. A curated selection of features will also be showcased at nine partner venues across the UK.
Featuring a wide range of talent in front and behind the cameras, the festival will include world premieres of films including: Steve McQueen’s BLITZ which opens the festival, Ben Taylor’s Cunard Gala JOY starring Thomasin McKenzie, James Norton and Bill Nighy, the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation’s restoration SILENT SHERLOCK, Darren Thornton’s Irish comedy film FOUR MOTHERS, Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard’s THE EXTRAORDINARY MISS FLOWER, thriller series A THOUSAND BLOWS from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight. The latest documentary from Oscar®-winning directing duo Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin ENDURANCE, Sophie Compton and Daisy-May Hudson’s transformative female prison documentary HOLLOWAY, magical Bulgarian drama TARIKA from Milko Lazarov, Laila Abbas’ gripping tale of two sisters THANK YOU FOR BANKING WITH US, Family Gala THAT CHRISTMAS directed by Simon Otto and starring Brian Cox, Jodie Whittaker and Bill Nighy, Eloise King’s eye-opening investigative documentary THE SHADOW SCHOLARS, Adam Wong Sau-Ping’s touching Hong Kong drama THE WAY WE TALK, Manchester-set debut feature from Gino Evans TREADING WATER, and the BFI’s restoration of one of the UK’s greatest animated films Martin Rosen’s WATERSHIP DOWN will also feature.
In terms of international premieres, those attending LFF can expect the Mayor of London’s Gala WE LIVE IN TIME by John Crowley starring Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield, BFI Flare Special Presentation Roshan Sethi’s A NICE INDIAN BOY starring Karan Soni and Jonathan Groff, Sadie Frost’s inspirational biographical documentary TWIGGY on the 1960s icon, Kimberly Reed’s investigative documentary I’M YOUR VENUS following the murder of the Paris Is Burning star, Jane Mingay’s biographical documentary following impactful musician and artist PAULINE BLACK: A 2-TONE STORY.
European Premieres include: the American Express Gala of R.J. Cutler and David Furnish’s, ELTON JOHN: NEVER TOO LATE, William Bridges’ ALL OF YOU starring and co-written by Brett Goldstein and Imogen Poots, Natalie Bailey’s off-beat Australian comedy AUDREY, remarkable documentary BLINK following a family dealing with blindness from Edmund Stenson and Daniel Roher, debut from Christopher Andrews BRING THEM DOWN starring Barry Keoghan, Christopher Abbott and Colm Meaney, writer-director Mipo O’s anticipated sixth feature LIVING IN TWO WORLDS, Jazmin Jones’ unconventional investigative documentary SEEKING MAVIS BEACON, the Thiele brothers’ absurdist comedy SOFA, SO GOOD, mysterious thriller THE LISTENERS starring Rebecca Hall from series creator Jordan Tannahill, Malcom Washington’s directorial debut adapted from August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning masterwork THE PIANO LESSON starring Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington and Pedro Martín-Calero’s Nigerian-set thriller THE WEEKEND.
Talking about the news, Kristy Matheson, BFI London Film Festival Director, said:“ Cinematic ideas materialise in many forms, and this year artists have taken us to some giddy highs and poked at our tender underbellies. Troubled histories linger close to the surface alongside optimistic futures, all explored in unique and creative ways. As the seasons change and we head into the Autumn, we invite everyone to come to the BFI London Film Festival to discover and enjoy the whole spectrum of moving image.”
In addition to the screenings themselves, there will also by Screen Talks with Andrea Arnold, Steve McQueen, Mike Leigh, Denis Villeneuve, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, Lupita Nyong’o, Zoe Saldaña and Daniel Kaluuya.
In total, the festival will present 253 features, shorts, series and immersive works from 79 countries, featuring 63 languages.
For the full programme visit: https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp