Retrospective 2018- A Year in Film

September

The Summer Hangover

Image sources: STX, 20th Century Fox, Warne & Lionsgate

As summer begins to give way to autumn and the film festival season ramps up before awards season, this month usually proves the beginning of a meatier and more interesting UK release season. But this September nursed a summer hangover and gave us plenty of mediocre fare, like Mark Wahlberg action vehicle ‘Mile 22‘, Shane Black’s Predator sequel/reboot ‘The Predator‘ and Eli Roth’s unexpected family horror/fantasy ‘The House with a Clock in Its Wall’, plus comedies like Kevin Hart’s latest ‘Night School’ and media phenomenon ‘Crazy Rich Asians’.

The month’s UK release slate was largely rescued by a few more memorable and impactful pictures, including Paul Feig’s successful drama debut and crime/mystery adaptation ‘A Simple Favour‘, plus stranger-than-fiction true American crime story ‘American Animals‘ and ‘gay conversion’ drama ‘The Miseducation of Cameron Post’.

Ahh, Venice…

The global film festival circuit got back into the full swing of things in September as the great and the glamorous of world cinema converged on the ‘Queen of the Adriatic’ for the 75th Venice International Film Festival (La Biennale). As usual the world’s press and select audiences were treated to glamorous red carpet galas, premieres and screenings of films from all corners of the globe, crowned by the customary award ceremony and bestowing of the prestigious ‘Golden Lion’—which this year went to Netflix for Alfonso Cuarón’s very personal Mexican drama ‘Roma‘. You can see our full recap of this year’s event here, and a brief summary below.

Image sources: Getty Images

This year’s principal jury—responsible for awarding the ‘Golden Lion’ and other prizes at festival’s end—was presided over by Mexican writer/director Guillermo del Toro and included Taiwanese actress/director Sylvia Chang, Danish actress Trine Dyrholm, French actress Nicole Garcia, Italian writer/director Paolo Genovese, Polish writer/director Małgorzata Szumowska, New Zealand writer/director Taika Waititi, Austrian actor Christoph Waltz and Australian actress Naomi Watts.

Here are the major Venice prize winners this year;

-Golden Lion for Best Film-

‘Roma’ by Alfonso Cuarón (Mexico)

-Silver Lion for Best Director-

Jacques Audiard for ‘The Sisters Brothers’ (France, Belgium, Romania, Spain)

-Grand Jury Prize-

‘The Favourite’ by Yorgos Lanthimos (UK, Ireland, USA)

-Coppa Volpi for Best Actor-

Willem Dafoe in ‘At Eternity’s Gate’ (USA, France)

-Coppa Volpi for Best Actress-

Olivia Colman in ‘The Favourite’ (UK, Ireland, USA)

-Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor-

Baykali Ganambarr in ‘The Nightingale’ (Australia)

-Award for Best Screenplay-

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for ‘The Ballad of Buster Scruggs’ (USA)

-Special Jury Prize-

‘The Nightingale’ by Jennifer Kent (Australia)

You can see our full 75th Venice International Film Festival (La Biennale) recap here.

Those We Lost

Image source: Columbia, Icon, 20th Century Fox & Warner

September proved a tough month for thespians this years, taking from us many British and American acting veterans including British actress Jacqueline Pearce (74) (Don’t Raise the Bridge, Lower the River, Blake’s 7) and Christopher Lawford (63) (Exit Wounds, The World’s Fastest Indian), as well as TV & film veteran Peter Donat (90) (The Godfather: Part II, The X-Files) and 1960s British genre favourite Fenella Fielding (90) (The Old Dark House, Carry on Screaming!).

The Bandit Rides No More

Image source: Universal

September also saw the passing of an American screen legend as Burt Reynolds (Deliverance, Smokey and the Bandit, Boogie Nights) passed away at the age of 82, a charismatic Hollywood superstar famed for his antics on and off screen, know as much for the iconic roles he turned down as the ones he made unforgettable.

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