BFI London Film Festival 2021
After eighteen of the most disruptive months in the history of the film industry and a year after a hybrid, mostly virtual and streamlined 64th version of the festival, cinema returns to “The Big Smoke” in force courtesy of the the British Film Institute (BFI) in the form of the 65th London Film Festival (LFF)—one of the world’s most accessible major film festivals.
Despite this year’s proceedings adapting to an ever present pandemic and retaining some of its virtual components, not to mention its reach beyond the capital, a full slate of films from all over the globe returned to the LFF and made its home on London’s South Bank as well as the West End, with almost 200 films on show and the star-studded screenings and glitzy premieres to match.
Although the major studios and their indie labels returned with much anticipated titles after their conspicuous absence last year, not to mention major streaming players like Netflix and Amazon, the LFF still managed to retain some focus on the smaller British, American and global indie cinema which always graces the festival but gets less attention, once again all divided into thematic strands and gala screenings. You can see the full schedule of this year’s LFF feature films and much more on the official BFI site at https://www.bfi.org.uk/london-film-festival/, and all of our LFF reviews so far here . . . but stay tuned for many more to come.
Screenings
Week 1
Wednesday the 6th
The Harder They Fall
Image Source: Getty Images
After once again giving Steve McQueen the honour of opening the festival last year with his period mediation on the black experience in Britain ‘Mangrove’ from his ‘Small Axe’ anthology series, the BFI continued the tradition of British filmmakers opening proceedings when London musician-turned-director Jeymes Samuel and Netflix brought a rare Western to the LFF, and with it a pulsating and vibrant African American perspective on the wild west titled ‘The Harder They Fall’.
A classic yet modern, ensemble tune-charged revenge thriller set the old American west, where an outlaw assembles his rag-tag crew for some overdue payback on his fearsome enemy and his own gang when he gets out of prison. Writer/director Samuel graced the Royal Festival Hall red carpet for this world premiere along with his stars Regina King, Jonathan Majors, RJ Cyler and Idris Elba, plus one of the film’s producers hip-op mogul Jay-Z. ‘The Harder They Fall’ is available from Netflix on the 3rd of November, you can check out our review here.
The Harder They Fall cast & crew introduction (courtesy of BFI)
Cop Secret (Leynilögga)
Image Source: Getty Images
Opening day at the LFF this year also brought perhaps the most unlikely filmmaker to the Southbank in the form of Icelandic national football team goalkeeper Hannes Thór Halldórsson, a national hero and child of the 90s, who moonlights as a director and makes his feature debut at the festival by applying his perspective and some unexpected homoeroticism to the buddy-cop action/comedy genre with ‘Cop Secret’.
A fast-paced, trope-heavy crime action/thriller influenced by 90s American blockbusters and no doubt inspired by the “Cornetto trilogy”, set in contemporary Iceland and following two disparate Reykjavík cops and reluctant partners who seem to be falling for each other, as they team up to stop stop a ruthless criminal mastermind from wreaking havoc on the city. Halldórsson was flanked by one of the film’s stars Auðunn Blöndal and producer Lilja Ósk Snorradóttir, ‘Cop Secret’ is out in Iceland on the 20th of October, with no UK date yet.
Cop Secret trailer (courtesy of Pegasus Pictures)
The Medium (Rang Zong)
Image Source: GDH 559
Asian cinema and in particular its rich continental horror tradition made its presence felt on day one this year, in creepy realist supernatural style when Thai director Banjong Pisanthanakun teamed up with South Korean screenwriter/producer Na Hong-jin (The Wailing) to bring British audiences a “cult” strand screening of their terrifying mockumentary take on the possession horror sub-genre ‘The Medium’. A story set in remote rural Thailand where a documentary team investigates a Shaman with a family legacy of possession who serves as a host for a benevolent forest goddess, only to find that her family’s benign tradition may be transforming into something more sinister when her niece begins to play host to something far more frightening and fearsome than they bargained for. ‘The Medium’ is out now in Thailand, with no UK dates yet.
The Medium (courtesy of GDH 559)
Thursday the 7th
Spencer
Image Source: Getty Images
One of this year’s most anticipated films at the festival was the pick of the second day’s proceedings, a headline gala affair which saw Chilean auteur Pablo Larraín return to the LFF, in spirit at least, in his absence represented by his star Kristen Stewart along with her co-stars Amy Manson, Sean Harris, Freddie Spry, Jacki Neilen, Jack Farthing, Elizabeth Berrington, Stella Gonet and Jake Harkness on the red carpet for the UK premiere of their hypothetical character study drama based on reality, ‘Spencer’.
A signature Larraín biopic which sees him giving us his distinct two cents on a global obsession with the British royal family by applying his imagination and visual lyricism to specific point in the life of the late Diana Spencer, centred on the royal retreat of Sandringham in the 1990s where the complications of her marriage and the stifling expectations of royal duty come to a head for a Princess of Wales on the brink, who decides to end her union to Prince Charles. ‘Spencer’ is out in the 5th of November in the UK and US.
Spencer at the LFF (courtesy of BFI)
Red Rocket
Image Source: Universal UK
The first Thursday also brought vibrant naturalistic American indie filmmaker Sean Baker back to the LFF with his latest daring cinematic slice of 21st century Americana, as he once again focuses his lens on marginalised working-class people and the sex industry to bring UK audiences a screening of ‘Red Rocket’.
A comedy/drama chronicle of a washed-up porn star and down on his luck hustler who reluctantly returns to his Texas home-town and his estranged wife, reverting back to his old ways and making plans to resurrect his career with the help of an alluring young local, putting him on an awkward collision course with locals who barely tolerate him. ‘Red Rocket’ is out on the 3rd of December in the US and has no confirmed UK dates yet.
Red Rocket trailer (courtesy of A24)
Bergman Island
Image Source: MUBI
Thursday also brought French/Scandinavian participation and the return of LFF regular Mia Hansen-Løve for a “create” strand screening of her tribute to filmmaking and inspiration ‘Bergman Island’. A creative relationship drama set in the idyllic Swedish island where Ingmar Bergman lived and created, following a filmmaker couple seeking inspiration in writing their respective screenplays, only to be drawn by a beautiful wilderness which blurs the lines of reality but begins to push them apart.‘Bergman Island’ is out on the 15th of October in the US, with no UK date yet.
Bergman Island trailer (courtesy of IFC)
Friday the 8th
The Souvenir: Part II
Image Source: Getty Images
The screenings at the first Friday this year saw a return for British filmmaker Joanna Hogg to the LFF to finish what she started by bringing her stars Richard Ayoade, Honor Swinton Byrne and Jaygann Ayeh for a gala screening of ‘The Souvenir: Part II’, the follow up to her acclaimed 2019 drama.
It picks up where the first film left off with 1980s film student Julie, putting her life back together after being dragged deep into a whirlwind and ultimately tragic romance with an outwardly sophisticated man hiding addiction issues and an untrustworthy personality, in this empathetic human drama and character study of the British middle-class stiff upper lip. ‘The Souvenir: Part II’ is out on the 21st of January 2022 in the UK.
The Souvenir: Part II trailer (courtesy of Movieclips)
The Hand of God (È Stata La Mano Di Dio)
Image Source: Getty Images
The LFF’s official competition saw some much-anticipated action on Friday when Italian auteur Paolo Sorrentino, backed by streaming giants Netflix, graced the LFF red carpet flanked by his stars Luisa Ranieri, Filippo Scotti, Teresa Saponangelo, Daniela d’Antonio, plus Producer Lorenzo Mieli for a screening of his very personal mediation on his beloved city ‘The Hand of God’.
A typically vibrant and stylish Sorrentino human drama which sees him plunge into his own upbringing to tell a coming-of-age tale of a teenager and his family in the tumultuous Napoli of the 1980s, where love, familial turmoil and cinema intersect with the huge energising shadow cast by certain little Argentine football legend who helped revive the city. ‘The Hand of God’ is available on Netflix from the 15th of December.
The Hand of God trailer (courtesy of Netflix)
The Feast (Gwledd)
Image Source: Getty Images
The debutant ‘first feature’ competition also got its time in the sun on Friday and some rare Welsh language participation when experienced TV director but fledgling feature writer/director Lee Haven Jones brought his tense, anti-capitalist, anti-bourgeoisie ultra-violent eco horror ‘The Feast’ to the LFF. A tale set in the Welsh mountains and the opulent modern retreat of a wealthy mining family, where their attempts to schmooze potentially lucrative guests at a fancy party take a turn when one of their young waitresses begins to reveal that her intentions for the night go beyond serving the fat cats around the table. The director was joined his producer/writer Roger Williams and stars Nia Roberts, Rhodri Meilir, Annes Elwy, Steffan Cennydd and Sion Alun Davies, ‘The Feast’ is out on the 19th of November in the US, with no UK date yet.
The Feast clip (courtesy of Bankside Films)
Encounter
Image Source: Getty Images
After making an auspicious directorial debut at the LFF with 2017’s ‘Beast’, Michael Pearce returned to the festival alongside his star Riz Ahmed with deeper pockets and the backing of Amazon for a ‘Thrill’ strand screening of ‘Encounter’. A sci-fi set human drama centred on a capable former marine and father-of-two who takes to the road on a dangerous American voyage to save his young boys from an advancing hostile alien invasion and its fallout. ‘Encounter’ is out in theatres on the 3rd of December and on Amazon Prime Video on the 10th of December.
Encounter trailer (courtesy of Amazon Prime Video)
Saturday the 9th
Last Night in Soho
Image Source: Getty Images
The weekend and first Friday this year brought some further British star power to the festival, and a modern genre maestro to the Southbank red carpet when writer/director Edgar Wright brought his co-writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns and some of the cast including Matt Smith, Rebecca Harrod, Kassius Nelson, Synnove Karlsen, Elizabeth Berrington and Michael Ajao for a headline gala screening of his inventive, Giallo-inspired semi-fantastical horror/thriller tribute to the London of the swinging sixties and its dark underbelly ‘Last Night in Soho’.
The tale of a young aspiring small town British fashion designer who heads to the capital and mysteriously drifts between the present day and the swinging London of the 1960s, where she forges a transformative bond with a mesmerising young singer, only for the glamorous mask of the West End to slip and the darkness beneath to blur the lines between the fantasy of the past and her reality . . . with horrific consequences. ‘Last Night in Soho’ is out on the 29th of October in the UK and US, you can check out our review here.
Last Night in Soho at the LFF (courtesy of BFI)
Sundown
Image Source: Getty Images
Fresh from providing one of the most daring and confronting films at last year’s streamlined festival with his nihilistic warning tale ‘New Order’, Mexican writer/director Michel Franco returned to the LFF in official competitive mode with a more traditional but no less uncomfortable exploration of the human condition for an official competition screening of ‘Sundown’. A contemporary contemplative family drama centred around a wealthy British man and his family vacationing in Acapulco, who decides to torpedo his life when he declines to join them on their sudden return home and opts to stay in the Yucatan paradise to begin a new life free from his responsibilities and obligations. Franco was flankedd by his producer Eréndira Núñez Larios and some of the film’s stars including Samuel Bottomley, Albertine Kotting McMillan, Henry Goodman and James Tarpay, ‘Sundown’ has no release dates yet.
Sundown clip (courtesy of The Upcoming)
Ron’s Gone Wrong
Image Source: 20th Century Studios
Saturday also brought some big-budget animated delights courtesy of Disney—via 20th Century Studios and Locksmith Animation—delivering a gala screening of their comedic family meditation on friendship and coming-of-age in the information era ‘Ron’s Gone Wrong’. The tale of an American middle-schooler who embarks on an adventure to evade the authorities and discovers the true meaning of friendship and belonging in a digital age when his walking, talking, universally connected digital assistant device malfunctions. ‘Ron’s Gone Wrong’ is out on the 22nd of October.
Ron’s Gone Wrong trailer (courtesy of 20th Century Studios)
Titane
Image Source: Gerry Images
After her triumph in the ‘first feature’ competition in 2016’s edition of the festival, and a year which saw her take the film festival circuit by storm with her unforgettably bold and macabre debut ‘Raw’, French writer/director Julia Ducournau returned to the LFF for a special presentation and UK premiere of her mechanically stylish and intense sophomore effort ‘Titane’. A high octane, sex, music and violence-fuelled genre-bending concoction which follows a fearsome exotic dancer with a scarring past and a morbid present, who plunges into gender fluidity and forms a curious deceptive bond with a grieving firefighter when her strange relationship with cars and a predilection for ultra-violence give way to something even more bizarre and transformative.
Ducournau was flanked on the Royal Festival Hall red carpet by her stars Agathe Rousselle and Vincent Lindon,‘Titane’ is out on the 31st of December in the UK, and now in the US and France, you can see our review here.
Titane trailer (courtesy of Altitude Films)
Sunday the 10th
The French Dispatch
Image Source: Getty Images
The end of week one this year culminated in the long overdue return to the LFF (in spirit) for one of the great originals of modern cinema when the singular Wes Anderson— represented by some of his stars including Bill Murray, Steve Park, Rupert Friend, Tony Revolori, Jarvis Cocker and Alex Lawther—brought a headline gala screening of his latest signature idiosyncratic and immaculately styled ensemble comedy/drama, an inventive period love letter to journalism (or what it used to be) named ‘The French Dispatch’.
A tale set in a picturesque fictional mid-20th century French town which brings together a collection of colourful characters and their stories, published by a French outpost of an American newspaper on the decline, where a tapestry of memories of better days and definitive times forms a story to remember. ‘The French Dispatch’ is out on the 22nd of October in the UK and US, check out our review here.
The French Dispatch trailer (courtesy of BFI)
True Things
Image Source: Getty Images
Sunday’s official competition proceedings brought British writer/director Harry Wootliff back to the LFF after her run in the 2018 first feature competition with ‘Only You’, this time with her producers Ben Jackson, Jude Law, Tristan Goligher and star Ruth Wilson for a screening of their contemporary human drama and adaptation of the Deborah Kay Davies novel ‘True Things’.
A contemporary British tale charting the path of a woman stuck in a dead end job and existential crisis but looking for more, who upends her life when she meets an arrogant ex con and immediately begins an obsessive sexual relationship and emotional obsession which overwhelms her dull existence, only to be drawn into a toxic relationship which feeds her neuroses and deepens her self doubt. ‘True Things’ has no confirmed dates yet.
True Things clip (courtesy of TheUpcoming)
Passing
Image Source: Getty Images
Sunday also saw a return of a LFF regular but in a very different capacity when British screen star Rebecca Hall graced the festival with her directorial debut and a ‘Journey’ strand screening for her New York period drama meditation on race, identity and the roles we play in America—based on the Nella Larsen novel—‘Passing’. Set in the 1920s and named after the practice of “racial passing”, in particular where African Americans attempted to assimilate by passing as white, it follows the story of two childhood friends who become obsessed with each other’s lives after unexpectedly reuniting in Harlem, and finding that their paths have gone in completely different directions, while truths revealed threaten their carefully cultivated existences. Hall was joined by her producer Margot Hand plus her stars Ruth Negga and Andre Holland, ‘Passing’ is available on Netflix from the 10th of November.
Passing trailer (courtesy of Netflix)
Hinterland
Image Source: SquareOne
German language film and Austrian cinema also made its presence felt on Sunday through the ‘Thrill’ strand of screenings, when writer/director Stefan Ruzowitzky brought his meditation on the shadow of war—in the form of a stylised post World War I period crime thriller with graphic novel shades—‘Hinterland’ to the LFF. An Austrian story set at the end of the first world war, where forgotten soldiers retuning home after years in a Russian POW camp are brutally picked off one-by-one by a mysterious sadistic serial killer, leading their lieutenant to return to his roots by turning sleuth and plunging into the darkness of their crumbling society to find the murderer. ‘Hinterland’ is out now in Germany, with no UK or US dates yet.
Hinterland trailer (courtesy of SquareOne)
Week 2 & Awards—->
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