20/08/2007

London cine-goers took advantage of balmy late summer weather and turned out in their thousands for the recently concluded Film4 Summer Screen at the historic Somerset House. The season, which ran from August 2-11, opened with the "people’s premiere" of Judd Apatow’s comedy Knocked Up.

The unique feature of the season was that all the screenings were held outdoors, under the stars, in the venue’s spacious quadrangle. The neoclassical palace, not traditionally known as a film venue, is located in Central London between the Strand and the river Thames. The unusual location proved to be irresistible to Londoners as every screening was a sell-out. It is estimated that over 20,000 people attended the season.

Other highlights included double bills of The Descent [+see also:
trailer
film profile] / The Thing, Hot Fuzz [+see also:
trailer
film profile] / Point Break and screenings of Rushmore, Rear Window, Walk The Line and E.T. Particularly suited for the open air ambience and the massive screen were the vast visual canvases of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The UK’s love affair with Bollywood continued with the world premiere of hockey-themed Chak de India. The film’s star Shah Rukh Khan made an appearance to the delight of his fans, some of who flew in from across the globe, including dedicated supporters from France and Germany.

Linda Bernhardt, Director of Public Programmes at Somerset House Trust, said, “We have been delighted with the extraordinary public response to this year’s Film4 Summer Screen. The premieres of Knocked Up and Chak de India brought an exciting new dimension to the programme. We feel that we now have a firm place in the calendar of film festivals in this country”.