09/09/2013 - Festival to screen a total of 234 fiction and documentary features, including 22 World Premieres

The 57th BFI London Film Festival (October 9-20) will screen a total of 234 fiction and documentary features, including 22 World Premieres, 16 International Premieres, 29 European Premieres and 20 Archive films. There will also be screenings of 134 live action and animated shorts. 

As previously announced, the festival will open with British director Paul Greengrass’ Captain Phillips (US) and will close with John Lee Hancock’s Saving Mr. Banks (US-UK). The sponsor galas include Stephen Frears’ Philomena [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Stephen Frears
film profile] (UK-France), Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave (US), Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity (US), the Coen Brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis (US), Jason Reitman’s Labor Day (US) and Ralph Fiennes’ The Invisible Woman (US).

The festival is themed into several strands and each of these will feature a gala screening. The Love gala is Abdellatif Kechiche’s Blue Is The Warmest Colour [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Abdellatif Kechiche
film profile] (France-Belgium-Spain); the Debate gala, Kelly Reichardt’s Night Moves (US); the Dare gala, Alain Guiraudie’s Stranger By The Lake [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alain Guiraudie
film profile] (photo - France); the Laugh gala, Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Don Jon (US); the Thrill gala, Ivan Sen’s Mystery Road (Australia); the Cult gala, Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (US); the Journey gala, Alexander Payne’s road-trip Nebraska (US); the Sonic gala, Lukas Moodysson’s We Are The Best [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Sweden); the Family gala, Juan José Campanella’s Foosball (Spain-Argentina); and the Archive gala The Epic Of Everest (UK).