While it’s been previously announced that Wes Anderon’s Fantastic Mr Fox would open the London Film Festival and Sam Taylor-Wood’s John Lennon biopic, Nowhere Boy, would close the event, this morning the full line-up of the 189 other feature films and 113 shorts that will be showing at the festival was announced. This includes 12 world premiere, 23 European premieres, 4 international premieres and 146 UK premieres – which ain’t bad going by anybody’s count.
Films showing during the festival, which runs from October 14th-29th, include a fairly George Clooney heavy line-up, who’ll be in town to support not only his voice work on Fantastic Mr Fox (as will Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman and Helen McCrory), but also screenings of his films The Men Who Stare At Goats and Jason Reitman’s Up In The Air. Meanwhile Matt Damon will be showing up for the screening of Steven Soderbergh’s The Informant (the director will also be in attendance). Directors attending the festival include Ang Lee with Taking Woodstock, Gaspar Noe with Enter The Void, Michael Haneke with his Palm D’Or winner The White Ribbon, Jane Campion with Bright Star and Jone Scherfig with his much buzzed about An Education.
There’s also Harmony Korine with Trash Humpers, John Hillcoat with The Road, Jim Jarmusch with The Limits of Control, Todd Solondz with Life During Wartime, Jean Pierre Jeunet with Micmacs, Scott Hicks with The Boys Are Back and the illustrious Joel and Ethan Coen with A Serious Man.
It’s an impressively big-name line-up, with support coming from a large range of lesser-known features, all hoping to pick up some buzz at the festival, including 26 documentaries, as well as numerous works from debut directors (including actor David Morrissey), amongst films from 46 countries. There also be the UK premiere of Toy Story 2 in Disney Digital 3D.
Other people scheduled to attend the festival including Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Ray Winstone, Nick Park, Catherine Breillat, Alfred Molina, Rosamund Pike, Emma Thompson, Dominic Cooper, Nick Hornby, Hugh Bonneville, James Schamus and numerous others who are yet to be confirmed.
It really is looking like an impressive event, so head over to www.bfi.org.uk/lff for info on all the movies, and also details on how you can book tickets.