2 – 13 OCTOBER bfi.org.uk/lff From 2-13 October the world’s best new films come to London. With 345 films to choose from, there’s a lot to explore – CONTENTS HOW TO #LFF here’s our guide to getting the most from the Festival. WHAT’S THE FESTIVAL LIKE? WHAT SHOULD I WATCH? HEADLINE GALAS 09 THE FILMS STRAND GALAS 16 #LFF is your chance to discover the Oscar winners of the future, the most thrilling new talent 22 from across the globe, and beautifully restored SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS treasures from the archives. Every film screening 29 at the Festival is hand-picked by our team of COMPETITIONS programmers, and all features are being shown in the UK for the first – and sometimes the only – time. LOVE 45 Films don’t get fresher than this! GALAS DEBATE 53 THE VENUES Our Galas are star studded premieres of some of We have 12 fabulous venues across Central the most anticipated films of the year. The Gala 61 London, each with an atmosphere and buzz all screenings are the first two screenings listed for LAUGH of its own. Head down to our social hub at BFI Headline Gala films and the first screening of other Southbank for free events and Festival chat, Gala films. Headline Galas at Odeon Luxe Leicester DARE 65 or discover our state of the art pop-up venue, Square offer the chance to walk the red carpet (and Embankment Garden Cinema. you can still watch the action even if you miss out THRILL 73 See pull-out schedule on tickets). There’s no dress code for Galas but feel free to don your glad rags or whatever makes 77 you happy! CULT See p9 JOURNEY 81 COMPETITIONS The Festival competitions bring together the most CREATE 89 innovative, groundbreaking new films from across the world. Our judges will be deliberating over 93 the course of the Festival and you can catch the EXPERIMENTA winning films at special surprise screenings on 100 Saturday 12 October. FAMILY THE FILMMAKERS See p29 Each year hundreds of leading directors, writers and TREASURES 103 actors join us on stage to introduce their films and STRANDS take part in audience Q&As. Our Screen Talks and How would you like to feel? Whether you’re after a EDUCATION & INDUSTRY 107 LFF Connects events are a chance to hear from laugh or some thrills, choose a strand and you’ll find the world’s top creative talent. Keep an eye on the our programmers’ carefully calibrated suggestions 108 website for announcements of all guests and events. to get your emotions stirring. EVENTS See p108 See p45 INDEX OF FILM TITLES 110 PULL-OUT SECTION SCHEDULE & TICKETS Jump to the middle for a pull-out schedule for the whole Festival as well as all the essential information on how to book. HOW DO I GET A TICKET? See the pull-out schedule for pricing, ticket types and booking dates. BOOKING ACCESS TICKETS Tickets go on sale on 12 Sep. Some films will sell We want everyone to enjoy the best new films. Dig a little deeper with our curated Passes: out quickly, but don’t despair – more tickets are Accessible screenings are marked throughout get 3 tickets for £30 on hidden gems from released for many titles on 26 Sep. You can also the brochure and schedule and detailed across the programme with our Discovery get returned tickets on the door so it’s always information on accessing our venues on the Passes, and 3 tickets for £21 on Experimenta worth trying your luck. Becoming a BFI Member website. If you have any questions, please screenings. We offer a range of concession is a great way to get ahead of the queue, with get in touch with our Box Office at tickets and under 25’s can get £5 tickets priority booking before tickets go on sale. [email protected] or 020 7960 2102 on the door, with advanced booking available on selected screenings. 3 INTRODUCTION “If it’s mentionable, it’s manageable.” Boldness is notable this year in other ways, particularly commendable Those are words spoken by Fred Rogers in in a number of risk-taking debuts with filmmakers bringing Marielle Heller’s extraordinary A Beautiful Day uncompromising directorial voices to their first features: Mati Diop’s in the Neighbourhood. Like all good art, cinema Atlantics, Joe Talbot’s The Last Black Man in San Francisco and the helps us make sense of the world we live in. UK’s own Rose Glass and Billie Piper with, respectively, the singular And this year, filmmakers are tackling burning Saint Maud and the bitter, funny Rare Beasts. issues of our time – often in surprising ways. Indeed, it’s been an extraordinary year for UK debuts in general: This has often been true of non-fiction filmmaking Calm with Horses, County Lines, The Deathless Woman, and there are urgent works among the 42 documentaries screening Days of the Bagnold Summer, Lynn + Lucy, Make Up, Nocturnal, in 2019, including Feras Fayyad’s Syrian-set The Cave, and Sung-A Perfect 10, Pink Wall, Real, The Street, White Riot and Walking with Yoon’s Overseas, which details the exploitation of migrant workers. Shadows. Our programming team has been hugely impressed While in fiction, Haifaa Al Mansour’s The Perfect Candidate explores by the diverse work from a new generation of filmmakers who the power of local politics changing one mind at a time; Julius Onah’s reside in the UK. They join a thrilling international selection of work Luce presents an ingenious dark drama tackling racial bias, and the from 75 countries around the world. emergent activists in Rubaiyat Hossain’s Made in Bangladesh take On behalf of the programming team, I welcome you to the on deathly conditions in a Dhaka garment factory. No less vividly 63rd BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express. imaginative, other films incorporate wild irreverence and riotous We hope you will be as shaken and stirred, provoked, astounded energy, such as Michael Winterbottom’s Greed, a sharp-tongued and electrified by the cinema here as we have been. corporate satire; Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles’ Tricia Tuttle anarchic, bloody socio-political Western Bacurau; Mirrah Foulkes’ Festival Director, startling feminist fable Judy & Punch and Taika Waititi’s brilliant BFI London Film Festival anti-nationalist, anti-racist satire Jojo Rabbit. RARE BEASTS JOJO RABBIT MADE IN BANGLADESH The UK has always offered a welcoming platform for international artists and We are proud to partner with the storytellers, and none more so than the BFI London Film Festival. It is a time when BFI London Film Festival for the filmmakers from every corner of the world gather here, among them some of the tenth consecutive year, world’s greatest names in cinema, alongside those at the very beginning of their giving cinema lovers, including careers. All of them share a common purpose which is to present their new work our Cardmembers, access to to an audience and it is often a very special moment as it is usually only the first or this unique and special event. second time it’s been seen. These are films that will challenge your perspective and American Express is a pique your curiosity for fresh ideas and viewpoints long-standing supporter of film The Festival is a truly international moment, as we open our arms to welcome and we are excited to champion Photo: Nancyhoney.com filmmakers from over 70 countries. It’s a moment that puts the UK at the centre of the Photo: Casey Moore the best and brightest talent from global film spotlight and it sends out a glorious message about our ambition to collaborate internationally. across the industry. We hope you enjoy this year’s programme and look forward to seeing you there. The BFI is a charity and this Festival is only able to happen because of the extraordinary generosity of our longstanding partner American Express, alongside so many other partners, sponsors and funders, not least all Charlotte Duerden, UK Country Manager – the National Lottery players in the UK whose ticket buying is so vital to champion good causes including film. American Express UK This is the perfect opportunity to extend our heartfelt thanks to them all and before you delve into the programme, I urge you to join me in loudly applauding all our supporters who are listed at the front of this brochure. Amanda Nevill, Chief Executive, BFI 4 #LFF WITH THANKS TO OUR GENEROUS SPONSORS AND FUNDERS FOR MAKING IT ALL POSSIBLE PRINCIPAL PARTNER SUPPORTED BY MAIN SPONSOR OFFICIAL PARTNERS MAIN FUNDING CONTRIBUTORS SPONSORS 5 AND THANKS TO OUR WONDERFUL IN-KIND SPONSORS AND PARTNERS IN-KIND SPONSORS PRINCIPAL MEDIA PARTNERS BROADCAST & MEDIA PARTNER RADIO PARTNER FUNDING CONTRIBUTORS AND CULTURAL PARTNERS Londres THE GREATEST SHOW ON SCREEN OCTOBER — JANUARY A FILM SEASON IN CINEMAS NATIONWIDE AT BFI SOUTHBANK | ON BFI PLAYER #BFIMUSICALS Image: La La Land © 2016 Summit Entertainment, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Lionsgate Home Entertainment UK. All Rights Reserved. 6 Musicals 2019 LFF Brochure Ad Full Page FINAL.indd 1 14/08/2019 15:30 THE GREATEST SHOW ON SCREEN OCTOBER — JANUARY A FILM SEASON IN CINEMAS NATIONWIDE AT BFI SOUTHBANK | ON BFI PLAYER #BFIMUSICALS Image: La La Land © 2016 Summit Entertainment, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Lionsgate Home Entertainment UK. All Rights Reserved. Musicals 2019 LFF Brochure Ad Full Page FINAL.indd 1 14/08/2019 15:30 BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE. Portugieser Perpetual Calendar. Ref. 5033 London Boutique | 138 New Bond Street | W1S 2TJ | www.iwc.com BFI_2012610_503302_210x297_p_img.indd 1 07.08.19 16:00 OPENING NIGHT GALA WED 2 WED 2 THU 3 SAT 5 19:00 OLLS 19:45 EGC 14:20 EGC 12:30 EMPIRE BRITISH THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD Dir Armando Iannucci.