Ralph Fiennes and Alfonso Cuarón to give London Film Festival talks

The 57th BFI London Film Festival (LFF) has announced this year’s programme of events, including Screen Talks with filmmakers Hirokazu Kore-eda, Catherine Breillat and Ralph Fiennes; Masterclasses with director Alfonso Cuarón and VFX Supervisor Tim Webber, cinematographer Barry Ackroyd, and composer Clint Mansell.

Talks will include a BFI-hosted panel focussed on the UK’s variety of filmmaking ‘British Cinema – Home-grown and all grown up’ and ‘William Faulkner: Film Noir & Nobel Prizes’ a talk from Adrian Wootton prompted by James Franco’s As I Lay Dying.

These sit alongside the previously announced talk with acclaimed artist Stan Douglas; and Sonic Cinema events, the special performance by celebrated British composer Michael Nyman, and a one-off live show by Angolan Kuduro act Buraka Som Sistema at Village Underground.

Screen Talks

The BFI will host a talk with Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, whose Cannes Jury Prize winning Like Father, Like Son screens in the LFF’s Official Competition.

French filmmaker Catherine Breillat will discuss her career and latest film Abuse of Weakness (Abus de faiblesse), which also screens in LFF’s Official Competition.

Ralph Fiennes’ second directorial offering, The Invisible Woman, will receive its European Premiere as the Festival Gala. The film sees Fiennes both behind and in front of the camera for an examination of Charles Dickens’ illicit, long term affair with young actress Nelly Ternan.

Masterclasses

Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón will present his 3D sci-fi thriller Gravity as the LFF American Airlines Gala, following positive reviews after the film’s premiere at Venice. The masterclass aims to provide an in depth look at how the film was made and Cuarón will appear alongside VFX Supervisor Tim Webber from London’s Framestore.

Composer and musician Clint Mansell will join the festival for a masterclass co-presented with BAFTA to discuss his work, encompassing collaborations with director Darren Aronofsky on Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, The Wrestler, Black Swan, and Noah (set for release in 2014); as well as Duncan Jones’ Moon and Jon S Baird’s Filth.

Barry Ackroyd returns to the LFF to discuss his two films, screening as part of the LFF: Opening Night Gala Captain Phillips, which reunites Ackroyd with director Paul Greengrass, and Official Competition film Parkland with debut director Peter Landesman. 

Talks & Panels

Prompted by the LFF screening of James Franco’s adaptation of William Faulkner’s novel, As I lay Dying, LFF programme advisor Adrian Wootton will explore the film work of Faulkner in an illustrated lecture entitled ‘Film Noir & Nobel Prizes’.

In ‘British Cinema – Home-grown and all grown up’, the LFF will host a panel of  filmmakers, critics and programmers for a closer look at some of the UK’s recent hits and to explore what factors might lay behind this “cinematic golden period”.

The talks are rounded out by the previously announced session with visual artist Stan Douglas, presented in partnership with Power to the Pixel. Douglas will discuss his work including his upcoming 3D augmented reality app and immersive storyworld, CIRCA 1948, produced by the National Film Board of Canada.

Sonic Events

As previously announced, the LFF will include two events from the year-round Sonic Cinema programme.

British composer Michael Nyman will give a special performance at the BFI Southbank, playing solo piano from a selection of his film scores and providing accompaniment to some of the 70 films that he himself has shot.

The BFI also welcomes Angolan Kuduro act Buraka Som Sistema to London for a one-off live show at Village Underground, following the UK premiere of João Pedro Moreira’s documentary Off the Beaten Track which follows the Lisbon-based band over a year-long journey around the world.