The Book of Clarence, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, LaKeith Stanfield, and David Oyelowo will screen at London as a World Premiere. Running October 4-15, LFF will feature 29 World Premieres (14 features, two series, and 13 shorts), seven International Premieres (six features and one short), and 30 European Premieres (22 features, one series, and seven shorts).
Eye-grabbing entries from today’s launch include headline gala screenings of May December by Todd Haynes, Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest feature Poor Things, Bradley Cooper’s Maestro, and The Killer by David Fincher, the last three which make their way to London after debuts on the Lido.
Other highly-anticipated titles arriving from the fall festivals include Priscilla by Sofia Coppola, Steve McQueen’s 4-hour experimental doc Occupied City, Ladj Ly’s latest Les Indésirables, and Richard Linklater’s Hit Man.
Those titles will all screen at the Royal Festival Hall in the Southbank Centre as the festival returns to the nearly 3000-seat venue for its headline gala and special presentation screenings. The festival will also run in cinemas and venues across central London alongside nine LFF partner cinemas across the UK.
In its third year, the LFF Series strand returns and will screen the Lulu Wang-directed Expats, starring Nicole Kidman. Also featured in the series strand are the World Premiere titles Grime Kids by Theresa Ikoko, inspired by the book by DJ Target that detaies the emergence of the East London grime scene in the early 2000s; and the heist series Culprits by J Blakeson, starring Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and Gemma Arterton.
Overall, 235 films from 92 countries will be screened throughout the LFF program. 99 works are made by female and non-binary filmmakers, which make up 39% of the program.
Discussing the line-up of her first year in charge, Festival Director Kristy Matheson said: “In preparing this 2023 festival, my colleagues and I have been endlessly buoyed by the artistry, ideas, and talented individuals and communities that have come into our orbit. It’s now time to share all this wonder, and we can’t wait for audiences to experience it all this October here in London and across the UK with LFF on Tour and online at BFI Player.”
Credit: Zac Ntim, Deadline, 31st August 2023