Film4 scores three Gala slots at BFI London Film Festival

Six Film4 productions will receive their UK premieres as part of the BFI London Film Festival, which unveiled the line-up for its 62nd edition this morning. UK audiences can look forward to their first glimpse of new work from regular Film4 filmmakers Steve McQueen, Yorgos Lanthimos and Mike Leigh, following prestigious berths elsewhere on the autumn festival circuit.

Academy Award® winner Steve McQueen’s Widows, a complex thriller about a group of women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands’ criminal activities, had already been announced as the Festival’s Opening Night Gala. The film’s star-studded cast includes Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo, Colin Farrell, Daniel Kaluuya, Jacki Weaver, Robert Duvall and Liam Neeson. Widows receives its World Premiere as a Gala Presentation at the Toronto Film Festival and is Film4’s fourth collaboration with McQueen following Hunger, Shame and the multi-award-winning 12 Years a Slave.

The Favourite, directed by Academy Award® nominee Yorgos Lanthimos and starring Olivia Colman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz, had already been announced as this year’s American Express Gala. Film4’s third collaboration with Lanthimos following The Lobster and last year’s LFF Headline Gala The Killing of a Sacred Deer receives its World Premiere tonight at the Venice Film Festival and has also been selected at Telluride and as Opening Night Gala of the New York Film Festival.

Newly announced this morning as the LFF’s Festival Gala is Wild Rose. Featuring a star-making turn in the lead role from Jessie Buckley, alongside Julie Walters, Sophie Okonedo and James Harkness, the film from director Tom Harper and writer Nicole Taylor tells the story of Rose-Lynn Harlan, a wannabe country singer fresh out of jail balancing her dreams of stardom with the needs of her young family. Wild Rose receives its World Premiere at Toronto.

Also announced this morning is the World Premiere of Been So Long, a neon-soaked, modern-day musical set on the streets of Camden Town starring Michaela Coel and Arinzé Kene. Directed by BAFTA winner Tinge Krishnan and based on a stage play by Ché Walker and Arthur Darvill, the film features a diverse soundtrack of RnB and Nu Soul music and a supporting cast that includes Ronke Adekoluejo, Joe Dempsie, Luke Norris and George MacKay. The film is a LFF Special Presentation.

Mike Leigh’s Peterloo had already been announced as the LFF’s first ever premiere outside London. The UK Premiere (Special Presentation) will take place at HOME in Manchester on Wednesday 17 October, followed by a Q&A with Leigh and members of the cast which will be simulcast to cinemas around the UK, offering audiences in Manchester and nationwide the opportunity to preview a major release with Manchester’s history at its forefront. Film4’s ninth film with Mike Leigh screens at Venice, Telluride and Toronto en route to London.

Finally from Film4, short film Naptha from writer/director Moin Hussain will premiere in the festival’s London Calling strand. The film tells the story of Faraz, who lives and works in a petrol station with his ageing father Malik, whose increasingly bizarre behaviour is causing them to drift apart.

Director of Film4 Daniel Battsek comments: “We’re incredibly proud to see these films, which embody so much of what Film4 stands for, selected in prominent slots by the prestigious autumn film festivals. We look forward to supporting our filmmakers through the festival season and onwards towards release.”

Three films commissioned by Channel 4’s experimental short form strand Random Acts have also been selected to screen at the BFI London Film Festival: Entitled, a fantasy documentary from director Adeyemi Michael starring the director’s mother Abosede Ajao screens in the festival’s Create short film programme; Right Place, Wrong Tim from writer/director Eros Vlahos starring Asa Butterfield, Adam Buxton and Ella Purnell will show in the Cult section; and Taking Stock from Duncan Cowles, about the perils of freelance filmmaking will play in Laugh.

The final Film4 production on the autumn festival circuit is Pawel Pawlikowski’s Cold War. Fresh from its Best Director win at the Cannes Film Festival and a huge box office success already in Poland, the film has been selected to screen at Telluride, Toronto and the New York Film Festival. Cold War opens at UK cinemas tomorrow through Curzon.

The 60th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express® 5-16 October 2016

LONDON – May 4th 2016, 10am: Following a successful six year collaboration, the BFI London Film Festival (LFF) and American Express today announce a continuation of their partnership, which will see American Express remain as Principal Sponsor and Preferred Payment Partner.
Over the last six years the LFF has gone from strength to strength and has seen a steady growth in audience numbers following the implementation of a new strategic and creative direction under Festival Director, Clare Stewart. Her innovative approach to programming has been coupled with an expanded footprint of venues across London.

In addition, support from American Express has helped to drive the reach of the Festival across the UK with the nationwide cinecast of Opening Night galas including the European premieres of Suffragette (2015), The Imitation Game (2014), Captain Phillips (2013) andFrankenweenie (2012). The company has also presented some of the LFF's biggest and most significant gala screenings: Carol (2015),Foxcatcher (2014), Philomena (2013) the World Premiere of Rolling Stones documentaryCrossfire Hurricane (2012) which was simulcast to cinemas across Europe, as well as the Oscar®-winning film The King's Speech(2010).

As corner stone of the partnership, American Express Cardmembers have received a 48 hour priority booking period before tickets become available to the general public through the American Express Invites programme.

The partnership has previously been amplified through a variety of creative, cross-platform programmes including red carpet reportage, a PR and social media activation themed around film trivia, a photography-led campaign which paid homage to trailblazing women of film and an annual Evening Standard supplement featuring festival news and highlights.

BFI CEO, Amanda Nevill said: "So much of what we do is made possible through great partnerships and I want to acknowledge and thank American Express for their continued support as the BFI London Film Festival's long-standing Principal Sponsor."

Clare Stewart, Festival Director said:"American Express is as passionate about great film as we are and their support has enabled the BFI London Film Festival to be creative, ambitious and continue to grow. Whether it's through their presentation of some of our headline films, or working with us to develop and expand our reach, they are true partners – committed to profiling British and international filmmakers and to delivering great experiences for audiences."

Heather Laverne, Vice President of Partnerships, American Express said: "We are delighted to continue as the Principal Sponsor of the BFI London Film Festival and look forward to building on the strong foundations laid over the last six years. We remain committed to celebrating home-grown talent and offering great cinematic experiences to audiences across the UK."

EUROPEAN PREMIERE OF STEVE JOBS TO CLOSE THE 59TH BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL

LONDON, Thursday 6 August, 2015:  The 59th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express® is delighted to announce that this year’s Closing Night film will be STEVE JOBS.

Working from Walter Isaacson’s best-selling biography, STEVE JOBS is directed by Academy Award winner Danny Boyle and written by Academy Award winner Aaron Sorkin. The film takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution to create a revealing portrait of the man at its epicentre. STEVE JOBS stars Michael Fassbender in the title role, Academy Award® winner Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Jeff Daniels, Michael  Stuhlbarg, and Katherine Waterston.  Boyle, Fassbender and Winslet will attend the Closing Night Gala, which marks the film’s European Premiere, on Sunday October 18 at the Odeon Leicester Square. STEVE JOBS is the third film directed by Boyle to close the BFI London Film Festival, following SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (2008) and 127 HOURS (2010).

Spanning a period of 14 years between 1984 and 1998 the story is built around three seminal product launches — of the Macintosh in 1984, the NeXT ‘Cube’ in 1988 and the iMac in 1998 — and it uses this innovative structure to create a cross-hatched portrait of Jobs’ life and to tell the story of the new mass-market technologies that have revolutionised how we communicate with one another.

Clare Stewart, BFI London Film Festival Director, comments:  We are thrilled to announce that STEVE JOBS will be this year’s BFI London Film Festival Closing Night gala.  Danny Boyle has created an exhilarating and audacious film starring Michael Fassbender as the complex, charismatic digital pioneer.

Director Danny Boyle, says:  If London was the cradle of the Industrial Revolution then San Francisco is the Bethlehem of the digital one. We had a brilliant time making this movie in Silicon Valley and I hope Londoners will enjoy a behind-the-scenes look into the making of the modern world. It's always special to bring work home so thanks to BFI London Film Festival for their continued support.

In addition to Fassbender and Winslet, the film stars Seth Rogen as Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple, and Jeff Daniels as John Sculley, the former Apple CEO. The principal cast also includes Katherine Waterston as Chrisann Brennan, Jobs’ ex-girlfriend, and Michael Stuhlbarg as Andy Hertzfeld, one of the original members of the Apple Macintosh development team.

The producers are Mark Gordon, Guymon Casady, Scott Rudin, Boyle, and Christian Colson.  Universal Pictures release the film in cinemas across UK and Eire on 13 November, 2015.  

Universal Pictures and Legendary Pictures present—A Scott Rudin/Mark Gordon Company/Entertainment 360/Decibel Films/Cloud Eight Films production of a Danny Boyle film: Michael Fassbender in STEVE JOBS, starring Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Jeff Daniels, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Katherine Waterston.  The music is by Daniel Pemberton, and the costume designer is Suttirat Larlarb.  The film’s editor is Elliot Graham, ACE, and its production designer is Guy Hendrix Dyas.  STEVE JOBS’ director of photography is Alwin Küchler, BSC, and its executive producers are Bernard Bellew, Bryan Zuriff, Eli Bush.  The drama’s producers are Mark Gordon, Guymon Casady, Scott Rudin, Danny Boyle, Christian Colson, and it is based on the book by Walter Isaacson.  The film’s screenplay is by Aaron Sorkin, and it is directed by Danny Boyle.  ©2015 Universal Studios.  www.stevejobsthefilm.com

The 59th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express® runs from Wednesday 7 October-Sunday 18 October 2015.   The full programme for the Festival will be announced on Tuesday 1 September 2015.