Time for some popcorn! The London Film Festival is about to start.
Lights, Camera, London! It’s time for that annual celeb-filled celebration of all things celluloid. Wednesday, October 9th marks the start of this year’s British Film Institute (BFI) London Film Festival and the UK’s largest public film event. Running for 12 days across the capital, the festival, now in its 57th year, covers an awesome breadth of films including 234 fiction and documentary features, 22 world premieres and 29 European premieres.
Hosted by the BFI at London’s cultural headquarters the South Bank, the festival offers a chance to see and interact with a stellar line up of directors, cast and crew who will be participating in career interviews, master classes and other special events.
If celebratory sightings are your thing, then you’ll be pleased to hear that Tom Hanks himself will be there! With Mr. Hanks playing the lead in two European premiere screenings which will mark the opening and closing of the festival.
First in Somali pirate thriller Captain Phillips and then in Saving Mr Banks, which gets special mention as it tells the story of how that lovable British nanny, Mary Poppins, was brought to the big screen, and which also stars British acting royalty Emma Thompson as P.L. Travers, author of the novel.
And if you’re after something else with very British feel, we also recommend the romantic, period film The Invisible Woman, based on the life of Charles Dickens and directed by British actor and director, Ralph Fiennes.
Screenings are also taking place across London’s cinemas, offering a chance to explore London’s West End cinemas, the BFI Southbank and BFI IMAX as well as local cinemas in the North, South, East and West of London.
With a limited number of tickets still available, it may be time to pick-up some popcorn and take a seat, for the show is about to start. Shhhhh…..
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Megan Donnelly is a writer, reservationist and former Londoner, currently residing at London-by-the-Sea, or Brighton as it’s otherwise known.
