The BFI London Film Festival programme has finally been released and it’s seriously cool. There’s plenty of incredible films from around the world available to see, with several key themes at this year’s festival.
This year’s key talking points at the festival are LGBT cinema, immigration and social division, black stars, visionaries, thrillers, strong women, and deafness and disabilities.
The festival will encompass 15 venues across London. Mainstays like Vue Leicester Square and the iconic Odeon Leicester Square as well as BFI-owned venues – BFI Southbank, BFI IMAX make up the main cinemas. However, there’s plenty of others in central London including, Picturehouse Central, the ICA, Curzon Mayfair, Curzon Soho, Empire Haymarket, Prince Charles Cinema and Ciné Lumière. Even a few local cinemas are involved – Hackney Picturehouse , Rich Mix in Shoreditch and Curzon Chelsea. The National Gallery and the Barbican will also screen some special events. In addition, selected films will be available around the UK via cinecast.
Tickets for all the films will go on sale on the 14th September at 10am. If you’re a BFI member or an American Express card holder, you can buy tickets a week in advance on the 7th September. The costs vary depending on what you’re seeing and when. The cheapest time to see it all is during the week at a matinee. These screenings will cost £9 to £12.95. From there, the non-West End venues in the evenings are the cheapest at £12.95. West-End venues cost £16 for weekday evenings. Gala and Special Presentation Premieres are more expensive and cost between £17 and £29. There are tonnes of discounts for families, concessions, and students, so do look around.
The entire programme can be found on the BFI’s official website here.
However, with over 200 films on offer, you might struggle to pick out what to go and see. With that in mind, here’s a few picks from each genre that we’re particularly interested in:
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataHeadliners:
Battle Of The Sexes, 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: The sexual revolution is in full swing and Billie Jean King is number one, but why won’t the US Tennis Association respond to her call for gender equality? Together with the founder of World Tennis magazine Gladys Heldman (Sarah Silverman), she sets forth to lobby the Board, riled by the blatant discrepancy between the prize money offered to male and female players (sound familiar?). Faced with mocking resistance from the blokes in power, the women establish an alternative tournament (now the WTA). Initially buoyed by the success of their venture and the camaraderie of her fellow players, Billie Jean is soon thrown off her game by a blossoming romance with Marilyn Barnett (Andrea Riseborough), the arrival of title contender Margaret Court and an unexpected late night call from one-time men’s champ, Bobby Riggs.
Starring: Emma Stone, Steve Carell, Andrea Riseborough, Sarah Silverman, Bill Pullman, Alan Cumming, Elisabeth Shue
When and where?:
Saturday 07 October 2017 18:00, Odeon Leicester Square
Monday 09 October 2017 14:20, Odeon Leicester Square
Saturday 14 October 2017 20:45, Curzon Mayfair Cinema, Screen 1
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: It’s been seven months since her daughter was murdered and foul-mouthed, tough-as-nails Mildred Hayes (McDormand) is fed up. Fuelled by grief and outraged that the investigation has gone quiet, she provokes the local police department with a series of messages plastered on three disused billboards outside her home town of Ebbing, Missouri. So begins a rapidly escalating and very public feud between Mildred and venerated community leader and family man, Chief Willoughby (Woody Harrelson). The situation is exacerbated when blundering side-kick, Officer Dixon (Sam Rockwell) gets involved. Just as unhinged as Mildred, but with a significantly lower IQ, Dixon’s penchant for violence is stoked by his leaden, borderline psychotic mother to whom he is unhealthily attached.
Starring: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Abbie Cornish, John Hawkes, Peter Dinklage
When and where?:
Sunday 15 October 2017 19:00, Odeon Leicester Square
Sunday 15 October 2017 20:30, Embankment Garden Cinema
Breathe, 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: When dapper and adventurous Robin Cavendish (Garfield) meets self-assured Diana (Foy) at a cricket match, a whirlwind romance ensues. Soon after their wedding, they set out for Nairobi where Robin works as a tea broker. But their new life together takes an abrupt turn when he contracts polio and is given only weeks to live. Determined that her husband’s life should not be restricted by medical and social prejudice, Diana ignores all advice and breaks him out of hospital. With the support of her twin brothers (both played by Tom Hollander) and friend Teddy (Hugh Bonneville), an Oxford professor who invents a wheelchair with a respirator attached, Diana creates an environment in which Robin can thrive and he goes on to lead a long and full life.
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy, Hugh Bonneville, Tom Hollander
When and where?:
Wednesday 04 October 2017 19:00, Odeon Leicester Square
Wednesday 04 October 2017 20:30, Embankment Garden Cinema
Thursday 05 October 2017 11:30, Odeon Leicester Square
Call Me By Your Name, 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: Elio is a musically gifted 17-year-old whose idyllic summer break takes a tumultuous turn when Oliver (Armie Hammer) arrives to stay at the family palazzo. The physical embodiment of ancient Greco-Roman beauty, Oliver is an all-American doctoral student on a 6-week research trip working with Elio’s father, an antiquities professor. While Oliver slips effortlessly into the heady rhythm of the Italian summer – al fresco dining, bicycle rides and midnight swims – Elio’s casual flirtation with local girlfriend Marzia (Esther Garrel) is soon eclipsed by a more sensual, volatile attraction.
Starring: Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar, Esther Garrel, Victoire Du Bois
When and where?:
Monday 09 October 2017 19:15, Odeon Leicester Square
Tuesday 10 October 2017 11:30, Odeon Leicester Square
Wednesday 11 October 2017 18:15, Hackney Picturehouse, Screen 1
The Killing Of A Sacred Deer, 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: Steven (Colin Farrell) is a wealthy cardiothoracic surgeon who lives a harmonious existence with his ophthalmologist wife Anna (Nicole Kidman) and their two children Kim and Bob. Unbeknownst to his magazine-perfect family, Steven has formed an odd friendship with fatherless teenager Martin, to whom he brings gifts and offers financial support. When Steven decides to introduce Martin to his unsuspecting family, the sinister intentions of this strange young man become frighteningly clear.
Starring: Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Barry Keoghan, Raffey Cassidy, Sunny Suljic, Alicia Silverstone
When and where?:
Thursday 12 October 2017 19:00, Odeon Leicester Square
Friday 13 October 2017 11:30, Odeon Leicester Square
Sunday 15 October 2017 12:30, Curzon Mayfair Cinema, Screen 1
Love:
On Chesil Beach, 2017
Official BFI synopsis: In the early 1960s, a young couple on their honeymoon struggle to physically connect in this sensitive adaptation of Ian McEwan’s acclaimed short novel. As Florence and Edward settle down for their first dinner as a married couple, a nervous energy fills the air. But while it might appear the fledgling husband and wife are suffering from wedding night jitters, as the evening unfolds it becomes apparent something else is creating a divide. Awkwardly grasping for the connection they know they share, the pair recall moments from their lives, both together and apart, as the inevitability of physical intimacy looms ever-closer.
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Emily Watson, Anne-Marie Duff, Samuel West, Adrian Scarborough, Billy Howle
When and where?:
Sunday 08 October 2017 17:30, Embankment Garden Cinema
Tuesday 10 October 2017 14:30, Embankment Garden Cinema
Sunday 15 October 2017 15:30, Curzon Mayfair Cinema, Screen 1
Close Knit, 2017
Official BFI synopsis: Knitting is catharsis for Rinko, a transwoman whose maternal feelings are stirred by the arrival of her boyfriend’s 11-year-old niece, Tomo. Abandoned by her mum, resilient Tomo is used to fending for herself and now Rinko (played by heartthrob Toma Ikuta) must gain the trust of the insecure little girl. Those seeking Western gender politics or a sassy trans heroine are in for something different here. Although Rinko’s knitting patterns do have a subversive streak, her feminine values are more aligned with genteel passivity and familial subservience.
Starring: Toma Ikuta, Rinka Kakihara, Kenta Kiritani
When and where?:
Saturday 14 October 2017 18:00, Cine Lumiere
Sunday 15 October 2017 13:00, Rich Mix Cinema, Screen 1
How To Talk To Girls At Parties, 2015
Official BFI synopsis: Strap yourself in for a cosmic ride, because the aliens have landed… In Croydon. One night in the 1970s, fanzine-toting teen Enn (Alex Sharp) and his punk buddies crash a party only to find a house full of groovy extra-terrestrials in skin-tight clobber. One alien, intergalactic megababe Zan (Elle Fanning), is spellbound by Enn. She swiftly ditches her species for a suburban safari with the homo sapien, and on their odyssey they encounter cockney svengali Queen Boadicea (Nicole Kidman).
Starring: Elle Fanning, Alex Sharp, Nicole Kidman
When and where?:
Friday 06 October 2017 18:30, Prince Charles Cinema, Downstairs Screen
Friday 06 October 2017 21:00, Prince Charles Cinema, Downstairs Screen
Saturday 07 October 2017 12:30, Haymarket Cinema, Screen 1
Saturday Church, 2017
Official BFI synopsis: Following his father’s death, teenager Ulysses (Luka Kain) has to stay with his mean and controlling aunt while his mother works nights. His aunt is determined to shame him out of his desire to wear his mother’s clothes and forces him to be his unruly young brother’s keeper. It means Ulysses has little time for contemplating his awakening interest in boys. Luckily, he finds a second home at ‘Saturday Church’, the weekly volunteer-run shelter. A trio of fairy godmothers, Ebony (MJ Rodriguez), Dijon (Indya Moore) and Heaven (Alexis Garcia) take him under their gloriously feathered wings and introduce him to heart-throb Raymond. A musical.
Starring: Luka Kain, Margot Bingham, Regina Taylor
When and where?:
Saturday 07 October 2017 18:45, Vue Leicester Square Cinema, Screen 5
Sunday 08 October 2017 20:45, Prince Charles Cinema, Downstairs Screen
Saturday 14 October 2017 15:45, Rich Mix Cinema, Screen 1
Debate:
Adriana’s Pact, 2017
Official BFI synopsis: What would you do if you discovered a beloved family member had been working for a murderous dictator? That’s the basis of this raw and compelling documentary. Lissette Orozco’s world fell apart when she found out her favourite aunt had been arrested. The glamorous Adriana was charged with being a member of DINA, Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet’s brutal secret police. Shell-shocked, Lissette turned the camera on herself, her family and the country’s dark past, embarking on a chilling personal journey to investigate who Adriana really was. The result combines Skype interviews with her aunt, who never admitted her guilt and now lives in exile in Australia, along with archive footage, family pictures and interviews with former friends of Adriana.
When and where?:
Thursday 05 October 2017 15:30, BFI Southbank, NFT2
Friday 06 October 2017 18:15, ICA Cinema, Screen 1
Beauty And The Dogs, 2017
Official BFI synopsis: Nine single-take sequences follow Miriam over the course of one night. It begins benignly at a university fundraising event, where she catches the eye of a handsome new face. The second sequence sees the man pursuing her, his intentions unclear. Miriam next appears dishevelled and petrified. She has just been raped by several policemen. And so a bureaucratic nightmare begins, as Miriam and the man attempt to obtain a medical or police statement in order to report the crime. The film offers sharp social commentary on the agency of a rape victim – questioned rather than believed, engaged in a maddening cycle of victimising behaviour. Miriam’s defiance reveals the manipulation of stigma against her and the underlying systemic corruption, but also the power that she has to resist.
Starring: Mariam Al Ferjani, Ghanem Zrelli
When and where?:
Wednesday 04 October 2017 20:45, ICA Cinema, Screen 1
Thursday 05 October 2017 14:45, Vue Leicester Square Cinema, Screen 7
Friday 06 October 2017 13:00, BFI Southbank, NFT2
The Forgiven, 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: It is 1996 and South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which aims to offer support and reparations to the victims of apartheid, has been running for two years. It is headed by Archbishop Tutu, who works to resolve crimes in order to heal an embittered nation. After promising the grief-stricken family of one victim of a government-sanctioned ‘disappearance’ that he will uncover the truth, Tutu’s search leads him to Piet Blomfeld, a convicted murderer languishing in Cape Town’s Pollsmoor Prison.
Starring: Forest Whitaker, Eric Bana
When and where?:
Friday 13 October 2017 20:40, Picturehouse Central, Screen 1
Saturday 14 October 2017 20:45, Haymarket Cinema, Screen 1
Sunday 15 October 2017 18:15, Curzon Mayfair Cinema, Screen 1
The Light Of The Moon, 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: This remarkably assured and unerringly compassionate debut charts the aftermath of a sexual assault. Stephanie Beatriz gives an incredibly nuanced performance as Bonnie, a popular New York architect who’s raped after a night out. Harrowing, yet never exploitative, the attack is sensitively depicted before the film focuses on the six weeks that follow the crime. A sharp-minded survivor’s trauma, grief and desire to move on, with heartfelt specificity and carefully calibrated wit, highlighting the fact that there’s no correct way for Bonnie to behave. We also see how loved ones can unintentionally worsen the impact.
Starring: Stephanie Beatriz, Michael Stahl-David, Conrad Ricamora
When and where?:
Friday 06 October 2017 20:45, Hackney Picturehouse, Screen 1
Saturday 07 October 2017 12:00, Vue Leicester Square Cinema, Screen 7
Laugh:
Ingrid Goes West, 2016:
Official BFI synopsis: When life goes south for Ingrid (her mother dies, crazed retribution at a wedding leads to time out on a psychiatric ward), she goes west. Armed with her inheritance, she hits Venice Beach to find Taylor Sloane. A social media celebrity extraordinaire, whose online feeds overflow with sun-kissed, bohemian LA chic, Taylor is a world away from Ingrid’s painful past. She artfully inveigles herself into her idol’s orbit, though Taylor’s narcissism and her own instability means the threat of being unmasked is just a ‘Send’ away.
Starring: Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, O’Shea Jackson Jr.
When and where?:
Saturday 07 October 2017 21:00, Picturehouse Central, Screen 1
Sunday 08 October 2017 12:45, Curzon Mayfair Cinema, Screen 1
Saturday 14 October 2017 20:45, Picturehouse Central, Screen 1
The Meyerowitz Stories (New And Selected), 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: To suggest that sculptor Harold Meyerowitz (Hoffman) is a model father would be pushing it. His adult children, like his artistic career, have not exactly met his expectations, but he has succeeded in selling them a rather delusional version of his own achievements. His eldest son Danny (Adam Sandler) is schlumping through life, still noodling original compositions on the family piano while his daughter Jean (Elizabeth Marvel) seems to have made a singular profession of receding into the background. Only Matthew (Ben Stiller), a high-octane West Coast money-man has acquired the trappings of success, but not the kind favoured by Harold and his booze-addled bohemian fourth wife Maureen (Emma Thompson). It’s dysfunction as usual until a swift blow to the head puts Harold in hospital and everyone has to take stock.
Starring: Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Elizabeth Marvel, Grace Van Patten, Emma Thompson
When and where?:
Friday 06 October 2017 17:30, Embankment Garden Cinema
Saturday 07 October 2017 11:30, Embankment Garden Cinema
Thursday 12 October 2017 20:45, Cine Lumiere
Bad Lucky Goat, 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: Two bickering teenagers are forced to put their differences aside when they accidentally hit a goat while running an errand for their father. Corn (Honlenny Huffington) and Rita (Kiara Howard) are in big trouble. Not only do they have to dispose of a dead goat, they also need to find a quick way of sorting out the damage to their father’s truck. That isn’t easy in a small town like the Port Paradise, where everyone knows everyone else’s business. An entertaining series of mishaps and misunderstandings take place over a 24-hour period as the warring siblings try to cover up their misdeeds, whilst ignoring the sage advice of the town’s elders.
Starring: Honlenny Huffington, Kiara Howard, Elkin Robinson
When and where?:
Saturday 07 October 2017 13:00, ICA Cinema, Screen 1
Sunday 08 October 2017 13:00, Prince Charles Cinema, Downstairs Screen
Word Of God, 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: It’s 1986, months after the Chernobyl disaster. With nuclear fall-out weighing heavily on his mind, teenage poet Jens could do with a break from his crazy family. His domineering father Uffe (also known as ‘God’), an erstwhile writer and now self-styled psychologist, uses their living room for some seriously weird therapy sessions. Older brother Thomas is a legendary wanker. Literally. He’s holed up in his bedroom trying to break a masturbation record. Their Swedish mum seems pretty cool, although she’s not above asking the local hooker over to help relieve her boy of his virginity ‘problem’. But when ‘God’ gets bowled a medical bombshell, a fresh circle of hell breaks loose…
Starring: Søren Malling, Lisa Nilsson, Marcus Sebastian Gert
When and where?:
Thursday 05 October 2017 18:15, Curzon Mayfair Cinema, Screen 1
Saturday 07 October 2017 15:15, BFI Southbank, NFT1
Dare:
Amant Double, 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: The story of Chloé, a former model plagued by undiagnosed stomach pains. Advised her condition could be psychosomatic, she consults a handsome psychiatrist named Paul, with whom she promptly embarks on a romantic relationship. But Chloé’s new beau is a mysterious fellow, revealing little about his past. When she stumbles across the information that Paul has a twin, she secretly tracks him down, only to discover that this mysterious sibling is also a psychoanalyst. Desperate to uncover the truth, Chloé books herself in for a session. But it is not long before she realises the two brothers take a very different approach to therapy.
Starring: Marine Vacth, Jérémie Renier, Jacqueline Bisset
When and where?:
Friday 06 October 2017 18:30, Curzon Chelsea Cinema
Sunday 08 October 2017 15:10, Curzon Mayfair Cinema, Screen 1
Beach Rats, 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: In a tale of two worlds destined to collide, the enigmatic Frankie, a virulently macho Brooklyn teen spends days with friends, hanging around the beach and showing off to girls. But night-time finds him hustling off alone for furtive gay hook-ups with men he meets online, or cruising for sex near the Coney Island boardwalk.
Starring: Harris Dickinson, Madeline Weinstein, Kate Hodge
When and where?:
Friday 06 October 2017 18:30, Picturehouse Central, Screen 1
Saturday 07 October 2017 13:00, Curzon Soho Cinema, Screen 1
Giant, 2017
Official BFI synopsis: Period drama based on the true story of Mikel Jokin Eleizegi Arteaga, allegedly the tallest man of his time. A tale of two siblings, the action begins in 1836 as Carlist forces arrive at the remote Eleizegi family farm in Gipuzkoa and take Martín away with them to war. When Martín returns, his brother Joakin towers above him. With the family facing penury, the decision is made to take Joakin on tour as Mr Colossus. So begins an adventure that has far-reaching implications for both siblings.
Starring: Eneko Sagardoy, Joseba Usabiaga, Iñigo Aramburu, Ramon Agirre, Aia Kruse
When and where?:
Monday 09 October 2017 20:45, Vue Leicester Square Cinema, Screen 7
Tuesday 10 October 2017 12:00, Vue Leicester Square Cinema, Screen 7
Saturday 14 October 2017 12:30, Picturehouse Central, Screen 1
Sicilian Ghost Story, 2017
Official BFI synopsis: A gripping real-life story of a Mafia kidnapping in Italy is enthrallingly re-imagined as supernatural fantasy by the directors of the acclaimed Salvo. Giuseppe is the 13-year-old son of a Mafia hitman, turned informant. When he disappears, it is assumed he has been kidnapped by his father’s former bosses. Giuseppe’s girlfriend, the determined Luna, battles her mother (some kind of wicked witch) and the police authority’s sloth and corruption in her search for him. Cleverly plotting her relentless quest, while her imagination conjures up mysterious and magical visions of where Giuseppe might be, Sicilian Ghost Story contrasts these fantastical worlds with the grim reality of the boy’s cruel captivity.
Starring: Julia Jedlikowska, Gaetano Fernandez, Corinne Musallari
When and where?:
Thursday 12 October 2017 20:40, Haymarket Cinema, Screen 1
Friday 13 October 2017 12:30, BFI Southbank, NFT1
Thrill:
6 Days, 2017
Official BFI synopsis: In April 1980, six gunmen took control of the Iranian Embassy in London. This is the story of the SAS operation that ended the siege. When a group of radical Iranian Arabs took over the Iranian Embassy in London, only two things were clear: the heavily armed men would deliver on their promise to kill all 26 hostages if their demands were not met, and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher would never bow to terrorists. The middle ground in this Mexican stand-off is the tense, true-life setting for Toa Fraser’s gripping drama.
Starring: Jamie Bell, Mark Strong, Abbie Cornish
When and where?:
Tuesday 10 October 2017 18:20, Picturehouse Central, Screen 1
Thursday 12 October 2017 14:45, Vue Leicester Square Cinema, Screen 7
Sunday 15 October 2017 21:00, Prince Charles Cinema, Downstairs Screen
Bad Genius, 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: Young brainiac Lynn uses a very special set of skills in this kickass thriller, set in the high-stakes world of entrance exams for elite international universities. At a prestigious new school, scholarship student Lynn quickly finds herself in demand by affluent classmates who are neither bright nor hard-working enough to get the grades they need. But cheating isn’t easy, and to game the system Lynn and her friends have to come up with ever more elaborate ways to codify the answers. As the tension ramps up when the operation goes international, an enemy lurks, waiting to entrap Lynn.
Starring: Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying, Chanon Santinatornkul
When and where?:
Friday 13 October 2017 20:30, Haymarket Cinema, Screen 1
Sunday 15 October 2017 15:00, Picturehouse Central, Screen 1
Gemini, 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: Jill (Lola Kirke) works as a personal assistant to bisexual movie star Heather (Zoë Kravitz), who has pissed off a lot of people. Jill is minder, manager and friend to the increasingly paranoid Heather. Their nights in gleaming Los Angeles are mostly filled with the crackling patter of off-the-chart Bechdel-test-passing dialogue. But when Jill’s gun becomes a murder weapon, she must turn amateur sleuth to clear her name. Rocking a ‘Katharine Hepburn gone golfing’ disguise, she eavesdrops in dive bars and modernist glass houses, while a philosophy-fixated detective (John Cho) is on her tail.
Starring: Lola Kirke, Zoë Kravitz, John Cho
When and where?:
Sunday 08 October 2017 18:00, Haymarket Cinema, Screen 1
Monday 09 October 2017 18:30, Hackney Picturehouse, Screen 1
Wednesday 11 October 2017 15:30, Vue Leicester Square Cinema, Screen 5
Strangled, 2016:
Official BFI synopsis: Seven years after a shocking murder, a killer strikes once again in the town of Martfü. Is it a copycat crime? Or is the wrong man in jail? Based on the true story of the Monster of Martfü, this chilling serial-killer drama uses a notorious murder spree of the late 1950s/early 1960s to paint a wider picture of Hungarian society.
Starring: Károly Hajduk, Péter Bárnai, Zsolt Anger
When and where?:
Monday 09 October 2017 20:45, Prince Charles Cinema, Downstairs Screen
Wednesday 11 October 2017 12:30, Vue Leicester Square Cinema, Screen 5
Cult:
Brawl In Cell Block 99, 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: Bradley, a former boxer-turned-mechanic is at a crossroads in his life. With his marriage on the rocks and his career well and truly in the gutter, he teams up with an old acquaintance for a stint as a drug courier. But while his risky new venture proves initially lucrative, a drug deal gone wrong sees him behind bars and set to face his toughest, most dangerous assignment yet. Be warned, the squeamish might want to look elsewhere. But for those made of sturdier stuff, this is one stretch well worth your time.
Starring: Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Carpenter, Don Johnson
When and where?:
Wednesday 11 October 2017 18:00, Haymarket Cinema, Screen 1
Thursday 12 October 2017 15:00, Haymarket Cinema, Screen 1
Friday 13 October 2017 18:00, Prince Charles Cinema, Downstairs Screen
The Cured, 2017:
The Cured – first look -> https://teaser-trailer.com/movie/the-cured/
#TheCured #TheCuredMovie #Zombies #EllenPage #TomVaughanLawlor
Official BFI synopsis: The walking dead get a second chance at life in this inventive and surprising post-zombie film from Ireland. Six years after a virus ravaged Europe and transformed the majority of its population into feral, zombie-like flesh eaters, a cure has been found. As the rehabilitated are transitioned back into society, they remain widely feared and are treated as second class citizens. When two friends, Senan and Connor, are released from quarantine, they experience the hardships of re-integration, leading Connor to take a stand against his oppressors.
Starring: Ellen Page, Sam Keeley, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor
When and where?:
Thursday 12 October 2017 18:15, Prince Charles Cinema, Downstairs Screen
Saturday 14 October 2017 18:15, Vue Leicester Square Cinema, Screen 5
My Friend Dahmer, 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: Long before gaining notoriety as one of America’s most prolific murderers, Jeffrey Dahmer seems to be just another adolescent outcast, awkwardly navigating his way through the everyday horrors of high school. But when his erratic behaviour attracts his schoolmates’ attention, he is goaded into performing increasingly outrageous acts. As his sexual desires develop, so too do his sociopathic tendencies, and slowly the teenager’s dark obsessions rise to the surface.
Starring: Ross Lynch, Anne Heche, Dallas Roberts
When and where?:
Saturday 07 October 2017 18:20, Prince Charles Cinema, Downstairs Screen
Sunday 08 October 2017 18:10, Hackney Picturehouse, Screen 1
Rift, 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: Late one night, Gunnar receives an unexpected call from his ex-boyfriend Einar. Worried about his former partner’s well-being, Gunnar makes the journey to visit Einar at his family home in a remote part of Iceland. Thrust together in the isolated surroundings, painful memories resurface between the two men. But as they attempt to lay the ghosts of their relationship to rest, there is the sense of a very real presence lurking in the shadows. As much a devastating examination of a relationship breakdown as it is a chillingly insidious supernatural nail-biter.
Starring: Björn Stefánsson, Sigurður Þór Óskarsson, Aðalbjörg Árnadóttir
When and where?:
Thursday 05 October 2017 20:45, Rich Mix Cinema, Screen 1
Saturday 07 October 2017 14:45, Curzon Mayfair Cinema, Screen 1
Sunday 08 October 2017 12:15, BFI Southbank, NFT3
Journey:
Wonderstruck, 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: Ben and Rose may be from very different worlds, but they have much in common. Both hearing-impaired, and both desperately unhappy, they each dream of a better life. In 1977, Ben’s life is turned upside down following the tragic death of his mother. All alone in the world, Ben discovers a note which might lead to his absent father’s whereabouts, and sets off on a mission to New York to find him. Meanwhile, in 1927, introverted Rose is obsessed with silent movie star Lillian Mayhew. Fleeing her neglectful father, she too ventures to the Big Apple to track down the famed actress. Once in the city, both youngsters are drawn to the American Museum of Natural History, where their seemingly disparate paths mysteriously intertwine.
Starring: Julianne Moore, Oakes Fegley, Millicent Simmonds, Jaden Michael, Cory Michael Smith, Tom Noonan
When and where?:
Thursday 05 October 2017 18:00, Embankment Garden Cinema
Friday 06 October 2017 11:00, Embankment Garden Cinema
Sunday 08 October 2017 12:30, Hackney Picturehouse, Screen 1
Abu, 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: A compelling documentary about a young Pakistani man’s difficulties in coping with migration and the resultant cultural change, his emerging sexuality and an increasingly orthodox father. Arshad Khan’s unique and moving documentary explores his fragmented family life. They moved from a happy existence in Pakistan to become struggling immigrants in Toronto. Arshad’s father, in particular, becomes increasingly conservative, embracing a religious dogma and its accompanying practices. As for Arshad, he faces prejudice, an increasingly tense relationship at home and struggles with his sexuality, before finally embracing an identity that is Pakistani, Canadian and queer.
When and where?:
Friday 13 October 2017 18:30, Curzon Soho Cinema, Screen 1
Saturday 14 October 2017 15:30, BFI Southbank, NFT2
Promised Land, 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: This mesmerising and memorable documentary road trip, in a Rolls Royce once owned by Elvis, compares the King’s USA to life in Trump’s America. A picaresque exploration of modern day America, Promised Land depicts the life and mythology surrounding musical icon Elvis Presley, in order to shine a light on the post-Obama, early-Trump state of the Union.
When and where?:
Wednesday 11 October 2017 18:15, Picturehouse Central, Screen 1
Thursday 12 October 2017 18:15, Hackney Picturehouse, Screen 1
Ravens, 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: Although close to nature and revelling in the discoveries it holds, young Klas’ hopes and expectations lie far beyond the limited possibilites of his family’s small rural world. Like the migrating birds he loves to study, Klas dreams of escaping the Swedish countryside. However, his father Agne is resigned to a role he never wanted – that of a farmer. Beaten down by disappointment, relentless hard work and a creeping sense that someone wants to harm his livelihood, a madness begins to consume Agne.
Starring: Reine Brynolfsson, Maria Heiskanen, Jacob Nordström
When and where?:
Sunday 08 October 2017 21:15, Vue Leicester Square Cinema, Screen 5
Monday 09 October 2017 15:15, Vue Leicester Square Cinema, Screen 5
Create:
Loving Vincent, 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: Created in the style of van Gogh’s paintings, this much-anticipated animation matches its extraordinary style with richly satisfying storytelling. A young man has a letter to deliver to Theo van Gogh – one of the final letters Vincent wrote before taking his life. Curious about its contents, he embarks on a journey to meet the people Vincent knew in the months prior to that fateful moment.
Starring: Douglas Booth, Robert Gulaczyk, Saoirse Ronan
When and where?:
Monday 09 October 2017 19:00, National Gallery
Tuesday 10 October 2017 12:30, Haymarket Cinema, Screen 1
Professor Marston & The Wonder Women, 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: The mind-blowing backstory of Wonder Woman creator Dr William Moulton Marston and the two women who almost certainly inspired her. In 1941, psychologist Marston (Luke Evans) pseudo-nymously published Wonder Woman as ‘propaganda for a new type of woman who should rule the world’. Marston’s secret, kept from his neighbours in their quiet suburban enclave, is that he lived in a long-term polyamorous relationship with two women. One was Olive Byrne (Bella Heathcote), niece of famous suffragette Margaret Sanger. And then there was his wife, fellow psychologist and lawyer Elizabeth (Rebecca Hall). Robinson’s film seductively imagines the years leading up to the emergence of the comic superheroine: the trio’s love story, their link to early feminism and their interest in sadomasochistic play.
Starring: Luke Evans, Rebecca Hall, Bella Heathcote
When and where?:
Tuesday 10 October 2017 21:00, Haymarket Cinema, Screen 1
Thursday 12 October 2017 12:15, Haymarket Cinema, Screen 1
Sunday 15 October 2017 20:45, Hackney Picturehouse, Screen 1
Reinventing Marvin, 2016:
Official BFI synopsis: Marvin Bijou (rising French star Finnegan Oldfield), a young boy from a working-class family in a small French village, suffers constant bullying at school and home for being ‘different’ – too sensitive and too feminine. A chance encounter with a drama teacher opens the doors to a world that offers him the chance to escape his situation. Following Marvin into his mid-twenties as a theatre student in Paris, Fontaine presents a richly layered tale about identity building and transformation.
Starring: Finnegan Oldfield, Isabelle Huppert, Grégory Gadebois
When and where?:
Monday 09 October 2017 18:15, Cine Lumiere
Wednesday 11 October 2017 21:00, Vue Leicester Square Cinema, Screen 5
Friday 13 October 2017 12:30, Haymarket Cinema, Screen 1
24 Frames:
Official BFI synopsis: Before his untimely death, Kiarostami embarked on a highly personal project, uniting painting, photography and film: a series of four-and-a-half minute shorts bringing still images to life with animation and sound. Posthumously assembled by his son Ahmad, the results display the Iranian’s favourite visual motifs: snow, trees, birds, animals, water, the wind; even people (memorably, six tourists in Paris). The compilation begins with Bruegel’s Hunters in the Snow, which slowly begins to show small, subtle signs of life; thereafter Kiarostami’s own photos provide the starting points for animated tableaux which are in turn playful, lyrical, funny, enigmatic and, finally, very moving.
When and where?:
Wednesday 11 October 2017 18:15, Curzon Mayfair Cinema, Screen 1
Friday 13 October 2017 15:30, BFI Southbank, NFT2
Family:
The Big Bad Fox And Other Tales, 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: This charming trio of farmyard tales introduces us to a world of animals with identity issues, who are unable to fit into traditional roles in the pecking order and are constantly trying to outsmart each other. ‘A Baby to Deliver’ sees a rabbit, pig and duck delivering a new-born baby for a stork, only to discover what a huge responsibility it is. In ‘The Big Bad Fox’, the eponymous villain’s plan to steal eggs backfires when his dinner – the newly hatched baby chicks – believe he is their mother. And in ‘The Perfect Christmas’, animals take on a frantic mission to find a new Santa Claus.
Starring: Guillaume Darnault, Damien Wietecka, Kamel Abdelssadok
When and where?:
Saturday 14 October 2017 12:30, BFI Southbank, NFT1
Sunday 15 October 2017 12:00, Vue Leicester Square Cinema, Screen 7
Cloudboy, 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: Against his wishes, 12-year-old Niilas is sent away to spend the summer with his estranged mother in Swedish Lapland, among the indigenous reindeer-herding Sami people. Meeting his other family is initially overwhelming, particularly when he is missing his father and home in Belgium. So he resolves to leave as soon as he can. His erratic behaviour results in some alarming near misses, but before long he begins to understand that for all the beauty on display in the natural world there are as many dangers that lurk within it. When a reindeer calf and its mother are separated, he embarks on an ill-advised ‘against the clock’ search, which ultimately forces him to rethink his own relationships with those around him.
Starring: Daan Roofthooft, Sara Sommerfeld, Ayla Gáren Audhild Nutti
When and where?:
Saturday 07 October 2017 15:00, BFI Southbank, NFT2
Ivan Tsarevitch And The Changing Princess, 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: Michel Ocelot brings four fairy tales to life using his sophisticated signature silhouette style. In ‘The Mistress of Monsters’, a girl squares up to the creatures that keep her society in fear. ‘The Sorcerer’s Pupil’ features a smart Persian boy who becomes an apprentice to a powerful magician with a sinister ulterior motive for hiring him. ‘The Ships Boy and His Cat’ follows a boy bonded to a pirate ship who finds his opportunity to trump its cruel captain when they stop in India. Finally, ‘Ivan Tsarevitch and the Changing Princess’ depicts a frantic journey through a kingdom to try and save the life of the Tsar.
Starring: Yves Barsacq, Marine Griset, Julien Beramis
When and where?:
Saturday 07 October 2017 13:00, Cine Lumiere
Liyana, 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: In this tale-within-a-tale, the orphans invent a character drawn from their own experience. Their character, Liyana, is a brave and strong girl who lives in a thatched hut with her mother, father and two brothers. Their story never shies away from pain and loss – her father often comes home drunk and is unfaithful to her mother. The tragedy is that he contracts HIV, passing it on to Liyana’s mother.
Starring: Gcina Mhlophe
When and where?:
Saturday 07 October 2017 15:30, Curzon Soho Cinema, Screen 1
Monday 09 October 2017 13:30, BFI Southbank, NFT3
Experimenta:
Dead The Ends, 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: Bookended by the 2011 London riots, Seymour’s dramatically, politically urgent new film, making its world premiere at the LFF, retells the story of Chris Marker’s La Jetée. A man has been sent back into the past as a way of rescuing the future, his tale told by way of the Narrator who riffs on familiar film dialogue and contemporary references – unpicking the political implications of his journey and our retro obsessions. A collage, narrative, essay film hybrid, Dead the Ends, plunders some fifty years of cinema – including dystopian sci-fi – and uses emojis and gifs as ways of exploring the undercurrents of historical and current visual language, as well as present entrenched, systemic inequality.
When and where?:
Tuesday 10 October 2017 20:45, ICA Cinema, Screen 1
Sunday 15 October 2017 16:00, Rich Mix Cinema, Screen 1
Hemlock Forest, 2016:
Official BFI synopsis: A profoundly personal essay film, reflecting on the value of a life lived versus a life recorded and inspired by the work of influential Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman. Moyra Davey examines her own artistic strategies alongside the work of Karl Ove Knausgård and Akerman. During the making of the film, Akerman took her own life. The filmmaker’s unexpected death soon engulfed Davey’s awareness, prompting a broader exploration of Akerman’s and her own biographies, amidst more universal themes of compulsion, artistic production, life and its passing.
When and where?:
Friday 06 October 2017 18:30, BFI Southbank, NFT3
The Pure Necessity, 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: A hypnotic and lyrical reworking of The Jungle Book, that removes its anthropomorphism and its human characters to give the animals back their dignity. The artist redrew all the animated animals and deconstructed the narrative arc to render it eventless, thus giving the impression of watching the animals in their natural surroundings and unaware of any human presence. The effect is one of rekindling a fond memory of childhood, but with the shades of commercial and cultural exploitation removed.
When and where?:
Saturday 14 October 2017 21:20, BFI Southbank, NFT3
Spite Your Face, 2017:
Official BFI synopsis: Simultaneously sumptuous and gorgeous, garish and grim, this is a re-working of Pinocchio for the neo-liberal era. Rachel Maclean’s dark fairytale, that represented Scotland at the Venice Biennale, depicts a brash and baroque binary world of poverty and riches where the prospect of easy wealth tempts even good boys like Pip into bad ways. But if everyone believes the lie, what’s the problem?
When and where?:
Sunday 08 October 2017 21:00, BFI Southbank, NFT3
Treasures:
Shiraz: A Romance Of India, 1928:
Official BFI synopsis: Shiraz is based on the story of the 17th century Mughal ruler Shah Jahan, his queen and the building of the world’s most beautiful monument to love, the Taj Mahal. Shot entirely on location in India, it features lavish costumes and gorgeous settings, including the extraordinary fort at Agra. This remarkable UK-Indian-German co-production was wholly Indian in conception: the brainchild of star and producer Himansu Rai, based on a play by Niranjan Pal and performed by an all-Indian cast. Rai himself plays humble potter Shiraz, who follows his childhood sweetheart Selima (Enakshi Rama Rau) when she is sold by slave traders to the future emperor (Charu Roy). Selima catches the eye of the prince, but finds a bitter rival in an ambitious favourite (Seeta Devi) from his harem. Shiraz, meanwhile, is fated to design the queen’s iconic mausoleum.
Starring: Himansu Rai, Enakshi Rama Rau, Charu Roy
When and where?:
Saturday 14 October 2017 20:00, Barbican
Funeral Parade Of Roses, 1969:
Official BFI synopsis: Trans actor Peter, so memorable as the androgynous Fool in Kurosawa’s Ran, here plays Eddie (more than a passing reference to Edie Sedgwick), one of the most desired hostesses at Bar Genet. Her tryst with the bar’s owner infuriates his main squeeze and the bar’s domineering drag queen-cum-matriarch Leda, ultimately leading to violence.
Starring: Peter, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Osamu Ogasawara
When and where?:
Friday 13 October 2017 20:45, ICA Cinema, Screen 1
Sunday 15 October 2017 20:30, Haymarket Cinema, Screen 1
The L-Shaped Room, 1962:
Official BFI synopsis: Arriving at her dingy Notting Hill lodgings to have her child in secret, Jane finds love and friendship among the residents, an assortment of outsiders brought to life by Forbes’ sensitive ear for dialogue. Especially moving is Cicely Courtneidge as a faded music hall star growing old alone and Pat Phoenix’s portrayal of a tart with a heart.
Starring: Leslie Caron, Tom Bell, Brock Peters
When and where?:
Saturday 14 October 2017 12:30, BFI Southbank, NFT3
Sunday 15 October 2017 18:10, BFI Southbank, NFT3
Saturday Night Fever, 1977:
Official BFI synopsis: Tony Manero (Travolta), is an angry teenage Italian-American Brooklynite who spends his evenings dancing at a local nightclub (feeling it is his only chance to succeed is as the king of the disco). He attends with his arrogant would-be girlfriend and dance partner Stephanie. Also there is his unrequited love interest Annette, along with their various friends and acquaintances. But the film has a darker side. The club helps Manero forget the reality of his depressingly bleak life, littered with racism and violence.
Starring: John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney, Barry Miller
When and where?:
Saturday 07 October 2017 20:45, Vue Leicester Square Cinema, Screen 7
Saturday 14 October 2017 21:00, Vue Leicester Square Cinema, Screen 5
In summary, there’s plenty to watch so make sure you’re ready on 14th September at 10am when tickets go on sale!
