The 66th BFI London Film Festival took place recently and successfully marked a return to pre-pandemic highs for in-person audience attendance.
About The Festival
The BFI London Film Festival is an annual event that celebrates the year’s most exciting, innovative new films and cinematic storytellers.
This year’s festival began with the much-anticipated opening night gala screening of Roald Dahl’s Matilda, The Musical and ended with the European premiere of Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Both events took place at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, with many of the films’ stars in attendance including Daniel Craig, Ed Norton, Kate Hudson, Emma Thompson and Stephen Graham.
During the festival, there were 23 world premieres, 22 European premieres and seven International premieres; and the event welcomed more than 750 international and UK filmmakers in total. In addition to the London screenings, many UK-wide cinemas were involved in bringing festival films to audiences across the country. As well as film screenings, there were also high-profile Screen Talks, which fans could attend. This year’s participants included world-renowned actors and directors such as Alejandro González Iñárritu, Noah Baumbach, Bill Nighy and Jennifer Lawrence.
A Scene from The Banshees of Inisherin
And the Winners Are…
The prestigious awards ceremony for the BFI London Film Festival took place on the final day and this year’s top winners were Corsage, 1976 and All That Breathes, which secured Best Film, Best First Feature and Best Documentary prizes respectively.
Directed by Marie Kreutzer, Corsage tells the story of Empress Elizabeth of Austria and is set during the 19th century. The film boasts an impressive central performance by Luxembourgish-German actress Vicky Krieps, which also garnered her a Best Actress award in the Un Certain Regard strand of the Cannes Film festival.
1976 is a Chilean thriller portraying the brute force and pervasive influence of the Pinochet regime.
All That Breathes is a Delhi-set documentary from Indian director Shaunak Sen about the complex relationship between man and nature. In addition, the film also achieved a Best Documentary Feature Film Academy Award nomination.
More information on these and other BFI Film Festival winners can be found here.
Vicky Krieps in Corsage
Oscar Nods
Over the years, films screened at the BFI London Film Festival have often gone on to win major prizes at the Academy Awards and 2023 was no different.
Some of the main contenders for 2023 included The Banshees of Inisherin, The Whale, Triangle of Sadness and Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio.
The Banshees of Inisherin, which was nominated for nine Academy Awards, stars Colin Farrell, nominated in the Best Male Actor category and Barry Keoghan, Brendan Gleeson and Kerry Condon, all of whom are nominated in the Best Supporting Role categories.
The Irish Civil war set black-comedy boasts outstanding cinematography and an original script by Martin McDonagh, who also secured a Best Director Oscar nomination this year. The Banshees of Inisherin was one of just three films to receive nine or more Oscar nominations, but took home no awards.
Nabbing the Best Male Actor Academy Award for 2023 was The Whale’s Brendan Fraser, who played reclusive English teacher Darren Aronofsky who is desperately trying to connect with his rebellious teenage daughter despite his failing health. Adapted from his own stage play by Samuel D. hunter, the film addresses universal themes such as our fundamental need for human connection, an unforgiving sense of time, and the power and responsibility that comes with parenting.
In addition to Fraser’s career-defining turn, the film garnered a Best Supporting Actress nomination for Hong Chau, who delivered a wonderfully nuanced performance as the main character’s nurse and closest friend. The Whale also won an Academy Award for Best Makeup, a win that has been controversial in Hollywood.
Brendan Fraser Brendan Fraser won Best Actor at the 2023 Academy Awards
A Personal Favorite
A personal highlight of the festival was Triangle of Sadness. Directed by Ruben Ostlund, this film won the prestigious Cannes Film Festival Palme D’or and stars newcomers Harris Dickenson and Charlbi Dean as fashion models and influencers whose romantic relationship is increasingly soured by money.
The genre-defying film was nominated in the Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay categories at the 2023 Academy Awards, but sadly did not win any. The film focusses on a couple who find themselves on a luxury cruise-liner filled with a range of larger-than-life characters including a Russian oligarch, an international arms dealer and a Marxist alcoholic captain. Ostlund expertly dissects our dependence on each other as well as exploring power and privilege through the dynamics of wealth, class beauty and knowledge. Featuring an unforgettable cameo from Woody Harrelson as the ship’s ever-inebriated captain.
A Scene from Aftersun
With so many great films to choose from, the BFI London Film Festival continues to be an essential event for all film fans wanting to explore the newest and most eagerly-awaited releases from a range of gifted filmmakers from around the world. The festival’s director Tricia Tuttle summed-up its success by stating; “UK audiences are not quick to give standing ovations. But we witnessed a few this year .”
Author bio: Dr Ricky Ghosh Dastidar
