Hot on the heels of the announcement of the opening film, Mark Romanek’s “Never Let Me Go,” last week, the BFI London Film Festival has announced that Danny Boyle’s “127 Hours” will serve as the closing film, the same slot that Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire” held two years ago. The film will receive its European premiere at the closing gala on October 28th, a week ahead of the US release on November 5th, with Boyle and star James Franco set to be in attendance.
Screen Daily‘s report on the announcement also confirms, as was strongly rumored, that the film will get its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, as a Special Presentation. For those who haven’t been paying attention, the film tells the true story of Aron Ralston, a climber who became trapped under a boulder while canyoning in Utah, and the desperate lengths to which he went to survive.
BFI London festival director Sandra Hebron said that “It is unprecedented for us to choose a Closing Night film from the same director only two years later. But “127 Hours” was the obvious choice for us — with filmmaking as adventurous as its subject matter, it confirms Boyle as one of the world’s finest and most visionary directors, and will be a very fitting close to the festival.” It’s certainly a stronger choice than last year’s closer “Nowhere Boy,” and this writer looks forward to catching it then. The rest of the program will be announced on September 8th.
