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In early October, movieland’s best and brightest roll back into town for another fortnight of legal cinematic highs. Yes, it's nearly time for another BFI London Film Festival and judging by the newly announced line-up, this one could be the best yet. There are new films from the likes of Robert Eggers, Armando Iannucci, Martin Scorsese, Sarah Gavron and Bruce Springsteen. Yes, the Boss is coming.
Our own gala screening is Eggers’ follow-up to ‘The Witch’, the black-and-white, Robert Pattinson-starring head-trip ‘The Lighthouse’ on October 5. It’s the headline act in the festival’s Cult strand and had people queuing around the block at Cannes this year. The facial hair alone is worth the admission price.
Other exciting galas include historical drama ‘The King’ with Timothée Chalamet as poorly-coiffed monarch Henry V. There’s also Taika Waititi’s ‘Jojo Rabbit’, a satirical comedy about a young German boy whose BFF is Adolf Hitler – don’t worry, he’s imaginary – and Noah Baumbach’s ‘Marriage Story’, a likely companion piece to Ingmar Bergman’s great ‘Scenes from a Marriage’ in the canon of marital horror movies. It’s already hotly tipped for greatness (and Oscars).
We’d recommend keeping an eye out for the gorgeous, shivery period romance ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’, the poetic urban yarn ‘The Last Black Man in San Francisco’ and a filmmaking debut from Billie Piper, ‘Rare Beasts’. But, frankly, there’s too much goodness there to narrow down to just a few. Instead, head to the official site and see what takes your fancy. Tickets go on sale to the public on Thursday, September 5.
The BFI London Film Festival runs from October 2-13. Head to our LFF hub for all the news on tickets and gala screenings.
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