Major Film Premieres at the Full BFI London Film Festival: Jay Kelly, Hamnet, Frankenstein, After The Hunt, and Is This Thing On?
The BFI London Film Festival returns this October, running from the 8th to the 19th, showcasing a diverse and exciting programme of films. This year's event promises to be a cinematic extravaganza, with numerous world premieres, headline galas, and special presentations.
Leading the pack is Rian Johnson's highly anticipated next installment of the Knives Out series, titled Wake Up Dead Man, which will open the festival as the opening gala. Other notable openings include Siobhan McCarthy's gender-swap comedy She's The He.
Sydney Sweeney's queer boxing film Christy will make its debut at the festival, as will Rowan Athale's British boxing drama Giant with Amir El-Masry and Pierce Brosnan. Fans of period dramas will be delighted to see Philippa Lowthorpe's H Is For Hawk with Claire Foy and Brendan Gleeson, which is part of the Patron's Gala.
Elle Fanning and Stellan Skarsgard star in the drama Sentimental Value, which will also premiere at the festival. Lynne Ramsay's film Die, My Love with Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson, and Guillermo Del Toro's interpretation of horror classic Frankenstein are also part of the lineup.
A number of world premieres are set to grace the festival, including Isabella Eklöf's series adaptation of Nick Cave's novel The Death of Bunny Munro, Bradley Banton's directorial debut More Life, and Aitor Arregi's examination of elder queer desire Maspalomas.
The U.K. premiere of the Brendan Fraser-led Japanese drama Rental Family is another headline gala at the festival. Other world premieres include Hsu Ya-Tsing's documentary on Taiwan's leprosy Island of the Winds and Rachel Abigail's ode to New York, Love, Brooklyn.
The festival will also feature a number of intriguing films from established filmmakers. Kelly Reichardt's The Mastermind and Oliver Hermanus' The History of Sound with Josh O'Connor and Paul Mescal are just a few examples. The main program presents filmmakers including Luca Guadagnino, Asghar Farhadi, and Pedro Almodóvar, and actors such as Saoirse Ronan, Adam Driver, and Tilda Swinton.
The BFI London Film Festival 2021 is committed to showcasing the work of female and non-binary filmmakers, with 103 works making up 42 percent of the program. Notable female-led films include Chloé Zhao's Hamnet and Julia Jackson's 100 Nights of Hero, which is set to close the festival.
The festival will also screen a number of documentaries, including the Marianne Faithfull documentary Broken English, directed by Nick Broomfield.
With a star-studded lineup, diverse and exciting programming, and a commitment to showcasing the work of female and non-binary filmmakers, the BFI London Film Festival 2021 promises to be an unmissable event for film enthusiasts.
