December 2019 at BFI Southbank, Including BFI Musicals, Festive Screenings and the Work of Med Hondo
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December 2019 at BFI Southbank, including BFI Musicals, Festive screenings and the work of Med Hondo TALENT ONSTAGE AT BFI SOUTHBANK THIS MONTH INCLUDES: DIRECTOR NOAH BAUMBACH (MARRIAGE STORY) DIRECTOR TIM BURTON (EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, BATMAN) DAVID WALLIAMS (CINDERELLA AFTER EVER AFTER) ACTOR IMELDA STAUNTON (VERA DRAKE, PRIDE) THE CLASH’S MICK JONES, TOPPER HEADON AND PAUL SIMONON & DIRECTOR DON LETTS (THE CLASH: WESTWAY TO THE WORLD) WRITER MARK GATISS (DRACULA and MARTIN’S CLOSE) WRITER STEVEN MOFFAT, ACTOR CLAES BANG & EXECUTIVE PRODUCER SUE VERTUE (DRACULA) ACTOR TOMMY STEELE (HALF A SIXPENCE, FINIAN’S RAINBOW), PATRICIA WARD KELLY (WIFE AND BIOGRAPHER OF GENE KELLY) DIRECTOR JOHN PILGER (THE DIRTY WAR ON THE NHS, THE WAR ON DEMOCRACY) COMEDIANS BRETT GOLDSTEIN AND NISH KUMAR WEST END STAR KERRY ELLIS (WICKED, WE WILL ROCK YOU) Film previews and premieres: THE DIRTY WAR ON THE NHS (John Pilger, 2019), CLEANING UP THE TOWN: REMEMBERING GHOSTBUSTERS (Anthony Bueno, 2019), MARRIAGE STORY (Noah Baumbach, 2019), WEATHERING WITH YOU (Makoto Shinkai, 2019), THE END OF THE SEASON (Konstantin Khudyakov, 2019), I AM (NOT) A MONSTER (Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian, 2019), FIDDLER: A MIRACLE OF MIRACLES (Max Lewkowicz, 2019) TV previews: DRACULA (BBC One-Netflix-Hartswood Films, 2019), MARTIN’S CLOSE (BBC Four-Can Do Productions-Adorable Media, 2019), CINDERELLA AFTER EVER AFTER (Sky One-King Bert Productions, 2019), THE TIGER WHO CAME TO TEA (Channel 4-Lupus Films, 2019) New and Re-Releases: THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG LES PARAPLUIES DE CHERBOURG (Jacques Demy, 1964), TOMMY (Ken Russell, 1975), EYES WIDE SHUT (Stanley Kubrick, 1999), THE CAVE (Feras Fayyad, 2019), SO LONG, MY SON DI JIU TIAN CHANG (Wang Xiaoshuai, 2019) Wednesday 23 October 2019, London. This December BFI Southbank has a packed festive programme including seasonal TV previews from David Walliams and Mark Gatiss, a host of Christmas film favourites, from It’s a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946) and Gremlins (Joe Dante, 1984) to White Christmas (Michael Curtiz, 1953) and The Muppet Christmas Carol (Brian Henson, 1992), plus a look at the most British of Christmas traditions, the Christmas Panto. BFI MUSICALS! THE GREATEST SHOW ON SCREEN continues in December with special guests including Imelda Staunton, Tommy Steele and Kerry Ellis and BFI re-releases of Ken Russell’s bold and brilliant Tommy (1975) and Jacques Demy’s sublime all-sung tale of first love The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964). This month also sees the culmination of BFI Southbank’s MAURICE PIALAT season, in partnership with Sight & Sound and a short season dedicated to work of Mauritanian-born actor, director and producer MED HONDO. Following its premiere at this year’s BFI London Film Festival, BFI Southbank will preview Marriage Story (2019), the latest film from the indie-darling Noah Baumbach. The screening of Baumbach’s poignant, unmissable film on Thursday 5 December will be followed by a Q&A with the director. On Monday 2 December renowned BAFTA and Emmy-winning filmmaker and journalist John Pilger will introduce the World Premiere of his new documentary The Dirty War on the NHS (2019), in which he investigates the dismantling ‘by stealth’ of the NHS ‘a last bastion of true public service’. Other film previews in December include the new film from Makoto Shinkai (Your Name) Weathering With You (2019) on Tuesday 10 December and on Thursday 12 December Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian’s I Am (Not) a Monster (2019), which played in the Documentary Competition at this year’s BFI London Film Festival. Russian Film Week returns to BFI Southbank for its Closing Night film on Sunday 1 December; The End of the Season (Konstantin Khudyakov, 2019), is inspired by Chekov’s play Three Sisters, and tells a story of three sisters who, as the USSR collapses, find themselves living in a small Baltic town. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers, with talent to be announced soon. Mark Kermode Live in 3D at the BFI will have its last 2019 edition on Monday 16 December, while Brett Goldstein and special guest Nish Kumar will celebrate the end of 2019 with a Films to Be Buried With: End of Decade Christmas Special on Thursday 19 December. Edith Bowman’s Soundtracking podcast also returns to BFI Southbank for a live event on Friday 6 December, with special guest, director Tim Burton. Burton will talk in depth about his work and the importance of music in his films, including how he came to collaborate with composer Danny Elfman, a partnership that has produced 16 films-and-counting. There will also be a screening of a surprise film, which Burton has chosen to screen following the on-stage conversation. Also in December will be the previously announced screening of The Clash: Westway to the World (Don Letts, 2000), followed by a Q&A with the director and members of The Clash – Mick Jones, Topper Headon and Paul Simonon. Other special events in December will include, on Tuesday 3 December, a 35th anniversary screening of Ghostbusters (Ivan Reitman, 1984) at the BFI IMAX, followed by a premiere of Cleanin’ Up the Town: Remembering Ghostbusters (Anthony Bueno, 2019), a fascinating and funny documentary which took 12 years to make. Cleanin’ Up the Town charts the production of Ghostbusters through insightful interviews with the main cast and crew, and includes never- before-seen archive material from the personal collections of the creative team. Completing the events line-up for December is a TV preview of BBC One’s new mini-series Dracula (BBC One-Netflix-Hartswood Films, 2019) on Monday 9 December with special guests writers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, actor Claes Bang and executive producer Sue Vertue all taking part in a Q&A following a screening of the first episode. Extended runs in December will include The Cave (2019), Feras Fayyad’s powerful film about the experiences of the heroic women (literally) hidden below the surface of the Syrian Civil War; So Long, My Son (Wang Xiaoshuai, 2019), an absorbing family chronicle that spans four decades, from the 1980s to the cosmopolitan present; and a re-release of Kubrick’s final film Eyes Wide Shut (1999), an incredible display of precision and suspense, featuring a fragile relationship played out by (then) real-life couple Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise. FESTIVE SCREENINGS AND EVENTS AT BFI SOUTHBANK THIS DECEMBER This December BFI Southbank has a range of festive screenings for all the family, from classic Christmas musicals and chilling ghost stories, to family-friendly fun and corny, slapstick pantomimes. David Walliams’ is fast becoming synonymous with the Christmas TV schedules, and this year is no exception; on Saturday 14 December there will be a preview of his latest offering Cinderella After Ever After (Sky One-King Bert Productions, 2019) which he co-writes and stars in alongside Sian Gibson. In this comic Christmas special, we go back to the world of Cinderella, the royal family, her evil stepmother and the ugly sisters to discover what happened after the fairy tale ended. The preview on Saturday 14 December will be followed by a Q&A with David Walliams. Audiences will also be able to get their traditional seasonal fix of terror with BBC Four’s latest Ghost Story for Christmas adapted and directed by Mark Gatiss. On Wednesday 11 December there will be a TV preview of Martin’s Close (BBC Four-Can Do Productions- Adorable Media, 2019) followed by a Q&A with Mark Gatiss and members of the cast. BFI Southbank has a classic line-up of Christmas movies this year, many of which are part of BFI Musicals! The Greatest Show on Screen. One of the great musical masterpieces, Meet Me In St Louis (Vincente Minnelli, 1944) is a genuinely heart-warming delight. Although set in the early 1900s, it captures the hopes and anxieties of America during WWII, with Judy Garland as its emotional centre; vivacious in the deliriously enjoyable ‘Trolley Song’ and deeply tender in ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’. Other festive musicals screening will be the uplifting seasonal favourite White Christmas (Michael Curtiz, 1953), the irresistibly funny The Muppet Christmas Carol (Brian Henson, 1992) and stop-motion classic The Nightmare Before Christmas (Henry Selick, 1993). It wouldn’t be Christmas without It’s a Wonderful Life (1946); Frank Capra’s beautifully crafted film, starring the utterly charming James Stewart, returns to BFI Southbank from Friday 20 December until the New Year. Also screening will be Scrooge (Brian Desmond Hurst, 1951), with the great Alastair Sim as miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, the most recent film adaptation of The Grinch (Yarrow Cheney, Scott Mosier, 2018) with Benedict Cumberbatch and Rashida Jones and Joe Dante’s cult hit Gremlins (Joe Dante, 1984), which will screen in a new 4K digital restoration. Tuesday 3 December sees the return of the Members’ Festive Evening for BFI Members and their guests; this popular annual event will offer BFI Members a festive drink, some seasonal treats, special entertainment and 20% off in the BFI Shop and will be a followed by a screening of the perennially popular Home Alone (Chris Columbus, 1990). Festive gift ideas from the BFI Shop will be released soon, featuring quirky gifts, BFI boxsets and perfect stocking-fillers for film fans. On Sunday 8 December there will be a festive-themed workshop for children and grown-ups to make magical stop-motion animated festive greetings to send to their loved ones; Christmas Move It! Family Animators is suitable for children of all ages, accompanied by an adult. Audiences can also explore the digital collections of the BFI National Archive in the free Mediatheque with specially curated collections including Santa’s Grotto, a collection dedicated to all things festive and kitsch, bursting at the seams like an overstuffed stocking.