Earlier this week I was lucky enough to get along to the launch of the 54th BFI London Film Festival, a simple affair at which we're shown a 40-minute real of some of the highlights to whet our appetite and given a flavour of events in introductions by Artistic Director Sandra Hebron and BFI Director Amanda Nevill. At OWF we were also allowed access to Sandra Hebron herself to chat a little about the festival and here's some of the exciting things she had to say...
"You know, theres a lot of talk now about how we all want to kind of consume our films in a very private, individual way.... you know, were all watching film on laptops. But its almost as if theres a massive counter-swing to that somehow as well and audiences have a real grasp of the communal experience. There is something about sitting in a dark theatre with 500 people who are interested in the same thing as you, or curious about the same thing as you, which I think is really exciting. So, we have to rely on the fact that other people still find that exciting to make the festival flourish."
"The current climate I dont think particularly affected it. Its hard work and we work on it from January to August, so in a sense its always a massive task involving many different people. But it hasnt felt particularly harder. I think one of the things... you would hardly notice it from the programme. But I think last year there was a lot of talk about the fact that with some of the US boutique arms of some of the major distributors going down, that there would be less festival films coming through if you like. So, if you look at the American films that is possibly true. There are some very strong American titles and certainly some great US indie titles, but those middle ground films that arent necessarily so evident. But we havent noticed that as a problem, partly because the European and World Cinema is so strong, and especially with the British films that were showing."
To give you an idea of just how exciting and diverse the festival is, I also want to share with you a little of a chat I had with British director Jamie Thraves ('Treacle Jnr') OWF: How does it feel to be back at the LFF after 10 years? JT: It's amazing to be here, especially with this film. My wife and I remortgaged our house to make it... and I wanted to make a film where I had full creative control, I needed to know what that felt like. So I'm thrilled for this film to be invited here." OWF: How important do you think the LFF is for independent British filmmakers? JT: Oh, massive, you know it's a brilliant stage for a film... my film doesn't haven't distribution yet so I need to sell it so I can (1) move back into my house and (2) make another one. So, with those polarised words of two people involved in the festival, here are my top 10 films to look for at the LFF. It's a mix of the mainstream and the arthouse, the controversial and the universally appealing, and I hope some of it appeals...
1. Black Swan
We've already had positive word from our man in Venice on this one, and I now I can barely wait to see how Darren Aronofsky steps up from The Wrestler to make something even bigger and better.
2. 13 Assassins
Crazy Japanese director Takashi Miike (Ichi The Killer) turns his hand to genre film in a 19th century tale of political conspiracy, and it's another movie Rob has spoken fondly of in Venice. Miike may not be out to shock in this, but he could never be dull...
3. 127 Hours
After seeing Ryan Reynolds trapped in a coffin, I now firmly believe that Danny Boyle can pull off this story of a man trapped in a crevice for 127 hours: but I'm keen to see how he does it.
4. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
Controversial Palme D'Or winner Uncle Boonmee is apparently a haunting piece of magic realism which, I am promised, contains a scene where a woman has sex with a catfish. Need I say more?
5. Heartbeats
Young director Xavier Dolan directs a tale that, on paper, could simply be an angsty tale of a teenage love triangle. But the clips I caught on the reel leapt out at me with such vibrant ferocity that I now can't wait to see the whole thing come to life.
6. It's Kind of A Funny Story
Zach Galifianakis ('The Hangover') co-stars in a darkly comic story of one young man's suicide attempt and his hospitalised aftermath. Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck ('Sugar', 'Half Nelson') this is also guaranteed to be no lightweight jaunt either.
7. Biutiful
Alejandro González Iñárritu ('Amores Perros', '21 Grams') returns to the Spanish language, and brings Oscar Winner Javier Bardem with him, to tell the story of one man's dabbling into the dark underbelly of Barcelona.
8. Even The Rain
Gael Garcia Bernal continues to star in and champion cutting-edge independent cinema, and this is set to be another great example of just that. It's a film about a group of idealist filmmakers telling a revisionist history of Christopher Columbus and it looks intelligent, allegorical and all kinds of edgy.
9. Womb
Eva Green ('Casino Royale') stars in Hungarian director Benedek Fliegauf's strange vision of a love story which, he says, has 'Oedipal overtones and a sci-fi twist'. Intriguing.
10. The American
George Clooney stars in a thriller about a world-weary assassin whose life slowly begins to change. The hook? It's directed by Anton 'Control' Corbijn. Change of pace or what? So there we have it, those are 10 of my top picks. But there are dozens more that I easily could have thrown in, including contributions from Jean-Luc Godard and Julian Schnabel, as well as appearances by Keira Knightley and Will Ferrell, to name just a few. You can see the full lineup here: http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/