London Film Festival

BFI Announces Official 2016 London Film Festival Dates

Elle Leonsis — Tue, 16 Feb 2016 15:02:53 GMT

READ MORE: London Film Festival Announces Completion Jury, Including Kristin Scott Thomas and Pawel Pawlikowski

The BFI has announced the date for this year's London Film Festival, along with one exciting development for British filmmakers. In partnership with IWC Schaffhausen, LFF will award the Bursary Award to one outstanding new UK filmmaker with £50,000 worth of freedom to develop their career as they deem fit, in addition to premiering their film during the festival's run.

Those interested in being eligible for the Bursary Award will have to submit a 150 word biography, a filmography, a synopsis of the projects they are developing and pitch why they need £50,000 to benefit their film future's development. Shorts and features should be submitted through the BFI London Film Festival website by June 10 and 17, respectively.

Festival Director Clare Stewart and Director of the BFI Lottery Film Fund Ben Roberts, along with four other senior executives who have not been announced yet, will determine a shortlist of favorites to win the award. That list will then be cut down to the winner by a panel including BFI CEO Amanda Nevill, IWC Schaffhausen CEO Georges Kern and one crucial member of the UK film industry who also has not yet been named.

Of the newly announced award, BFI CEO Amanda Nevill said, "So much of what we do is made possible through great partnerships. The BFI London Film Festival is no different – without the support of our long-standing, Principal Partner, American Express, and of course the fantastic filmmaking teams who trust us to showcase their remarkable work, the festival would not be possible. I am really excited about this brand new initiative in partnership with IWC Schaffhausen as it goes to the very heart of the BFI’s determination to find and support tomorrow’s filmmakers.”

Last year's LFF saw the European premiere of Sarah Gavron’s "Suffragette," a Global Symposium on Gender in Media hosted by Geena Davis, the European premiere of Danny Boyle’s "Steve Jobs" and allowed the attendance of 164,000 UK occupants across 568 screenings in 16 London venues and cinecasts to 45 venues across England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The BFI is hopeful that this year's LFF will produced greater statistics thanks to its partnership with IWC and their shared commitment to helping aspiring British filmmakers find longevity in the UK film industry.

READ MORE: What Did the London Film Festival Get?

Watch: Get Ready for 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' with Trailer for Bittersweet Doc 'Elstree 1976'

Demetrios Matheou — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 13:53:00 GMT

It’s a film buff’s starter for 10: which science fiction movie was shot in the UK’s Elstree Studios in 1976? The correct answer, especially for those fast on the buzzer, may induce mouth-watering anticipation of a nostalgic, behind-the-scenes account of George Lucas’s "Star Wars." So a slight pause is in order.

Jon Spira’s documentary is not a "making of" in any conventional sense, but a glimpse into the experience and after-effects of involvement in the film, for a handful of extras and actors with very small speaking roles. It isn’t really about one of the most famous and influential movies of all time, but a bittersweet account of ordinary people sucked for good or ill into the film’s eternal slipstream. And as such, it’s far more interesting.

Spira opens seductively with fetishist close-ups of "Star Wars" action figures, accompanied by the voices of the people we’re about to meet, giving us a clue as to whether they were a stormtrooper or a kooky alien or an X-Wing fighter.

Once we’re introduced to the generic types, we meet the flesh and blood, warts-and-all human beings, eight Brits and a couple of Canadians, speaking to Spira’s very attentive camera. Back in 1976, they were a mixture of would-be actors, models, and a car salesman who literally blagged his way into Elstree and got enlisted as an extra.

The exception is David Prowse, who became the physical embodiment of Darth Vader, yet didn’t speak in the film as his lines were dubbed by James Earl Jones. The former bodybuilder had been working in film and television for a while, most notably on "A Clockwork Orange," where he recalls questioning the instruction to carry Patrick Magee plus wheelchair with the rebuke to the director, “You’re not one-shot Kubrick, are you?”

Prowse had an important role. But like Kenny Baker (R2-D2) and Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), who aren’t in this film, his status is difficult to categorize. He’s ideal for Spira’s agenda.

None of them expected much from their new assignment, perhaps a low-budget TV film, something “interesting but not wildly exciting.” However, once inside the Elstree soundstages, with a glimpse of the Millennium Falcon and dozens of stormtroopers wandering around, they realized they might be in on something special.

Their recollections take us through their lives before, during and after the filming. On-set anecdotes include the disappointment of finding a brief talking scene cut, a hilarious account of an X-Wing pilot forgetting his lines and having to read them from a piece of paper on his lap (with proof from the clip in question), a stormtrooper being caught on camera bashing his head against the set (apparently the troopers could hardly see behind their visors).

Of greater interest is the sense that nothing quite as significant—professionally at least—has happened to them since their brief journey to that galaxy far, far away. Some have had decent, jobbing actors’ careers, others found new pursuits, some got a little lost; Prowse talks with pride of his involvement in a road safety campaign aimed at children (he was just as famous in the UK as the Green Cross Man). One touches on his depression, while another mentions, in a very funny way, his accidental 15-year addiction to Valium.

And here’s the rub: because of the extraordinary level of fan interest in the "Star Wars" movies, none of these peripheral figures have been able to forget about the film, even if they wanted to. The last section of the documentary deals with their new careers on the "Star Wars" convention circuit, the money to be made giving autographs, the pecking order in terms of fan interest (you’re higher up the food chain if you play an alien), the disdain of even bit-part actors for walk-on extras.

Harrison Ford, one of the biggest film stars in history, spent years trying to distance himself from "Star Wars," as did Guinness; yet here are people who were on screen for seconds only, traveling the world signing autographs. Spira doesn’t mock or criticize them, but sees them as good people enthusiastically accepting, and perhaps to some extent being victims of, a culture of celebrity and fandom operating at a geeky micro-level that is positively bizarre.

Crowd-funded, "Elstree 1976" is a brilliant idea, thoughtfully executed and, with "Star Wars: Episode VII" around the corner, shrewdly timed. Maybe seeing it will keep everyone’s feet on the ground. As one of the interviewees, Paul Blake, self-mockingly tells us: “I’ve played Macbeth, I’ve played the Royal Court. But my gravestone will read, 'Here lies Greedo.'" May the Force be with him.

London Film Festival Awards

Anne Thompson — Sat, 17 Oct 2015 22:10:33 GMT

The London Film Festival wound up with awards celebrating filmmakers in Official Competition, First Feature Competition, Documentary Competition and Short Film Competition.

Greek filmmaker Athina Rachel Tsangari won the Best Film Award for "Chevalier," her feminist satire of men competing on a yacht vacation. The award was announced by president of the Official Competition jury, Pawel Pawlikowski, whose "Ida" won the LFF Best Film prize in 2013. “'Chevalier' is a study of male antagonism seen though the eyes of a brave and original filmmaker," said Pawlikowski. "With great formal rigor and irresistible wit, Athena Rachel Tsangari has managed to make a film that is both a hilarious comedy and a deeply disturbing statement on the condition of western humanity.”

Robert Eggers took home the Sutherland Award for Best First Feature for Sundance period horror flick "The Witch." "A horror film that felt as though it were reinventing the genre with each frame and truly shocking moments that evoke both terror and empathy," said jury president Desiree Akhavan ("Appropriate Behaviour"), "with an impressive command of cameras as well as truly heartbreaking performances— it presented a fresh, feminist take on a timeless tale.”

Jennifer Peedom nabbed the Grierson Award for Best Documentary for mountaineering epic "Sherpa."

Shai Heredia and Shumona Goel got the Best Short Film Award for "An Old Dog's Diary."

The awards were given out at the Banqueting House, Whitehall at the event hosted by musician and broadcaster Jarvis Cocker. Guests on hand included jurors Christine Vachon ("Carol"), Chiwetel Ejiofor ("Twelve Years a Slave"), Kristin Scott-Thomas ("Gosford Park"), and director Mabel Cheung ("A Take of Three Cities") as well as Daisy Jacobs, Harriet Walter, Iain Forsyth, James Vanderbilt, Joe Wright, Kathleen Kennedy, Martin Freeman, Sandy Powell, Stephen Woolley, and Topher Grace.

Cate Blanchett received the BFI Fellowship, presented by Ian McKellen; both actors are in the awards race for BAFTA and Oscars for "Carol" and "Mr. Holmes," respectively. Earlier in the evening Blanchett attended the UK Premiere of "Truth," which screened as the Fellowship Special Presentation film. Blanchett also attended the Festival for Todd Haynes’ "Carol." Since its creation, the BFI Fellowship has been awarded to key figures in British cinema including Peggy Ashcroft, Dirk Bogarde, Helena Bonham Carter, Judi Dench, Stephen Frears, Alec Guinness, Mike Leigh, Christopher Lee, Laurence Olivier, Vanessa Redgrave and Maggie Smith. Since 1983 a total of 80 Fellowships have been awarded.

Laurie Anderson and Brian Eno Talk Film, Music, Performance and the Nadir of Film Soundtracks

Demetrios Matheou — Fri, 16 Oct 2015 19:31:48 GMT

The new LFF strand that opened this year with Christopher Nolan and Tacita Dean in a crusading mood about the future of celluloid ended with Laurie Anderson and Brian Eno musing on the cross-currents in their careers between film, music and performance.

LFF Connects has been a series of talks looking at the way film engages across all of the creative sectors. Guy Maddin, games designer Alistair Hope and documentary filmmaker Louis Theroux were among the other speakers.

The final event was actually billed as a showcase for Anderson, the musician and performance artist whose gorgeous new feature "Heart of a Dog" (HBO Documentary Films, October 21) screened at the festival; but when her old friend and colleague Eno came on board to conduct the conversation, the result became a two-way riff on whatever seemed to take their fancy.

Some of their more eccentric (and very funny) wanderings included Donald Trump’s appalling taste in architecture, Eno once being the only atheist in a Gospel Choir and a tale about Anderson’s grandmother, a Southern Baptist missionary whose assignment in Japan failed because she hadn’t bothered to learn the language, assuming that she could sway her targeted converts with song; she had to settle for teaching them how to make hats.

When they weren’t being whimsical, the pair were happy to be controversial, not least when talking about soundtracks.

“The nadir of film soundtracks is the Hollywood soundtrack,” suggested Eno, who has scored a fair few films himself, including the recent "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl." “Every single edit is matched by a sound and every emotion is so heavily underlined that you could only miss it if you were a worm.”

He did commend Nino Rota’s work for Fellini. “He wrote a piece of music that existed on a parallel plane to the film. Sometimes the music and the film were in synch and sometimes they drifted apart.”

Anderson mentioned composer John Zorn, who she claimed would only watch a film a single time when scoring it and, just as crucially, “would have no meetings.”

Eno could better that. “I don’t want to see the film at all. I want the director to describe the film to me. I like to read the script if there is one. That’s the point where I find I have most ideas. Anything that happens after that narrows the field of possibilities.”

Weaving through their conversation was "Heart of a Dog," Anderson’s first film since the 1986 concert movie "Home of the Brave" and an extraordinarily well-crafted and moving cine-essay – ostensibly about the death of her beloved rat terrier Lolabelle, but moving beyond the cute paean to her pet to touch on love and death, memory, storytelling, the post-9/11 surveillance state, and much else besides.

It was commissioned by the TV channel Arte. “It was supposed to be about my philosophy of life. Not a big film. The kind of film where you’d spend 25 minutes with a mumbling voiceover and a candle. I thought I’m going to try that, because I love that kind of film.

“But then I found I had a lot of related stories making their way in. Like many projects I do, this is about stories, how they are made and what happens when you repeat them and forget them and someone else tells your story for you. How do you evaluate which one is a version of the truth? It’s also full of questions, which was one way to move the narrative along, questions that are never answered.”

She joked that the film was made on her iPhone, but the plethora of different kinds of image, edited together in a liquid and painterly fashion would suggest that partly to be true.

“You can make a movie now with almost nothing and it will look pretty good. It’s the same with a record,” she said, with Eno adding, “And if it doesn’t look good in a conventional way, you take advantage of the way it does look.”

Anderson was particularly excited that the film was going to be part of a series of midnight screenings in Times Square, with the image projected on screens and a special app providing the sound. “It’s a dream come true.”

Something made apparent throughout the afternoon was that the fierce independence of both artists, now in their late sixties, hasn’t diminished.

Anderson’s installation "Habeas Corpus" has just been enacted in New York’s Park Avenue Armory, in which she established a live link between visitors and the former Guantanamo prisoner Mohammed el Gharani – barred from entering the US and so streaming from somewhere in West Africa. Guantanamo, Anderson told her London audience, “is our gulag. My motivation was largely shame.”

And she said that the moment when the New Yorkers mouthed “I’m sorry” to el Gharani’s image, “made my life as an artist.”

More often than not, she and Eno sprinkled their serious observations with humor. When he complained that he was rarely asked to present his music and light installations in the UK, she immediately quipped: “We have the art police too. Get back in your lane!”

David Bowie's Groundbreaking 'Let's Dance' Music Video Gets a New Spin Thanks to Director Rubika Shah

Elle Leonsis — Mon, 12 Oct 2015 15:43:36 GMT

READ MORE: Watch: David Bowie Was the Perfect Movie Alien in 'Man Who Fell to Earth'

Directed by British native Rubika Shah, the new documentary "Let’s Dance: Bowie Down Under" is the first to explore the untold story behind pop icon David Bowie's seminal music video "Let's Dance." Journalists-turned-filmmakers Ed Gibbs and Shah, who both have writing credits on the project, endeavored to bring audience this story thanks to a challenging three-year search. They said that their starting point was to "uncover the untold story behind Bowie’s landmark video for 'Let’s Dance' to coincide with the record’s 30th anniversary in 2013."

The film features never-before-seen archival material featuring the music legend himself, in addition to exclusive, all-new interviews with key music collaborators and noted cultural commentators. Among these figures, Shah introduces the recognizable faces of Bowie’s groundbreaking 1983 video, Joelene King and Geeling Ng, as well as award-winning filmmakers David Mallet and Julien Temple, former MTV host and Rolling Stone editor Kurt Loder, acclaimed DJ and music historian Norman Jay MBE and renowned Aboriginal academic Marcia Langton. Together, they offer their personal take on what Bowie meant to their building sense of rebellion.

"Let’s Dance: Bowie Down Under" premiered at the 65th Berlinale and went on to play at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image. The film recently screened at the BFI London Film Festival.

Shah recently sat down with Indiewire to talk about the genesis of the film, how she snagged such a stellar lineup of talking heads and what's next for the musically-minded director.

What is your background and personal connection to this story?

As a British filmmaker of mixed heritage, I am drawn to stories that explore notions of identity — and how we fit into the world around us. Also, I used to work in the music industry, so this film taps into two areas that I’m very interested in.

I was always intrigued by the music videos that David Bowie shot in Australia — I lived in Sydney for several years — and wondered what had become of the First Nations [Aboriginal] couple in the video for "Let's Dance." It is perhaps Bowie’s most well-known record, certainly in the U.S., and still gets significant airplay, even in 2015. Weirdly, we couldn’t find a single trace of the couple, not one single interview, which was puzzling and sad, especially when you think about what would happen if they made the same video today.

What is the best part about directing? What is the worst?

In terms of the process, it’s great seeing the film come to life in the edit. Filmmaking is a truly collaborative process — I love that all these different and often random pieces come together, and you end up with what one hopes is a coherent film. Getting to meet filmmakers like Spike Lee and Julien Temple and discuss their craft with them is a major positive, too.

The worst part is definitely being a woman — and a woman of color — and having to prove yourself twice as hard. Fortunately, there are filmmakers out there like Ava DuVernay, Ondi Timoner, Jeanie Finlay and Sally El Hosaini, who make you realize it can be done.

Was there any current event, specifically, that motivated you to make this documentary?

At the time, when we started on the documentary, it was mid-2012 and I had spent some time working in the Australian outback. My partner and I were interested in marking the 30th anniversary of "Let’s Dance" — and in particular, the music videos from that album, which we felt had been forgotten. Joelene King was an obvious starting point for us, as she had never had the recognition we felt she deserved. We subsequently discovered that she had been something of a role model for young, aspiring First Nations/Aboriginal creatives, wishing to pursue careers in the arts — something that wasn’t at all common or easy to achieve in the early 1980s.

Tell us a little bit about the filming process, how did you find the funding and resources to get it made?

We’ve mostly self-funded over the last three years — it has truly been a labor of love. More recently, we’ve had some screen agency support.

How did you get Kurt Loder, along with the makers of the original "Let's Dance" music video for your film?

We tracked Kurt Loder down through some former colleagues, which took some doing and time — about six months, all up. With David Mallet, Ed Gibbs, my co-writer and producer, had been in touch with him for a while — he’d reached out to him some time earlier, about another piece. Ross Cameron was a real find — he’d never been interviewed about this period, and had lots of great stories to share.

What do you think the greatest message is for your audience?

The story is still very relevant today, despite it being 30 years old. Bowie saw something years before others followed suit — and we hope its place in popular culture is appreciated. The videos themselves still feel incredibly fresh — they were shot on 35mm, a format usually reserved for features — as does the music. The record was co-produced by Nile Rodgers. It’s pretty remarkable how well they stack up today.

Where do you plan on taking your film next, marketing-wise?

Given the amount of material we have gathered since 2012, we are working on an extended version. This means, we’re going to keep the short under wraps — film festivals only — for now.

Would you consider applying the premise of your film to other artists or songs?

Possibly, it all depends on the story and the material. We are working on another project that also looks at music and race.

How would you describe your time working in the UK Television and Film industry?

The main difference as an emerging director is that the UK and Australia has a level of government funding, which can offer support that isn’t readily available in the U.S. Having said that, it’s still incredibly tough trying to get a film off the ground — and competition is fierce. On the other side, the U.S. has a far bigger talent pool, as well as an incredibly diverse range of charitable foundations, like Sundance and Tribeca, for nurturing and developing talent.

I had my first film job in the U.S. — I worked on music videos in LA, before setting off on assignment in the South Pacific. LA is the filmmaking capital of the world and there’s certainly an energy in the U.S. that’s infectious.

What's next for you?

We have a number of other projects in development. I am particularly interested in forgotten or unknown stories that have had a profound impact on our lives.

"Let's Dance: Bowie Down Under" screens tonight at the BFI London Film Festival.

READ MORE: Exclusive: Hear David Bowie's Italian 'Space Oddity' in This Clip from Bernardo Bertolucci's 'Me and You'

Christopher Nolan Praises 35mm, 'Lawrence of Arabia' and Quentin Tarantino

Demetrios Matheou — Sun, 11 Oct 2015 21:47:41 GMT

It’s always satisfying to see mainstream filmmakers fight for the team, to champion cinema itself rather than simply their own work. Martin Scorsese’s been at the forefront for years, of course, with his Film Foundation, while Quentin Tarantino has made a typical commitment, with his New Beverly cinema in LA, to show films only on celluloid. Both men, too, have never been shy of plugging their heroes.

And it was with both hats, art form champion and fan, that Christopher Nolan hit the London Film Festival this week, offering one of the festival’s most stimulating evenings so far. The "Dark Knight" and "Interstellar" director has become quite the draw, judging from the crowds at the BFI South Bank – just the kind of person you need to promote important discussion and the marvelously esoteric.

He was first on stage, alongside visual artist Tacita Dean and Alexander Horwath, director of the Austrian Film Museum, for a discussion on “the future of film.” Nolan and Dean will only ever shoot on film, with Dean refusing even to have her work digitized. Horwath, whose “exhibition space” is a cinema screen, only shows films in their original formats. This appears to have been a sister event to an encounter between Nolan and Dean in LA’s Getty Centre earlier this year, the themes being the urgent need to ensure that films continue to be projected on celluloid, and to determine new archival and exhibition standards “to support film as film.”

READ MORE: Discover the Brothers Quay, Identical Twin Animators Who Inspired Christopher Nolan

BFI creative director Heather Stewart kicked off the event with a clip from David Lean’s "Lawrence of Arabia" – in particular, the memorable scene in which Peter O’Toole emerges from the desert having rescued one of his servants, which Nolan thought an excellent example of the issues at hand. “It’s sometimes difficult to articulate what it is about film projection that’s missing in digital projection,” he said. “It can be the very subtle shadow details, the particular tonality of skies. Here you can see them on the camel as they first come out of the desert far sooner than you can on Blu-ray. “One of my favorite films when I was growing up was 'Blade Runner.' When I was a kid I watched it on VHS. It wasn’t until I was at university that I saw it on film and there was no ambiguity – I knew exactly the difference in what I was seeing. And that difference needs to be pointed out to everyone.”

With an estimated 98% of films in the UK projected digitally, and the widely held assumption that there is no qualitative difference for a film shot on celluloid, Dean declared that “I don’t think there has been a moment, historically, where a medium ¬has come under such threat. We have to protect the original experience. Not in a way that’s perceived as going back in time, getting the multiplexes to pull out their digital projectors. We just need to ensure the possibility that you can go to see a film projected as film.”

Nolan told the audience that Dean, whose large-scale exhibition FILM at London’s Tate Modern was a glorious testament to the medium, introduced him to the art-world doctrine of medium specificity, which is sorely absent in film industry dialogue. “The medium is very much a part of the content," he said. "You can’t separate the two things. When you go to an art gallery you don’t look at a photograph of a painting, you look at the painting. But in the film world they’re very happy to show a DCP of 'Lawrence of Arabia.' With the best will in the world it can only be an approximation of what the film really is, yet it’s billed as the film itself."

"I’ve had conversations with studio heads," he continued, "where I’ve been advocating passionately for shooting on film and projecting on film. And someone will say, ‘Well at the end of the day doesn’t storytelling triumph?’ And I say, ‘No it doesn’t. If it did, we’d make radio shows, because they’re a lot cheaper.”

While praising digital technology for offering “tremendous access to the history of cinema,” Nolan said that audiences were not being made aware of the fact that any transfer from film “is only ever going to be your best translation.” He also criticized exhibitors for a lackadaisical attitude to projection, not least in LA, and those U.S. independent distributors who are now providing Blu-rays for projection in theaters. “If the experience for the audience isn’t valued, and if you’re not giving them value for money, they will stop going,” he warned. “Cinema attendance is relatively stable at the moment, but it’s not standing up the way it used to. Exhibitors should be putting their best foot forward. There have to be standards about this.”

As for the oft-cited justification of digital projection – that it’s cheaper – Nolan quipped: “Well, we’re paying the same for a cinema ticket as we were before, so where are all these marvelous savings? I love what Quentin Tarantino is doing with 'The Hateful Eight,' putting 70mm projectors in cinemas in North American for the original run of his film. He’s said it’s difficult, but it’s worth it.”

Nolan's "Interstellar" was itself launched early on 70mm and 35mm prints. The speakers also discussed the challenges the industry faces in archiving photochemical films, the rewards of shooting on film and, of course, what it was about the medium that they loved. The most telling example of the latter was second hand, something Nolan had heard recently from the revered editor Walter Murch. “Walter Murch said this beautiful thing. You shoot an empty room with a chair and an open door. You shoot it on film and you shoot it on video. When you watch it on film you feel that someone is about to come through the door; when you watch it on video you feel that someone has left. “On digital you lose your sense of time passing, and with it that sense of expectation that you absolutely have with film.”

After a short break, the director was back in the same auditorium, in a different guise, this time as host of a triple bill of short animations by the Quay Brothers, two of Britain’s most idiosyncratic, cult filmmakers. Nolan told the audience that the first Quay film he saw was the one that heralded their unique blend of puppetry and stop motion, "Street of Crocodiles." “As soon as you see an image from that film you can’t take your eyes away,” he said. “It has some of the most extraordinary things that have ever been photographed.” With the identical twins standing rather bashfully next to him, he admitted that, “all sorts of people in the mainstream have been influenced by these animations – and I was one of them.”

Nolan himself selected the program of "Street of Crocodiles" (1986), "The Comb" (1990) and "In Absentia" (2000), for which brand new 35mm prints were made. These were accompanied by Quay, an eight-minute film he’d made himself, in which he observes the brothers at work in their studio. “There’s something about the handmade quality of these films, the passion and care that’s gone into their world that really comes to life on the big screen,” he enthused. “It’s a real joy to be able to show them to audiences.”

How Geena Davis Stunned Male Movie Execs with Stats On Gender Inequality

Elle Leonsis — Thu, 08 Oct 2015 20:49:35 GMT

READ MORE: Geena Davis Has Two Easy Steps to Make Your Film Gender-Balanced

Academy Award-winning actress Geena Davis spoke today in partnership with the BFI London Film Festival to discuss something she deems much greater than herself or her body of work: Gender equality. Davis took to stage today as part of the first ever Global Symposium on Gender in Media, presented by LIFF in conjunction with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media (GDI) and Women in Film and Television (WFTV).

Having landed her first film roles because of her work as a model, Davis is tired of females playing the "eye candy" for the lead male role. "It was always in my mind how women are portrayed on screen," said Davis during the symposium. Especially with the overwhelming reception of "Thelma & Louise," she was in tune with the fact that the film industry was getting it wrong.

It wasn't until she had a daughter of her own that she realized just how distorted the ratio of girls to boys on screen really was and decided to do something about it.

Her "spidey sense" about how girls were outnumbered 1 to 3 on any given G-rated film made her worried for how her daughter would come to develop her self-esteem and sense of worth. She recalled being outraged at the fact that preschoolers are forced to watch content that is backwards for the 21st century. "As a mother, it was appalling to me that we would be showing such an imbalance -- such an unfair picture to kids -- I didn't plan on founding an institute over it and devoting my life to it, but I found that nobody else seemed to notice [not even] my feminist friends with daughters," Davis said.

With the drive to protect her daughter and the rest of her generation from a skewed representation of gender, Davis went to studio executives of the shows her daughter was watching. "Every single person I asked said, 'no, no, no; that's not a problem anymore. That's been fixed.' And they were very sincere about it! 'We work on that, and we care about that, we think about that constantly, so we made such and such movie' and it would name a movie with one important female character as proof that gender imbalance had been fixed," she said.

Seeing how these executives failed to understand the connection between fixing gender equality with gender imbalance motivated Davis to conduct research on gender in kids' media. Today, Davis' website, "See Jane," offers the most amount of statistics on the issue of "gender depictions, covering over a twenty-year span; and the whole point is to work directly with creators…so that's what we do: in a very private and collegial way, we say [to executives], 'did you happen to know that this is the case?' and it's actually proven to be very effective tactic."

Davis believes that her advantage is due to the fact that she's talking about the well-being of children. "I pointed out that 17% of crowd scenes in animated movies are female and their jaws just dropped," said Davis.

Showing female characters having the same kind of adventures and aspirations as their male counterparts should be the norm, in Davis' opinion. It is the primary reason why she partnered up with the BFI London Film Festival this year as it celebrated its opening night with the UK premiere of Sarah Gavron's "Suffragette." The festival's intention to celebrate female filmmakers as much as the fight for gender equality matches Davis' pursuit with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. It is partially because of the growing popularity of the 50:50 Parliament campaign (a petition that aims to change the ratio of women to men in British Parliament from a ratio of 3:7) that the London Film Festival honored "Suffragette" last night and why Davis has also gotten on board.

It seems being "impatient for change" is the something that the BFI London Film Festival and Geena Davis are struggling with every day. It just shouldn't be the case that "the ratio of male to female characters has been exactly the same since 1946 in films," said Davis as she closed her speech.

Check out Davis' mission about the gender imbalance in children's media in the short film above.

READ MORE: Here's Why Geena Davis Started a Film Festival Focused Not on Women, But Diversity

2015 UK Stars of Tomorrow Announced by BFI London Film Festival and Screen International

Elle Leonsis — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 16:14:55 GMT

READ MORE: BFI London Film Festival Announces 2015 Juries for Feature, Documentary and Short Film Awards

The BFI London Film Festival and Screen International have now unveiled their list of 2015's Stars of Tomorrow, featuring the year's newest and most exciting actors, directors, writers and producers from the UK and Ireland.

The Stars of Tomorrow will be showcased at this month's London Film Festival, which lasts October 8-17. All of the figures listed below will also be the special guests at an exclusive industry dinner during the festival, hosted by British Council and the Casting Society of America (CSA). Previous Stars of Tomorrow have included Carey Mulligan, Benedict Cumberbatch, Eddie Redmayne and Emily Blunt.

Screen International’s Chief Film Critic Fionnuala Halligan selected the Stars of Tomorrow with the help of agents, managers, producers and directors. The final list was shortened down from over 200 names.

The list includes:

Adelayo Adedayo, actor, "Gone Too Far!" (LFF 2013), "Unlocked"

Aleem Khan, writer-director, "Three Brothers," "After Love"

Alex Lawther, actor, a UK Critics’ Circle young British performer of "The Imitation Game," "Departure" (LFF 2015)

Andy Brunskill, producer, "Phone Book,""Wondervogel" and "Girl at the Lion d’Or"

Barry Keoghan, actor, "’71," "Norfolk," "Trespass Against Us," "I Want to be Like You"

Bebe Cave, actor, "Tale of Tales," "The Audience," "Cider With Rosie"

Ben Aston, director, "Russian Roulette"

Ben Hardy, actor, "X-Men: Apocalypse"

Billy Howle, actor, "The Sense of an Ending," "Glue," "The Seagull"

Brian Vernel, actor, "The Casual Vacancy," "Future Conditional Barbarians"

Charlie Covell, writer, "Burn, Burn, Burn," "Murky Water"

Charlie Heaton, actor, "Shut In"

Charlotte Spencer, actor, "Glue," "Stephen Ward," "Bypass" (LFF 2014)

Dan Kokotajlo, writer-director, "Apostasy," "Prefect"

Daniel Emmerson, producer, "Assassin’s Creed," "Robot & Scarecrow," "The Kitchen," "Calm with Horses"

Ellie Bamber, actor, "Pride and Prejudice And Zombies," "Nocturnal Animals"

Emily Morgan, producer, "Invention"

Farhana Bhula, producer, "Mr. Chartwell," "The Indian Job," "Strays"

Faye Marsay, actor, "One’s Love," "Nina," "Doctor Who," "Game of Thrones," "Pride"

Jess Barden, actor, "The Lobster," "Tamara Drewe," "Hanna," "Far From the Madding Crowd"

Joe Alwyn, actor, "Billy Lynn’s Halftime Walk," "The Sense of an Ending"

Jorn Threlfall, writer-director, "Over"

Joy Wilkinson, writer, "Killer Résumé," "Enter the Dragons"

Marnie Dickens, writer, "Thirteen, Forty Elephants," "Kit and Nim and Seacole"

Matthew Orton, writer, "Clean and Reason of State"

Naomi Scott, singer, songwriter and actor, "Lemonade Mouth," "Terra Nova," "The 33"

Nicholas Galitzine, actor, "The Beat Beneath My Feet," "High Strung and Handsome Devils"

Nick Rowland, writer-director, "Dancing in the Ashes," "Out of Sight," "Slap and Group B - Cuffs"

Oscar Sharp, writer-director, "The Karman Line Randle is Benign," "The Robber and Andy Brunskill"

Osy Ikhile, actor, "In The Heart of the Sea," "Jet Trash," "Beautiful Devils and Tarzan"

Rachna Suri, director, "Our Lad"

Rick Galazka, writer, "Matinee Idol"

Watch: 'The Lobster' Clips Preview Yorgos Lanthimos' Absurd Cannes Drama

London Film Festival Adds Simon Chinn and Louis Theroux to LFF Connects Talk Series

Elle Leonsis — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 14:19:40 GMT

READ MORE`: London Film Festival Adds Game Designer Alistair Hope to LFF Connects Talk Series

The BFI London Film Festival has announced a new addition to the LFF Connects Series that is sure to make documentary fans celebrate. Academy Award-winning producer Simon Chinn ("Man On Wire," "Project Nim," "Searching for Sugarman" and "The Green Prince") will join BAFTA-winning TV broadcaster Louis Theroux ("Weird Weekends" and "When Louis Met...") for a discussion on television's intersection with film on Monday, October 12th.

Both Chinn and Theroux's work has led them to deal with the same dilemmas: "Do certain ideas lend themselves to film and others to television? Or are we moving towards a future where those lines become more indistinct as media platforms converge?"

The 59th Annual BFI London Film Festival marks a particularly special occasion for Theroux, as his first theatrical feature will have its world premiere at the festival. The film, "My Scientology Movie," was directed by John Dower, and is tangential to the types of subcultures Theroux has spent his career investigating. Having uncovered secret lives of black nationals, white supremacists and porn stars, Theroux is no stranger to controversial topics and his latest film is no exception.

Here is the complete lineup of LFF Connects Talks to come:

LFF Connects: Film with Christopher Nolan, Tacita Dean, Alexander Horwath and Heather Stewart: BFI Southbank, 4pm, Friday, October 9th

LFF Connects: Art with Guy Maddin: BFI Southbank, 3:30pm, Saturday, October 10th

LFF Connects: Creative Technologies with Chris Milk: BFI Southbank, 8:45pm, Monday, October 12th

LFF Connects: TV with Louis Theroux and Simon Chinn: Picturehouse Central, 4pm, Monday, October 12th

LFF Connects: Games with Alistair Hope: Picturehouse Central, 4pm, Wednesday, October 14th

LFF Connects: Performance/Music with Laurie Anderson: BFI Southbank, 12:45pm, Thursday, October 15th

READ MORE: Christopher Nolan to Address Film Preservation at London Film Fest

London Film Festival Adds Game Designer Alistair Hope to LFF Connects Talk Series

Elle Leonsis — Mon, 28 Sep 2015 13:32:05 GMT

READ MORE: 59th London Film Festival Adds Laurie Anderson, Guy Maddin & More to 2015 Slate

The 59th Annual BFI London Film Festival has added a virtual reality aspect to its LFF Connects talks series. The BFI proudly announced this weekend that the mind who brought gamers "Alien: Isolation," designer Alistair Hope, is set to speak in between the LFF Connects Art and Creative Technologies panels.

Clare Stewart, Festival Director of the BFI London Film Festival, said of the news, "film and games are two of the UK’s booming creative sectors, capturing the imagination of audiences globally and influencing international industry peers. Alistair Hope is a trailblazer who brings a very cinematic imagination to game design and we are delighted to welcome him to our LFF Connects series of high-impact talks exploring the intersection of film with other creative forms."

Hope, who serves as the Creative Lead at Creative Assembly, will explain why game designers should be considered auteurs and why his game "Alien: Isolation" won three awards at the 2015 Develop Awards this summer and made it onto the best game lists of 2014 for PC Gamer, New Statesman and the Daily Telegraph.

Hope will also speak about his initiatives through Creative Assembly to host live on-stage developer sessions for "Total War: WARHAMMER" and "Total War: ARENA" at the EGX games convention at the NEC in Birmingham, a sponsored festival for disabled people using digital media.

The LFF: Games section will focus on film's connection with other industries, its social impact and creative licenses. The announcement is fitting for the festival as it launches its first exhibition on Virtual Stories; visitors of the London Film Festival will be able to experience Virtual Reality in a showcase room at the BFI IMAX during from start to finish of the festival, October 7-18.

Through the BFI's partnership with VR company Power to the Pixel Virtual Stories will show semi-interactive features like the dawn of life on Earth in "First Life," narrated by David Attenborough; falling down the rabbit hole and entering the world of Alice in Wonderland in "Wonderland;" being on stage with Cirque du Soleil’s "Inside the Box of Kurios" and experiencing a Syrian refugee camp as a 12-year-old girl in "Clouds over Sidra."

Hope will speak among a slew of industry experts on their respective fields, including Laurie Anderson, Christopher Nolan, Tacita Dean, Guy Maddin and Chris Milk. Hope's talk will take place at Picturehouse Central on Wednesday, October 14, 4-5pm.

READ MORE: Christopher Nolan and Tacita Dean to Headline LFF Connects at the 59th BFI Film Festival

Nick Hornby Kicks Off BAFTA and BFI Screenwriters' Lecture Series With Honest Discussion About His Place in Hollywood

Elle Leonsis — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 16:23:31 GMT

READ MORE: Listen to Emma Thompson Talk Screenwriting: ‘If You Can’t Fail, You Can’t Do This Job

For the sixth year running, the BAFTA and BFI Screenwriters’ Lecture Series launched last night with Academy Award winning screenwriter, Nick Hornby, as its kickoff speaker. Hornby will be followed by screenwriters Andrew Bovell, Nancy Meyers, Jimmy McGovern and Beau Willimon.

This year’s season is programmed by BAFTA-winning screenwriter Jeremy Brock and BAFTA-winning producer Andrea Calderwood. Jeremy Brock, who created the series, said, "each year, the Screenwriters’ Lecture Series brings the importance of the screenwriters’ role into sharp focus. Through their original ideas and adaptations, this season’s esteemed speakers have helped bring to the screen stories that have touched our hearts, cheered our souls, and made us think."

Speaking candidly about the loneliness of writing, Hornby frequently touched on the hardships of writing novels versus screenplays. While he may have struggled to pen cult classics like "High Fidelity" and "Fever Pitch," both later adapted into hit films starring John Cusack and Colin Firth (Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore in the Americanized version of "Fever Pitch") respectively, Hornby discussed the enormous rewards of working on screenplays. Hornby admitted that he is unable to take pride in his novels. In fact, he joked that he will always “quit anything given half the chance.” But not when it comes to his screenplays.

The sole reason for this discrepancy is because "writing is lonely, but film is companionable." Ironically, Hornby added, "I can’t back my novels, but I can back my films," because of the collaborative effort that happens there. When it comes to screenplays, "you finally feel like you’ve proved something to yourself" because of the validation you get from others.

The process of writing is a deeply internal one for Hornby, so the jump from internalizing a character to externalizing one onto screen is a difficult exercise. Yet, the transition that a screenwriter must make between what is happening within a character’s mind and what is portrayed on screen is entirely worth it for the finished product for Hornby: "It’s so important to see what others can bring to your work."

This autumn will mark his 25th year of writing "alone in a room" and Hornby imagines he’ll do just about what he always does to celebrate, by "doing the crosswords and maybe having a cup of tea." Even though Hornby jested at his so-called lonely life, he wouldn’t have it any other way; when asked if he ever went on set of the films he wrote the screenplays for, in a comical and very candid moment, Hornby said, “I usually don’t go to set because people are usually very disappointed to see you, so I politely maybe go once. I’d rather a fourteen hour writing day [than] watch people fiddling and moving lights around!"

Hornby said that he respects the craftsmanship of every role that makes films, especially in regards to the directors. He surmised that there are two types of directors in the industry: There is the kind of director who is essentially an editor who wants to “bring the script to screen" and if there’s an obscurity than he will try to suggest a better way. Then there is the kind of director who is an auteur, "who says, 'this isn’t the kind of scene I want in my film' or 'this scene is going to go completely' and that’s when it gets hard for a screenwriter because I feel as though they’re books and they’re ready to go."

In a respectful but frank tone, Hornby said that the process of filming the Oscar nominated film "Wild" was the hardest because Jean-Marc Valleé “was an auteur more than anyone" he had ever worked with before. Though he admires the performance that Valleé was able to pull out of Reese Witherspoon, joking, "I’m not a woman and I’ve never been on a hike!" he does not appreciate that "directors these days are the 'auteur' despite not authoring anything at all! I’m just mystified as anything," said Hornby with a laugh.

Not getting the kind of recognition he seemingly is owed for the lovable films he has helped put on screen such as "About A Boy" and "An Education" is commonplace to Hornby. Even after winning an Oscar for his work on "An Education," Hornby admits that he rarely gets acknowledged by strangers. When asked how his life has changed since winning an Academy Award, Hornby said, "I suppose the better the work you’ve done, the better the job you’ll be offered... but a lot of it’s just rubbish. Like really bad. Really bad."

When asked why so many of his films center on female characters, Hornby said, "I find myself curiously drawn to beautiful actresses! I fear other people will realize what a good time I’m having one day and steal my thunder!"

Hornby concluded the evening offering aspiring screenwriters a few tips. He said that whenever he hits a wall, he is able to overcome writer’s block by simply experiencing life for a week. "Consuming" the world for just a week, including people, places and history "pays back in spades."

On top of giving himself time away from writing alone to help his works along, Hornby said that finding joy in the minor characters is one of his favorite parts of writing. For Hornby, it’s in the characters surrounding the protagonist that he feels like he can often express his own opinions, the opinions of the audience and pull whatever characterization out of his lead that he needs for the story to work.

His last bit of advice for screenwriters was to love your work, but to not take yourself so seriously. Hornby said, "I once had an argument with a woman in a plane about whether or not I wrote 'High Fidelity.' She just fell into a rather grumpy silence... No one knows who I am!" It seems that that’s okay for Hornby, as long as he still gets to tell human stories that go against "the groove."

Hornby’s latest screenplay, “Brooklyn,” is set to screen at the BFI London Film Festival October 12.

READ MORE: Sundance Review: Nick Hornby-Scripted ‘Brooklyn’ is Beautiful But Unfulfilling

London Film Festival Announces Competition Jury, Including Kristin Scott Thomas and Pawel Pawlikowski

Sonya Saepoff — Tue, 15 Sep 2015 16:45:16 GMT

READ MORE: What Did the London Film Festival Get?

The 59th BFI London Film Festival (LFF) has announced the names that will make up this year's Official Competition Jury. The President of the Official Competition Jury will be three-time BAFTA winner and LFF Best Film prize winner Pawel Pawlikowski ("Ida").

"It is an honour to be Jury President for the BFI London Film Festival this year, especially as my last film 'Ida' won the Best Film Award in 2013 at the very beginning of its journey," said the director.

Pawlikowski will be joined by producer Christine Vachon ("Carol," "Far From Heaven"), director Mabel Cheung ("A Tale of Three Cities") and BAFTA-winning actors Chiwetel Ejiofor ("12 Years A Slave") and Kristen Scott Thomas ("The English Patient"). Some of the titles playing in competition this year include "Beasts of No Nation," "Room," "The Lobster," "Tangerine," "Office" and "Evolution."

The annual Awards Ceremony prizes will be presented on October 17 for the Festival's competitive sections. Each of these award sections is open to international and British films. The award categories are:

Best Film Award, presented to the winner of the Official Competition.
Sutherland Award, presented to the winner of the First Feature Competition.
Grierson Award, presented to the winning film in the Doc Competition.
Short Film Award, presented to one of a shortlist of 12 films selected from across the program.

The 59th BFI London Film Festival will run from October 7-15. The full program and more information can be found at BFI website.

READ MORE: 59th London Film Festival Adds Laurie Anderson, Guy Maddin and More to 2015 Slate

59th London Film Festival Adds Laurie Anderson, Guy Maddin and More to 2015 Slate

Elle Leonsis — Mon, 14 Sep 2015 13:16:34 GMT

The 59th BFI London Film Festival (LFF), in partnership with American Express, announced today the addition of various events that will be featured in this year's industry program. Among the panels, which headline filmmakers like Christopher Nolan and Tacita Dean, the 59th LFF's partnership with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and Women in Film and Television (WFTV) stands out as a landmark event.

The festival is scheduled to host the Institute’s first Global Symposium outside the States following the UK premiere of Sarah Gavron’s "Suffragette." Film's cultural importance on feminist issues will be discussed in terms of a global scale, with the aim being to empower those disenfranchised by gender with film's impact. Keynote speakers include Academy Award-winning actor and Founder and Chair of the Institute Geena Davis, Chair of Women in Film and Television and Producer Elizabeth Karlsen and BFI CEO Amanda Nevill.

The London Film Festival is also launching a series of talks to explore the future of film and its relationship with the arts. LFF Connects will celebrate performance, art and technology with a respective headline speaker. It will showcase writer, director, visual artist and vocalist Laurie Anderson, who will headline on October 15 with multimedia presentations, theater and experimental music. Filmmaker and artist Guy Maddin will also discuss his latest production, "The Forbidden Room," which screens as LFF’s Experimenta Special Presentation at the BFI Southbank on Saturday October 10. Representing the creative technologies realm, Chris Milk will discuss his development of music videos which have featured Kanye West, Arcade Fire and Beck. His digital installations and cross-media technologies will be the focus of this section of LFF Connects. On top of Milk's discussion of Virtual Reality on October 12, Milk will speak about his documentaries "Waves of Grace," which exposes communities ravaged by Ebola, and "Clouds Over Sidra," about a Syrian refugee in Jordan.

This year's LFF will also highlight opportunities for emerging talent. Industry professionals will have the chance to engage with international filmmakers and industry professionals thanks to LFF's returning partnerships with Power to the Pixel’s Pixel Market and Cross Media Forum and the Film London Production Finance Market (PFM). From October 13-16, The Pixel Market "will present 35 cross-platform and interactive projects from across Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia and South America to international financiers and commissioners." The PFM will be a two-day event fostering one-on-one meetings between executives and artists.

The LFF will also host the Film London Micro Market, which provides 25 filmmaking teams a link to speak with financiers looking to source films which are budgeted at €1m and lower. A new partnership with Screen International will unveil the 2015 UK Stars of Tomorrow at the Festival for the first time following the markets. To wrap up the festival, Oscar-winning producer Mark Johnson, chair of AMPAS' Foreign-Language Film Committee, will lead a panel hosted by AMPAS to discuss the impact of the Oscar Foreign Language Film Award.

London Film Fest Adds Talks with Guy Maddin, Laurie Anderson and More

Ryan Lattanzio — Mon, 14 Sep 2015 10:00:00 GMT

LFF Connects, the festival's brand new series of provocative panels exploring the future of film itself and its engagement with other industries, now includes conversations with Laurie Anderson and Guy Maddin. They join previously announced Christopher Nolan and artist Tacita Dean, who will launch the talks on Friday, October 9.

READ MORE: Christopher Nolan to Address Film Preservation at London Film Fest

Anderson, whose acclaimed Telluride premiere "Heart of a Dog" will also play the BFI London Film Festival, will discuss her multimedia approach to filmmaking and how it intersects with her work in art, performance and music on Thursday, October 15.

On Saturday, October 10 Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin will discuss his experimental silent movie ode "The Forbidden Room" (co-directed by Evan Johnson) and its roots in an interactive installation he staged in Paris and Montreal.

Also coming to LFF Connects, LA-based virtual reality maestro Chris Milk will discuss the creative and emotional possibilities of Virtual Reality filmmaking on Monday, October 12.

The London Film Festival (October 7 to 18) has also slated the following industry events. Language courtesy of the fest.

-A new partnership with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and Women in Film and Television (WFTV) will see the Festival host the Institute’s first Global Symposium outside the US on 8 October, the day after the Festival opens with Sarah Gavron’s highly-anticipated Suffragette. The symposium will explore the impact of film on global issues concerning women and girls, addressing gender equality in film and empowering women and girls through film.

-Power to the Pixel: The Cross-Media Forum (PttP) held in association with the Festival takes place from 13-16 October comprising The Pixel Market which will present 35 cross-platform and interactive projects from across Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia and South America to international financiers and commissioners; a Conference offering a series of boundary pushing talks and case studies from international industry experts; and Virtual Stories, a free exhibition of virtual reality projects by leading international filmmakers and digital artists. Film London Production Finance Market (PFM). This two-day event focuses on facilitating over 800 face- to-face meetings between producers and financiers from the international marketplace, to foster relationships and source financing for specific projects. A keynote address, workshops and networking opportunities are also part of the event.

-Film London Micro Market. This innovative micro-budget finance market provides 25 filmmaking teams with a day of dedicated meetings with financiers looking to source projects budgeted at €1m and under. It also incorporates Market Place Live, which takes an interactive approach to bringing a project to market with industry experts in finance, distribution, international sales and marketing, and will be presented within the Festival programme at Picturehouse Central by Film London in partnership with Film Export UK and supported by Creative Skillset.

-The second annual NET.WORK@LFF, the international talent development programme (managed by Creative England on behalf of the BFI, Ffilm Cymru Wales, Film London, Northern Ireland Screen, Scottish Film Talent and Creative Skillset), for 15 rising UK writers, directors and producers will take place during the Festival. The filmmakers will participate in workshops and salons with international Festival guests including writer/director Sean Baker (Tangerine) and producer Christine Vachon (Carol).

-For the first time the Festival will celebrate the launch of this year’s Screen International UK Stars of Tomorrow, a highly-respected showcase of the UK and Ireland’s hottest emerging talent. Previous A-list stars identified have included James McAvoy, Gemma Arterton, Benedict Cumberbatch and Emily Blunt.

LFF Film Industry & Artists’ Moving Image Events

-The BFI’s Diversity Discussion with invited guests and LFF industry delegates will look at the progress being made by the BFI’s ground-breaking ‘three ticks’ initiative for BFI-backed productions and how it is being extended further. Case studies on recent productions and new research will be discussed by the industry and with Ed Vaizey MP, the Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy in attendance.

-The Festival is also partnering with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS) in a panel event to highlight its support of the global filmmaking industry and discuss the process of submitting a film to the Oscar Foreign Language Film category. Mark Johnson, Oscar-winning producer and the chairman of the Academy’s Foreign Language Film Award Committee will join filmmakers and Academy leaders in a conversation about the award category and its impact.

-Further industry activities include The Greenlighters, a series of informal lunchtime talks at Picturehouse Central in which key executives including Christine Langan, the head of BBC Films, and Rose Garnett, the head of editorial at Film 4, discuss a film they love from the Festival programme with the filmmaker.

-New this year, as part of an expanded Experimenta programme, the Festival presents a series of Artists’ Moving Image professional development events in partnership with Lux and supported by Arts Council England with events on writing and criticism; distribution as production; and the process and ethics of restoring artists’ film.

-LFF International Industry Focus: China includes workshops between invited guests, industry delegates and visiting Chinese executives will take place during the Festival as part of the BFI’s wider international strategy to explore and build successful cultural, creative and business relationships with China. In addition a selection of some of China’s biggest, recent box office successes will be featured in the Insight into China film screening showcase.

The Year of the "Strong Women" at the 2015 London Film Fest Lineup

Laura Berger — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 18:00:00 GMT

When we learned Sarah Gavron's "Suffragette" would open this year's BFI London Film Festival, we were optimistic about the rest of the lineup. The full program for the 59th edition of the British has been announced, and compared to other major festivals with premieres of this caliber, female directors are relatively well-represented overall.

Of the 13 films in Official Competition, two are directed by women: Athina Rachel Tsangari's "Chevalier" and Lucile Hadžihalilović's "Evolution."

The First Feature Competition includes 12 films, three of which are female-helmed: Mai Masri's "3000 Nights," Eva Husson's "Bang Gang (A Modern Love Story)" and Esther May Campbell's "Light Years."

As is almost always the case, women fare better in the documentary section, where female filmmakers account for five of 12 docs in competition: Mor Loushy's "Censored Voices," Alexandria Bombach and Mo Scarpelli's "Frame by Frame," Sarah Turner's "Public House," Jennifer Peedom's "Sherpa" and Hanna Polak's "Something Better to Come."

As previously announced, the festival has teamed up with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender and Media and Women in Film and Television to launch the Institute's first Global Symposium on Gender in Media to take place outside of the US. The symposium will kick off one day after the "Suffragette" gala premiere.

Festival Director Clare Stewart and BFI Chief Executive Amada Nevill didn't shy away from addressing questions about diversity at the launch of the LFF Program. In fact, they tackled the issue head-on.

"The programming team has declared this the year of the strong woman,” said Stewart at the launch, citing the films screening at the fest with meaty roles for actresses such as Carey Mulligan in “Suffragette,” Kate Winslet in “Steve Jobs,” Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara in “Carol,” Diane Lane and Helen Mirren in “Trumbo” and Maggie Smith in “The Lady In The Van." What Stewart says of women onscreen is true. While the number of women directors with films in competition definitely leaves something to be desired, we did note that many of the films in competition are female-centric (while others have been rumored to include worthwhile supporting roles for actresses).

"The festival has an important role and a responsibility to be a strong proponent of diversity and to feed the discourse. If we are not doing it, who is?” Stewart told Variety. “Our role is not just in celebrating the achievements of women filmmakers, but also to start to trace patterns," she added.

Stewart noted that of 238 features in this year’s LFF program, 45 are directed by women, or 19%. Three of the 45 women-directed features in the program are set to receive gala screenings. Of the 182 short films being screened, 64 are directed by women, or 35%.

“We can see an emerging theme that there are a number of women getting the opportunity to make independent, and mostly lowly [sic] budget, features but when it comes to more ambitious, big budget projects that falls away,” observed Stewart. “This points to the fact that something needs to change in the way the industry is structured and how it supports for women filmmakers.”

She described "Suffragette" as the “opening film sent from heaven" because “It gives us a platform to feed and highlight the issue we think needs attention."

Nevill, meanwhile, called the festival opener an “uncomfortable reminder” of the “pathetic progress” we've made on the gender equality front.

Clearly Stewart and Nevill aren't just paying lip service to the issues surrounding women on screen and behind the camera. They're invested in progressing the conversation and effecting change. But a major festival where only 19 percent of films the lineup are directed by women -- and that's considered above-average -- shows that there's still a long way to go.

[via Variety]

What Did the London Film Festival Get?

Ryan Lattanzio — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 15:07:03 GMT

The 59th annual BFI London Film Festival (October 7 through 8) has scooped plenty of top-tier titles off the festival circuit, landing European premieres of opening nighter "Suffragette" and closing selection "Steve Jobs." Both should pop up in Telluride this weekend.

All in all, the festival will screen a total of 238 fiction and documentary features, including 16 World Premieres, 8 International Premieres, 40 European Premieres and 11 Archive films including 5 Restoration World Premieres.

This year's galas include Cannes winner "Carol," along with a talk with director Todd Haynes, plus Venice world-premiere "Black Mass," "Trumbo," "Brooklyn," and European productions "The Lady in the Van" and TIFF premiere "High-Rise." Strand galas include "A Bigger Splash" (also in Venice), "The Program," Cannes winner "The Lobster," acclaimed SXSW doc "Brand: A Second Coming" and "The Assassin."

READ MORE: Fall Fest Contenders: What's Coming, What's Not

Special presentations include "The Forbidden Room," Fox Searchlight Oscar doc hopeful "He Named Me Malala," as well as "Truth."

In the official competitions for narrative and first feature are London premieres of "11 Minutes," "Beasts of No Nation," "Cemetery of Splendour," "Son of Saul" and "Room," plus Sundance premieres "Tangerine" and "The Witch," and SXSW turned Cannes Critics' Week fave "Krisha." The documentary competition slate includes "In Jackson Heights," the latest from director Frederick Wiseman.

The rest of the lineup breaks off into strands of films we've seen on the circuit, or in stateside release, or will see in Venice, Telluride and Toronto. We lay out the competition entries below, and the full slate lives here.

READ MORE: Christopher Nolan to Address Film Preservation at London Film Fest

OFFICIAL COMPETITION

Jerzy Skolimowski, 11 MINUTES
Cary Fukunaga, BEASTS OF NO NATION
Apichatpong Weerasethakul, CEMETERY OF SPLENDOUR
Athina Rachel Tsangari, CHEVALIER
Simon Stone, THE DAUGHTER
Jonás Cuarón, DESIERTO (European Premiere)
Lucile Hadžihalilović, EVOLUTION
Johnnie To, OFFICE (European Premiere)
Lenny Abrahamson, ROOM
László Nemes, SON OF SAUL
Terence Davies, SUNSET SONG
Sean Baker, TANGERINE
Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya, VERY BIG SHOT (European Premiere)

FIRST FEATURE COMPETITION

Mai Masri, 3000 NIGHTS (European Premiere)
Eva Husson, BANG GANG (A MODERN LOVE STORY)
Magnus von Horn, THE HERE AFTER
Trey Edward Shults, KRISHA
Yared Zeleke, LAMB
Esther May Campbell, LIGHT YEARS
Ariel Kleiman, PARTISAN
Eugenio Canevari, PAULA
Bentley Dean, Martin Butler, TANNA
Piero Messina, THE WAIT
Nitzan Gilady, WEDDING DOLL (European Premiere)
Robert Eggers, THE WITCH

DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

João Pedro Plácido, (BE)LONGING
Mor Loushy, CENSORED VOICES
David Sington, THE FEAR OF 13 (World Premiere)
Alexandria Bombach, Mo Scarpelli, FRAME BY FRAME (European Premiere)
Alexander Sokurov, FRANCOFONIA
Frederick Wiseman, IN JACKSON HEIGHTS
Walter Salles, JIA ZHANGKE, A GUY FROM FENYANG
Tomer Heymann, MR. GAGA (International Premiere)
Patricio Guzmán, THE PEARL BUTTON
Sarah Turner, PUBLIC HOUSE (World Premiere)
Jennifer Peedom, SHERPA (European Premiere)
Hanna Polak, SOMETHING BETTER TO COME

SHORT FILM AWARD

João Paulo Miranda Maria, COMMAND ACTION
Till Nowak, DISSONANCE
Nina Gantz, EDMOND
Peter Tscherkassky, THE EXQUISITE CORPUS
Mees Peijnenburg, A HOLE IN MY HEART
An van Dienderen, LILI (International Premiere)
Maïmouna Doucouré, MOTHER(S)
Shai Heredia, Shumona Goel, AN OLD DOG’S DIARY (European Premiere)
Caroline Bartleet, OPERATOR (World Premiere)
Jörn Threlfall, OVER
Vivienne Dick, RED MOON RISING (World Premiere)
Ziya Demirel, TUESDAY FILM GUESTS

Christopher Nolan to Address Film Preservation at London Film Fest

Ryan Lattanzio — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 09:00:00 GMT

Christopher Nolan is among the filmmakers headlining the 2015 BFI London Film Festival's first-ever LFF Connects, a new series of provocative conversations about the future of film and its impact on other creative industries, from TV and music to art, games and technology.

Nolan and artist Tacita Dean, celebrated for her grand-scale Tate Modern exhibition FILM in 2011, will launch the talks on Friday, October 9 at the BFI Southbank in a conversation about the importance of film projection—which is something Nolan has long-advocated with his films including 70mm-exhibited "Interstellar," and his position on the board of Martin Scorsese's Film Foundation. Christoper Nolan most recently premiered his new documentary "Quay," about identical twin stop-motion animators The Quay Brothers, in New York.

READ MORE: Cate Blanchett to Receive BFI Honor

They will be joined by Austrian Film Museum director Alexander Horwath, an expert on film preservation and archiving. BFI Creative Director Heather Stewart will moderate the talk. More trailblazers will be announced in the coming weeks as LFF Connects headliners. This year's London Film Festival runs October 7 through 18.

READ MORE: Christopher Nolan Joins Martin Scorsese's Film Foundation

Cate Blanchett to Receive BFI Fellowship at London Film Festival

Zack Sharf — Thu, 27 Aug 2015 14:13:28 GMT

READ MORE: Watch: Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara and Todd Haynes Are An Oscar Triple Threat in 'Carol' Teaser

As if the tremendous awards buzz surrounding her acclaimed performance in Todd Haynes' "Carol" wasn't enough, Cate Blanchett is now set to receive the BFI Fellowship at this year's London Film Festival. The award is given to individuals in recognition of their outstanding contribution to film or television. Both of Blanchett's fall releases -- "Carol" and the Dan Rather drama "Truth" -- are playing at the London Film Festival this October.

"Cate Blanchett's mesmerising screen presence has captivated audiences since her earliest roles," said the BFI in a statement. "A fearless and subtle actress, she has the rare gift of seeming utterly to inhabit the characters she plays and has an amazing ability to convey complex layers of emotion to stunning effect."

In her 25-year career, Blanchett has appeared in critically acclaimed dramas and blockbuster franchises ("The Lord of the Rings"). She won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her turn as Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's "The Aviator" and earned the Best Actress prize for her tormented performance in Woody Allen's "Blue Jasmine."

The BFI Fellowship will be awarded on Saturday, October 17 at London's Banqueting House. "Carol" hits U.S. theaters November 20, while "Truth" lands earlier, on October 16.

READ MORE: 'Steve Jobs' European Premiere to Close BFI London Film Festival

Anthony Asquith's 'Shooting Stars' Selected as BFI London Film Festival Archive Gala

Zack Sharf — Thu, 20 Aug 2015 13:53:12 GMT

READ MORE: 'Steve Jobs' European Premiere to Close BFI London Film Festival

The BFI London Film Festival has announced that its Archive Gala screening will be the world premiere of a new restoration of Anthony Asquith's "Shooting Stars" (1928). Asquith's first film as co-director and scriptwriter, "Stars" is set behind the scenes at a contemporary film studio. Newly restored by the BFI National Archive, the film will be presented with a new live score by BAFTA and Emmy award-winning composer John Altman.

Annette Benson and Brian Aherne play two mismatched, married stars, with Donald Calthrop (Andy Wilkes) as a Chaplin-esque star at the same studio, with whom Mae becomes romantically involved. Chili Bouchier, Britain’s first sex symbol of the silent era, plays a key role as an actress/bathing beauty, an attractive foil to the comic antics of the comedian. The film manages to operate as both a modern morality tale and a critique of the film industry and a celebration of its possibilities.

"We are delighted to be showcasing this remarkable film in a brilliant new restoration achieved after months of work from our dedicated teams at the BFI," said Robin Baker, Head Curator at the BFI National Archive said. "'Shooting Stars' is a fascinating debut from one of Britain's greatest filmmakers and to see it with a newly commissioned score performed live in the Art Deco splendour of the Odeon Leicester Square promises to be a very special experience."

The event will be held on Friday, October 16 at the Odeon Leicester Square.

READ MORE: BFI Releases the World's Oldest Home Videos and Thousands Of Unseen Films

'Steve Jobs' European Premiere to Close BFI London Film Festival

Meredith Mattlin — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 14:46:44 GMT

READ MORE: Watch: Michael Fassbender and Danny Boyle Resurrect 'Steve Jobs' in Pulsating Trailer

Danny Boyle's much-anticipated "Steve Jobs," based on Walter Isaacson's biography, will have its European premiere as the closing film at the 59th BFI London Film Festival.

The biopic promises a revealing picture of the life and legacy of the late Steve Jobs (portrayed by Michael Fassbender) from the near-legendary launch of the Macintosh in 1984 until the unveiling of the iMac in 1998. The Aaron Sorkin-written film follows its eponymous character, the new world he built that fueled an unprecedented digital revolution and, of course, what he tore down in the process. "Steve Jobs" also features Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Jeff Daniels, Michael Stuhlbarg and Katherine Waterston.

Of the London event, Danny Boyle said, "If London was the cradle of the Industrial Revolution, then San Francisco is the Bethlehem of the digital one. We had a brilliant time making this movie in Silicon Valley and I hope Londoners will enjoy a behind-the-scenes look into the making of the modern world."

The London Film Festival will take place October 7-18. "Steve Jobs" will open in the U.S. on October 9, and Universal Pictures plans to release the film in theaters in the UK on November 13.

READ MORE: Alex Gibney on the Rage and Genius Showmanship of 'Steve Jobs'

Geena Davis Takes Aim

Ryan Lattanzio — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 20:43:23 GMT

The BFI London Film Festival has teamed with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media (GDI) and Women in Film and Television (WFTV) for the Institute’s first Global Symposium on Gender in Media outside the US on October 8, the day after the festival opens with Sarah Gavron’s awards hopeful "Suffragette."

Geena Davis present the opening keynote speech at the inaugural Global Symposium. “Media images have a huge impact on our perceptions, and on our social and cultural beliefs and behaviors," said Davis. "Our new global study, explores how global films may be reinforcing negative gender stereotypes with movie audiences of all ages.”

The Institute is among Hollywood's only organizations working to create gender parity, reduce stereotypes and increase visibility of rich female characterizations onscreen. The Global Symposium will present her new research, with further investigates the representation of women for audiences in the UK, India, Nigeria, France and Brazil.

READ MORE: Geena Davis Shares Two Simple Steps for Making Hollywood Less Sexist

Davis has not just played strong women onscreen, but helped created them. Her studies have offered actual tangible impetus for change. She wrote, for example, in The Hollywood Reporter last year that the ratio of male to female characters, according to one of the Institute's studies, has stayed the same since 1946. So her suggestion to screenwriters was to change several of the characters' first names to women's names.

"With one stroke you've created some colorful unstereotypical female characters that might turn out to be even more interesting now that they've had a gender switch." She also said that when setting up a crowd scene, screenwriters should simply write, "A crowd gathers, which is half female."

Carey Mulligan-Starrer 'Suffragette' Opens London, Will Play Other Fall Fests (NEW TRAILER)

Anne Thompson — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 18:01:30 GMT

(The festival follows Cannes with an opener directed by a woman.) It's billed as the European premiere, which means that the eagerly awaited Focus Features release will not premiere at Venice but likely will turn up at Telluride, Toronto and/or New York. Now's the time the festivals are seeing rough cuts of movies heading for the awards corridor and making plays for competitive gala slots. Telluride is an increasing favorite with the talent, who don't have to pack their designer finery or walk a red carpet or participate in press conferences and junkets. But Toronto and New York pack a major media wallop for serious awards contenders. And LA's AFI Fest waits for the films that get out of the editing room late, like last year's "American Sniper" and "Selma."

Mulligan and her co-stars Helena Bonham Carter and Meryl Streep will attend the London opening night gala. Brendan Gleeson, Anne-Marie Duff and Ben Whishaw co-star in the film, which opens in England October 30 and stateside October 23.

Read: Tony Nominee Carey Mulligan Talks Independence, Film vs. Theater, 'Far from the Madding Crowd,' 'Skylight,' and 'Suffragette'

"Suffragette" marks the first feature film to tell the story of the turn-of-the-century British women who rose up and fought --against armed resistance-- for equality and the right to vote. It's Gavron's third time at the festival; she reteams with her "Brick Lane" screenwriter Abi Morgan ("The Iron Lady") to bring to the screen this story of the early fighters of the feminist movement. Many who took to the streets were radicalized working class women like Maud (Mulligan) who recognized that peaceful protest had achieved nothing. They turned to violence as the only route to real change.

Produced by Faye Ward and Alison Owen ("Saving Mr. Banks"), Ruby Films for Pathé, Film4 and the BFI (in association with Redgill Productions and with the participation of Canal+ and Cine-Cinema), the film's executive producers are Cameron McCracken, Tessa Ross, Rose Garnett, Nik Bower, James Schamus and Teresa Moneo. Christopher Collins was the lead executive for the BFI.

"'Suffragette' is an urgent and compelling film," said Clare Stewart, BFI London Film Festival Director, "made by British women, about British women who changed the course of history and it is, quite simply, a film that everyone must see.”

The 59th BFI London Film Festival runs from Wednesday October 7 to Sunday October 18, 2015. The full program will be announced on September 1, 2015.

LFF Review: Falling for 'The Falling,' Carol Morley’s Swoon-Worthy New Film

Alice Thorpe — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 16:00:00 GMT

There were no less than twelve female members of the cast and crew on stage to introduce The Falling at its world premiere at the London Film Festival, and it made for quite a sight. One of the most talked about women-directed films of the festival, and one of three women-directed features (out of twelve) in Official Competition, Carol Morley’s latest is a bold, compelling, and utterly inspiring piece of work.

The film centers on an episode of mass hysterical fainting at an all-girl school in England. The year is 1969, and Lydia (Game of Thrones’ Maisie Williams) and Abbie (newcomer Florence Pugh) are fellow pupils and best friends. The school is presided over by the intimidating figure of Miss Alvaro (deliciously portrayed by Monica Dolan) who, by all outward appearances, conforms to that peculiarly English image of the stern and prudish spinster-headmistress who stereotypically haunts such establishments.

While Miss Alvaro stalks the corridors -- perennial cigarette hovering in manicured hand above stiff upper lip -- the girls, and Abbie in particular, seek release from the staid and proper atmosphere engulfing them via acts of quiet rebellion. There was a burst of sympathetic laughter from the audience at the premiere as, in an early scene, Abbie was subjected to the indignity -- commonplace in such institutions -- of having one’s skirt measured to ensure it is not hanging too far above the knee (which, naturally, hers was), gazing with amusement at her classmates all the while, her indifference to authority palpable.

Abbie -- by virtue of her abundant confidence, intelligence, and beauty -- is clearly someone to whom all the girls are drawn, and no one more so than her best friend Lydia. Theirs is the archetypal teen-girl friendship marked by an intense dependency. Yet Lydia feels Abbie is beginning to drift away from her. Abbie has slept with someone, and Lydia feels left out.

While Abbie extols the joys of “free love” and orgasms, Lydia sits curled up and sulking inside a box-like aperture at the bottom of a built-in wardrobe. It is an arresting image, which not only speaks volumes about Lydia’s own inner turmoil, but irresistibly recalls the mysterious figure of her agoraphobic mother (Maxine Peake), who hasn’t left the house for as long as Lydia can remember, and whose difficult relationship with her daughter will become more and more significant as the film unfolds.

Admirers of Carol Morley’s 2011 documentary feature Dreams of a Life -- the tragic story of Joyce Vincent, whose death in her North London studio went unnoticed for three whole years -- will recognize in The Falling a comparable empathy for women leading lives of quiet desperation. One of Morley’s great talents as a filmmaker is her ability to build up a complex picture of her characters from the smallest and most delicately placed details.

Viewers’ perceptions of the forbidding Miss Alvaro might shift, for instance, once they spot the portrait of Virginia Woolf, which takes pride of place on her office wall, and they most certainly will after a brief but oh-so-poignant exchange with Miss Mantel (Greta Scacchi), in which the headmistress comments bitterly that if their teenage charges think themselves misunderstood now, they are set for a rude awakening once they reach middle age.

As the narrative progresses, the suffocating veil of repression that obscures these characters induces increasingly strange instances of fainting that erupt around the school. Abbie is the first to fall, and soon the weird sickness has infected Lydia too. From Lydia, it spreads like wildfire, until most of the school population is swooning uncontrollably.

Is it the physical manifestation of an uncontainable sexual awakening? Or a conscious act of feminist revolt? Identifying the precise significance of “the falling” is left to our imaginations. The film boasts several moments of homage to Peter Weir’s Picnic at Hanging Rock, yet it is unquestionably Morley’s distinct creation, and the same commitment to maintaining a sense of deliberate and fascinating ambiguity that characterized Dreams of a Life is very much in evidence here.

It is a strange, amorphous animal -- strains of Gothic melodrama and science fiction run throughout -- and the stunning cinematography of Agnès Godard (Claire Denis’ long-time collaborator) makes for an all-the-more hallucinogenic experience. The haunting score by artist Tracey Thorn (Everything but the Girl) -- her first composition for film -- also contributes beautifully to The Falling’s power to seduce and move. This is a film highly deserving of praise and, indeed, multiple viewings. Come spring next year, when it’s set for release, I’ll be one of the first in line to fall for it all over again.

Crosspost: Number of Women Directors of Shorts at London Film Festival Doubles From Last Year

Paul [Last Name Withheld] — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 14:00:00 GMT

The following is crossposted with the permission of the author. It was originally published here.

Last year, I posted this analysis of the huge underrepresentation of women among directors of short films featured in the BFI’s London Film Festival 2013.

How have things changed this year? Let’s have a look:

The overall proportion of short films directed by women across the festival's nine programs has doubled since last year, from 15% to 31%. That's an increase of 11 of 72 shorts last year to 21 of 67 shorts this year.

This is undoubtedly excellent progress and gives hope that, before too much longer, they’ll reach the vicinity of the 50-50 mark they should be striving for.

It’s a little concerning, however, that there’s still such disparity between the different strands. I’d be interested to know who programmed each of these shorts programs and whether this could go some way to explain the fact that, for the second year running, the Laugh and Cult shorts programs have no women directors at all, while Dare tops the chart again, but this time with an extraordinary 82%. Indeed the big imbalance in women directors’ favor in that a single program accounts for half the year-on-year increase.

Two data points is not a trend, however, so I’ll do this again next year!

And in the meantime I’ll continue to enjoy the diversity of full-length films elsewhere in this year’s festival. The Falling, with a near all-woman cast and a crew also refreshingly rich with women, was great, and the central character in 1001 Grams is that rarely portrayed being, a woman scientist. Meanwhile, Dear White People was a highly entertaining film striking blows for both race and (to a lesser extent) gender equality. It’s good to see some of the shorts programs have made moves in the right direction too.

Paul tweets @bitoclass.

London Film Festival Review: 'Honeytrap' - Engaging Story of a Young Woman Who Lets Yearning for Acceptance Spiral Out of Control

Wendy Okoi-Obuli — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 01:22:42 GMT

Rebecca Johnson’s "Honeytrap" is a well told story of Layla, a beautiful 15 year old girl who, after living most of her life with her grandparents in Trinidad, arrives in Brixton, London, to live with her estranged mother. Based on the case of a real-life murder which made UK news headlines in 2008, in which a young girl is used to lure her naïve ex-boyfriend into the trap of her older ex-boyfriend and his posse, "Honeytrap" eschews the headlines and plays out the classic fish out of water trope to a devastatingly tragic conclusion. With Layla initially sticking out like a sore thumb and keen fit in with her peers, she is lead down paths that seem unlikely she’d have gone down if the spectre of teenage peer pressure and a desperate need for acceptance, weren’t so strongly at play.

The need for acceptance though, stems mainly from a seeming lack of affection from Layla’s grandparents and mother. In fact, the relationship between mother and daughter is central to this story. Though Layla is taken in by her mother, the arrangement seems to be one of great reluctance and inconvenience on the mother’s part. Emotionally cold, self-centred and clearly dependent on male attention herself, Layla’s mother seems to have little beyond the roof over her head to give to her daughter. While we never see her deny Layla as her daughter, she behaves more like an older sibling irritated by the very existence of her naive, doting, younger sister, than a mother with any sense of maternal responsibility or moral guidance to impart. So with the any notions of a happy family life in London being dashed from the outset, Layla is pretty much at the mercy of the worst that inner city youth culture has to offer any unassuming newcomer.

Jessica Sula plays Layla with amazing fluidity. Her naivety is believable, and yet one is equally left wondering whether her character is really as sweet and innocence as she initially seems. She clearly has ambitions to be greater than what she’s been lead to believe she can be, but, like her mother, one gets the impression that male attention plays a huge part in any such scheme. She certainly doesn’t have problems with switching allegiances, but is she just being a normal, whimsical teenager or a scheming femme fatale? Whatever the case, it’s clear that she doesn’t quite have the wherewithal to be more than a pawn or a plaything, with little personal fortitude to change the rules of the game or stop playing altogether.

As writer-director, it’s obvious that Johnson put a lot of thought into the central character of her film. However, while Sula pretty much carries the film, in stark contrast, apart from her mother, the rest of the cast of characters don’t really come across as anything other than lazy stereotypes, perhaps enabling Sula to shine that bit more, seeing as she has more to grapple with. From the nice black guy, to the bad black guy, and all the other bad black boys and girls, they all seem to have been written to lend to the sensational story urban teenage tragedy that the story leads up to. Layla is referred to by one of the young men in her life as his “Trini princess,” and what Johnson delivers in "Honeytrap" is a tragically real princess in a land of make-believe cardboard cut-out characters. The one good guy is very, very good, and all the bad guys, and gals, are all horrid.

Despite my misgivings about the supporting cast, "Honeytrap" is an engaging, well-paced film which manages to go beyond the sensation of a young female accomplice to murder, and cuts to the very personal story of a young woman who lets her desperate yearning for affection and acceptance spiral way out of her control.