The revamped BFI London Film Festival features three competitive sections and new thematic categories. Fionnuala Halligan profiles the Official Competition and selected world premieres.
Official Competition
After Lucia (Mex)
Dir Michel Franco
Mexico’s foreign Oscar submission and winner of the top prize in Un Certain Regard at Cannes this year, After Lucia [pictured] is a powerful film about adolescent sex and bullying which takes place when a father and daughter move to Mexico City after the death of their wife and mother.
Contact BAC Films - info@bacfilms.fr
End Of Watch (US)
Dir David Ayer
Ayer (Training Day) wrote and directed this gritty action drama starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Pena and Anna Kendrick about Los Angeles police officers who patrol South Central.
Contact Exclusive Media Group - info@exclusivemedia.com
Everyday (UK)
Dir Michael Winterbottom
A documentary-style family drama set (and shot) over five years. Everyday stars Shirley Henderson and John Simm as the parents of four small children. He is serving a prison sentence, so she must raise them alone.
Contact Bankside Films - films@bankside-films.com
Fill The Void (Isr)
Dir Rama Burshtein
This Venice award winner and Israeli Oscar submission centres on an Orthodox Jewish family in Tel Aviv, where 18-year-old Shira anticipates her arranged marriage. Things change radically when her sister dies.
Contact The Match Factory - info@matchfactory.de
Ginger & Rosa (UK)
Dir Sally Potter
Potter’s first film since 2009’s Rage stars Elle Fanning and Alice Englert as two teenage girls growing up in 1961 London under the shadow of the nuclear bomb.
Contact The Match Factory - info@matchfactory.de
In The House (Fr)
Dir Francois Ozon
Ozon’s 13th feature stars Kristin Scott Thomas, Emmanuelle Seigner and Fabrice Luchini in a story about a gifted young student author who takes the maxim “write what you know” to questionable extremes.
Contact Wild Bunch - info@wildbunch.eu
It Was The Son (It-Fr)
Dir Daniele Cipri
Toni Servillo stars in this wacky story of a Sicilian family torn apart by the prospect of a sudden windfall. The film screened at Venice and Toronto.
Contact Rai Trade - www.raitrade.com
Lore (Ger-Aus-UK)
Dir Cate Shortland
Somersault director Shortland turns her attentions to Germany at the end of the Second World War when an SS officer’s daughter (newcomer Saskia Rosendahl) is left to fend for herself and her siblings. Winner of the audience award at Locarno.
Contact Memento Films - sales@mementofilms.com
Midnight’s Children (Can-UK)
Dir Deepa Mehta
Mehta directs and Salman Rushdie adapts his novel about Indian independence and its traumatic aftermath. The film premiered at Toronto.
Contact FilmNation Entertainment - www.wearefilmnation.com
No (Chile-US-Mex)
Dir Pablo Larrain
Feted since its Cannes debut in Directors’ Fortnight, No is set at the end of the Pinochet era when an ad man (Gael Garcia Bernal) is charged with formulating a campaign for a ‘no’ vote in the referendum.
Contact Funny Balloons - sales@funny-balloons.com
Rust And Bone (Fr-Bel)
Dir Jacques Audiard
Audiard follows up A Prophet by adapting Craig Davidson’s stories about a nightclub bouncer and a woman (Marion Cotillard) who becomes a double amputee.
Contact Celluloid Dreams - info@celluloid-dreams.com
Seven Psychopaths (Us-Uk)
Dir Martin McDonagh
In Bruges’ McDonagh reunites with Colin Farrell, this time playing a struggling writer caught up in a crazy dognapping scheme. This winner of Toronto’s Midnight Madness audience award also stars Christopher Walken and Sam Rockwell.
Contact HanWay Films - www.hanwayfilms.com
World premieres
Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me (US) (Sonic)
Dir Drew DeNicola
Memphis’ Big Star were the ultimate 1970s cult rock band who never made it, and here DeNicola charts their salutary tale.
Contact Submarine Entertainment - www.submarine.com
Blood (UK) Thrill
Dir Nick Murphy
The Awakening’s Murphy directs Paul Bettany as a tough police detective whose ailing father (Brian Cox) and brother (Stephen Graham) are also in uniform.
Contact IM Global - info@imglobalfilm.com
Chakravyuh (Ind) Gala
Dir Prakash Jha
This Bollywood action epic stars Abhay Deol and Arjun Rampal as brothers, one a cop battling rebels and the other an undercover agent sending information to his sibling.
Contact Eros International - www.erosintl.com
Crossfire Hurricane (US) Gala
Dir Brett Morgen
The Rolling Stones will appear on the LFF red carpet for this documentary about their 50-year career. It will receive a select UK theatrical release before an HBO airing in the US and a BBC2 slot in the UK later this year.
Contact Eagle Rock Entertainment - mail@eagle-rock.com
Kelly + Victor (UK-Ire) Dare
Dir Kieran Evans
Evans’ feature debut sees him adapt Niall Griffiths’ intense cult novel about a young Liverpool couple’s passionate and dangerous love affair.
Contact Hot Property Films - janine@hotpropertyfilms.com
Spike Island (UK) Sonic
Dir Mat Whitecross
Whitecross (Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll) returns to the music arena for this buzzy tale of four young boys in a band in Manchester who desperately try to score tickets to the legendary Stone Roses gig.
Contact Bankside Films - stephen@bankside-films.com
The Road: A Story Of Life And Death (UK-Ire) Journey
Dir Marc Isaacs
The road in question is the A5, which links the Welsh port of Holyhead to London. Along the route, Isaacs charts generations of immigrants trying their luck in the UK.
Contact Bungalow Town Productions - www.bungalow-town.com
Documentary Competition
For No Good Reason (UK)
Dir Charlie Paul
The Summit (Ire-Switz)
Dir Nick Ryan
Turned Towards The Sun (UK-Fr-Ger)
Dir Greg Olliver
Village At The End Of The World (UK-Den-Green)
Dir Sarah Gavron
Experimenta
I’m Going To Change My Name (Armenia-Rus-Den-Ger)
Dir Maria Saakyan
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