BFI 56th London Film Festival

 

London, Wednesday 5 September: The programme for the 56th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express launched today under the new creative leadership of BFI’s Head of Exhibition and Festival Director, Clare Stewart, bringing a rich and diverse programme of international films and events from both established and upcoming talent over a 12 day celebration of cinema. The Festival will screen a total of 225 fiction and documentary features, including 14 World Premieres, 15 International Premieres and 34 European Premieres. There will also be screenings of 111 live action and animated shorts. A stellar line-up of directors, cast and crew are expected to take part in career interviews, master classes, and other special events. The 56th BFI London Film Festival will run from 10-21 October 2012.

This year sees the introduction of several changes to the Festival’s format. Now taking place over 12 days, the Festival expands further from its traditional Leicester Square cinemas – Odeon West End, Vue West End, Odeon Leicester Square and Empire – and the BFI Southbank to include four additional new venues – Hackney Picturehouse, Renoir, Everyman Screen on the Green and Rich Mix, which join existing London venues the ICA, Curzon Mayfair, Ritzy Brixton and Ciné Lumière.

GALAS
The Festival opens with the European Premiere of Tim Burton’s 3D animation FRANKENWEENIE, whilst Mike Newell’s visually stunning adaptation of GREAT EXPECTATIONS, starring Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes will close the Festival, with key talent from both films expected to attend. Among the highly anticipated Galas is the American Express Gala World Premiere of CROSSFIRE HURRICANE, a documentary celebrating 50 years of rock legendsThe Rolling Stones who are also expected to attend the Festival. For the first time this year both the Opening Night Gala and the American Express Gala red carpet events and screenings will be screened simultaneously to cinemas across the UK. Other Galas include the American Airlines Gala of Dustin Hoffman’s directorial debut, QUARTET, featuring an outstanding British cast including Dame Maggie Smith, Billy Connolly and Michael Gambon; and Ben Affleck directs and stars in the Accenture Gala presentation of political thriller ARGO which he also produced with George Clooney. British film directors making their mark this year include Paul Andrew Williams with London-based comedy drama, SONG FOR MARION, which screens as The Mayfair Hotel Gala and features a sterling cast headed by Vanessa Redgrave, Terence Stamp, Gemma Arterton and Christopher Eccleston; and Roger Michell, whose HYDE PARK ON HUDSON is the Centrepiece Gala supported by the Mayor of London, stars Bill Murray, Laura Linney, Olivia Colman and Olivia Williams and is set on the eve of WWII when the King and Queen of England make a visit to see Franklin D Roosevelt in upstate New York. Nintendo Gala THE SAPPHIRES, is an inspirational Australian musical comedy set in the 60s starring comic man of the moment Chris O’Dowd, who appears alongside Australian Idol star Jessica Mauboy; and THE SESSIONS, is a moving drama, based on a true story with superb performances from John Hawkes, Helen Hunt and William H. Macy.

AWARDS AND COMPETITIONS
The BFI London Film Festival Awards have undergone a significant change this year by introducing competitive sections that are given much more prominence in the Festival campaign and programme. The Best Film Award in partnership with American Express; the Sutherland Award for Best First Feature and the Grierson Award for Best Documentary will now be presented to the winning films from three programme sections: Official Competition, First Feature Competition and Documentary Competition. Each section is open to international and British films and 12 films have been shortlisted for each Competition.

Official Competition
The inaugural Official Competition line-up, recognising inspiring, inventive and distinctive filmmaking, includes four European premieres:

• Michael Winterbottom’s EVERYDAY
• Sally Potter’s Ginger and Rosa
• Deepa Mehta’s Midnight’s Children
• Martin McDonagh’s Seven Psychopaths

Together with UK premieres of

• Michel Franco’s After Lucia
• David Ayer’s End of Watch
• Rama Burshtein’s Fill the Void
• Daniele Ciprì’s It Was the Son
• François Ozon’s In the House
• Cate Shortland’s Lore
• Pablo Larraín’s No
• Jacques Audiard’s Rust and Bone

Titles in consideration for the First Feature Competition recognising an original and imaginative directorial debut are:
3 European premieres

• Masaaki Akahori’s The Samurai that Night
• Anand Gandhi’s Ship of Theseus
• Barry Berk’s Sleeper’s Wake

and 9 UK premieres

• Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Tom Shkolnik’s The Comedian
• Maja Miloš’ Clip
• Gabriela Pichler’s Eat Sleep Die
• Sally El Hosaini’s My Brother the Devil
• Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Neighbouring Sounds
• Scott Graham’s Shell
• Andrey Gryazev’s Tomorrow
• Haifaa Al Mansour’s Wadjda

In the Documentary Competition category, in partnership with the Grierson Trust, recognising documentaries with integrity, originality, and social or cultural significance, the Festival is screening:
4 World Premieres

• Charlie Paul’s For No Good Reason
• Nick Ryan’s The Summit
• Sarah Gavron’s Village at the End of the World
• Greg Olliver’s Turned Towards the Sun

1 International Premiere

• Sébastien Lifshitz’s Les Invisibles

4 European Premieres

• Jay Bulger’s Beware of Mr Baker
• Shola Lynch’s Free Angela and All Political Prisoners
• Alex Gibney’s Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God
• Amy Berg’s West of Memphis

3 UK Premieres

• Katja Gauriloff’s Canned Dreams
• Ken Burns, David McMahon and Sarah Burns’ The Central Park Five
• Ulises Rosell’s The Ethnographer

Closing the Awards section is the prize for Best British Newcomer, in partnership with Swarovski, which highlights new British talent and is presented to an emerging writer, actor, producer or director. The recipient of this prize will also receive a £5,000 bursary, courtesy of Swarovski.

This year’s nominees are:

1. Rowan Athale – director/screenwriter Wasteland
2. Sally El Hosaini – director/screenwriter My Brother the Devil
3. Fady Elsayed – actor My Brother the Devil
4. Scott Graham – director/screenwriter Shell
5. Eloise Laurence – actor Broken
6. Rufus Norris – director Broken
7. Chloe Pirrie actor Shell
8. Tom Shkolnik – director/screenwriter The Comedian

STRANDS / PATHWAYS
This year significant changes have been made to the structure of the Festival programme with new focused categories that are clustered around the themes of Love, Debate, Dare, Laugh, Thrill, Cult, Journey, Sonic and Family. With over 200 features screened during the Festival this new approach is designed to help Festival goers find the films that mean the most to them and to open up entry points for new audiences.

LOVE
Sweet, passionate, tough – LOVE is a complex and many splendoured thing.

The Love Gala is Michael Haneke’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner AMOUR, with Haneke making a welcome return to the Festival this year.

Other titles in this section include: BROKEN starring Tim Roth and Cillian Murphy; Ira Sachs’ KEEP THE LIGHTS ON; Xavier Dolan’s LAURENCE ANYWAYS; Liz Garbus’ documentary tribute to Marilyn Monroe LOVE, MARILYN; ROBOT AND FRANK starring Frank Langella and Susan Sarandon, and Ursula Meier’s SISTER with Léa Seydoux and Gillian Anderson.

DEBATE
Riveting films that amplify, scrutinise, argue and surprise screen in the DEBATE section and this year’s Gala is the European Premiere of THE PERVERT’S GUIDE TO IDEOLOGY an absorbing documentary sequel to THE PERVERT’S GUIDE TO CINEMA from Sophie Fiennes featuring renegade philosopher and bionic cineaste Slavoj Žižek who also takes part in an ‘In Conversation’ event during the Festival.

Other highlights in this section include Marco Bellocchio’s DORMANT BEAUTY featuring Toni Servillo and Isabelle Huppert, Thomas Vinterberg’s THE HUNT featuring Mads Mikkelsen’s Cannes award-winning performance, and the European Premiere of ZAYTOUN.

DARE
In-your-face, up-front and arresting, the films in DARE will take audiences out of their comfort zone. The Dare Gala is Mira Nair’s Venice-opener THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST, starring Kate Hudson, Kiefer Sutherland, Riz Ahmed and Liev Schreiber.

Other highlights in this strand include: the European Premiere of HELTER SKELTER featuring Japanese supermodel Erika Sawajiri, the World Premiere of KELLY + VICTOR Kieran Evans’ adaptation of the acclaimed novel by Niall Griffiths, and the International Premiere of Antonio Campos’ SIMON KILLER, Carlos Reygadas’ Cannes-winner POST TENEBRAS LUX, Pablo Trapero’s gripping and intelligent drama, WHITE ELEPHANT, and Sergei Loznitsa’s critically celebrated IN THE FOG.

LAUGH
From laugh out loud through romantic comedy to dry and understated – humour in all its forms can be seen in the LAUGH section. A romantic caravan trip quickly descends into chaos when a young couple’s dream holiday takes a wrong turn in acclaimed British director Ben Wheatley’s dark comedy SIGHTSEERS which has its UK premiere as the Laugh Gala.

Other titles in this strand include the International Premiere of Bollywood-meets-Tollywood Amelie style AIYYA, the UK Premiere of romantic comedy CELESTE AND JESSE FOREVER starring Rashida Jones and Andy Samberg and the European Premiere of Stephen Gyllenhaal’s GRASSROOTS, and the International Premiere of Australian cricketing ‘bro’mantic comedy SAVE YOUR LEGS!

THRILL
The films in THRILL are nerve shredders that will get the adrenalin pumping and keep audiences on the edge of their seat; The Gala presentation for this section is the World Premiere of Bollywood action epic CHAKRAVYUH, directed by Prakash Jha who will be attending the Festival.

Other highlights in this section include: controversial Sundance hit COMPLIANCE, Nordic Noir double bill of EASY MONEY and its sequel; the Berlin Golden Bear winner CAESAR MUST DIE and Korean box office smash NAMELESS GANGSTER: RULES OF THE TIME.

CULT
The CULT section features films from the mind-altering and unclassifiable, to fantasy, sci-fi and horror. The Cult Gala is the European Premiere of A LIAR’S AUTOBIOGRAPHY chronicling the life of Monty Python’s Graham Chapman through multiple animation styles and featuring Chapman’s fellow Pythons in the voice cast.

Other highlights in this section include: ANTIVIRAL, the feature film debut of Brandon Cronenberg; the International Premiere of Actress Katie Aselton’s directorial outing, the survival horror BLACK ROCK; Japanese maestro Takashi Miike’s FOR LOVE’S SAKE and Juan Carlos Medina’s fantasy horror PAINLESS, along with documentaries MY AMITYVILLE HORROR, THE JEFFREY DAHMER FILES, and ROOM 237.

JOURNEY
Whether it’s the journey or the destination, the films in JOURNEY will transport and shift perspectives.

Celebrated Romanian director Cristian Mungiu returns to the Festival with BEYOND THE HILLS screening as the Journey Gala . The film won Best Screenplay at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, where actresses Cristina Flutur and Cosmina Stratan also shared best actress award.

Other titles in this strand include: riveting Moroccan drama HORSES OF GOD, Raymond Depardon and Claudine Nougaret’s documentary JOURNAL DE FRANCE, Jem Cohen’s MUSEUM HOURS, Michel Gondry’s THE WE AND THE I and the World Premiere of Marc Isaac’s new documentary about the A5 –THE ROAD: A STORY OF LIFE AND DEATH

SONIC
Music inspired films and events that will have audiences dancing in the aisles can be discovered in SONIC.

Highlights in the Sonic screening programme include Mat Whitecross’ coming-of-age story SPIKE ISLAND about an Indie band of 1990 vintage, who are determined to see their heroes The Stone Roses; GOOD VIBRATIONS, the biopic of Terri Hooley, Belfast’s Godfather of Punk, which was declared the best Irish film at Galway Film Fleadh earlier this year; and world music is represented with films from Africa and Chile, KINSHASA KIDS and VIOLETA WENT TO HEAVEN.

The Festival is delighted to include two popular events from the year-round programme at BFI Southbank for the first time – BUG and Sonic Cinema, both celebrating the links between music and film. Sonic Cinema presentations include a focus on the Sigur Ros Valtari Mystery Film Experiment featuring premieres of new clips and, in celebration of Warp Films’ 10th Birthday, a special presentation of Shane Meadow’s THIS IS ENGLAND screening with a live score from composer Ludovico Einaudiand and musician Gavin Clark. Regular BUG host Adam Buxton will present a special artist focus with talent to be announced.

FAMILY
The Festival showcases films for all ages in its FAMILY section and this year’s Family Gala is ERNEST & CELESTINE, the delightful animated story of an unlikely friendship between a bear and a mouse from the directors of A TOWN CALLED PANIC. In addition to Opening Night Gala FRANKENWEENIE, there are five other animated features screening in the Festival as well as an animated shorts programme. Three of the family features are hand-drawn films from France, and WOLF CHILDREN is the new hotly anticipated animated title from Japanese director Mamoru Hosoda.

SHORTS
An original and innovative line-up of short films and animation that will enthral audiences young and old make up this year’s SHORTS programme including a dedicated section for younger audiences. Animated shorts for children include THE SANDPIXIES: DA CAPO GEORGE, THE MISSING MEATBALLS and I WANT TO SEE DWARFS.

Short film compilation programmes include Crime & Punishment with films featuring criminals, their actions and the consequences; Blood is Thicker Than Water with films examining interactions and relationships between friends, lovers and families and Obsessive and Compulsive with films that examine far-from-healthy obsessions.

Once again the London Calling section features a selection of shorts from budding filmmakers from across the capital and this year student films from some of the UK’s best film schools will be showcased in Back to School

These short films feature a host of well known faces including: Alison Steadman, Ralf Little, Tom Hollander, Martin Freeman, Stephen Graham and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

EXPERIMENTA
This year’s the Festival will present its largest ever series of artists moving image programmes, culminating in the annual EXPERIMENTA Weekend from 19-21 October 2012. In collaboration with the ICA, the Festival will also present several screenings of artists’ films to coincide with the Frieze Art Fair, from 10-13 October 2012. Peter Kubelka’s new work ANTIPHON will screen with ARNULF RAINER in an expanded projection event – Monument Film. Both films will be physically installed on the walls of the BFI Southbank Atrium for the duration of the Festival. The extraordinary presentation of Monument Film in the NFT1 cinema forms the centrepiece of an Experimenta Weekend which is full of outstanding visions. Thom Andersen, Nathaniel Dorsky and Laida Lertxundi return with new films, whilst Mati Diop introduces her award-winning work in London for the first time, and Beatrice Gibson premieres THE TIGER’S MIND.

TREASURES
Treasures brings recently restored cinematic treasures from archives around the world to the Festival.

This year’s previously announced Archive Gala is the World Premiere of the restoration of Alfred Hitchcock’s THE MANXMAN at the Empire Leicester Square with a live accompaniment by Stephen Horne. The Gala marks the grand finale of the BFI’s The Genius of Hitchcock project which commenced in June 2012 and is currently screening at BFI Southbank.

Digital restoration can have spectacular results, as shown in, David Lean’s LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, the full length director’s cut of the brand new 4K digital restoration which will premiere at the NFT1 showcasing BFI Southbank’s new 4K projector for the first time. The screening will be accompanied by a presentation from Grover Crisp, who will give a talk about the restoration work. Sir Laurence Olivier’s iconic RICHARD III also benefits from a fully restored print which will be screened at the Festival. Other highlights include silent movie THE SPANISH DANCER, a lavish costume romp with a live piano accompaniment; the BFI-backed revival of Roman Polanski’s TESS; a newly made documentary BERGMAN & MAGNANI:THE WAR OF VOLCANOES screening alongside a restoration of Roberto Rossellini’s VIAGGIO IN ITALIA and the latest restoration by Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Foundation, AFTER THE CURFEW which is a political commentary on what happened after Indonesia was liberated from Dutch occupation.

EVENTS & EXHIBITIONS
The EVENTS programme features the highly anticipated Screen Talks and Masterclasses.

This year’s Screen Talks in partnership with American Express, includes celebrated author Salman Rushdie whose adaptation of his own novel MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN screens in Official Competition and Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney who is at the Festival with his new film MEA MAXIMA CULPA: SILENCE IN THE HOUSE OF GOD in Documentary Competition.

The Masterclasses, presented in partnership with Swarovski, feature leading music supervisor Ian Neil (SPIKE ISLAND) and production design team David Wasco and Sandy Reynolds-Wasco who designed Martin McDonagh’s SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS. Time Out continues to support the free access ‘In Focus’ events, which this year sees four events with a focus on British Cinema.

The Art of Frankenweenie Exhibition supported by American Express is taking place at the Festival Village, Southbank Centre. In addition, the Festival is proud to be working alongside the V&A’s major autumn exhibition Hollywood Costume with two events celebrating the role of costume on film and featuring the exhibition’s senior curator, the Academy Award- nominated costume designer Deborah Nadoolman Landis.

FILM GUESTS
Guests expected to attend include: Alex Gibney, Alice Englert, Alice Lowe, Allison Abbate, Barnaby Southcombe, , Ben Wheatley, Benh Zeitlin, Benjamin Renner, Billy Connolly, Brandon Cronenberg, Cate Shortland, Catherine O’Hara, Charlie Paul,Charlie Watts, Charlotte Rampling, Chris O’Dowd, Cristian Mungiu, David Walliams, David Nicholls, David Wasco, Deepa Mehta, Dustin Hoffman, Eddie Marsan, Elle Fanning, François Ozon, Gabriel Byrne, Hayley Atwell, Helena Bonham Carter, Ian Neil, Jacques Audiard, Jake Schreier, Jeremy Irvine, Julian Roman Pölsler , Keith Richards,Liz Garbus, Marion Cotillard, Martin McDonagh, Martina Gedeck, Martin Landau, Martin Short, Matthias Schoenaerts, Melvil Poupaud, Michael Haneke, Michael Palin, Mick Jagger,Mike Newell, Nick Murphy, Paolo Taviani, Pablo Larraín, Paul Andrew Williams, Pauline Collins, Quvenzhanée Wallis, Ronnie Wood, Rufus Norris, Sally EI Hosaini, Sally Potter, Salman Rushdie, Rodney Ascher, Sandy Reynolds Wasco, Saskia Rosendahl, Slavoj Žižek, Sophie Fiennes, Steve Oram, Suzanne Cléement,Tamzin Outhwaite, Terry Jones, Thomas Bidegain, Tim Burton, Tom Courtenay, Winona Ryder.

The Festival will announce its complete guest line-up in early October.

FESTIVAL INFORMATION AND TICKET BOOKING
Tickets go on sale to the public on 24 September
Telephone Bookings: 0207 928 3232 between 09.30 – 20.30
Online: www.bfi.org.uk/lff (no booking or postal fee)
In person: BFI Southbank Office: 11.30 – 20.30
BFI Members receive priority booking: join at www.bfi.org.uk/join
nb. Last minute tickets are available to be purchased on the day about 30 minutes prior to the screening at Festival venues

55th BFI London Film Festival Programme

London, Wednesday 7 September: The programme for the 55th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express launched today by Artistic Director Sandra Hebron, celebrates the imagination and excellence of international filmmaking from both established and emerging talent. Over 16 days the Festival will screen a total of 204 fiction and documentary features, including 13 World Premieres, 18 International Premieres and 22 European Premieres*. There will also be screenings of 110 live action and animated shorts. Many of the films will be presented by their directors, cast members and crew, some of whom will also take part in career interviews, masterclasses, and other special events. The 55th BFI London Film Festival will run from 12-27 October.

GALAS & SPECIAL SCREENINGS:
Opening the festival is Fernando Meirelles’ 360, written by Peter Morgan, and starring Sir Anthony Hopkins, Jude Law and Rachel Weisz. Weisz is also the star of Terence Davies’ closing night film, THE DEEP BLUE SEA, alongside a cast which includes Simon Russell Beale and Tom Hiddleston. Key talent will be in attendance for both films. George Clooney features in two Gala presentations - the political thriller THE IDES OF MARCH which he directs and stars in alongside Ryan Gosling, Evan Rachel Wood, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti, and THE DESCENDANTS, Alexander Payne’s latest feature. Among several literary adaptations are Lynne Ramsay’s WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN with Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly and Ezra Miller; TRISHNA, Michael Winterbottom’s reworking of Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles, with Freida Pinto and Riz Ahmed; and CORIOLANUS with Ralph Fiennes directing as well as taking the lead role alongside Gerard Butler and Vanessa Redgrave. Redgrave is also cast in Roland Emmerich’s ANONYMOUS with Rhys Ifans, Joely Richardson and David Thewlis. Madonna directs romantic drama W.E. which stars Abbie Cornish, Andrea Riseborough and James D’Arcy whilst Steve McQueen’s second feature SHAME has a cast that includes Carey Mulligan and Michael Fassbender. Fassbender can also be seen alongside Viggo Mortensen and Keira Knightley in David Cronenberg’s A DANGEROUS METHOD. Foreign language cinema is represented by THE KID WITH A BIKE, the Cannes Grand Prix winner from the Dardenne brothers; Nanni Moretti’s WE HAVE A POPE; and Michel Ocelot’s enchanting animation TALES OF THE NIGHT. Hollywood’s silent era is celebrated in Michel Hazanavicius’ THE ARTIST
 * Figures correct at time of printing
whilst this year’s Archive Gala is the BFI National Archive’s restoration of Miles Mander’s THE FIRST BORN with a new score by Stephen Horne.

FILM ON THE SQUARE:
Showcasing some of this year’s most anticipated and acclaimed films, the selection includes work from renowned directors such as Roman Polanski (CARNAGE), Gus Van Sant (RESTLESS), Werner Herzog (INTO THE ABYSS: A TALE OF DEATH, A TALE OF LIFE), Todd Solondz (DARK HORSE), Jonathan Demme (I’M CAROLYN PARKER) and Jonas Mekas (SLEEPLESS NIGHTS STORIES). Star power is provided by Jack Black in Richard Linklater’s BERNIE; Sean Penn in Paolo Sorrentino’s THIS MUST BE THE PLACE; Joseph Gordon-Levitt teams with Seth Rogen in Jonathan Levine’s 50/50, whilst Woody Harrelson stars in Oren Moverman’s RAMPART, developed from a screenplay by James Ellroy. British films include Andrea Arnold’s bold retelling of WUTHERING HEIGHTS, Marc Evans’ HUNKY DORY, a celebration of pre-punk 70s pop culture, and Nick Broomfield’s SARAH PALIN – YOU BETCHA! International cinema takes centre stage in the West End with a powerful selection of premieres including Norway’s Joachim Trier’s stunning OSLO, AUGUST 31st; Bruno Dumont’s provocative HORS SATAN; and Cannes Grand Prix winner Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s audacious ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA. Mexico’s Gerardo Naranjo delivers a thrilling action film with MISS BALA, whist divided family life in Japan is the focus of Hirokazu Kore-eda’s engaging I WISH, and Australia’s most infamous serial murder case inspires Justin Kurzel’s first feature SNOWTOWN. Other feature debuts include Dee Rees’s emotionally powerful PARIAH; Sean Durkin’s beautifully disturbing MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE and Nick Murphy’s 1920s set supernatural tale THE AWAKENING.

NEW BRITISH CINEMA:
Original cinematic voices from across the UK making their debuts this year include D.R. Hood with the haunting WRECKERS starring Claire Foy and Benedict Cumberbatch, and Tinge Krishnan with the social drama JUNKHEARTS in which Eddie Marsan heads a cast which includes Tom Sturridge and Romola Garai. London is the setting for Dexter Fletcher’s drama WILD BILL, starring Charlie Creed-Miles; and Andrew Haigh’s second feature, WEEKEND, is an original and affecting romance. Nirpal Bhogal’s fresh young cast enliven urban drama SKET, and LOTUS EATERS finds director Alexandra McGuinness introducing us to the city’s indulgent, affluent youth. Frances Lea’s STRAWBERRY FIELDS provides an escape to the country with a story of lust, rivalry and liberation. A strong selection of British work include films which imaginatively blur the boundaries between documentary and drama such as Richard Jobson’s response to the Iraq war, THE SOMNAMBULISTS, Simon Pummell’s SHOCK HEAD SOUL and DREAMS OF A LIFE by Carol Morley. Paul Kelly’s portrait of cult hero, LAWRENCE OF BELGRAVIA and Daniel Edelsyn’s HOW TO RE-ESTABLISH A VODKA EMPIRE round out the documentary selection.

FRENCH REVOLUTIONS:
The focus on French cinema brings a wide range of new and established filmmakers including Dominik Moll, with THE MONK starring Vincent Cassel and Geraldine Chaplin. Chaplin also appears with Salma Hayek in AMERICANO, the feature debut of actor Mathieu Demy. From the directorial team of Nicolas Klotz and Elisabeth Perceval, LOW LIFE is a study of the trials facing French youth that has universal resonance whilst Laurent Achard provides a macabre touch in LAST SCREENING and popular comedian Emmanuel Mouret brings wry comedy to THE ART OF LOVE. Among a number of French directors returning to the Festival are Mathieu Amalric with a modern adaptation of Corneille’s classic play, THE SCREEN ILLUSION, Jean-Marc Moutout examining executive culture in EARLY ONE MORNING and Mathieu Kassovitz directing himself in the provocative military drama, REBELLION.

CINEMA EUROPA:
A diverse selection of filmmakers bring Europe into focus with films from countries including Belgium, Bulgaria, Ireland, Sweden, Austria, Romania, Poland, Slovakia, The Czech Republic, Denmark, The Netherlands, Russia and Iceland, as well as Italy, Spain and Germany. Highlights include Benito Zambrano’s post-Spanish Civil War drama THE SLEEPING VOICE; Iceland’s Rúnar Rúnarsson’s VOLCANO; Angelina Nikonova’s TWILIGHT PORTRAIT, a study in Russian institutional corruption, Andrea Molaioli’s Italian conspiratorial drama THE JEWEL , Ulrich Köhler’s SLEEPING SICKNESS and the World Premiere of Hans Weingartner’s HUT IN THE WOODS. There are a number of outstanding directorial debuts which include Jonathan Cenzual Burley’s absurdist road movie, THE SOUL OF FLIES; Andrea Segre’s LI AND THE POET and Marie Kreutzer’s THE FATHERLESS. From Germany, the unique DREILEBEN project brings together Christian Petzold, Dominik Graf and Christoph Hochhäusler with three very different features that share an incidental starting point. Documentary features include Andrey Paounov’s THE BOY WHO WAS A KING and WHORES’ GLORY from Michael Glawogger, who will be one of the four Austrian filmmakers with work in the Festival who will be participating in a special panel discussion on the current state of Austrian cinema.

WORLD CINEMA:
An extensive selection of the finest features and documentaries from across the globe includes new films from well known filmmakers and emerging voices. Highlights from the US include NATURAL SELECTION, the brilliant debut from Robbie Pickering that swept the board at this year’s SXSW Film Festival awards; Ken Kesey and The Merry Band of Pranksters’ trek across America is revisited in MAGIC TRIP from directors Alison Ellwood and Alex Gibney; whilst a journey of a different kind features in Braden King’s HERE, part road-movie, part love-story and part investigation of cinema itself. Tristan Patterson’s skateboarding documentary DRAGONSLAYER and Michael Barnett’s hugely entertaining SUPERHEROES about real life crimefighters offer fascinating glimpses of American life. Latin American cinema is well represented with HARD LABOUR, a blistering dissection of the class structure of Brazilian society from directors Juliana Rojas and Marco Dutra;
KAREN CRIES ON THE BUS, the debut feature from Colombia’s Gabriel Rojas Vera; Laura Citarella’s OSTENDE and Santiago Mitre’s THE STUDENT, both from Argentina. The notable rise of ethnically Tibetan filmmaking is evidenced in Pema Tseden’s OLD DOG and Sonthar Gyal’s THE SUN-BEATEN PATH whilst other East Asian highlights include Hong Sangsoo’s THE DAY HE ARRIVES and Kim Kyung-Mook’s STATELESS THINGS, both from South Korea; Jiang Wen’s LET THE BULLETS FLY, China’s highest-grossing film; Ann Hui’s A SIMPLE LIFE, and Yuya Ishii’s MITSUKO DELIVERS. Indian cinema is represented this year by titles including Salim Ahamed’s ABU, SON OF ADAM, a rare and poignant tale of Muslim community life in Kerala; Gurvinder Singh’s ALMS OF THE BLIND HORSE and Kaushik Mukherjee’s cult film in the making ASSHOLE.

EXPERIMENTA:
This year’s programme features an innovative and cutting edge selection of films to inspire. Highlights include TWO YEARS AT SEA, the new work from Jarman Prize nominee and Rotterdam Tiger Award winner Ben Rivers; CORRESPONDENCE: JONAS MEKAS – JL GUERÍN, a series of five cinematic letters presented in Spanish and English; and FREE RADICALS: A HISTORY OF EXPERIMENTAL FILM from Pip Chodorov. Lewis Klahr returns to the Festival with THE PETTIFOGGER and other featured filmmakers include Phil Solomon, Chick Strand, Gabriel Abrantes, Robert Fenz and Nathaniel Dorsky. Altered States is a selection of shorts from filmmakers including Ben Russell, Neil Beloufa, Mary Helena Clark and Deborah Stratman.

TREASURES FROM THE ARCHIVE:
Highlighting invaluable restoration work, these cinematic treasures will entertain and capture the imagination in equal measure. Titles include a digital restoration of George Sidney’s exuberant, good-natured satire on rock’n’roll BYE BYE BIRDIE with Janet Leigh; Humphrey Bogart stars in Edward Dmytrik’s epic THE CAINE MUTINY; Elia Kazan’s Oscar-winning AMERICA, AMERICA and Marcel Carné’s timeless masterpiece, LES ENFANTS DU PARADIS. The latest restoration by Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Foundation, LAW OF THE BORDER will also feature alongside the little seen Roberto Rossellini film, THE MACHINE THAT KILLS BAD PEOPLE. One of two colour features from the prolific Japanese master Kenji Mizoguchi, SHIN-HEIKE MONOGATARI, will play in the section along with WE CAN’T GO HOME AGAIN by Nicholas Ray, a film which anticipated experiments by Jean Luc Godard, Mike Figgis et al. And from close to home comes WONDERFUL LONDON programme, restored by the BFI National Archive, in which directors Harry B. Parkinson and Frank Miller capture some of the most evocative images of the capital in the mid-1920s.

SHORT CUTS AND ANIMATION:
A strong line-up of short films and animation that will captivate audiences young and old make up this year’s programme. Animation from around the globe is covered including a
dedicated collection aimed at the younger audience, Animated Shorts for Younger Audiences, which include FUNNY ALPHABET and PICKELS IN A PICKLE. Exciting new filmmakers from the capital are showcased in London Calling, experiences of modern urban living are the focus of The Suburbs, and LONG DISTANCE INFORMATION and HOLD ON ME feature in The School of Life, a series dealing with issues such as family duty and conscience. Talent spotters will be able to see established names including Nicholas Hoult, Michael Fassbender and Luke Treadaway, along with new shorts from director Terry Gilliam and comedian Matthew Holness.

EVENTS:
To accompany the screenings, the festival will present an extensive programme of public events featuring panel discussions, on-stage interviews and masterclasses. There will also be a number of free events. This year’s Screen Talks, presented in partnership with American Express, feature directors Michael Winterbottom and Alexander Payne. The Masterclasses, presented in partnership with Swarovski, feature celebrated writer Abi Morgan, writer-director Miranda July, award-winning composer Alexandre Desplat and cinematographer Barry Ackroyd. Other highlights include an in-depth look at the making of WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN with key members of the cast and crew, one of three free to access events presented in collaboration with Time Out.

AWARDS:
The BFI London Film Festival Awards recognise creative excellence from both new and established filmmaking talent. Taking place on 26 October at LSO St Luke’s, awards presented include: Best Film, The Grierson Award for Best Documentary, The Sutherland Award for most imaginative and original first feature in the festival, Best British Newcomer Award and the BFI Fellowship. This year’s jurors and full awards shortlists will be announced on 4 Oct – full details will be available at bfi.org.uk/lff.

FILM GUESTS:
In addition to many of the names already highlighted, we expect to welcome guests including Alexander Payne, Andrea Arnold, Azazel Jacobs, Ben Rivers, Braden King, Bruno Dumont, Carol Morley, David Cronenberg, Dexter Fletcher, Elisabeth Olsen, Fernando Meirelles, Freida Pinto, George Clooney, Hans Weingartner, Harry Belafonte, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Joe Swanberg, Jonas Mekas, Jonathan Demme, Lynne Ramsay, Marina Goldovskaya, Michael Fassbender, Michael Shannon, Michael Winterbottom, Miranda July, Nanni Moretti, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Phil Solomon, Ralph Fiennes, Roland Emmerich, Sean Durkin, Shailene Woodley, Terence Davies and Yorgos Lanthimos.

FESTIVAL INFORMATION AND TICKET BOOKING
Tickets go on sale to the public on 26 September
Telephone Bookings: 0207 928 3232 between 09.30 – 20.30
Online: www.bfi.org.uk/lff (no booking or postal fee)
In person: BFI Southbank Office: 11.30 – 20.30
BFI Members receive priority booking : join at www.bfi.org.uk/join
nb. Tickets are available to be purchased on the day about 30 minutes prior to the screening at Festival venues

THE 55th BFI FILM FESTIVAL SPONSORS AND FUNDERS
We are delighted to welcome American Express back for their second year as Principal Sponsor.
We thank DCMS and we acknowledge and are very grateful for the support the Festival receives from the National Lottery. We are delighted to be supported directly by the Mayor of London for the first time as a funding contributor, alongside Skillset.
We are proud to continue to work with American Airlines, the Festival’s long-standing official airline. The Festival is also pleased to be working with Jameson Irish Whiskey, the Official Spirit of the Festival, who this year are sponsoring the Film on the Square strand. TV5Monde will return to sponsor the French Revolutions strand for their seventh consecutive year and for the first year sponsoring an Education Event . New Official Beer Partner Kirin Ichiban will sponsor the Short Cuts and Animations strand. We are also pleased to be working again with Swarovski who will be supporting both our Masterclasses and the Best British Newcomer Award. We also welcome new sponsor MontBlanc to the Awards this year.
Many thanks to the Festival’s generous in-kind Sponsors: returning Official Hotel The May Fair; returning Official Festival Car Supplier Renault; returning photography sponsor Getty Images; cinema advertising partner Digital Cinema Media; returning cinema partner Vue; and official make up brand MAC Cosmetics . Additionally, we would like to thank Soho House, Odeon, Midnite Express, Official water sponsor Icelandic Glacial, Green & Black’s Organic chocolate, The Picture Production Company, CBS Outdoor, The Hospital Club, Impact Distribution and the Curzon Cinemas for their continued support.
We are delighted to welcome back Media Partner Evening Standard, as well as valued Broadcast Partner BBC London. Thanks also goes to returning Media Partners Empire, Time Out, Sight & Sound, Variety, Screen International, The Hollywood Reporter and LOVEFiLM for continuing to provide invaluable media support.
The Festival would also like to give a huge thanks to Christie digital projectors, Newman Displays and Molinare .
Finally, the Festival would like to thank Adobe, MEDIA Desk UK and the many embassies and cultural institutes who support the Festival by helping to bring in filmmakers to present their work.