CAPTAIN PHILLIPS EUROPEAN PREMIERE OPENS THE 57TH BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL
SAVING MR. BANKS EUROPEAN PREMIERE CLOSES THE 57TH BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL
THE 57TH BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL AMERICAN EXPRESS® GALA ANNOUNCED AS UK PREMIERE OF PHILOMENA
FILMS STARRING ACADEMY-AWARD WINNING ACTOR TOM HANKS TO OPEN AND CLOSE THE FESTIVAL

Tom Hanks stars in Columbia Pictures’ “Captain Phillips.Captain Phillips European Premiere Opens The 57th Bfi London Film Festival”
The 57TH BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL, in partnership with AMERICAN EXPRESS, has announced that this year’s Opening Night Gala will take place on Wednesday 9 October at the Odeon Leicester Square, with the European Premiere of Sony Pictures’ CAPTAIN PHILLIPS. It is directed by acclaimed Academy Award ® nominee Paul Greengrass (United 93, The Bourne Supremacy) and stars two- time Academy Award ® winner Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump, Philadelphia), both of whom
are expected to attend the Festival.
Captain Phillips is director Paul Greengrass’s multi-layered examination of the 2009 hijacking of the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama by a crew of Somali pirates. It is – through Greengrass’s distinctive lens – simultaneously a pulse-pounding thriller and a complex portrait of the myriad effects of globalization. The film focuses on the relationship between the Alabama’s commanding officer, Captain Richard Phillips (two time Academy Award® winner Tom Hanks), and his Somali counterpart, Muse (Barkhad Abdi). Set on an incontrovertible collision course off the coast of Somalia, both men will find themselves paying the human toll for economic forces outside of their control. The film is directed by Academy Award® nominee Paul Greengrass, from a screenplay by Billy Ray based upon the book, A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea, by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty. The film is produced by Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, and Michael De Luca. Sony Pictures release the film in UK cinemas on 18 October, 2013.

L-r, Barkhad Abdi, Tom Hanks and Faysal Ahmed star in Columbia Pictures’ “Captain Phillips”, a high-stakes thriller based on true story of the 2009 hijacking of the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama by a crew of Somali pirates
Clare Stewart, BFI Head of Exhibition and Festival Director comments: “We are thrilled to be opening the BFI London Film Festival by welcoming Paul Greengrass – one of the great supporters of the BFI and British film – back to London for the European premiere of CAPTAIN PHILLIPS. Our Festival audiences will be captivated by Greengrass’s virtuoso filmmaking; CAPTAIN PHILLIPS is an intense, high-stakes drama, focusing on two men forced onto a collision course by global political forces much larger than themselves. Featuring spellbinding performances by Tom Hanks and four Somali-American actors (Barkhad Abdi, Faysal Ahmed, Barkhad Abdirahman and Mahat M. Ali), we are excited to be presenting this film as our Opening Night Gala.”

Stephen Frears’ PHILOMENA, the true story of one woman’s search for her lost son, starring Judi Dench and Steve Coogan

Stephen Frears’ PHILOMENA, the true story of one woman’s search for her lost son, starring Judi Dench and Steve Coogan
The Festival’s American Express Gala will take place on Wednesday 16 October at the Odeon Leicester Square with the UK Premiere of Stephen Frears’ PHILOMENA, the moving, funny and at times shocking true story of one woman’s search for her lost son. Stephen Frears, Judi Dench and Steve Coogan are all expected to attend the American Express Gala.
Academy Award ® winner Judi Dench plays the title role, with BAFTA winner Steve Coogan as Martin Sixsmith. The screenplay is written by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, based on the book “The Lost Child of Philomena Lee” by Martin Sixsmith. Pathé release the film in UK cinemas on 1 November 2013.
Falling pregnant as a teenager in Ireland in 1952, Philomena was sent to the convent of Roscrea to be looked after as a “fallen woman”. When her baby was only a toddler, he was taken away by the nuns for adoption in America. Philomena spent the next fifty years searching for him but with no success. Then she met Martin Sixsmith, a world-weary political journalist who happened to be intrigued by her story. Together they set off to America on a journey that would not only reveal the extraordinary story of Philomena’s son, but also create an unexpectedly close bond between Philomena and Martin.
PHILOMENA was developed by BBC Films, produced by Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan and Tracey Seaward and Executive Produced by Baby Cow’s Henry Normal, BBC Films’ Christine Langan, Pathé’s Cameron McCracken and Francois Ivernel, and Magnolia Mae Films’ Carolyn Marks Blackwood. The Senior Executive representing the BFI Film Fund was Natascha Wharton.
Clare Stewart commented: “I am thrilled that American Express, returning as our Principal Sponsor with a renewed three-year partnership, have PHILOMENA for their gala this year heralding both their support of British film and on-going commitment to the BFI London Film Festival with a film of extraordinary potency and relevance. Stephen Frears demonstrates his customary flair for extracting brilliant performances and balancing cogent wit and deep pathos while Judi Dench and Steve Coogan adroitly navigate the tonal shifts between drama and humour and imbue their real-life characters with depth and dignity.”

“SAVING MR. BANKS”
Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) shows Disneyland to “Mary Poppins” author P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) in Disney’s “Saving Mr. Banks,” releasing in U.S. theaters limited on December 13, 2013 and wide on December 20, 2013. Ph: François Duhamel
©Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The 57th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express will close on Sunday 20 October (again) at the Odeon Leicester Square with the European Premiere of Disney’s Saving Mr. Banks, the extraordinary untold story of how one of the most beloved tales of all time, Mary Poppins, was brought to the big screen. John Lee Hancock, Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks are all expected to attend the Closing Night Gala. Continue reading →
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