It’s that time of year again when a cluster of highly regarded film festivals takes place, these festivals are a celebration of film, filmmakers and the artistry that goes into their creation. It’s the industry’s art exhibitions, where the industry’s best showcase their works to a selection of the world’s most discerning critics, as well as the general public ahead of their official, international release dates. While most are looking for invites from one of the big five in Venice, Cannes, Toronto, Sundance or Berlin to premiere their films, arguably the lesser-known festivals are where some real hidden gems can be discovered.
While the BFI festival takes place in the globalized city of London, it is certainly considered a more low-key affair than some like TIFF or NYFF; however, that doesn’t detract from the highly anticipated spectacle on offer and the promise of some exciting new films making their UK and European premieres. Here are some of the most highly anticipated films to hit the BFI film festival next month…
7 Pinocchio
Guillermo Del Toros Pinocchio will make its world premiere at the London Film Festival just a month after Robert Zemeckis’ own Disney-backed Pinocchio project is released for public consumption. While the two films are ostensibly from the same narrative pool, Del Toro’s version promises a darker spin on the children’s classic. With Ewan Mcgregor, Tilda Swinton, Finn Wolfhard, Christoph Waltz, Cate Blanchett and John Turturro ready to star as Pinocchio and his animated friends, this movie is probably one of the best adaptations of Pinocchio yet. The Netflix original should be available on the streaming platform in December 2022.
6 The Banshees of Inisherin
Former west-end playwright Martin McDonagh’s new film, starring two of the director’s lead roles in Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin debuted at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month and it has been announced that its UK curtain-raiser will be at the BFI festival.
Set against the backdrop of the Irish Civil War of 1923, the film follows the story of two old friends, Padraic (Farrell) and Colm (Gleeson), when Colm decides that for an undisclosed reason he no longer wants to know. make with Padraic. McDonagh’s distinct style and razor-sharp scripts have made him a highly respected director and screenwriter, and expect The Banshees of Inisherin to continue in the same vein.
5 Glass Onion: A Knife Mystery
Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) returns for Glass Onionthe second episode of the murder mystery Knives out. The first edition of Rian Johnson’s hit was a captivating investigative drama that didn’t take itself too seriously, and it’s ready to return with another great ensemble featuring Craig returning as the mellow Blades off character detective blanc. Tech tycoon Miles Bron (Edward Norton) throws a party on his escape Greek island when the inevitable corpse is discovered, and the finger-pointing begins, the whodunit begins to unravel when Benoit Blanc is called in to inspect.
4 bardo
In Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of TruthsAlejandro G. Inarritu delivers his first film since his Academy Award-winning The Revenant. After a seven-year hiatus, the Mexican director’s homecoming is just that, in Mexico; bardo traverses the story of a journalist and documentary filmmaker in this three-hour epic first broadcast at the Venice Film Festival. Inarritu has revealed that bardo is in fact partially semi-biographical, describing some of the trials and tribulations of his own life and his decision to move his young family from Mexico to the United States in 2001.
3 white noise
Noah Baumbach’s white noise includes past collaborators Adam Driver (Marriage Story, Frances Ha), and Greta Gerwig (Frances Ha) and recently had its world premiere in Venice. An apocalyptic dark comedy, white noise documents the misadventures of a town, and husband and wife, Professor Jack Gladney, and Babette Gladney as a toxic chemical event wreaks havoc after a train accident. Baumbach’s quirky, idiosyncratic style always makes his screenplays fun, charming and quick-witted, and with Don DeLillo’s unconventional, masterful source novel, this film is sure to follow.
2 Decide to leave
Park Chan-Wook, made famous by his Vengeance trilogy (Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Lady Vengeance), is set to screen his new movie Decide to leave at the London Film Festival. After the critical success of his last film, the maidservantChan-Wook will no doubt be eyeing even more acclaim and take it a step further like his South Korean counterpart, Bong Joon-Ho. Decide to leave would follow the story of a detective who, in the midst of an investigation into a man’s murder, falls in love with the dead man’s wife. The erotic thriller, which won prizes at Cannes, should continue the iconoclastic oeuvre of the director with even more brilliance.
1 Realm of Light
The movie of 2019 1917 was a cinematic triumph, thanks in part to the brilliant work of legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins, who is teaming up again with director Sam Mendes for his new film, Realm of Light. The film’s story is pretty well hidden and neither the trailer nor Mendes himself reveal much in the way of content, except that it’s set in the 1980s in an English seaside cinema and revolves around a romantic development.