BFI London Film Festival Unveils It’s 59th Programme

With the already announced opening and closing gala’s the wait is now finally over as this morning BFI London Film Festival unveiled it’s 59th edition line up. Total of 238 films feature films will take over London’s main cinematic venue showcasing why BFI London Film Festival is Britain’s leading film event and one of the world’s oldest film festivals. 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).

As announced in June & August London Film Festival will open with the story of courage and equality for Women’s rights with Suffragette. Sarah Gavon‘s period drama of ordinary women who risked everything for the right to vote, a powerful story that deserves the best female actors in the business including Carey Mulligan, Meryl Streep, Helena Boham-Carter. Closing gala is European Premere of Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs starring Michael Fassbender as the titular role Steve Jobs one of the men behind apple and the digital revolution.

Stand Out films include Todd Haynes Carol starring Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara will making it’s UK premiere with the leading cast plus director attending.The Accenture Gala will be European Premiere of Trumbo starring Bryan Cranston in a cracking performance as Dalton Trumbo, the Hollywood screenwriter who was blacklisted after refusing to testify before the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1947. Diane Lane, Helen Mirren, Elle Fanning, Louis C.K. and John Goodman round out the cast.

Virgin Atlantic who will present Scott Cooper’s chilling crime drama Black Mass starring Johnny Depp as double crossing CIA informing criminal Whitey Bulger. It’s causing controversy not for it’s subject matter but a film making it’s world premiere not just at Venice but now London, Beasts Of No Nation. A film starring Idris Elba, a film that’s also a Netflix film whilst running a limited release in some cinemas USA, however been boycotted by certain chains Stateside. The Festival Gala is Ben Wheatley’s High-Rise starring Tom Hiddleston as Dr. Robert Laing, a man who has just taken ownership of a luxurious apartment in this brilliant satire based on JG Ballard’s classic novel.Green Room, Jeremy Saulnier’s latest exercise(Blue Ruin) in edge of the seat suspense, starring Patrick Stewart, Imogen Poots and Anton Yelchin

As ever the festival is broke into strands.The nine programme strands are each headlined with a gala, they are: the Love Gala, Luca Guadagnino’s A Bigger Splash; the Debate Gala, Stephen Frears’ The Program; the Dare Gala, Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Lobster; the Laugh Gala, Ondi Timoner’s Brand: A Second Coming (European Premiere); the Thrill Gala, Deepa Mehta’s Beeba Boys (International Premiere); the Cult Gala, S. Craig Zahler’s Bone Tomahawk (International Premiere); the Journey Gala, Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s The Assassin; the Sonic Gala, Hany Abu-Assad’s The Idol (European Premiere) and the Family Gala is Rob Letterman’s Goosebumps(European Premiere).Guy Maddin and Evan Johnson’s phantasmagoric opus Forbidden Room a favourite of ours from Sundance this year will also make it’s appearance in Epxerimenta  strand.

The 59th Edition of BFI London Film Festival will take place between 7th and 18th Ocotber, check out the full list of films and pre-book/book your tickets here.