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LONDON 2018

A striking line-up for the 62nd BFI London Film Festival

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- This year, the British gathering will host 21 world, nine international and 29 European premieres, and will unspool from 10-21 October

A striking line-up for the 62nd BFI London Film Festival
In Fabric by Peter Strickland

The 62nd BFI London Film Festival (LFF) in partnership with American Express has announced its full programme of 225 feature films from both established and emerging talent. This year, the festival will host 21 world, nine international and 29 European premieres. There are 46 documentaries, four animations, 18 archive restorations and seven artists’ moving-image features. 39 of the feature films are either UK films or UK co-productions. The programme also includes 160 short films, and 77 countries are represented across short films and features.

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In an attempt to increase the exposure of the films in the official competitions, the festival has reduced the number of competing movies in each category to ten. It has also made the presentation ceremony a public event. The winners in each competition will be selected by handpicked juries, and for the first time this year, the winners will be revealed in front of a public audience on the evening of Saturday 20 October. Each winning film will be presented as a surprise screening in each category at the Vue Leicester Square, preceded by the presentation of the festival’s official award, the bronze Star of London, on stage in the presence of artistic director Tricia Tuttle, the president of the jury in question and the winning filmmaker.

Tuttle, standing in for a year while Clare Stewart is on sabbatical, says, “This year, a key difference is what we want to do with the award sections. We have trimmed them down. There are now just ten films in each section: Best Film, Best Documentary and the Sutherland Trophy for Best First or Second Feature.” 

Three British world premieres to look out for are Evelyn, which is in the Documentary Competition, by Academy Award-nominated director Orlando von Einsiedel (Virunga [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
), who turns the camera on his own family as they attempt to cope with a devastating loss; Happy New Year, Colin Burstead. [+see also:
film review
film profile
]
Ben Wheatley’s poignantly funny and razor-sharp observation of English family dysfunction, which is playing in the Official Competition; and Stan & Ollie, which will bring the festival to a close on Sunday 21 October. The latter film, starring delightfully bang-on-target performances from Steve Coogan and John C Reilly as the legendary movie comedy duo, is a truly funny and touching story about the tender, life-long friendship of Hollywood’s greatest comedy double act, Laurel and Hardy.

Another notable aspect of the programme is the number of female filmmakers who will be showing their wares. “We are seeing lots of really exciting female filmmakers,” says Tuttle. “Across the whole programme, 38% of filmmakers are female, 30% of the feature films are by female directors, which is up from 24% last year, and in three of the four competitive strands, we have gender parity.”

Several key events will also be cinecast to cinema venues around the UK, including the world premiere of Peter Jackson’s They Shall Not Grow Old [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, which will be simultaneously screened, in 2D and 3D, in cinemas and special venues across the UK. Also, for the first time ever, there will be an LFF premiere outside London – the LFF Special Presentation of Mike Leigh’s Peterloo [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mike Leigh
film profile
]
 will take place at HOME, Manchester.

The London Film Festival will run from 10-21 October.

Here is the full list of selected titles:

Official Competition  

Birds of Passage [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
 – Cristina Gallego, Ciro Guerra (Colombia/Denmark/Mexico)
Destroyer – Karyn Kusama (USA)
Happy New Year, Colin Burstead. [+see also:
film review
film profile
]
 – Ben Wheatley (UK)
Happy as Lazzaro [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alice Rohrwacher
film profile
]
 – Alice Rohrwacher (Italy/Switzerland/France/Germany)
In Fabric [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Peter Strickland
film profile
]
 – Peter Strickland (UK)
Joy [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sudabeh Mortezai
film profile
]
 – Sudabeh Mortezai (Austria)
The Old Man & the Gun – David Lowery (USA) 
Shadow – Zhang Yimou (USA)
Sunset [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: László Nemes
film profile
]
 – László Nemes (Hungary/France)
Too Late to Die Young [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
 – Dominga Sotomayor (Chile/Brazil/Argentina/Netherlands/Qatar)

First Feature Competition – Sutherland Award

The Chambermaid – Lila Avilés (Mexico/USA)
The Day I Lost My Shadow [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Soudade Kaadan
film profile
]
 – Soudade Kaadan (Syria/Lebanon/France/Qatar)
Dead Pigs – Cathy Yan (China)
Girl [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lukas Dhont
film profile
]
 – Lukas Dhont (Belgium/Netherlands)
Holiday [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Victoria Carmen Sonne
film profile
]
 - Isabella Eklöf (Denmark/Netherlands/Sweden/Turkey)
Journey to a Mother's Room [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Celia Rico Clavellino
film profile
]
 – Celia Rico Clavellino (Spain/France)
Only You [+see also:
film review
film profile
]
 – Harry Wootliff (UK)
Ray & Liz [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Richard Billingham
film profile
]
 – Richard Billingham (UK)
Soni – Ivan Ayr (India)
Wildlife – Paul Dano (USA)

Documentary Competition – Grierson Award

Bisbee ‘17 – Robert Greene (USA)
Dream Away [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
 – Marouan Omara, Johanna Domke (Germany/Egypt/Qatar)
Evelyn – Orlando von Einsiedel (UK)
John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
 – Julien Farau (France)
The Plan That Came From the Bottom Up [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
 – Steve Sprung (Portugal/UK)
Putin’s Witnesses [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Vitaly Mansky
film profile
]
 – Vitaly Mansky (Latvia/Switzerland/Czech Republic)
The Raft [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marcus Lindeen
film profile
]
 – Marcus Lindeen (Sweden)
Theatre of War [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
 – Lola Arias (Argentina/Spain/Germany)
What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire? [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Roberto Minervini
film profile
]
 – Robert Minervini (Italy/USA/France)
Young and Alive [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Matthieu Bareyre
film profile
]
 – Matthieu Bareyre (France) 

Short Film Award

Another Decade – Morgan Quaintaince (UK)
De Natura – Lucile Hadžihalilovic (Romania)
The Field (Le Champ de mais) – Sandhya Suri (France/UK/India)
Hello, Rain – C J ‘Fiery’ Obassi (Nigeria)
Lasting MarksCharlie Lyne (UK)
Leash – Harry Lighton (UK)
MonelleDiego Marcon (Italy)
Salam – Claire Fowler (UK/USA)
Solar Walk – Réka Bucsi (Denmark) 
Veslemøy’s Song – Sofia Bohdanowicz (Canada)

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