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| Record showing for British films at London Film Festival | | ||||||||
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| The Times BFI 52nd London Film Festival rounded off what it called its most successful year to date with the European premiere of Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire on 30 October. The screening was attended by Boyle, Dev Patel, Frieda Pinto and Anil Kapoor. This year’s festival hosted 191 feature films and 109 short films from 43 countries, including a record 15 world premieres. There were 398 screenings and 537 visiting international film-makers, a record 1,096 industry professionals, and the highest ever audience attendance. Festival artistic director, Sandra Hebron, said: “We are delighted that this year's festival has been so well received. Combining high profile red carpet premieres with the best of European and world cinema, it has offered a celebration of international film making in all its forms.” Opening the festivities was the world premiere screening of Frost/Nixon with director Ron Howard in attendance alongside principal cast members Frank Langella, Michael Sheen and Kevin Bacon, as well as the subject of the film Sir David Frost. The European premiere of W. provided more political drama with director Oliver Stone and cast members Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Banks, Thandie Newton and Toby Jones introducing the film. Stephan Elliott, Ben Barnes, Colin Firth and Jessica Biel graced the red carpet for Easy Virtue. Firth also attended Genova alongside co-stars Perla Haney-Jardine and Willa Holland and director Michael Winterbottom. Laura Linney, Liam Neeson and Romola Garai joined director Sir Richard Eyre for The Other Man, while Steven Soderbergh and Benicio Del Toro introduced Che. Other festival guests included Spike Lee, who was joined by Alexandra Maria Lara for The Miracle of St Anna. Heavy metal group Anvil who performed a surprise set at the premiere of Anvil! The True Story of Anvil. Anne Hathaway joined Jonathan Demme for Rachel Getting Married, and Gwyneth Paltrow introduced Two Lovers. A record number of UK films world premiered at the festival, including Jeremy Deller and Nicholas Abrahams’ The Posters Came from the Walls, Giles Borg’s 1234, and Nick Moran’s Telstar, which was attended by the director alongside Ralf Little, Pam Ferris, JJ Fields and Con O’Neill. Eran Creevy was joined by Riz Ahmed and Daniel Mays for Shifty. Robert Carlyle introduced I Know You Know with director Justin Kerrigan. Steve McQueen was present to introduce Hunger with cast members Liam Cunningham and Michael Fassbender. Peter O’Toole and Jeremy Northam accompanied New Zealand director Toa Fraser for Dean Spanley. Benicio Del Toro, Danny Boyle, Michael Sheen and Robert Carlyle appeared on stage for Tiscali Screen Talks while Charlie Kaufman and Peter Morgan discussed their craft at the Script Factory/NFTS Masterclasses. Several American directors were present for the panel discussion ‘Indiewood is dead... Long live the new, true indies’. Those attending included Barry Jenkins (Medicine for Melancholy) and Azazel Jacobs (Momma’s Man). British directors and producers debated the current state of the UK film industry at the Britis Film Boom! event. Close-Up with Time Out sparked debate across the festival with discussion topics ranging from violence to George W. Bush. | | ||||||||
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