International filmmakers and stars come out for the 62nd BFI London Film Festival

Colette (2018)

The 62nd BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express® today announces more filmmakers and stars attending this year’s Festival.

Updated and confirmed line-ups are (all cast listed alphabetically):

Headline Galas

WIDOWS: Steve McQueen, Viola Davis, Daniel Kaluuya, Liam Neeson, Michelle Rodriguez, Gillian Flynn; STAN & OLLIE: Jon S. Baird, Nina Arianda, Steve Coogan, Rufus Jones, John C. Reilly, Jeff Pope, Faye Ward; A PRIVATE WAR: Matthew Heineman, Jamie Dornan, Tom Hollander, Rosamund Pike, Stanley Tucci; THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Tim Blake Nelson, Bill Heck, Zoe Kazan, Harry Melling, Jonjo O’Neill; BEAUTIFUL BOY: Felix van Groeningen, Steve Carell, Timothée Chalamet; CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME: Richard E. Grant, Melissa McCarthy, Amy Nauiokas; COLETTE: Wash Westmoreland, Dickie Beau, Jake Graf, Denise Gough, Aiysha Hart, Keira Knightley, Johnny Palmer, Ray Panthaki, Robert Pugh, Fiona Shaw, Dominic West, Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley; THE FAVOURITE: Yorgos Lanthimos, Joe Alwyn, Olivia Colman, Mark Gatiss, Nicholas Hoult, James Smith, Emma Stone; THE FRONT RUNNER: Jason Reitman, Hugh Jackman; LIFE ITSELF: Dan Fogelman, Olivia Cooke, Laia Costa; OUTLAW KING: David Mackenzie, Billy Howle, Aaron Taylor-Johnson; SUSPIRIA: Luca Guadagnino, Dakota Johnson, Tilda Swinton.

Strand Galas

BORDER (Dare): Ali Abbasi; BURNING (Thrill): Lee Chang-Dong; CAPERNAUM (Debate): Nadine Labaki; IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK (Love): Barry Jenkins, Colman Domingo, Kiki Layne; THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE (Laugh): Terry Gilliam, Jonathan Pryce, Tony Grisoni; ROMA (Journey): Alfonso Cuarón, Yalitza Aparicio, Marina De Tavira  THE WHITE CROW (Create): Ralph Fiennes; WILD ROSE (Festival Gala): Tom Harper, Jessie Buckley, Nicole Taylor, Faye Ward.

Special Presentations

AQUARELA: Victor Kossakovsky, Eicca Toppinen; BEEN SO LONG: Tinge Krishnan, Michaela Coel, George Mackay, Nadine Marsh-Edwards, Amanda Jenks; FAHRENHEIT 11/9: Michael Moore; THE HATE U GIVE: George Tillman Jr, Amandla Stenberg, Angie Thomas; MAKE ME UP: Rachel Maclean; OUT OF BLUE: Carol Morley, Patricia Clarkson; PETERLOO: Mike Leigh; RAFIKI: Wanuri Kahiu; THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD: Peter Jackson.

Official Competition

BIRDS OF PASSAGE: Ciro Guerra, David Gallego; DESTROYER: Karyn Kusama; HAPPY AS LAZZARO: Alice Rohrwacher; HAPPY NEW YEAR, COLIN BURSTEAD.: Ben Wheatley; IN FABRIC: Peter Strickland; JOY: Sudabeh Mortezai; THE OLD MAN AND THE GUN: David Lowery; SHADOW: Zhao Xiaoding; SUNSET: László Nemes; TOO LATE TO DIE YOUNG: Dominga Sotomayor.

First Feature Competition

THE CHAMBERMAID: Lila Avilés; THE DAY I LOST MY SHADOW: Soudade Kaadan; HOLIDAY: Isabella Eklöf; JOURNEY TO A MOTHER’S ROOM: Celia Rico Clavellino; ONLY YOU: Harry Wootliff; RAY & LIZ: Richard Billingham; SONI: Ivan Ayr; WILDLIFE: Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Carey Mulligan.

Documentary Competition

DREAM AWAY: Marouan Omara, Johanna Domke; EVELYN: Orlando von Einsiedel; JOHN MCENROE — IN THE REALM OF PERFECTION: Julien Faraut; THE PLAN THAT CAME FROM THE BOTTOM UP: Steve Sprung; PUTIN’S WITNESSES: Vitaly Manksi; THE RAFT: Marcus Lindeen; THEATRE OF WAR: Lola Arias, David Jackson, Sukrim Rai; WHAT YOU GONNA DO WHEN THE WORLD’S ON FIRE?: Roberto Minervini; YOUNG AND ALIVE: Matthieu Bareyre.

Love

AMIN: Philippe Faucon; CARMEN AND LOLA: Arantxa Echevarria; DAUGHTER OF MINE – Laura Bispuri; I USED TO BE NORMAL – A BOYBAND FANGIRL STORY: Dara Donnellly, Sadia Latifi; IRENE’S GHOST: Iain Cunningham; JINN: Nijla Mumin, Avril Speaks; ORDINARY TIME: Susana Nobre; PAPI CHULO: John Butler, Matt Bomer, Alejandro Patiño; A PARIS EDUCATION: Jean Paul Civeyrac; RAJMA CHAWAL: Leena Yadav; TEHRAN – CITY OF LOVE: Ali Jaberansari; WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?: Morgan Neville.

Debate

AN IMPOSSIBLE LOVE – Catherine Corsini; ANGELO: Larisa Faber; FREEDOM FIELDS: Naziha Arebi; GIRLS OF THE SUN: Eva Husson; HOUSE OF MY FATHERS: Suba Sivakumaran; I DO NOT CARE IF WE GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS BARBARIANS: Radu Jude; THE KINDERGARTEN TEACHER: Sara Colangelo, Maggie Gyllenhaal; ROSIE: Paddy Breathnach; SHOCK WAVES – DIARY OF MY MIND: Ursula Meier; STYX: Wolfgang Fischer; UNSETTLING: Iris Zaki; UTØYA  – JULY 22: Erik Poppe; THE VICE OF HOPE: Edoardo De Angulas; YOURS IN SISTERHOOD: Irene Lustig.

Laugh

AMRA AND THE SECOND MARRIAGE: Mahmoud Sabbagh, Alshaima’a Tayeb; BENJAMIN: Simon Amstell,  Joel Fry, Colin Morgan; THE BILL MURRAY STORIES – LIFE LESSONS LEARNED FROM A MYTHICAL MAN: Tommy Avallone, Jesse Hall; THE BREAKER UPPERERS: Madeleine Sami, Ana Scotney; CRYSTAL SWAN: Guy Cimbalo, Yury Borisov; FLORIANOPOLIS DREAM: Ana Katz; SOMETIMES ALWAYS NEVER: Carl Hunter, Bill Nighy; SORRY TO BOTHER YOU: Boots Riley; SUPPORT THE GIRLS: Andrew Bujalski; THAT TIME OF YEAR: Paprika Steen, Sofie Gråbøl, Lars Brygmann; TWO PLAINS & A FANCY: Whitney Horn, Lev Kalman; WOMAN AT WAR: Benedikt Erlingsson.

Dare

AKASHA: Hajooj Kuka; CHAINED FOR LIFE: Aaron Shimberg, Adam Pearson; CONSEQUENCES: Darko Štante, Gašper Markum, Timon Šturbej; THE DEAD AND THE OTHERS: João Salaviza; DOGMAN: Matteo Garrone; THE FLOWER: Elisa Carricajo; THE GREEN FOG: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson; LADYWORLD: Amanda Kramer; LIZZIE: Craig William Macneill; MADELINE’S MADELINE: Josephine Decker NANCY: Christina Choe, Andrea Riseborough; PETRA: Jaime Rosales; SAUVAGE: Camille Vidal-Naquet, Félix Maritaud; STICKS AND STONES: Martin Skovbjerg, Sophia Andersen Martinussen, Jonas Bjeril, Vilmer Trier Brøgger; SUBURBAN BIRDS: Lu Huang; UNITED SKATES: Dyana Winkler.

Thrill

BELIEVER: Lee Hae-Young; DUBLIN OLDSCHOOL: Dave Tynan, Ian Lloyd Anderson, Mike Donnelly, JJ Rolfe; THE GUILTY – Gustav Möller, Jakob Cedergren; THE HUMMINGBIRD PROJECT: Kim Nguyen; MAYFAIR: Sara Blecher, Ronak Patani; THE PREY: Jimmy Henderson; PROFILE:  Timur Bekmambetov; SEW THE WINTER TO MY SKIN: Jahmil XT Qubeka.

Cult

CAM: David Goldhaber; DRAGGED ACROSS CONCRETE: S. Craig Zahler; DUPLICATE: Bill Oliver; KNIFE + HEART: Yann Gonzalez; LORDS OF CHAOS: Jonas Åkerlund; MANDY: Panos Cosmatos; THE NIGHTSHIFTER: Dennison Ramalho; SCHOOL’S OUT: Sébastien Marnier.

Journey

ARCTIC: Joe Penna; CELESTE: Ben Hackworth, Thomas Cocquerel, Radha Mitchell; DOVLATOV: Aleksey German Jr; ELDORADO: Markus Imhoof; ETANGS NOIRS: Timeau De Keyser, Pieter Dumoulin, Cedric Luvuezo; THE FIGHT: Jessica Hynes; HOLY TOUR: Meryl Fortunat-Rossi; KEEP GOING: Joachim Lafosse; MAKI’LA: Machérie Ekwa Bahango; MIRIAM LIES: Natalia Cabral, Oriol Estrada; MONROVIA, INDIANA: Frederick Wiseman; NAMDEV BHAU IN SEARCH OF SILENCE: Dar Gai; THE SISTERS BROTHERS: Jacques Audiard; THEY’LL LOVE ME WHEN I’M DEAD: Morgan Neville; TWIN FLOWER: Laura Luchetti; THE WILD PEAR TREE: Nuri Bilge Ceylan; WINTER FLIES: Olmo Omerzu.

Create

AFTER THE SCREAMING STOPS: Joe Pearlman, David Soutar, Matt Goss, Luke Goss; BAD REPUTATION: Kevin Kerslake; BE NATURAL – THE UNTOLD STORY OF ALICE GUY-BLACHE: Pamela Green; BEING FRANK – THE CHRIS SIEVEY STORY:  Steve Sullivan; BERGMAN – A YEAR IN THE LIFE: Jane Magnusson; FIVE MEN AND A CARAVAGGIO: Xiaolu Guo, Saleh Addonia, Simon De Reyer; MANTO: Nandita Das; MARI: Georgia Parris; MR. SOUL!: Melissa Haizlip; NO IFS OR BUTS: Sarah Lewis, Steve Brooks, James Freeman; RUDEBOY – THE STORY OF TROJAN RECORDS: Nicholas Jack Davis; SHUT UP AND PLAY THE PIANO: Philipp Jedicki; VOX LUX: Brady Corbet; VS.: Ed Lilly, Connor Swindells; WOMEN MAKE FILM – A NEW ROAD MOVIE THROUGH CINEMA: Mark Cousins.

Family

ALONE IN SPACE: Ted Kjellsson, Ella Rae Rappaport, Henrik Stahl; DILILI IN PARIS: Michel Ocelot; THE ELEPHANT QUEEN: Mark Deeble, Victoria Stone; GORDON & PADDY: Linda Hamback; JIM BUTTON AND LUKE THE ENGINE DRIVER: Dennis Gansel, Leigh Anne Esperanzata, Solomon Gordon, Eden Gough; PACHAMAMA: Juan Antin.

Experimenta

BETWEEN TWO CINEMAS: Ross Lipman; CLADACH: Margaret Salmon; DOOZY: Richard Squires, Eric Geynes; SECOND TIME AROUND: Dora Garcia; THE SUN QUARTET: Colectivo Los Ingravidos; TWENTY-TWO HOURS: Bouchra Khalili;

Treasures

NONE SHALL ESCAPE: Grover Crisp; SUGAR CANE ALLEY: Euzhan Palcy; TUNES OF GLORY: Juliet Mills, Gareth Neame.

New programme additions

Vox Lux

Strand: Create

Vox Lux (2018)

Natalie Portman dazzles in Brady Corbet’s ferociously entertaining and provocative portrait of 21st century America seen through the prism of a pop star phenomenon.

It’s 1999 and teenage Celeste (an arrestingly good Raffey Cassidy) is a survivor of a high school shooting. Performing a song she composed with her sister Eleanor (Stacey Martin) at a memorial service for her murdered classmates, she captures the imagination of the nation and the attention of a manager (Jude Law), fuelling a rapid ascent to superstardom. Following his audacious debut Childhood of a Leader, Brady Corbet delivers a powerful commentary on 21st century insta-celebrity culture, charting momentous gear shifts in America through the experiences of a popstar. Celeste’s world offers intriguing contrasts, between the mass adulation of fame and isolation, between artifice and art, notoriety and talent. As adult Celeste, Natalie Portman makes for an astonishing pop diva, while Willem Dafoe offers arch commentary as our deliciously dry narrator. All propelled by a truly magnificent and idiosyncratic score from Scott Walker and synth-sugar classics penned by Sia.

LFF Connects: Jonas Åkerlund

Hear from one of today’s most singular and visionary filmmakers, known for working across a multitude of different visual mediums.

We are delighted to welcome visionary director of music videos, commercials, documentaries, concert films, stage shows and feature films, Jonas Åkerlund, to discuss his influential career as well as his latest feature film, the raucous black metal biopic Lords of Chaos. Renowned for his stylised music videos for the likes of Madonna, Lady Gaga, The Rolling Stones, U2 and Beyoncé, Åkerlund went on to introduce his trademark cinematic style to the world of feature filmmaking with movies ranging from drug-induced frenzy (Spun, 2002) and schlocky horror (Horsemen, 2009), to offbeat comedy (Small Apartments, 2012). He has won awards for his ground-breaking concert films and his commercial work for major international brands has earned him Addy, Cannes Gold Lion and Cannes Grand Prix Awards. Proving a master of multiple disciplines, Åkerlund has also seen his art projects exhibited in Frankfurt, Seoul and Stockholm, shot numerous portraits, album covers and fashion stories for magazines such as The Face, Elle, and V magazine, and even created and directed his very own circus.

LFF Connects & Screen Talks

Previously announced LFF Connects include Boots Riley; Clint Mansell; David Hare; Simon Amstell. Previously announced Screen Talks include Alfonso Cuaron; Lee Chang-Dong; Maggie Gyllenhaal; Keira Knightley.