BFI-related post 1
Nice. The line-up for the London Film Festival '08 has been announced. There are some great looking titles in there. They usually get a fair few nifty titles in their selections, but this is the best line-up I've seen there for quite a few years. I think some of the films have played in fests. in various countries already - the US, France, Berlin, Canada, and so on... some were at Cannes, Toronto etc - but for London, which is always pretty late in the calendar (being in October this year, usually Nov.), this is pretty stellar.
They've got a few high profile - and politically-based - titles that will grab attention: Ron Howard's Frost/Nixon, Oliver Stone's W. and Steven Soderbergh's Che double feature, for example, but I'm not that fussed about these; all three (four?) will get wide releases in the new year here anyhow. It's worth trying to catch some of the ones that may not get a general release here (cinema distribution being what it is in the UK... hmm, that's another story, another post), or the ones that will most likely take f...o...r...e...v...e...r to come out. The line-up is really good, and I'm still sifting through what's on. I just wish that the ticket prices weren't so feckin' steep; the highest is £25(!) And the average is about £11 (Swinton, why aren't you in charge?), which means that I may not get to see very many, if any, at all, due to the overall pricey-ness and work commitments.
Anyway, here are some links of ones that look rather nifty (and also here so I can keep direct links in one place, in the unlikely case of me coming into some spare cashola):
Lion's Den, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Sex Positive, Touki Bouki
The Class, Frozen River, Adoration, Nathaniel Dorsky, Divisionz
American Teen, Beautiful Losers, Vicky Christina Barcelona, Jay, Parc
The Silence of Lorna, Medicine for Melancholy, Must Read After My Death
Tokyo!, Three Monkeys, Cloud 9, Hamlet 2, Awaydays
Goodbye Solo, The Feature, A Lake, Of Time and the City
Here's the full A-Z list of films showing.
South Main
A doc. about three recently-evicted single mothers in South Los Angeles (the stills, numbered below the main pic., on the linked page look great)
Wendy and Lucy
Kelly Reichardt's Old Joy follow-up, with Michelle Williams and her dog just travelling around without purpose, apparently. Sounds about right..
24 City
Jia Zhangke's new one, a mix of fact and fiction apparently, about a former secret military hardware factory-turned aeronautics plant. Or something.
Synechdoche, New York
Charlie Kaufman's debut as director. This looks incredible. And for me has the bonus of Jennifer Jason Leigh being in it.
Waltz with Bashir
An anti-war film done as an animated doc. And why not? I can imagine this getting a lot of attention.
Better Things
A dark-looking rural drama by Duane Hopkins set in the English Cotswolds. Bring on the Brit drabness!
Hunger
The first film from Turner prize-winning artist Steve McQueen, about events surrounding the 1981 IRA Hunger Strike, led by Bobby Sands. This is probably my most anticipated film this year; one I want to see at any cost.
Mmm cheery, eh? This bunch does suggest that I just love films where unhappy people like a good tidy up or like a cigarette. Smoking and hoovering. Make a nice title I reckon. But I can't see the BFI having a strand called Fart Gags: Gross-Outs of the '00s. Shame though.
So, check some of these out. And check again. The end of the year is looking pretty rosy.
They've got a few high profile - and politically-based - titles that will grab attention: Ron Howard's Frost/Nixon, Oliver Stone's W. and Steven Soderbergh's Che double feature, for example, but I'm not that fussed about these; all three (four?) will get wide releases in the new year here anyhow. It's worth trying to catch some of the ones that may not get a general release here (cinema distribution being what it is in the UK... hmm, that's another story, another post), or the ones that will most likely take f...o...r...e...v...e...r to come out. The line-up is really good, and I'm still sifting through what's on. I just wish that the ticket prices weren't so feckin' steep; the highest is £25(!) And the average is about £11 (Swinton, why aren't you in charge?), which means that I may not get to see very many, if any, at all, due to the overall pricey-ness and work commitments.
Anyway, here are some links of ones that look rather nifty (and also here so I can keep direct links in one place, in the unlikely case of me coming into some spare cashola):
Lion's Den, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Sex Positive, Touki Bouki
The Class, Frozen River, Adoration, Nathaniel Dorsky, Divisionz
American Teen, Beautiful Losers, Vicky Christina Barcelona, Jay, Parc
The Silence of Lorna, Medicine for Melancholy, Must Read After My Death
Tokyo!, Three Monkeys, Cloud 9, Hamlet 2, Awaydays
Goodbye Solo, The Feature, A Lake, Of Time and the City
Here's the full A-Z list of films showing.
South Main
A doc. about three recently-evicted single mothers in South Los Angeles (the stills, numbered below the main pic., on the linked page look great)
Wendy and Lucy
Kelly Reichardt's Old Joy follow-up, with Michelle Williams and her dog just travelling around without purpose, apparently. Sounds about right..
24 City
Jia Zhangke's new one, a mix of fact and fiction apparently, about a former secret military hardware factory-turned aeronautics plant. Or something.
Synechdoche, New York
Charlie Kaufman's debut as director. This looks incredible. And for me has the bonus of Jennifer Jason Leigh being in it.
Waltz with Bashir
An anti-war film done as an animated doc. And why not? I can imagine this getting a lot of attention.
Better Things
A dark-looking rural drama by Duane Hopkins set in the English Cotswolds. Bring on the Brit drabness!
Hunger
The first film from Turner prize-winning artist Steve McQueen, about events surrounding the 1981 IRA Hunger Strike, led by Bobby Sands. This is probably my most anticipated film this year; one I want to see at any cost.
Mmm cheery, eh? This bunch does suggest that I just love films where unhappy people like a good tidy up or like a cigarette. Smoking and hoovering. Make a nice title I reckon. But I can't see the BFI having a strand called Fart Gags: Gross-Outs of the '00s. Shame though.
So, check some of these out. And check again. The end of the year is looking pretty rosy.