Usually I would I have been bouncing off the walls with excitement with the ticket release for BFI London Film Festival but as the release day was on my birthday I was a little preoccupied after the stressful half hour of trying to log back into the webiste and paying for the precious tickets.
As soon as the programme was released, lists starting appearing so I won't say what the picks of the festival are, instead I will talk about what I went for.
RACER AND THE JAILBIRD
From Belgian director Michaël R. Roskam,
a thriller about racing driver Bibi and 'jailbird' Gigi who fall in
love but Gigi's secrets about where and how he makes his money may bring
the relationship crashing down. Very excited to see Matthias Schoenaerts back on the screen!
HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS AT PARTIES
Adapted
from Neil Gaiman's short story of the same name, this sci-fi com-rom
about a teen punk and his friends who accidentally crash a party full of
super cool aliens, looks to be exactly that, super cool, with a cast to
match.
BEAST
Set
on the island of Jersey, 'damaged souls' Moll and Pascal meet at a
party and fall in love, while a series of murders haunts the island,
ensuing a witch hunt for the killer. A slow burner from the UK caught my
eye as I'd heard its name mentioned at work, plus the story is
intriguing.
INGRID GOES WEST
An
unstable woman, Ingrid, played by Aubrey Plaza, decides to go to
California after becoming obsessed with an 'Instagram personality'.
Described as a stalker comedy or as BFI said 'Social Media White
Female', which from the trailer seems spot on! I have been waiting for
ages to see this film.
AMANT DOUBLE
This
is a film I knew little about except that it is the latest film from
Francois Ozon. Set up as a psychological thriller with names such as
Hitchcock and De Palma mentioned, it looks to be (from the trailer)
another twisted tale.
GOING WEST
Another
film I knew little about but the short synopsis for this Norwegian
story about a family loss and an impromptu road trip with an alternative
flare caught my attention.
DARK RIVER
After
the death of their father, Alice comes home to the family farm after 15
years away, while her brother Joe had been caring for their father and
working on the farm. There is tension and anger between the siblings,
especially when she claims tenancy.
I AM NOT A WITCH
A
six year old girl is accused of being a witch and is outcast from her
village, she is then forced to stay with a travelling 'witch camp' or
she will be turned into a goat. The title caught my eye as well as the
premise exploring attitudes towards women.
YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE
Lynne
Ramsey directing a noir like thriller with Joaquin Phoenix starring? Of
course I am shaping my entire festival around me seeing this film.
#LFF #BFI #FilmFestival