The 57TH Annual BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL Announces Line Up Of Public Events Including Talks With RALPH FIENNES and ALFONSO CUARÓN

The 57th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express® is pleased to announce this year’s program of events, including SCREEN TALKS with filmmakers HIROKAZU KORE-EDA, CATHERINE BREILLAT and RALPH FIENNES; MASTERCLASSES with director ALFONSO CUARÓN and VFX Supervisor TIM WEBBER, cinematographer BARRY ACKROYD, and composer CLINT MANSELL. Talks will include a BFI-hosted panel celebrating the UKs rich variety of filmmaking ‘British Cinema – Home-grown and all grown up’ and ‘William Faulkner: Film Noir & Nobel Prizes’ a talk from Adrian Wootton prompted by James Franco’s AS I LAY DYING.

These sit alongside the previously announced talk with acclaimed artist Stan Douglas; and Sonic Cinema events, the special performance by celebrated British composer Michael Nyman, and a one-off live show by Angolan Kuduro act Buraka Som Sistema at Village Underground.

Screen Talks

The BFI warmly welcomes Hirokazu Kore-eda whose Cannes Jury Prize winning LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON screens in Official Competition. The Japanese director, producer, screenwriter and editor exploded onto the world stage with his debut Maborosi for which he won best director at Venice, swiftly followed by Award winning Afterlife with further accolades and acclaim for Nobody Knows.

Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Cannes Jury Prize winning LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Cannes Jury Prize winning LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

Award winning French filmmaker Catherine Breillat discusses her impressive career and latest film ABUSE OF WEAKNESS (Abus de faiblesse) which screens in Official Competition. Powerful, provocative chronicler of female sexuality and intimacy, Brelliat has enjoyed strong critical acclaim for previous works such as Romance and Fat Girl. The BFI is delighted to welcome her to the festival to discuss her illustrious career.

Catherine Breillat’s ABUSE OF WEAKNESS (Abus de faiblesse)

BFI Fellow Ralph Fiennes’ second directorial offering THE INVISIBLE WOMAN receives its European Premiere as the Festival Gala; the film sees Fiennes both behind and in front of the camera for a striking and refined examination of Charles Dickens’ illicit, long term affair with young actress Nelly Ternan. The BFI proudly welcomes Fiennes to the Festival to discuss his substantial body of work as actor, and latterly as one of the UK’s assured directorial voices.

The Festival Gala is the European Premiere of Ralph Fiennes’ second directorial feature THE INVISIBLE WOMAN staring Fiennes as Charles Dickens, Felicity Jones, Kristin Scott Thomas and Tom Hollander.

Masterclasses

Director Alfonso Cuarón presents his 3D sci-fi thriller GRAVITY as the LFF American Airlines Gala. Ecstatic reviews followed the film’s premiere at Venice, most singling out the extraordinary technical and creative achievement of a film almost entirely created with digital effects. For a first in depth look at the extraordinary process of creation, more than 4 years in the making, we welcome Cuarón and his VFX Supervisor Tim Webber from London’s Framestore.

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Film Galas Galore at the 57TH BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL

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.

Organizers Announces the Complete Line-Up of Films, Documentaries and Events for the 57th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express®

The British Film Institute has announced the complete program for the 57th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express®, with BFI’s Head of Cinemas and Festivals, Clare Stewart returning for her second year with a rich and diverse programme of international films and events from both established and upcoming talent over a 12 day celebration of cinema.

As Amanda Nevill, Chief Executive, BFI remarked in the Festival Introduction Letter on the BFI London Film Festival website, “The BFI London Film Festival is a brilliant achievement – and I think it’s okay for me to say that! Every year, without fail, I get a sense of excitement and anticipation that is heightened the minute I finally get to see the programme laid out in its entirety. Our Festival team has scoured the globe to set it before us. It is the BFI doing what it does best – completing the perfect circle from taking that initial act of confidence to invest in a film as yet unformed, to believing in the vision of filmmakers and writers, both established or as yet untried; igniting the imagination and minds of audiences with one of the richest and most imaginative cultural programmes in the world. We give film a powerful expression. The BFI London Film Festival celebrates new voices, new stories and new ideas and brings them not only to audiences across London, but increasingly UK-wide over a range of platforms. There are films that will dazzle, entertain, educate and astound; we have filmmakers who have picked up a camera for the first time, and established auteurs with more magic to unveil. It really is brilliant and it’s all for you.”

Stewart also took the opportunity to celebrate the life of her predecessor, who recently passed away: “On a more sombre note, I would like to pay tribute to my predecessor, the ground-breaking Sheila Whitaker who was LFF’s Festival Director from 1987 to 1996, as well as head of programming for the National Film Theatre (now BFI Southbank) from 1984. Sheila, who remained an exemplary friend to our programming team, sadly passed away this August. All at the LFF acknowledge her legacy, and proudly carry it forward. It is timely that, during this year’s Festival, we will launch a new BFI Southbank strand – Discover Arab Cinema – and Sheila, whose speciality was in this field, had a guiding hand in establishing this important new programme.”

LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 04: CEO of the BFI Amanda Nevill and BFI Head of Cinema and Festivals Clare Stewart attend a photocall for the 57th BFI London Film Festival Press Launch at Odeon Leicester Square on September 4, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for BFI)

LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 04: Director Paul Greengrass attends the 57th BFI London Film Festival Press Launch Photocall at Odeon Leicester Square on September 4, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for BFI)

The Festival will screen a total of 234 fiction and documentary features, including 22 World Premieres, 16 International Premieres, 29 European Premieres and 20 Archive films. There will also be screenings of 134 live action and animated shorts. A stellar line-up of directors, cast and crew are expected to take part in career interviews, master classes and other special events. The 57th BFI London Film Festival will run from 9-20 October 2013.

Taking place over 12 days, the Festival’s screenings are at venues across the capital, from the West End cinemas – Odeon West End, Vue West End, Odeon Leicester Square and a new addition this year the Cineworld Haymarket; central London venues – BFI Southbank; the ICA, Curzon Mayfair, and Ciné Lumière; and local cinemas – Ritzy Brixton, Hackney Picturehouse, Renoir, Everyman Screen on the Green and Rich Mix. Additional screenings and events will take place at the Curzon Chelsea, BFI London IMAX and Village Underground.

BFI PLAYER

The BFI London Film Festival experience can be enjoyed UK- wide with the upcoming launch of the BFI Player, the BFI’s new web VOD service, featuring a Festival digital channel showing regular red carpet action and film maker interviews. BFI London Film Festival content will be a key attraction in the first range of services on the BFI Player and will also be available on the recently launched BFI Samsung smart TV app.

Tom Hanks stars 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

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