BFI London Film Festival
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The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in the United Kingdom, running in the second half of October with cooperation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and shorts from approximately 50 countries.
History
In 1953 a group of critics including Dilys Powell of The Sunday Times, raised the notion of a film festival for London. They reasoned that with Cannes and Venice, as did Edinburgh, had their own. However, the proposition was squared at the press - giving audience a chance to see movies that don't normally release in British cinemas. Originally to be a 'festival of festivals', it focused on screening a selection of strong titles from other European film festivals, including Cannes and Venice. The first London Film Festival was conceived by James Quinn, and took place at the NFT (National Film Theatre, now renamed BFI Southbank) from 16–26 October. It was launched after the inauguration of the new NFT on its current site under Waterloo Bridge. It screened only 15-20 films from a renowned selection of directors, including Akira Kurosawa, Satyajit Ray, Yasujirō Ozu, Luchino Visconti and Andrzej Wajda. While the programme still retains the 'festivals' feel, it also now shows new discoveries from "important and exciting talents" in world cinema. Whilst it continues to be first and foremost a public festival, it is also attended by large numbers of film professionals and journalists from all over the world. Importantly, it offers opportunities for people to see films that may not otherwise get a UK screening along with films which will get a release in the near future.
The festival is "topped and tailed" by the Opening and Closing galas which have now become major red carpet events in the London calendar and are world premiere screenings, which take place in large venues in central London, attended by the cast and crew of the films, and introduced by the Festival director and the film's directors or producers, and often the actors themselves.
Previously a number of festival awards were presented at the Closing gala, but in 2009, with the aid of some funding from the UK Film Council, a stand-alone awards ceremony was introduced.
Other than these events the screenings at the Festival are quite informal and similar to the normal cinema experience except for two things; some films are accompanied by Q&A sessions which give the audience unique access to the film-maker and/or a member of the cast and offer insight into the making of the film and occasionally an opportunity for the audience to engage directly and ask questions; and the second aspect is that people generally stay and watch the credits.
The festival is divided into themes which cover different areas of interest - in 2009 these were; Galas and Special Screenings, Film on the Square, New British Cinema, French Revolutions, Cinema Europa, World Cinema, Experimenta, Treasures from the Archives, Short Cuts and Animation. In 2009 the Festival, whilst focused around Leicester Square (Vue West End, Odeon West End and Empire) and the BFI Southbank in central London, also screened films across 18 other venues – Curzon Mayfair Cinema, ICA Cinema on The Mall, The Ritzy in Brixton, Cine Lumière in South Kensington, Queen Elizabeth Hall on the South Bank, David Lean Cinema in Croydon, the Genesis Cinema in Whitechapel, The Greenwich Picturehouse, the Phoenix Cinema in East Finchley, Rich Mix in Old Street, the Rio Cinema in Dalston, the Tricycle Cinema in Kilburn, the Waterman Art Centre in Brentford and Trafalgar Square for the open air screening of short films from the BFI National Archive. The 2009 Festival featured 15 world premieres including Wes Anderson’s first animated feature, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Sam Taylor-Wood’s feature début Nowhere Boy, about the formative years of John Lennon, as well as the Festival’s first ever Archive Gala, the BFI’s new restoration of Anthony Asquith’s Underground, with live music accompaniment by the Prima Vista Social Club. European premieres in 2009 included Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Micmacs, Scott Hicks’ The Boys Are Back and Robert Connolly’s Balibo, as well as Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni’s The Well and Lucy Bailey and Andrew Thompson’s Mugabe And The White African.
In 2009, directors travelling to London to introduce their latest work included Michael Haneke (Cannes Palme d'Or winner, The White Ribbon), Atom Egoyan (Chloe), Steven Soderbergh (The Informant!), Lone Scherfig (An Education), Ang Lee (Taking Woodstock), Jane Campion (Bright Star), Gaspar Noé (Enter The Void), Lee Daniels (Precious), Grant Heslov (The Men Who Stare At Goats), and Jason Reitman (Up In The Air). In addition to Fantastic Mr. Fox and Up In The Air, George Clooney supported his role in The Men Who Stare At Goats. The Festival also welcomed back previous alumni such as John Hillcoat (The Road), Joe Swanberg (Alexander The Last) and Harmony Korine (Trash Humpers), whilst also screening films from Manoel de Oliveira (Eccentricities Of A Blonde-Haired Girl), Jim Jarmusch (The Limits Of Control), Claire Denis (White Material), Ho-Yuhang (At The End Of Daybreak), Todd Solondz (Life During Wartime), and Joel and Ethan Coen (A Serious Man).
On August 2016, American distributor A24's Free Fire was chosen to close the 2016 London Film Festival.[1]
Executive team
- Artistic Director: Clare Stewart
- Film Programmers: Michael Blyth, Laure Bonville, Kate Taylor
- Producer: Emilie Arnold
- Head of Projects and Development: Anne-Marie Flynn
- Deputy Head of Festivals: Tricia Tuttle
- BFI Director: Amanda Nevill
Awards
The categories highlight both emerging and established talent.
- The Sutherland Trophy – for the most original and innovative first feature in the London Film Festival. Named after the BFI’s patron, this award boasts recipients as noteworthy as Bertolucci, Fassbinder, Godard and Antonioni.
- The Grierson Award – for the best feature-length documentary in the festival. This award is given jointly by the LFF and the Grierson Trust which commemorates the pioneering Scottish documentary-maker John Grierson (1898–1972), famous for Drifters and Night Mail. The Grierson Trust has a long-standing tradition of recognising outstanding films that demonstrate integrity, originality and technical excellence and social or cultural significance.
From 2009, a new standalone awards ceremony was launched which included the following awards:
- Best Film – celebrates creative, original, imaginative, intelligent and distinctive film-making.
- Best British Newcomer Award – celebrates new and emerging British film talent and recognises the achievements of a new writer, producer or director who demonstrates real creative flair and imagination with their first feature.
- BFI Fellowships – the Festival showcases both the work of new film-makers and established ones, and presenting two Fellowships provides a fitting contrast to those Awards recognising new talent.
2004
- The Sutherland Trophy
- Tarnation, dir. Jonathan Caouette
- 7th FIPRESCI International Critics Award
- Aaltra, dir. Gustave de Kervern and Benoit Delepine
- The Alfred Dunhill UK Film Talent Award
- A Way Of Life, dir. Amma Asante
- 9th Annual Satyajit Ray Award
- The Woodsman, dir. Nicole Kassell
- TCM Classic Shorts Award
- Nits, dir. Harry Wootliff
2005
- The Sutherland Trophy
- For the Living and the Dead, dir. Kari Paljakka
- 8th FIPRESCI International Critics Award
- Man Push Cart, dir. Ramin Bahrani
- The Alfred Dunhill UK Film Talent Award
- Producer Gayle Griffiths
- The 10th Annual Satyajit Ray Award
- Pavee Lackeen, dir. Perry Ogden
- The Grierson Award for Best Documentary
- Workingman's Death, dir. Michael Glawogger
- TCM Classic Shorts Award
- Happy, dir. Jane Lloyd
2006
- The Sutherland Trophy
- Red Road, dir. Andrea Arnold
- 9th FIPRESCI International Critics Award
- Lola, dir. Javier Rebollo
- The Alfred Dunhill UK Film Talent Award
- Producer Mark Herbert
- The 11th Annual Satyajit Ray Award
- The Lives of Others, dir. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
- The Grierson Award for Best Documentary
- Thin, dir. Lauren Greenfield
- TCM Classic Shorts Award
- Silence Is Golden, dir. Chris Shepherd
2007
- The Sutherland Trophy
- Persepolis, dir. Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
- 10th FIPRESCI International Critics Award
- Unrelated, dir. Joanna Hogg
- The Alfred Dunhill UK Film Talent Award
- Sarah Gavron, director of Brick Lane
- The 12th Annual Satyajit Ray Award
- California Dreamin', awarded posthumously to director Cristian Nemescu
- The Grierson Award for Best Documentary
- The Mosquito Problem and Other Stories, dir. Andrey Paounov
- TCM Classic Shorts Award
- À bout de truffe, dir. Tom Tagholm
2008
- The Sutherland Trophy
- Tulpan, dir. Sergey Dvortsevoy
- 11th FIPRESCI International Critics Award
- Three Blind Mice, dir. Matthew Newton
- The 13th Annual Satyajit Ray Award
- Mid-August Lunch, dir. Gianni Gregorio
- The Grierson Award for Best Documentary
- Victoire Terminus, dir. Florent de la Tullaye and Renaud Barret
- TCM Classic Shorts Award
- Leaving, dir. Richard Penfold and Sam Hearn
2009
In 2009, a new annual standalone awards ceremony was launched to showcase the work of imaginative and original film-makers and to reward distinctive and intriguing work.
The Awards took place at the Inner Temple on 28 October 2009 and were hosted by Paul Gambaccini. Winners of the Sutherland Trophy, Best British Newcomer and Best Film received the inaugural Star of London award designed by sculptor Almuth Tebbenhoff.
- Best Film
- Un prophète, dir. Jacques Audiard
- The Sutherland Trophy
- Ajami, dir. Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani
- Best British Newcomer Award
- Jack Thorne, writer of The Scouting Book For Boys
- The Grierson Award for Best Documentary
- Defamation, dir. Yoav Shamir
- BFI Fellowships
- Filmmaker - Souleymane Cissé
- Actor - John Hurt
Judges
- Best Film: Anjelica Huston, John Akomfrah, Jarvis Cocker, Mathieu Kassovitz, Charlotte Rampling, Iain Softley
- The Sutherland Trophy: Paul Greengrass, David Parfitt, Matt Bochenski, Gillian Wearing, Molly Dineen, Mark Cosgrove, Kerry Fox, Sara Frain, Michael Hayden, Sandra Hebron
- Best British Newcomer Award: Lenny Crooks, Christine Langan, Tessa Ross, Tanya Seghatchian, Michael Hayden, Sandra Hebron
- The Grierson Award: Nick Broomfield, Ellen Fleming, Christopher Hird, Michael Hayden, Sandra Hebron
2010
- Best Film
- How I Ended This Summer, dir. Alexei Popogrebski[2]
- The Sutherland Trophy
- The Arbor, dir. Clio Barnard
- Best British Newcomer Award
- Clio Barnard, director of The Arbor
- The Grierson Award for Best Documentary
- Armadillo, dir. Janus Metz
- BFI Fellowship
- Filmmaker - Danny Boyle
2011
- Best Film
- We Need to Talk About Kevin, dir. Lynne Ramsay[3]
- The Sutherland Trophy
- Las Acacias, dir. Pablo Giorgelli[3]
- Best British Newcomer Award:
- Candese Reid, actress in Junkhearts[3]
- The Grierson Award for Best Documentary
- Into the Abyss: A Tale of Death, A Tale of Life, dir. Werner Herzog[3]
- BFI Fellowships
- Filmmaker - David Cronenberg[3]
- Actor - Ralph Fiennes[3]
2012
2013
Pawel Pawlikowski, best known for his films My Summer of Love and Last Resort, won the Best Film award for his black and white social drama Ida, his first film shot in his native Poland. Pawlikowski, at the time, was a visiting tutor at the National Film and Television School in Buckinghamshire and one of his pupils there, Anthony Chen, picked up the Best First Feature prize for Ilo Ilo.[4]
2014
Leviathan was named the Best Film at the London Film Festival Awards on 18 October 2014, at a ceremony where the main prizes went to Russia, Ukraine (Best First Feature, The Tribe) and Syria (Best Documentary, Silvered Water), three countries at the centre of long-running conflicts. The winning film-makers all said they hoped that culture could help to restore peace to their countries.[5]
2015
At a London Film Festival declared by its director Clare Stewart to be promoting strong women in the industry, both in front of and behind the camera, the theme continued into the awards, with the Best Film being named as the Greek comedy Chevalier, directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari. The winner of the Sutherland Award for Best First Feature, The Witch, was described by the jury as "a fresh, feminist take on a timeless tale." Another woman was honoured with the Grierson Award for the best documentary; the Australian film-maker Jennifer Peedom, who was shooting Sherpa as a devastating avalanche struck the Himalayas, in April 2014. And the Oscar-winning Cate Blanchett described how she was "deeply honoured and dumbstruck" at being awarded a BFI Fellowship.[6]
2016
After last year's festival aimed to celebrate strong women in the film industry, 2016 was partly designed to better reflect the diverse audiences in society;[7] the festival opened with a film directed by a black director and the BFI Fellowship was awarded to Steve McQueen. Most of the awards, once again, had strong female themes - either being directed by women, about women or both. Kelly Reichardt’s Certain Women won the Official Competition, while Raw, by the French director Julia Ducournau, won the Sutherland Award for the Best First Feature. Noting that there are still too few opportunities for female directors, Ducournau said, "It's about time that things are starting to change. It’s good that doors are now being opened.” The Grierson Award for the best documentary went to Starless Dreams, filmed inside a rehabilitation centre for juvenile delinquent women in Iran. For the first time, the London Film Festival ran a competition for the best short film. This went to Issa Touma, Thomas Vroege and Floor van de Muelen for the documentary 9 Days – From My Window in Aleppo. Touma, a Syrian photographer who regularly returns to Aleppo, said it was important for intellectuals, academics and artists not to desert the country. "You can't change anything from far away," he said.[8]
2017
Accepting the prestigious BFI Fellowship at the 2017 London Film Festival Awards, director Paul Greengrass acknowledged that it had been a difficult week for the film industry, on the day that Harvey Weinstein was expelled from the Academy that hands out the Oscars. He said the industry had to act and words weren't enough. The Best Film on the night went to Russia's Loveless, making Andrey Zvyagintsev the second director to have won the honour twice. South Africa's John Trengove won the Best First Film award for The Wound. Lucy Cohen's Kingdom of Us, about the aftermath of a suicide, was named the Best Documentary. And Patrick Bresnan's The Rabbit Hunt won the inaugural Best Short Film prize.[9]
See also
References
- ↑ "Ben Wheatley's Free Fire will close the BFI London Film Festival this October". The Telegraph. 1 August 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
- ↑ London film festival: British director Clio Barnard wins best newcomer, The Guardian. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Brown, Mark (26 October 2011). "We Need to Talk About Kevin scoops top prize at London film festival". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
- ↑ Korsner, Jason (20 October 2013). "Master and Pupil Honoured by LFF on the Same Night". UK Screen. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
- ↑ Korsner, Jason (19 October 2014). "International Politics Creeps Into LFF Awards". UK Screen. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
- ↑ Korsner, Jason (17 October 2015). "Women Reign Supreme at London Film Festival". What's Worth Seeing. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
- ↑ "London Film Festival to focus on diversity". BBC News. 5 October 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
- ↑ Korsner, Jason (15 October 2016). "Diversity Reigns at the London Film Festival Awards". What's Worth Seeing. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
- ↑ Korsner, Jason (14 October 2017). "Harvey Weinstein's Shadow Hangs Over London Film Festival Awards". What's Worth Seeing. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
