Oscar contenders, debuts and long time coming passion projects – Scenes runs down their most anticipated titles coming to the London Film Festival
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. No, not Christmas. That can wait. It’s the BFI London Film Festival. Major releases and indie darlings are making their way to Southbank for 11 days for cinephiles across the country to enjoy. Enjoy these films while you can, because, knowing the dreaded UK release dates, you may not see them for a long time.
Out of the 169 feature-length films coming to the UK capital, here are a select few we believe should be on your watchlist either at the festival or when they finally release.
Ray Gunn – Dir. Brad Bird
Cast: Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Waits
Let’s go back to the mid-90s. A wide-eyed Brad Bird with no releases to his name has a dream. That dream is called Ray Gunn. Described as a retro-futuristic blend of The Maltese Falcon meets Buck Rogers, it was the first brainchild of our now highly accredited animation filmmaker. It started its life in developmental hell when it was picked up and shelved in 1996 by Turner Feature Animation. From then on, he would go to Pixar with his idea, which would be rejected for its PG-13 rating and allusion to more adult themes. It’s a massive shame we didn’t get to see the early Pixar version of this. That meeting wasn’t all bad, however, as he went on to create some of their finest work: The Incredibles and Ratatouille. Not too shabby. Over the years, he has continued to try to get Ray Gunn off the ground, often to little success. That takes us to now. Skydance and Netflix-backed Ray Gunn will be arriving at Southbank after a 30-year journey. Sadly, it will not be in its 2D animation glory and doesn’t look nearly as good as its concept art, but the fact that his original script has seemingly not been toned down makes me excited.
Animol – Dir. Ashley Walters
Cast: Tut Nyuot, Vladyslav Baliuk, Stephen Graham
Recently, the UK has been developing some fantastic talent. Most recently, David Jonsson has risen to new heights after being cast by Ryan Coogler in Black Panther 3, following his fantastic work in Rye Lane and The Long Walk. It’s always fun to speculate who may be next up, and I believe I have the answer. To find him, you only have to go back to that same Steven King adaptation. Ever since he made me cry as Arthur Baker and had me on edge in Tim Mielants’s Steve, I have been excited to see what Tut Nyuot does next. I didn’t think it would be as interesting as a film directed by Ashley Walters. His first leading role will take him to a young offenders institute, full of gangs, violence and loyalty. What excites me the most is Animol doesn’t seem like the next in a long line of basic prison-esque dramas; while all this violence is going on, it’s the developing bond with a fellow inmate which becomes most dangerous. Put your stocks in now; Nyuot is going places.
Fjord – Dir. Cristian Mungiu
Cast: Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve, Lisa Carlehed
Palme d’Or winner Fjord is a no-brainer. After the deaths of Mihai’s (Sebastian Stan) parents, the Gheorghiu family move from Romania to a remote village in Norway, hoping to rebuild their lives with Lisbet (Renate Reinsve)’s parents in Norway. Any semblance of peace starts to unravel when the Gheorghiu family’s youngest daughter, Elia, arrives at school covered in bruises. Yes. No notes. There isn’t a single part of that script or the actors involved which I am not completely sold on. I am incredibly excited to see Sebastian Stan back in a serious role after his haunting work on The Apprentice. Consider me sat.
Fatherland – Dir. Pawel Pawlikowski
Cast: Sandra Hüller, Hanns Zischler, August Diehl
It’s been a year full of actors and actresses starring in several movies – Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, namely – and Sandra Hüller might be the most intriguing of all. She has already shown some stellar work in Project Hail Mary and in Digger, which have both gotten her some quiet Oscar buzz, but I imagine it will be Pawł Pawlikowski’s Fatherland which will turn the heads of Academy voters. Set in 1949, it follows German writer Thomas Mann and his daughter Erika as they embark on a journey through Germany during the Cold War. It has seemingly had patchy reviews, but not enough to deter my excitement.
Josephine – Dir. Beth de Araújo
Cast: Mason Reeves, Channing Tatum, Gemma Chan
I was originally hooked on this film from Channing Tatum’s face alone in the screen grab above. I can’t speak for what has happened in this photo, but the sadness and shame he is conveying on his face tell me this is going to be a heartbreaker. Starring alongside Gemma Chan, we follow them as parents as they deal with the fallout of their eight-year-old daughter witnessing a crime in Golden Gate Park. Josephine (Mason Reeves) unravels, trying to regain her sense of safety, all the while her parents tirelessly help to console her. Get your tissues packed, it’s sure to be a tear-jerker.
Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother – Dir. Bassam Tariq
Cast: Mahershala Ali, John Cho, Giancarlo Esposito
When Bassam Tariq was writing the script for Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, the main character Latif didn’t have a name. Instead, he had simply put Mahershala. Regardless of how this film turns out, I’m thankful he did. The two-time Oscar winner has stagnated since his win in Green Book, and to no fault of his own. After being messed around by Marvel in their now-scrapped Blade film – I will forever mourn what that could have been – his career hasn’t exactly been what we would expect from such a high-calibre actor. Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother seems like a great return to form. Even better, he will be able to channel some of the skills we will never be able to see in his version of Blade, as the film follows Latif, a devoted religious hitman who struggles to balance work, faith and fatherhood while protecting his children.
Ink – Dir. Danny Boyle
Cast: Jack O”‘Connell, Guy Pearce, Claire Foy
It’s almost poetic: a film about the rise of notoriously scummy media, The Sun, includes the use of scummy filmmaking practice AI in a few scenes. Anything that newspaper touches forever has an undercurrent of murky waters. Director Danny Boyle has said it was only used for a few rats and old photos. It’s nothing major. I’m not accepting that. That’s how it always starts. I’m sure Rupert Murdoch and Larry Lamb told themselves the same things before their slow descent into constant controversy. It’s always a domino effect. Boyle, you should know better. Especially considering you just made a film about unethical practices. Luckily for him, I am incredibly intrigued by this film, and I’m likely to watch it. I might need a cold shower after, though.
