BFI London Film Festival 2019
Heading into the meatier season for releases, and rounding off the year’s major film festival circuit before we head towards the award season railway, October as always brought international film to the ‘Big Smoke’ and treated Londoners to the best global cinema has to offer, as the British public were joined by the world’s media, plus the great and the good of film once again for the world’s most accessible major film festival.
As filmmakers and shakers from across the globe gathered to grace the glitzy red carpets of London’s Leicester Square with well over 200 feature films, we break down the big screenings, premieres and prizes at the 63rd London Film Festival (LFF), brought to us by the British Film Institute (BFI). You can also see the full schedule of this year’s LFF and much more on the official BFI site at http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff, and all of our LFF reviews so far here . . . but stay tuned for many more to come.
Galas & Screenings
Week 1
Wednesday the 2nd
The Personal History of David Copperfield
Image Source: Getty Images
This year’s big opening night gala was a historical yet contemporary affair which saw Armando Iannucci take on Charles Dickens, as the British master satirist applied his distinctly cutting and socially perceptive wit to the legendary author’s most personal work with ‘The Personal History of David Copperfield’. A stylish and whimsical 19th century send up on industrialism, capitalism and the ruling classes, based on the semi-autobiographical formative Dickens novel and its eponymous protagonist, who comes of age while meeting disparate characters and learning the meaning of real strife first hand, on his way to gentlemanhood in this riches-to-rags-to-riches-to-rags-to-hapiness tale.
Iannucci was joined on the Leicester Square red carpet by his co-writer Simon Blackwell and producer Kevin Loader, plus a big chunk of the cast including Hugh Laurie, Darren Boyd, Bronagh Gallagher, Paul Whitehouse, Lynn Hunter, Daisy May Cooper, Aimee Kelly, Anthony Welsh, Morfydd Clark, Jairaj Varsani, Rangeer Jaiswal, Dev Patel, Anna Maxwell Martin, Nikki Amuka-Bird and Gwendoline Christie, ‘The Personal History of David Copperfield’ is out on the 10th of January 2020 in the UK, with no US date yet. You can see our LFF review here.
The Personal History of David Copperfield at the LFF 2019 (courtesy of BFI)
Clemency
Image Source: Getty Images
As in previous years at the LFF, the out-of-competition and non-headline gala screenings were divided into themed strands, and the ‘Debate’ strand saw its first participant on opening day with a screening of Nigerian writer/director Chinonye Chukwu’s sophomore feature and Sundance favourite ‘Clemency’. A tough death row drama focused on a veteran prison warden who struggles to maintain her humanity while balancing the sobering pressures of her job with her family life, a task made harder by a botched execution and her charge of a convicted cop killer. Star Wendell Pierce was joined on the LFF red carpet by producers Julian Cautherley and Bronwyn Cornelius,‘Clemency’ is out in US cinemas on the 27th of December, with no UK date yet.
Clemency Interview (courtesy of HeyUGuys)
Ghost Town Anthology
Image Source: Film Boutique
The ‘Dare’ strand brought a hazy and hallucinatory French-Canadian flavour to the festival on Wednesday when writer director Denis Côté brought a screening of his unique meditation on loss and grief ‘Ghost Town Anthology’—a rural tale set in a town which is left reeling from the loss of one of its youngsters in a tragic accident, raising uncomfortable questions as the residents clash over the real nature of his demise, while strange occurrences suggest that the dead may not be truly gone. ‘Ghost Town Anthology’ is out now in Canada, with no UK date yet.
Ghost Town Anthology trailer (courtesy of BFI)
Thursday the 3rd
The King
Image Source: Getty Images
The first Thursday’s headline gala was both a British historical epic and a Netflix affair, which brought Aussie writer/director David Michôd to the LFF red carpet for a screening of ‘The King’. A gritty and personal retelling of the medieval story of King Henry V of England, the reluctant young heir to the throne who becomes the monarch when his tyrannical father dies, leaving him to navigate the precarious politics of court while dealing with the morbid realities of war, conquest and the lust for power—on his way to becoming a celebrated warrior king and English cultural icon.
The director was flanked on the red carpet by his stars Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton, Lily-Rose Depp, Tom Glynn-Carney, Timothée Chalamet and Thomasin McKenzie, plus composer Nicholas Britell, ‘The King’ is out on the 1st of November on Netflix, you can see our review here.
The King at the LFF (courtesy of BFI)
The Peanut Butter Falcon
Image Source: Getty Images
Thursday’s gala screening for the ‘Love’ strand proved to be arguably the most life-affirming and uplifting of the festival this year, when debutant directors Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz—joined by their stars Zack Gottsagen and Shia LaBeouf—brought their dream-chasing, limit-conquering American adventure ‘The Peanut Butter Falcon’ to the LFF.
It tells the tale of a young man with Down’s syndrome, whom armed with the ambition to break free and the dream of becoming a wrestler escapes his care home, embarking on an epic rafting trip through American South with a new scoundrel buddy and his kind carer, on their way to fulfill a promise and get him to his hero’s wrestling school. ‘The Peanut Butter Falcon’ is out on the 18th of October in the UK, and is out now in US cinemas, check out our review here.
The Peanut Butter Falcon at the LFF (courtesy of The Upcoming)
Rose Plays Julie
Image Source: Getty Images
The LFF’s official competition brought Anglo-Irish interest on Thursday when writer/directors Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy trod the red carpet along with their stars Ann Skelly and Orla Brady for a world premiere of their tense slow-burn family drama/thriller ‘Rose Plays Julie’. The story of a young student whose bid to track down the biological actress mother who gave her up for adoption takes a turn, when this disinterested birth mom rejects her but her tenacity uncovers uncomfortable secrets which threaten the identity she has cultivated. ‘Rose Plays Julie’ has no confirmed release dates yet.
Rose Plays Julie clip (courtesy of BFI)
Beanpole (Dylda)
Image Source: MUBI
The ‘Dare’ strand also saw some action on Thursday and welcomed Russian participation in this year’s festival, as young writer/director Kantemir Balagov brought a screening of his Nobel Prize-inspired tale of women and the scars of war ‘Beanpole’. Set in post World War II Russia and the devastation of Leningrad, it follows the struggles of two young former soldiers turned nurses, as they struggle to pick up the pieces and find their identities in the midst of the siege psychology of a broken city, struggling with a shift from taking lives to saving them . . . and potentially creating it too. ‘Beanpole’ is out now in Russia, with no UK or US dates yet.
Beanpole clip (courtesy of BFI)
Friday the 4th
Hope Gap
Image Source: Getty Images
The Friday headline gala saw a screening for a frank portrait of mature marriage which brought celebrated screenwriter William Nicholson (Gladiator, Les Misérables) back to the director’s chair for only the second time, and the first in twenty-two years, as he brought along his producers David M. Thompson and Sarada McDermott and stars Aiysha Hart and Annette Bening for a screening of ‘Hope Gap’. This sharp tale of divorce follows two sixty-something bohemian academics, whose lives are upended after a visit from their son, when father abruptly decides to leave after nearly three decades of marriage, while mother unravels emotionally but not without a fight . . . and an acerbic comment or two. ‘Hope Gap’ is out now in Italy, with no UK or US dates yet.
Hope Gap clip (courtesy of BFI)
Monos
Image Source: Getty Images
One of the more daring and memorable films at this year’s festival also happened to be one of the leading contenders (and eventual winner) for the official competition, one which sees Colombian-Ecuadorian director Alejandro Landes take a dark coming-of-age child soldier fever dream and Latin American survival odyssey, and push it through the filter of ‘Apocalypse Now’ and ‘Lord of the Flies’ to give us ‘Monos’.
Set in in the remote mountains and jungles of South America, it follows a small close-knit colony of armed, wild-living ritualistic young commandos, who see their group dynamics shift and behaviour intensify when a hostage situation escalates and tragedy strikes, placing them into further conflict with the outside world and their shadowy guerrilla organisation . . . and inevitably themselves. Landes was joined by his producer Santiago Zapata on the LFF red carpet, ‘Monos’ is out now in the US, and on the 25th of October in UK cinemas, you can see our review here.
Monos trailer (courtesy of Picturehouse)
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Image Source: A24
The first feature competition also brought arguably the most anticipated directorial debut of this year’s festival on Friday when writer/director Joe Talbot brought a UK premiere of his Sundance darling—out in UK cinemas on the 25th of October—‘The Last Black Man in San Francisco’.
A uniquely rhythmic and personal tale set in the modern day San Francisco Bay Area, where a young black man teams up with his best friend to reclaim his family’s former large Victorian house in the Fillmore District, a neighbourhood long changed and claimed by gentrification, as they become restorative squatters and the last custodians of a personal history and a community now lost. You can check out our review here.
The Last Black Man in San Francisco trailer (courtesy of BFI)
Bacurau
Image Source: Getty Images
After making waves in Cannes earlier in the year with his latest socially-perceptive but far more daring Brazilian flick, Pernambucano filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho returned to the LFF flanked by his co-director Juliano Dornelles and their stars Bárbara Colen and James Turpin, for a ‘Thrill Gala’ UK premiere of their bold and wild, genre-blending savaging of the socio-political state of modern Brazil and the West.
A part contemporary, part near futurist and politically reflective Brazilian tale set in the rural Northeast, where the residents of a small town begin to experience strange happenings after the death of the town’s elderly matriarch, only to be pushed into a bloody clash for survival with some unsavoury and exploitative foreign visitors. ‘Bacurau’ is out now on France, with no UK date yet.
Bacurau clip (courtesy of BFI)
Lucky Grandma
Image Source: XYZ Films
Friday also brought some lighter fare to the LFF, although still dipped in melancholy, when the ‘Laugh’ strand of the festival welcomed writer/director Sasie Sealy and her star Tsai Chin for a a screening of their New York-set Chinese black comedy ‘Lucky Grandma’. An idiosyncratic character comedy of errors and a tale of greed and solitude, following a no-nonsense chain-smoking Chinese grandma in New York city who pushes a lucky tarot card prophecy to the limit, placing her in the crosshairs of triads and forcing her to hire a gentle giant from a rival gang for protection, only to escalate things further with darkly comical consequences. ‘Lucky Grandma’ has no currently confirmed release dates.
Saturday the 5th
Jojo Rabbit
Image Source: Getty Images
Saturday’s big headline gala brought singular Kiwi filmmaker Taika Waititi and his stars Alfie Allen, Sam Haygarth, Thomasin McKenzie, Carthew Neal, Archie Yates and Roman Griffin Davis to the LFF red carpet to deliver his daring and idiosyncratic message of acceptance in style, as London audiences were treated to a UK premiere of his much anticipated anti-hate Third Reich satire ‘JoJo Rabbit’.
A comedic and farcical adaptation of the Christine Leunens novel centred around a young boy in the final days of Nazi Germany, who deals with childhood strife and his struggles in the Hitler youth by turning to his imaginary friend and constant companion—Adolf himself. But things take a turn when he discovers his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their house, with whom he forms a bond which challenges the lies he has been fed, forcing him to trust in his own conscience and reject a regime of hate. ‘JoJo Rabbit’ is out on the 18th of October in the US, and on the 3rd of January 2020 in UK cinemas, you can see our review here.
JoJo Rabbit at the LFF (courtesy of BFI)
The Lighthouse
Image Source: Getty Images
After capturing the imagination of the 2015 LFF and discerning audiences with his 2016 feature debut ‘The Witch’, production designer turned director Robert Eggers returned to the festival on Saturday flamked by his star Willem Dafoe for a Cult gala screening of his second dark and uniquely frightening, hallucinatory period tale ‘The Lighthouse’. A story set in the bleakness of a New England coastal lighthouse and revolving around its caretakers, one an ornery veteran seaman and the other his newly arrived Canadian apprentice, whose suspicion and resentment towards his new master begins to grow as the claustrophobic days tick over, becoming a struggle for survival when he learns of the bleak mysterious fate of the previous assistant he has replaced. ‘The Lighthouse’ is out on the 18th of October in the US, and on the 31st of January 2020 in UK cinemas, you can see our review here.
The Lighthouse at the LFF(courtesy of BFI)
Abominable
Image Source: DreamWorks
This year’s big Family gala brought animation and one of the Hollywood big boys to the LFF red carpet on Friday, when Dreamworks and directors Jill Culton and Todd Wilderman jumped at the chance for some last minute promotion with a UK premiere of ‘Abominable’. An animated China-set fantasy adventure centred on a Beijing teenager who discovers an escaped magical Yeti on her roof, as she embarks on an epic adventure across Asia to return him to his Himalayan family, teaming up with friends to escape the attentions of powerful corporate forces looking to return him to science lab captivity. ‘Abominable’ is out now in the UK and US.
Abominable trailer (courtesy of DreamWorks)
Atlantics (Atlantique)
Image Source: Getty Images
The first feature competition also brought an African flavour (and the eventual winner) on Saturday, and a Senegalese perspective on migration when writer/director Mati Diop followed up her Cannes success by bringing ‘Atlantics’ to the LFF. A contemporary tale of struggle and migration centred on two young Senegalese lovers—she a teenager destined to marry another, he a young construction worker fleeing the country by sea for a better future—who are unexpectedly reunited in Dakar in the midst of tragedy and struggle. ‘Atlantics’ is out on limited release on the 15th of November in the US, with no UK date yet.
Atlantics clip (courtesy of BFI)
The Report
Image Source: Getty Images
Saturday also saw the Debate strand take a hard sobering look at American politics and the ‘war on terror’ as director Scott Z. Burns teams up with producer Steven Soderbergh to bring us a UK premiere of ‘The Report’. A biographical political and journalistic drama which sees a senate staffer and his powerful boss trying to uncover the disturbing truth about the CIA’s post 9/11 ‘enhanced interrogation’ techniques and torture tactics, while opposed by a government determined to thwart him and keep the ugly truth from the eyes of the American public.
The director was joined at the LFF by his stars Adam Driver and Annette Bening, producer Jennifer Fox and the film’s subject Daniel J. Jones, ‘The Report’ is out on the 15th of November in the UK and US.
The Report interview (courtesy of The Upcoming)
Sunday the 6th
Marriage Story
Image Source: Getty Images
Sunday’s big headline gala was a Netflix affair which saw writer/director Noah Baumbach bring along his stars Adam Driver, Laura Dern and Ray Liotta, plus producer David Heyman for a UK premiere of his very personal divorce dramedy ‘Marriage Story’. An honest, tender, simple and perceptive American tale of a marriage ending, and two theatre professionals trying to keep their family together across the country for the sake of their kid, while their unit breaks in two. ‘Marriage Story’ is available on Netflix on the 6th of December, you can check out our review here.
Marriage Story at the LFF (courtesy of BFI)
Honey Boy
Image Source: Getty Images
The day’s official competition saw star and screenwriter Shia LaBeouf grace the LFF carpet for the second time in the week alongside his director and collaborator Alma Har’el, for a UK premiere of their meditation on childhood trauma and fame ‘Honey Boy’, loosely based on LaBeouf’s own life. The frank story of a popular and successful child actor with a difficult past, who is forced to examine his upbringing and a tough relationship with an unstable abusive father when his life goes off the rails as he gets older, and he begins to exhibit self-destructive behaviour.
Har’el and LaBeouf were joined by producers Chris Leggett and Anita Gou and stars Lucas Hedges, Byron Bowers and Noah Jupe, ‘Honey Boy’ is out on the 8th of November in the US, with no UK date yet.
Honey Boy clip (courtesy of BFI)
Babyteeth
Image Source: Getty Images
The first feature competition also saw some action on Sunday and ushered in one of its strongest contenders when director Shannon Murphy brought her fined-tuned Aussie family drama ‘Babyteeth’ to the festival. A gritty but uplifting coming-of age tale revolving around a self-styled teenager with a serious illness, who brings despair to her family when she falls for a petty drug dealer and begins to subvert their traditional morality, only to turn things around and win everyone over with her singular appreciation and lust for life. ‘Babyteeth’ has no currently confirmed release dates.
Babyteeth trailer (courtesy of BFI)
Waiting for the Barbarians
Image Source: Getty Images
Sunday also saw Colombian director Ciro Guerra return to the LFF after the success last year of ‘Birds of Passage’, bringing with him his stars Mark Rylance, Gana Bayarsaikhan and Laura Cosac for a Debate strand screening of his English language debut and J.M. Coetzee adaptation ‘Waiting for the Barbarians’. A period tale set on the edge of an unspecified foreign empire, where a magistrate at a remote desert outpost begins to have a crisis of conscience when the brutal treatment of the bordering nomadic ‘barbarians’, and his role in it, begins to stoke the fires of rebellion within. ‘Waiting for the Barbarians’ has no confirmed release dates, you can see our review here.
Saint Maud
Image Source: Getty Images
The end of week one also threw up some British participation in this year’s offical competition, and of the creepy psychological horror variety no less, when writer/director Rose Glass brought along her stars Morfydd Clark and Jennifer Ehle, plus producers Oliver Kassman and Andrea Cornwell for a European premiere of ‘Saint Maud’.
The tale of a reclusive, recently reborn devoted nurse who forms a curious bond with an ailing extravagant American ex-dancer for whom she becomes a carer, but as their relationship grows more tense when she becomes obsessed with saving her patient’s soul from the fires of hedonism, this pious young woman’s dark past emerges, as her resolve to serve a higher purpose hardens . . . with sinister consequences. ‘Saint Maud’ has no confirmed dates yet.
Saint Maud at the LFF (courtesy of BFI)
Week 2 at the 2019 London Film Festival—>
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