With the schedule going live today at last featuring some of the best films coming out over the course of the next year centered around premiere screenings in the captial, it looks set to be one of the biggest and best London Film Festivals we’ve had – what better cause to celebrate than its 69th edition? With packed names everywhere you look – It’s easy to get lost in the shuffle – a real representation of the global talent in the film industry. Here’s 10 films that are worth keeping in mind; big and small alike – showcasing a variety of genres, mediums and talent – and some of my most anticipated movies of the two weeks the main festival runs for.
ROSE OF NEVADA (dir; Mark Jenkin)
Mark Jenkin has been one of the premiere directors out of the South West making films that establish him as a true talent worthy of recognition among the bigger names – Bait, about a small village under threat by tourism, and Enys Men, a 70s-styled folk horror following a solitary isolated woman, establish the grit and provocative nature of Jenkin’s style – and this time it’s a haunted time travel odyssey that follows a fishing vessel lost three decades earlier, reappearing in its harbour and taking on new crew only to find themselves pulled back into the past. George MacKay and Callum Turner are rising stars – and this looks set to be a visionary masterpiece like no other.
THE TESTAMENT OF ANNE LEE (dir; Mona Fastvold)
New Mona Fastvold is a must watch and the fact that reviews out of Venice have been divisive makes it even more compelling. Anchored by Amanda Seyfried following Ann Lee’s journey from her childhood in Manchester to pre-revolutionary America, this explores the founder of the Shaker movement in a movie destined to resurrect Lee’s story in public consciousness. Expect something as powerful as The World to Come and you’ll be in for a treat.
MIROIRS NO. 3 (dir; Christian Petzold)
New Christian Petzold klaxonnnn. Working with regular collaborator Paula Beer, he tells the story of a woman adopted by a family in the middle of a car crash, physically unhurt but deeply shaken, and taken in with motherly devotion by her newfound family. Originally welcomed presence turns sinister in what looks set to be a peak Petzold drama unafraid to pull the emotional punches. Any new Petzold will be on my radar after Phoenix and Transit, but the director can keep things afloat right the way through his prolific career. This time out, expect a study of loss and existential crisis.
IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT (dir; Jafar Panahi)
What starts as a simple traffic accident reunites two men with a shared past in Jafar Panahi’s new film from the director of No Bears and Crimson Gold, an open critique of a regime from a director in hiding from his own country – having been given a 20 year ban on filmmaking in 2010 but continued to make them despite this – and the calling for consequences of the dystopian nightmares of that regime couldn’t be any more relevant in today’s world. As a moral case study this feels essential.
DIE MY LOVE (dir; Lynne Ramsay)
New Lynne Ramsay is a call for celebration; and her bold, brave drama explores the brink of madness that new mother Grace descends into just after giving birth. Darkly comic and exploring the complex lives of women, Jennifer Lawrence steps into the spotlight acting opposite Robert Pattinson in what’s sure to be a winning combination of two of the finest actors of their generation.
BROKEN ENGLISH (dir; Jane Pollard and Iain Forsyth)
This time getting the Pollard and Forsyth treatment is Marianne Faithfull, cultural icon responsible for the hit As Tears Go By and one of the lead female singers of the British Invasion into the United States. This is an odd quasi-documentary approach – a fictional ministry fronted by Tilda Swinton question Faithfull about her career, from 60s IT girl to art scene doyenne – in a towering way that’s sure to impress. 20,000 Days on Earth was an all-timer of a documentary – so expect this one to have marked attention from the documentary fans.
SCENERY “DECORADO” (dir; Alberto Vázquez)
Unicorn Wars was a title that aired at LFF a few years ago and caught my attention with its bold and abrasive animation and this follow-up looks set to do the same – Arnold, a middle aged mouse in an existential crisis, lives in suspicion that his whole world is unreal and fake, like a scenery. Can he overcome the sinister evil corporation of A.C.M.E. (A Company that makes Everything) and start a new life?
ORPHAN “ARVA” (dir; László Nemes)
Son of Saul is one of the most harrowing, raw and powerful films of the last decade. Expect something similar from Nemes who is returning with his third film on the back of Sunset, about a young boy discovering the truth of his mother’s survival after the uprising of the Communist regime in Budapest 1957. Expect gorgeous cinematography from The Iron Claw DOP Mátyás Erdély, and a formative coming of age journey.
BELOW THE CLOUDS (dir; Gianfranco Rosi)
Taken from Jean Cocteau’s “Vesuvius makes all the clouds in the world,” Rosi weaves a documentary of war and violence at the heart of Naples following a normal life and that of the spiritual in Italy, shot in black and white and avoiding the usage of camera narration in favour of fixed positions. The film spotlights the threats that face Naples from Vesuvius and Campi Flegrei, amid increasing tremors and the warnings of Pompeii, Below the Clouds feels like a real wake-up call.
PALESTINE 36 (dir; ANNEMARIE JACIR)
Filmed by Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir – responsible for Salt of This Sea – and set in 1963 following a group of Palestinians rising against British colonial rule, Palestine 36 looks set to focus on the largest and longest uprising against Britain’s 30 year dominion with powerful repercussions on the present day occupation of Palestine by Israel. Key figures in the current resistance like Liam Cunningham star, anchored behind the role of Saleh Bakri. Given the current crisis in Palestine it’s about time the film industry caught up to the provocative statements of the music scene; and Palestine 36 looks set to be just that.
Find out more and explore the full program here