Lottery Funded Films Headline This Year’s BFI London Film Festival

9 new British films funded by the Lottery Film Fund
selected for the BFI London Film Festival
including the Opening and Closing night Galas

LONDON – Wednesday 7 September 2011. This year’s 55th BFI London Film Festival, in partnership with American Express, will showcase 9 new British feature films funded by the UK Film Council’s Film Fund, now with the BFI, including the Opening and Closing night UK Gala premieres of Fernando Meirelles’ 360, written by Peter Morgan, and Terence Davies’ The Deep Blue Sea.

The line-up of British films which have been developed and/or production funded by the Film Fund at the BFI London Film festival also includes:

• Shame, directed by Steve McQueen and co-written with Abi Morgan;
• We Need To Talk About Kevin, directed by Lynne Ramsay and co-written with Rory Stewart Kinnear;
• Wuthering Heights, directed by Andrea Arnold and co-written with Olivia Hetreed;
• Trishna, written and directed by Michael Winterbottom;
• A Dangerous Method, directed by David Cronenberg and written by Christopher Hampton;
• Hunky Dory, directed by Marc Evans and written by Laurence Coriat; and
• Dreams Of A Life, written and directed by Carol Morley.

Tanya Seghatchian, Head of the Film Fund says: “We are delighted to have supported the filmmakers and talent behind so many British features screening at the BFI London Film Festival, including the Opening and Closing night Galas. The fact that there are also three Film Fund selections for Venice and twelve for Toronto shows the consistent high quality of British filmmaking. In a tough economic climate the success of our films at home and abroad also demonstrates just how important public investment is in getting independent films made and in front of audiences.”

The full British film line-up at the BFI LFF also includes:

• Ralph Fiennes’ Coriolanus
• Roland Emmerich’s Anonymous (co-production).
• Miles Mander’s The First Born.
• Madonna’s W.E.
• Nick Murhpy’s The Awakening.
• Nick Broomfield and Joan Churchill’s Sarah Palin – You Betcha!
• Daniel Edelstyyn’s How To Re-establish A Vodka Empire.
• Tinge Krisnan’s Junkhearts.
• Paul Kelly’s Lawrence of Belgravia.
• Alexandra McGuinness’ Lotus Eaters.
• Simon Pummell’s Shock Head Soul.
• Nirpal Bhogal’s Sket – UK release also being supported by the BFI’s Lottery Prints and Advertising Fund.
• Richard Jobson’s The Somnabulists.
• Frances Lea’s Strawberry Fields.
• Andrew Haigh’s Weekend.
• Dexter Fletcher’s Wild Bill.
• DR Hood’s Wreckers.
• Tim Pearce, Sophie Lsacelles and Marc Tiley’s Anda Union: From The Steppes to The City.
• Ben Rivers’ Two Years At Sea.

The line-up of British films which have been developed and/or production funded by the Film Fund at the 68th Venice International Film Festival are:

• Shame, directed by Steve McQueen and co-written with Abi Morgan
• Wuthering Heights, directed by Andrea Arnold and co-written with Olivia Hetreed

The line-up of British films which have been developed and/or production funded by the Film Fund at Toronto International Film Festival 2011 are:

• Shame, directed by Steve McQueen and co-written with Abi Morgan;
• We Need To Talk About Kevin, directed by Lynne Ramsay and co-written with Rory Stewart Kinnear;
• Wuthering Heights, directed by Andrea Arnold and co-written with Olivia Hetreed;
• Trishna, written and directed by Michael Winterbottom;
• A Dangerous Method, directed by David Cronenberg and written by Christopher Hampton;
• Hunky Dory, directed by Marc Evans and written by Laurence Coriat; and
• Dreams Of A Life, written and directed by Carol Morley.
• 360, directed by Fernando Meirelles’
• Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, directed by Lasse Hallstrom
• Woman in the Fifth, directed by Pawel Pawlikowski
• Deep Blue Sea, directed by Terence Davies
• The Story of Film: An Odyssey, directed by Mark Cousins
• Tyrannosaur, directed by Paddy Considine
• Kill List, directed by Ben Wheatly

The Festival runs from 12-27 October 2011.

Last year‟s Festival hosted 201 feature films and 112 short films from 68 countries including 34 world premieres. There were 629 filmmakers in attendance, drawing the highest ever audience attendance of over 132,000 filmgoers. The Festival opened with the European Premiere of NEVER LET ME GO and closed with the European Premiere of 127 HOURS.

www.bfi.org.uk
www.bfi.org.uk/lff

Facebook: www.facebook.com/londonfilmfestival

Twitter: @BFI