Desiree Akhavan to head First Feature Competition jury; Jarvis Cocker to host annual awards ceremony.

Desiree Akhavan

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The 59th BFI London Film Festival (Oct 7-18) has revealed the full line-up of its competition juries and announced that presenter and Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker will host this year’s awards ceremony on Oct 17.

The jury for the Sutherland Award for the First Feature Competition includes:

  • Desiree Akhavan, director/screenwriter (Appropriate Behaviour) (president)

  • Clio Barnard, director/artist (The Selfish Giant)
  • James Kent, director (Testament of Youth)
  • Allen Leech, actor (The Imitation Game)
  • Kate Muir, film critic, The Times

The jury for the Grierson Award for the Documentary Competition includes:

  • Mark Cousins, director (I Am Belfast) (president)

  • Brian Woods, producer (The Dying Rooms)
  • Charlie Phillips, head of docs, The Guardian
  • Alex Cooke, filmmaker
  • Iain Forsyth, director (20,000 Days on Earth)
  • Jane Pollard, director (20,000 Days on Earth)

The jury for the LFF’s first Short Film Competition includes:

  • Daisy Jacobs, director (The Bigger Picture) (president)

  • Shezad Dawood, artist/filmmaker
  • Will Massa, British Council
  • Tom Green, director (Monsters: Dark Continent)
  • Runa Islam, visual artist/filmmaker

As previously announced, director Pawel Pawlikowski (Ida) will preside over the Official Competition jury, which comprises British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave), British actress Kristin Scott Thomas, US producer Christine Vachon (Carol) and Chinese director Mabel Cheung (A Tales of Three Cities).

Musician and presenter Jarvis Cocker will host the annual Awards Ceremony on Oct 17.

Cocker said: “Having served on the jury back in 2009, it is a great pleasure and honour to be invited back to host the 59th BFI London Film Festival Awards.

“This year’s selection may very well be the most wide-ranging yet – I will be working on my pronunciation skills as we have films from over 38 countries in the competition.

“It is sure to be a very memorable evening – now, if only I could remember who I lent my dinner suit to…”

Also previously announced, the BFI Fellowship will be presented to Cate Blanchett.

OFFICIAL COMPETITION

The Official Competition line-up, recognising inspiring, inventive and distinctive filmmaking, includes the following:

  • 11 Minutes, Jerzy Skolimowski
  • Beasts Of No Nation, Cary Fukunaga
  • Cemetery Of Splendour, Apichatpong Weerasethakul
  • Chevalier, Athina Rachel Tsangari
  • The Daughter, Simon Stone
  • Desierto, Jonás Cuarón
  • Evolution, Lucile Hadžihalilović
  • Office, Johnnie To
  • Room, Lenny Abrahamson
  • Son Of Saul, László Nemes
  • Sunset Song, Terence Davies
  • Tangerine, Sean Baker
  • Very Big Shot, Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya

FIRST FEATURE COMPETITION

Titles in consideration for the Sutherland Award in the First Feature Competition recognising an original and imaginative directorial debut are:

  • 3,000 Nights, Mai Masri
  • Bang Gang (A Modern Love Story), Eva Husson
  • The Here After, Magnus Von Horn
  • Krisha, Trey Edward Shults
  • Lamb, Yared Zeleke
  • Light Years, Esther May Campbell
  • Partisan, Ariel Kleiman
  • Paula, Eugenio Canevari
  • Tanna, Bentley Dean, Martin Butler
  • The Wait, Piero Messina
  • Wedding Doll, Nitzan Gilady
  • The Witch, Robert Eggers

DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

The Grierson Award in the Documentary Competition category recognises cinematic documentaries with integrity, originality, and social or cultural significance. This year the Festival is screening:

  • (Be)Longing, João Pedro Plácido
  • Censored Voices, Mor Loushy
  • The Fear Of 13, David Sington
  • Frame By Frame, Alexandria Bombach, Mo Scarpelli
  • Francofonia Alexander Sokurov
  • In Jackson Heights, Frederick Wiseman
  • A Guy From Fenyang, Walter Salles, Jia Zhangke
  • Mr. Gaga, Tomer Heymann
  • The Pearl Button, Patricio Guzmán
  • Public House, Sarah Turner
  • Sherpa, Jennifer Peedom
  • Something Better To Come, Hanna Polak

SHORT FILM AWARD

In its inaugural year, the Short Film Award recognises short form works with a unique cinematic voice and a confident handling of chosen theme and content. This year the Festival is screening:

  • Command Action, João Paulo Miranda Maria
  • Dissonance, Till Nowak
  • Edmond, Nina Gantz
  • The Exquisite Corpus, Peter Tscherkassky
  • A Hole In My Heart, Mees Peijnenburg
  • Lili, An Van Dienderen
  • Mother(s), Maïmouna Doucouré
  • An Old Dog’s Diary, Shai Heredia, Shumona Goel
  • Operator, Caroline Bartleet
  • Over, Jörn Threlfall
  • Red Moon Rising, Vivienne Dick
  • Tuesday, Ziya Demirel