Nine Film4 films to screen at BFI London Film Festival

1 September 2017

London: September 1st, 2017: Nine Film4 titles will get their UK launch at the 2017 BFI London Film Festival, giving UK audiences their first chance to see new work from acclaimed filmmakers including Martin McDonagh, Lynne Ramsay, Yorgos Lanthimos, Clio Barnard and Andrew Haigh, as well as the first opportunity to catch Joaquin Phoenix’s Best Actor-winning performance from this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

 

Martin McDonagh’s darkly comic drama THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI will be the festival’s Closing Night Gala as previously announced, with Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell amongst the cast walking the red carpet with the filmmakers. It marks the second consecutive year a Film4 title has closed the festival, following Ben Wheatley’s FREE FIRE in 2016.

 

THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER from director Yorgos Lanthimos is one of two Film4 titles selected as Headline Galas, and will see Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman and Barry Keoghan joining Lanthimos at the film’s UK premiere.

 

Lynne Ramsay’s YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE also receives a Headline Gala, showcasing Joaquin Phoenix’s Cannes-winning performance as a Gulf War veteran turned killer-for-hire who specialises in rescuing girls who have been kidnapped into the sex trade.

 

Clio Barnard’s powerful family drama DARK RIVER starring Ruth Wilson and Mark Stanley will be showcased as one of the festival’s Special Presentations.

 

Andrew Haigh’s poignant modern day western LEAN ON PETE featuring Steve Buscemi, Chloe Sevigny and Charlie Plummer, will compete for the Best Film Award in the festival’s Official Competition, which recognises inspiring, inventive and distinctive filmmaking from around the world.

 

Two Film4 titles will compete for the festival’s Sutherland Award, which recognises the most original and imaginative directorial debut: Rungano Nyoni’s debut feature I AM NOT A WITCH, which follows the fortunes of a nine year old girl exiled to a witch camp in modern day Zambia; and BEAST, a dark, romantic thriller from award-winning writer-director Michael Pearce, featuring rising stars Jessie Buckley and Johnny Flynn.

 

Paddy Considine’s sophomore film as a director JOURNEYMAN, in which he also stars alongside Jodie Whittaker as a boxer rebuilding his life after a near-fatal injury, and HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS AT PARTIES, John Cameron Mitchell’s take on Neil Gaiman’s punk-alien love story set in Croydon in 1977, will both screen in the festival’s Love strand. JOURNEYMAN receives its World Premiere in London.

 

Finally, from Channel 4, Jon Rafman’s short film DREAM JOURNAL will play in the festival’s Cult strand. A fusion of amateur 3D animation and niche genres of computer-generated erotica, the film was commissioned by Channel 4’s experimental short form strand Random Acts.

 

Director of Film4 Daniel Battsek commented: “We are very proud to have such a rich and varied slate of films selected by the LFF. It's a testament to the hard work, skill and dedication of everyone at Film4, plus a hugely talented group of filmmakers. We look forward to sharing these films with UK audiences for the first time."

 

ENDS

 

About Film4

Film4 is Channel 4 Television’s feature film division, which develops and co-finances films and has an established track record for working with the most distinctive and innovative talent in UK and international filmmaking.  Film4 has developed and/or co-financed many of the most successful UK films of recent years - Academy Award-winners such as Lenny Abrahamson’s Room, Alex Garland’s Ex Machina, Asif Kapadia’s Amy, Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave, Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire and Phyllida Lloyd’s The Iron Lady, in addition to critically-acclaimed award-winners such as Lynne Ramsay’s You Were Never Really Here, Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Andrea Arnold’s American Honey, Todd Haynes’ Carol, Andrew Haigh’s 45 Years, Mike Leigh’s Mr. Turner, Shane Meadows’ This is England, Yann Demange’s 71, Clio Barnard’s The Selfish Giant, Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin and David Mackenzie’s Starred Up.

 

Currently in production:

THE LITTLE STRANGER (Lenny Abrahamson)

PETERLOO (Mike Leigh)

MARADONA (Asif Kapadia)

COUNTRY MUSIC (Tom Harper)

 

Currently in post-production:

WIDOWS (Steve McQueen)

THE FAVOURITE (Yorgos Lanthimos)

BEEN SO LONG (Tinge Krishnan)

COLD WAR (Pawel Pawlikowski)

OLD BOYS (Toby MacDonald)

MARY MAGDALENE (Garth Davis)

AMERICAN ANIMALS (Bart Layton)

AN EVENING WITH BEVERLY LUFF LINN (Jim Hosking)

FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY (Stephen Merchant)

 

Coming soon:

DISOBEDIENCE (Sebastián Lelio)

THE OATH (Baltasar Kormákur)

 

Other recent projects include:

FREE FIRE (Ben Wheatley)

TRESPASS AGAINST US (Adam Smith)

BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK (Ang Lee)

T2 TRAINSPOTTING (Danny Boyle)

AMERICAN HONEY (Andrea Arnold)

OUR KIND OF TRAITOR (Susanna White)

HIGH-RISE (Ben Wheatley)

ROOM (Lenny Abrahamson)