Tag: BFI

‘Empire Of Light’ Set As BFI London Film Festival Gala Screening

Posted on by BeverleyButterfly
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The 66th BFI London Film Festival has set Empire Of Light, the latest film from Sam Mendes, as its American Express Gala screening.

Starring Olivia Colman, Micheal Ward (Blue Story, Top Boy), and Colin Firth, the film will receive its European Premiere on Wednesday, October 12 at the Southbank Centre in the Royal Festival Hall. Mendes will attend the screening with Producer Pippa Harris alongside key cast members, including Olivia Colman, Colin Firth, Michael Ward, and Toby Jones.

“I’m absolutely delighted to be included in this year’s BFI London Film Festival as the AMEX Gala screening. Empire of Light is a very personal movie for me, and I can’t wait to show it in my hometown,” Mendes said in a statement.

The film will mark Mendes’s first solo screenwriting credit and reunites the director with Academy Award-winning cinematographer Roger Deakins whom he worked with on 1917 and Skyfall.

In a statement, Tricia Tuttle, BFI London Film Festival Director, added: “When I read that Sam Mendes’ next project was centred around a cinema, I was so excited about the possibility of being able to present it in the BFI London Film Festival. Mendes is a masterful storyteller and here vividly captures a sense of the South coast of England, in the 1980s. Empire of Light explores the importance of community, the power of storytelling and of the movies, specifically the thrill of watching a film in a dark cinema, and the tactile pleasures of celluloid. And these are themes so close to our hearts at the BFI.”

Empire of Light is produced by Sam Mendes and Pippa Harris’ Neal Street Productions, in partnership with Searchlight Pictures. The film will release theatrically in the US on December 9 following its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September and in the UK on January 13.

The 66th BFI London Film Festival runs in partnership with American Express and takes place October 5-15, 2022.

Source: deadline.com – ‘Empire Of Light’ Set As BFI London Film Festival Gala Screening

Olivia Colman to Receive Prestigious BFI Fellowship

Posted on by BeverleyButterfly
76th ANNUAL GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS — Pictured: Olivia Colman, winner of Best Actress – Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy at the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019 — (Photo by: Paul Drinkwater/NBC)

Oscar-nominated British actress Olivia Colman is set to receive a BFI Fellowship, the British Film Institute’s highest honor. Colman will receive the accolade at the BFI chairman’s dinner on March 6 in London, hosted by BFI chair Josh Berger of Warner Bros.

The honor comes after Colman’s Oscar and BAFTA nominations for her star turn as gouty Queen Anne in Yorgos Lanthimos’ “The Favourite.” She has already picked up a raft of awards for the role, including the Golden Globe for best actress in a musical or comedy.

“I’m absolutely bowled over,” she said in a statement. “The BFI is a wonderful organization, and that I will soon be in a fellowship with so many of my heroes is an honor that is hard to compute.”

Past recipients include Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Vanessa Redgrave, Michael Caine, Ralph Fiennes and Cate Blanchett.

Berger, who is president and managing director of Warner Bros. Entertainment U.K., called Colman “a brilliant comic actor and one of the industry’s finest dramatic performers. Her ability to be relatable in such a diverse range of roles generates incredible warmth and admiration from audiences.”

The actress is currently playing another British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, in the third and fourth seasons of Netflix’s hit show “The Crown,” taking over the role from Claire Foy. Season 3 is set for release later this year.

Colman recently appeared in the BBC’s six-part adaptation of “Les Miserables” and in Sundance drama “Them That Follow.” She previously won a Golden Globe for best actress in a supporting role for television series “The Night Manager,” and has won three BAFTA TV awards.

The BFI Fellowship was first presented in 1983 to mark the institute’s 25th anniversary. Last year’s fellowship was awarded to “The Crown” creator Peter Morgan. Other past awardees include John Hurt, Clint Eastwood, Hugh Grant, Bette Davis, Jeanne Moreau, Martin Scorsese, Mel Brooks and Steve McQueen.

Source: variety.com – Olivia Colman to Receive Prestigious BFI Fellowship