56th BFI London Film Festival

Every year, the British Film Institute (BFI) hosts Britain’s biggest, most exciting, star-studded film event, the London Film Festival, where directors worldwide get the chance to share their accomplishments with the public. As one of the most accessible film festivals around, any eager movie fans in London should try to catch a screening or two. Packed full with big-scale red carpet premieres, in focus Q&A sessions with the stars, the festival is truly an exciting occasion to be taken advantage of.

Many renowned filmmakers use this event as a platform to drive and sustain publicity surrounding their films that could be serious contenders come the awards season. After Berlin in February, Cannes in May, Venice and Toronto in September, the next one down the list is London in October, which would explain the heavy presence of international press tuning in to see which worthy films will stand out from the crowded line-up for further acclaim. Last year, The Artist, hot off its Best Actor win from Cannes arrived in London to wide critical praise. The following year it walked away with the Best Picture at the 2012 Academy Awards. This, as well as other highly regarded directors (last year’s guests include Mike Leigh, Fernando Meirelles, Terence Davies, George Clooney, Alexander Payne, Madonna, Ralph Fiennes, David Cronenberg, Steve McQueen (obviously, not the dead movie star, the director)) submitting their work for consideration, shows the festival’s high-standing reputation within the film community.

Clare Stewart, taking over the position of Festival Director from Sandra Hebron, has prepared a shorter but more compact programme of more than 200 feature films shown across more boroughs of London, aside from the usual Leicester Square venues.

The festival opens on 10th October with Tim Burton‘s Frankenweenie serving as its Opening Gala film, and the film will also be shown simultaneously across thirty separate locations, a first for the festival. Burton’s new 3D stop-motion animation tells the story of a young boy who manages to resurrect his dead dog but also finds that there are consequences with messing with death.

Closing the festival on 21st October is Mike Newell’s visually dazzling adaptation of Charles Dickens’ most beloved novel, Great Expectations, starring Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter and English rising star Jeremy Irvine as Pip, a penniless orphan who climbs the London society’s ladder thanks to unexpected help from a mysterious benefactor.

The full programme and detailed ticketing information are available on the BFI London Film Festival website: www.bfi.org.uk/lff