A few days into October, and we’ve already been spoiled by a fine festival season, from one of the best Venice line-ups ever to a stacked Telluride and TIFF to an NYFF that’s started strong with Ava DuVernay’s tremendous “The 13th.” And across the pond, things are gearing up too: the 60th BFI London Film Festival kicks off on Wednesday.
The festival doesn’t always have the big world premieres that some of the U.S fests do, but the last few years have seen it unfold some of its strongest line-ups ever, and this year might just top them all. With literally hundreds of films on the slate, it can be hard to see the forest for the trees, but if you’re in town in the next couple of weeks, we’ve below picked out ten films that could be overshadowed by some of the starrier efforts, but could well end up being some of the most rewarding movies of the festival. Take a look below and let us know what you’re looking forward to if you’re there.
“A Date For Mad Mary”
It’s an exciting time for Irish film at the minute, and that’s reflected in the LFF line-up, with local hit “The Young Offenders,” plus horrors “A Dark Song,” “I Am Not A Serial Killer” and “Without Name” all screening. The one that we can vouch for is “A Date For Mad Mary,” a dark comedy drama about a young woman (a breakout turn from Seána Kerslake) recently released from prison looking to reconnect with her best friend, who’s soon to be married. Greg caught the film at Karlovy Vary, and called Darren Thornton’s movie “an impressive first film,” with an “inspired depiction of the end of a friendship.” A definite gem in the line up, then.
“Christine”
Something of a buzz film at Sundance, things have been quieter on the latest from the excellent Antonio Campos (“Afterschool,” “Simon Killer”) since then, but having seen the film at LFF pre-screenings, they shouldn’t be. Telling the true story of Christine Chubbuck, a California newsreader who shot herself live on air in 1974, the film, in telling the story of Watergate-era newsroom sexism, initially comes across as sort of a straight-faced take on “Anchorman.” But with a best-ever performance from Rebecca Hall, sensitive writing and controlled direction from Campos, it soon proves to be much more, a highly subjective glimpse inside the head of a very troubled woman. Read our Sundance review for more.
“The Levelling”
For the most part, if you think of British kitchen-sink drama, you likely think of more urban surroundings, bar the occasional “The Selfish Giant.” But “The Levelling,” the first feature from the hotly touted Hope Dickson Leach, looks to introduce audiences to a more rural way of life. Winning some great reviews after its TIFF premiere, the film stars “Game Of Thrones” actress Ellie Kendrick (she’s the one that spent a lot of time with Hodor and Bran of late) as a young trainee vet who returns to her family’s farm in the West Country after her brother dies. We hear it’s pretty exceptional, and with “Lady Macbeth” marks an exciting swing to putting women front and center of new British indie film.
“My Life As A Courgette”
The idea of Celine Sciamma, the director of “Tomboy” and the magnificent “Girlhood” working on an animated film might not be the most obvious one. But the charming “My Life As A Courgette“ (or “My Life As A Zucchini,” as it’ll be renamed in the U.S) proves that Sciamma’s range is much wider than we’d seen before. Written by the filmmaker, and directed by Claude Barras, it’s a sweet stop-motion pic, weighing in at under 70 minutes, about a young orphan boy called Courgette grappling with the death of his alcoholic mother. Our Cannes review called it “a diamond in the rough” with “emotional resonance and non-saccharine uplift that is mostly rare in today’s animation world,” so animation fans will want to put this on their list now.
“Prevenge”
After 2012’s amazing Ben Wheatley-directed “Sightseers,” which she co-wrote with Steve Oram, Alice Lowe should have blown up, but the former “Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace” star’s subsequent appearance have been limited to cameos in things like ‘The World’s End,” “Paddington” and “Sherlock.” Her directorial debut “Prevenge” — shot on a minuscule budget on a hastened schedule when Lowe herself was heavily pregnant — should fix that. The actress also stars as Ruth, a grieving, pregnant woman whose unborn fetus inspires her to murder, and it’s the kind of macabre, grimly funny idea that we wanted from her after “Sightseers.” And per Jess’s Venice review, it’s “deeply satisfying and very funny.”