Very spoilery article, once you’ve recovered from watching the film… (my review is here) In many ways Relic is a classic horror film, part haunted house and part demonic possession. But it’s also about family and memories, and how dementia and ageing can snatch away that which feels most valuable to us, that we most… Relic: it’s coming from inside the house! Read More
Relic (London Film Festival) 4 stars
A daughter, mother and grandmother are haunted by a manifestation of dementia that consumes their family’s home. There are post-it notes stuck all around Edna’s elegant and airy house, little reminders of basic living: turn off taps says one. As they get more frightening, warnings in an increasingly spidery hand, there’s one that says Don’t… Relic (London Film Festival) Read More
BLOG: We have LFF-off! It’s virtually time for the London Film Festival
By which I mean it’s already here, virtually, for Press, and is less than a week away for the public (the festival runs from 7-18 October). This year LFF features over 50 virtual premieres, free online events and cinema screenings across the UK. Delve into the whole feature programme here and the short films programme… BLOG: We have LFF-off! It’s virtually time for the London Film Festival Read More
London Film Festival: Screen Talk with George Clooney
Clooney will discuss his illustrious and varied career, as well as his latest feature The Midnight Sky. Taking place virtually on Sunday 18 October at 4pm, the event will be free to access both in the UK and internationally via the BFI YouTube channel. Just weeks ahead of the eagerly anticipated The Midnight Sky which… London Film Festival: Screen Talk with George Clooney Read More
Ammonite to close BFI London Film Festival
The UK Premiere of Ammonite will screen to audiences at BFI Southbank and in selected cinemas across the UK Francis Lee’s drama, a lesbian love story about 19th century English palaeontologist Mary Anning and a young woman she is asked to take under her wing, has been selected as the closing film for his year’s… Ammonite to close BFI London Film Festival Read More
Steve McQueen’s Mangrove to open 64th BFI London Film Festival this October
The European Premiere of Mangrove, one of five films from the Small Axe Anthology, will play for free to audiences at BFI Southbank and in selected cinemas across the UK. The film, directed by the multi-award-winning visual artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen and co-written by McQueen and Alastair Siddons, stars Letitia Wright, Shaun Parkes and Malachi Kirby. Marking 50… Steve McQueen’s Mangrove to open 64th BFI London Film Festival this October Read More
BFI London Film Festival’s 2020 format announced: virtual premieres, regional cinema screenings – and you, the jury
This year it’s all about Virtual LFF and LFF In Cinemas. And as a one-off for this edition, audiences will take the place of the Festival’s official jury. The full line-up will be announced online on 8 September – the festival runs rom 7 to 18 October. The first ever edition of the Festival to… BFI London Film Festival’s 2020 format announced: virtual premieres, regional cinema screenings – and you, the jury Read More
Death Row drama Clemency gets UK release date at last
*** Read my five-star review *** Featuring a powerhouse performance from Alfre Woodard, Clemency is out on 17 July. The film screened at last year’s London Film Festival then seemed to disappear, though it pops up on many people’s “who should have been nominated for an Oscar but wasn’t” lists. Woodard plays Bernadine Williams, a… Death Row drama Clemency gets UK release date at last Read More
We Are One: A Global Film Festival launches with films from festivals around the world
The online festival, produced and organised by YouTube and Tribeca Enterprises, will run exclusively on YouTube from 29 May to 7 June at YouTube.com/WeAreOne. We Are One will feature programming from 21 festivals and 35 countries, including Berlin International Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, London Film Festival and Venice Film Festival. Talks, VR content and… We Are One: A Global Film Festival launches with films from festivals around the world Read More
Vivarium (London Film Festival 2019) 4 stars
A young couple looking for the perfect home find themselves trapped in a mysterious labyrinth-like neighborhood of identical houses. *** Read my interview with Vivarium director Lorcan Finnegan *** Everyone has their own line in the sand which they will not cross when it comes to settling down. Mine is those massive white canvasses with… Vivarium (London Film Festival 2019) Read More
INTERVIEW: “Peanut Butter Falcon” writer-directors Tyler Nilson & Michael Schwartz
Peanut Butter Falcon, the hit indie comedy about Zak, a young man with Down syndrome who breaks out of his restrictive care home for adventures on the road (and rivers) of the American South, has been winning over audiences and earning plaudits since its world premiere at this year’s SXSW film festival. Zak, played by Zack Gottsagen, is a huge wresting… INTERVIEW: “Peanut Butter Falcon” writer-directors Tyler Nilson & Michael Schwartz Read More
JoJo Rabbit (London Film Festival 2019) 4 stars
A young boy in Hitler’s army finds out his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their home. JoJo Rabbit works nearly all of the time, which for a comedy about the friendship between a small boy in the Hitler Youth and a Jewish girl, and with a buffoonish Hitler as an imaginary father figure, is… JoJo Rabbit (London Film Festival 2019) Read More