The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema & Tv
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
      • Shows
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureLondon Film Festival 2020

What to watch at the BFI London Film Festival 2020

What to watch at the BFI London Film Festival 2020
6 October 2020
Rosamund Kelby
Avatar
Rosamund Kelby
6 October 2020

Nothing has gone quite the way we expected this year, and the BFI London Film Festival is not likely to be an exception. With the majority of screenings taking place virtually and most interviews being hosted over Zoom, movie buffs and critics alike would do well to exercise both patience and discretion during what is set to be a smaller scale, more isolated affair. Naturally, there are inevitable downfalls to the altered format: socially distanced cinemas could struggle to conjure up the intended atmosphere, and visual masterpieces may lose some of their magic when streamed on the small screen. Nevertheless, we must be grateful for what we do have, which is a cathartic celebration of exciting, diverse filmmakers, both emerging and established. 

If you only have time for a couple of films, look no further than Steve McQueen. The Academy Award-winning director is this year gracing us with two new features, both part of an upcoming five-movie series for the BBC charting London’s West Indian community through the decades. The first, Mangrove, will open the festival with a searing true story of a group of black activists in the 70s and their clash with the police during a protest march, which led to the first judicial acknowledgement of racism in the MET. The second, Lovers Rock, is set largely over one night at a house party, tracing a tale of simmering attraction over a soundtrack of 80s reggae.

Not to be confused with the former heavyweight filmmaker, Harry Macqueen is nonetheless still one to watch. Our next pick Supernova follows a slower and quieter narrative thread, trundling along in a campervan with a couple of 20 years (played by Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci to wide critical acclaim) as they navigate the rocky road of dementia. Meanwhile, Aleem Khan tackles long-standing relationships from a less conventional angle in After Love, as a Dover-dwelling widow (Joanna Scanlan) discovers the secret her husband has kept just out of view, across the channel in Calais.

In fact, there are a refreshing amount of films with stalwart female talent both in front of and behind the camera. Among them is Miranda July’s Kajillionaire, a quirky crime comedy about a family of grifters whose world is shaken up when they let a newcomer (Gina Rodriguez) join one of their heists. Academy Award-winning Actress Regina King also proves her mettle as a director with her feature debut One Night in Miami, based of Kemp Powers’ stage play of the same name, which imagines the conversation between four historical black icons when they meet at a boxing match in 1964. Likewise, Irish filmmaker Cathy Brady claims her first feature-length credit – springboarding off a series of successful shorts – with Wildfire, an intense drama about sisterly bonds pushed to the brink. 

Whether you are seeking the psychological thrills of more spine-tingling titles – Natalie Erika James’ Relic and Josephine Decker’s Shirley spring to mind – or you crave something more family-friendly – such as the beautifully animated Wolfwalkers – this year’s lineup is guaranteed to provide some overdue escapism.

Rosamund Kelby

The 64th BFI London Film Festival takes place from 7th until 18th October 2020, for further information visit the festival’s website here.

Related Itemsfeatured

More in Cinema & Tv

Judas and the Black Messiah

James Humphrey
Read More

Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell

★★★★★
Jake Cudsi
Read More

The United States Vs Billie Holiday

★★★★★
BP Flanagan
Read More

Blush: An interview with director Debra Eisenstadt

Sarah Bradbury
Read More

Baby Done: An interview with lead actor Rose Matafeo

Sarah Bradbury
Read More

The Sinners

★★★★★
Emma Kiely
Read More

What Lies Below

★★★★★
Mersa Auda
Read More

Wrong Turn

★★★★★
Musanna Ahmed
Read More

Ginny & Georgia

★★★★★
Emma Kiely
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap
  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Smith & Burrows – Only Smith & Burrows Is Good Enough
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Celebrate Margarita Day at home with these simple yet sophisticated cocktails
    Food & Drinks
  • Creation Stories
    ★★★★★
    Film festivals
  • The Trial of the Chicago 7
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Wrong Turn
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • In the Shadows
    ★★★★★
    Film festivals
  • Laura Mvula – Under a Pink Moon
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Typical at Soho Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Judas and the Black Messiah
    Movie review
  • Detroit Stories – Alice Cooper
    Album review
  • Typical at Soho Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Detroit Stories – Alice Cooper
    Album review
  • Minari
    ★★★★★
    Film festivals
  • West End Musical Drive In Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Hymn at the Almeida Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Sin: The Art of Transgression at the National Gallery | Exhibition review
Globaleyes at Chickenshed Theatre Online | Theatre review