This writer had a pretty good time at the BFI London Film Festival last year; while there was a few high-profile disappointments like “Nowhere Boy” and “Glorious 39,” many of the big films like “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and “Up in the Air” more than delivered, while smaller gems like “Mother,” “Scouting Book For Boys” and “Father Of My Children” provided most of the highlights.
The festival’s rolling around again, set to run from October 13th to 28th, and the organizers announced yesterday that Mark Romanek’s “Never Let Me Go” will make its European debut at the opening night of the festival. The film, which is set to premiere at Toronto, is a natural fit, coming from a novel by British writer Kazuo Ishiguro, a screenplay by Alex Garland (“Sunshine”) and being set and filmed in the country, with a British cast, most of whom, including Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield and Keira Knightley, are expected to attend the screening, along with director Mark Romanek.
Romanek commented “I think I can speak for the entire cast and crew when I say we are deeply honored and excited to have been selected to open this year’s festival. For me personally, it seems the perfect way to celebrate the conclusion of an incredible filmmaking experience in the UK.”
On the one hand, we’re a little disappointed; the festival has opened in the last two years with two world premieres, of “Frost/Nixon” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” so it’s a shame that a film that will already be rolling out around the world is the opener this time. At the same time, we can’t wait to see Romanek’s film (which doesn’t open til January 14th in the UK); few films in the season hold as much promise, or would be such a fitting opening to the festival.
The full line-up will be announced on September 8th, but the smart money is on films like “The Kids Are Alright,” “Another Year,” “Chatroom,” John Landis’ “Burke and Hare” and Colin Firth vehicle “The King’s Speech” (the latter a likely candidate for the closing night gala) all making an appearance, along with plenty of other festival favorites from Cannes, Venice and Toronto. Fingers crossed, we’ll be there on the ground again this year. [Variety, Ultra Culture]