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Post by juicy_but_terribly_drab on Aug 31, 2023 16:28:38 GMT
The London Film Festival 2023 full line-up was announced today. Some very exciting stuff. I'm particularly interested in:
- Saltburn - honestly wasn't a fan of Promising Young Woman and the fact Fennell wrote the book for (Bad) Cinderella should probably put me off completely but the trailer for this looks great, especially the cinematography
- All of Us Strangers - really liked Weekend and love these two actors (Paul Mescal should have won all the awards last year!)
- The Killer - David Fincher seemingly returning to what he does best
- Killers of the Flower Moon - need I say more?
- May December - I love Todd Haynes and early responses indicating that this is high camp melodrama have me salivating to see this one
- Monster - I love Hirokazu Kore-eda's films and have heard great things about this one
- Poor Things - have enjoyed the Yorgos Lanthimos films I've seen and the production design on this looks truly incredible
- The Boy and the Heron - the final (?) Hayao Miyazaki film is surely a must-see
- Foe - again love these two actors and the trailer looks intriguing
- The Zone of Interest - I've still only seen Under the Skin from Glazer but I loved that and by all accounts this and the rest of his filmography stack up
I've restricted my list to 10 because that's nice and neat but there's plenty of other films to be excited about so I'd love to hear what anyone else hopes to see. I'm still debating getting a membership this year since as you can see a lot of the films I'm excited for will almost certainly sell out quickly and I didn't get to see nearly as many films last year as I had hoped. If any people who have been before would like to share tips on how to get tickets to the more popular showings that would also be appreciated, they were very helpful last year.
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Post by hadeswasking on Aug 31, 2023 18:34:24 GMT
Been Looking at the list of films all day. Despite strikes, it looks like a fantastic lineup. I feel like I chose very wisely last year out of the selection, hoping to be as lucky again.
Here's a few I'm looking forward to most -
- Poor Things: Big fan of Yorgos Lanthimos, loved his last outing 'The Favourite' so much.
- Killers of the Flower Moon: Can't wait! Despite the runtime.
- The Boy and the Heron: Hayao Miyazaki!
- The Book of Clarence: At first glance this didn't appeal. However, discovering this was Jeymes Samuel's next film following 'The Harder They Fall' and comparisons to 'Life of Brian' I've got to see it.
- Saltburn: Fantastic trailer
- The Killer: DAVID FINCHER
- Cobweb: The trailer was bonkers. I'm in!
- Surprise Film: Always a blast! Yes please.
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Post by intoanewlife on Sept 1, 2023 18:37:28 GMT
Poor Things gets a 5 star review in The Guardian today, but I strongly advise against reading it as it gives the entire plot of the film away.
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Post by Marwood on Sept 2, 2023 14:32:13 GMT
Killers of the Flower Moon and The Killer are the ones that stand out for me (although the print copy of the festival program has yet to arrive at my home so I’ve only had a very quick browse online, my postal service has been a shambles in recent months), but I have a feeling both will sell out before booking opens to members, although if it’s anything like the Venice Festival, there will not be any celebrities attending (although you might get the likes of Biggins and Dean Gaffney showing up on the off chance of a freebie and a picture in OK)
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Post by theatregoer22 on Sept 3, 2023 16:43:20 GMT
The London Film Festival 2023 full line-up was announced today. Some very exciting stuff. I'm particularly interested in:
- Saltburn - honestly wasn't a fan of Promising Young Woman and the fact Fennell wrote the book for (Bad) Cinderella should probably put me off completely but the trailer for this looks great, especially the cinematography
- All of Us Strangers - really liked Weekend and love these two actors (Paul Mescal should have won all the awards last year!)
- The Killer - David Fincher seemingly returning to what he does best
- Killers of the Flower Moon - need I say more?
- May December - I love Todd Haynes and early responses indicating that this is high camp melodrama have me salivating to see this one
- Monster - I love Hirokazu Kore-eda's films and have heard great things about this one
- Poor Things - have enjoyed the Yorgos Lanthimos films I've seen and the production design on this looks truly incredible
- The Boy and the Heron - the final (?) Hayao Miyazaki film is surely a must-see
- Foe - again love these two actors and the trailer looks intriguing
- The Zone of Interest - I've still only seen Under the Skin from Glazer but I loved that and by all accounts this and the rest of his filmography stack up
I've restricted my list to 10 because that's nice and neat but there's plenty of other films to be excited about so I'd love to hear what anyone else hopes to see. I'm still debating getting a membership this year since as you can see a lot of the films I'm excited for will almost certainly sell out quickly and I didn't get to see nearly as many films last year as I had hoped. If any people who have been before would like to share tips on how to get tickets to the more popular showings that would also be appreciated, they were very helpful last year.
BFI member and previous attendee here: The easiest way to see the more popular galas is to get tickets to the weekday daytime screenings in the Royal Festival Hall (they rarely sell out and as I've found the last couple of years, are a great way to spend a few days of annual leave). Otherwise, get BFI membership and join the online queue at 10:00am on Wednesday. Depending on where you are in the queue you'll probably find tickets to most evening galas are still available when you get onto the website to book. Failing that, see what's left when tickets open to all at 10am on 12 September. I would expect May December, the Zone of Interest and possibly Foe and The Killer to still have tickets left for the evening premiere screenings. Saltburn, Killers of The Flower Moon (unless the length of the film puts people off) and possibly Poor Things premier (first) screenings will likely sell out during the member sale, as well as the third screenings at smaller screens. Monster I'm not sure about - it's playing in smaller screens but the not being in English might put some people off. On 28 September the BFI will release more tickets to some sold out screenings, again at 10am. And it's also worth checking the website during the festival as odd tickets for sold out films do pop up now and again (I got tickets to Empire of Light and the second Knives Out film that way last year). |
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Post by theatregoer22 on Sept 3, 2023 16:44:34 GMT
Killers of the Flower Moon and The Killer are the ones that stand out for me (although the print copy of the festival program has yet to arrive at my home so I’ve only had a very quick browse online, my postal service has been a shambles in recent months), but I have a feeling both will sell out before booking opens to members, although if it’s anything like the Venice Festival, there will not be any celebrities attending (although you might get the likes of Biggins and Dean Gaffney showing up on the off chance of a freebie and a picture in OK) Why would they sell out before booking opens to members? |
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Post by theatregoer22 on Sept 3, 2023 16:53:13 GMT
So many films I'd love to see this year. I've got eleven or twelve on my first choice list, including:
- The Killer
- The Bikeriders
- Fingernails
- All of Us Strangers - after Aftersun and Streetcar Named Desire I'm definitely on the Paul Mescal hype train
- Foe (this is tbc, as much as I love Paul and Saoirse Ronan I might skip it as it's coming to cinemas a couple of weeks after the festival)
- How to Have Sex - just looks really fun
- The Zone of Interest
- The End We Start From
- Chicken Run - don't judge, but I've been a huge fan of everything Ardman since I was about 3
- Poor Things
- The Boy and the Heron
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Post by juicy_but_terribly_drab on Sept 3, 2023 16:56:40 GMT
Thanks for the tips. I think now that reviews are I'll probably skip getting a membership this year. Saltburn has gotten very divisive responses and Killers of the Flower Moon has a wide release not long after the festival so I don't want to risk spending all that money when I probably have a decent chance of getting tickets to a fair amount of the other films I'm interested in, especially if I'm able to see some of the morning screenings.
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Post by theatregoer22 on Sept 3, 2023 18:26:15 GMT
Thanks for the tips. I think now that reviews are I'll probably skip getting a membership this year. Saltburn has gotten very divisive responses and Killers of the Flower Moon has a wide release not long after the festival so I don't want to risk spending all that money when I probably have a decent chance of getting tickets to a fair amount of the other films I'm interested in, especially if I'm able to see some of the morning screenings. I should have said that All of Us Strangers is also likely to sell out the evening premier screening. But for pretty much all 'sold out' screenings just keep checking the website from 28 September and the chances are an odd ticket will pop up. |
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Post by Marwood on Sept 4, 2023 11:30:31 GMT
Killers of the Flower Moon and The Killer are the ones that stand out for me (although the print copy of the festival program has yet to arrive at my home so I’ve only had a very quick browse online, my postal service has been a shambles in recent months), but I have a feeling both will sell out before booking opens to members, although if it’s anything like the Venice Festival, there will not be any celebrities attending (although you might get the likes of Biggins and Dean Gaffney showing up on the off chance of a freebie and a picture in OK) Why would they sell out before booking opens to members? They have Champions at the BFI: they pay a lot more for the privilege and booking for them opens a day before members. |
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Post by hadeswasking on Sept 4, 2023 12:21:50 GMT
Why would they sell out before booking opens to members? They have Champions at the BFI: they pay a lot more for the privilege and booking for them opens a day before members. Keep in mind that they seemed to have phased out the champion-grade membership. No new champions and expired memberships will not be getting renewed. (Also, last year not a single screening was sold out before it went to the members) |
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Post by danb on Sept 4, 2023 18:06:55 GMT
I may have ‘accidentally’ already seen ‘All Of Us Strangers’, and can confirm that it is (I’d written bonkers, but that isn’t the word) dreamy wishful thinking made real, whilst beautifully brilliant. Highly recommended!
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Post by theatregoer22 on Sept 4, 2023 18:40:29 GMT
Why would they sell out before booking opens to members? They have Champions at the BFI: they pay a lot more for the privilege and booking for them opens a day before members. My experience of booking as a member last year was that all but the closing night gala had tickets available. And I was at the back of the members online queue. |
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Post by Marwood on Sept 4, 2023 22:28:31 GMT
They have Champions at the BFI: they pay a lot more for the privilege and booking for them opens a day before members. My experience of booking as a member last year was that all but the closing night gala had tickets available. And I was at the back of the members online queue. I didn’t try last year as I was in LA when the festival took place but prior to that, it had been a shambles the previous few years with the site crashing the second it went live, then getting tickets only for everything going belly up when I tried to pay for what was in my basket (a ticket for The French Dispatch in the first few rows that disappeared and I ended up making do with sitting half way back on the balcony) so let’s just hope for the best: the possibility of a lack of stars attending might mean there’s not do much of a rush. |
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Post by crowblack on Sept 5, 2023 9:44:14 GMT
Does it make any difference to your eventual place in the queue if you open the website with the countdown at 8am or whatever, or is it just random? Or having two tabs open?
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Post by Jon on Sept 5, 2023 12:54:14 GMT
Maestro and Poor Things are the two I want to see, Killers of the Flower Moon is out in cinemas in the same month so can happily wait.
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Post by crowblack on Sept 5, 2023 14:19:04 GMT
If a film isn't billed as a 'gala', does that mean it's just an ordinary screening, no directors, cast, talk?
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Post by n1david on Sept 5, 2023 17:27:25 GMT
If a film isn't billed as a 'gala', does that mean it's just an ordinary screening, no directors, cast, talk? No, sometimes they still show up. The 11am opening gala "reprise" the following day used to be fun spotting which of the guests had the biggest hangovers... And sometimes at galas the guests may be underwhelming (and the writers strike might make them even more sparse this year). There are no guarantees. |
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Post by crowblack on Sept 5, 2023 17:55:19 GMT
If a film isn't billed as a 'gala', does that mean it's just an ordinary screening, no directors, cast, talk? No, sometimes they still show up. The 11am opening gala "reprise" the following day used to be fun spotting which of the guests had the biggest hangovers... And sometimes at galas the guests may be underwhelming (and the writers strike might make them even more sparse this year). There are no guarantees. Thanks! The stars that do turn up, if they can do so 'ethically', will get more attention though! |
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Post by theatregoer22 on Sept 5, 2023 19:28:14 GMT
If a film isn't billed as a 'gala', does that mean it's just an ordinary screening, no directors, cast, talk? The first screening of a special presentation film gets the same red carpet treatment as a gala, with an introduction by whoever from the cast and crew is in attendance. All the second and third screenings of galas and special presentations I've been to over the last two years have just been ordinary screenings, although I did hear that Darren Aronofsky came back to introduce the second screening of The Whale last year.
With the films in the strands, some are just regular film screenings, while others (particularly the British films) include an introduction by the director and sometimes a full Q&A after the film.
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Post by juicy_but_terribly_drab on Sept 5, 2023 20:12:18 GMT
If a film isn't billed as a 'gala', does that mean it's just an ordinary screening, no directors, cast, talk? The first screening of a special presentation film gets the same red carpet treatment as a gala, with an introduction by whoever from the cast and crew is in attendance. All the second and third screenings of galas and special presentations I've been to over the last two years have just been ordinary screenings, although I did hear that Darren Aronofsky came back to introduce the second screening of The Whale last year.
With the films in the strands, some are just regular film screenings, while others (particularly the British films) include an introduction by the director and sometimes a full Q&A after the film.
I was at the second screening of The Whale last year and both Aronofsky and the playwright/screenwriter, Samuel D Hunter, attended and talked briefly about the film beforehand. |
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Post by crowblack on Sept 6, 2023 9:07:10 GMT
Logged in on one device at 9.01 and the other 9.05 cos it kept showing the regular page not the queue (I was logged in - it didn't show until my log in timed out, it seems)- both have given me a queue number in the upper 5000s.
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Post by n1david on Sept 6, 2023 10:00:28 GMT
Not the best booking experience and didn't get everything I wanted, but still 5 films, and considering I'm only around for half the festival that's not bad going. Got the second RFH presentation of "Strangers" which was the main film I was after, and some more minor but interesting stuff. Whole website very slow, and one heart-stopping moment when I got a timeout when trying to pay, but in the end all went through.
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Post by Marwood on Sept 6, 2023 10:27:48 GMT
Was dismayed to have well over 6000 people in front of me in the queue but nothing was showing as sold out when I got to login. I didn’t bother with Killers of The Flower Moon as I didn’t want to pay £30 to sit right at the back of the balcony of the RFH but I got tickets for The Killer, The Bikeriders and You Can Call Me Bill (the last of these was £10 but that is on at Curzon Soho rather than the RFH)which kind of soothes paying £30 each for the other two
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Post by hadeswasking on Sept 6, 2023 11:26:21 GMT
Happened to be in London for N2N during member booking which made me nervous. Hotel wifi is always dodgy so showed up at BFI this morning to a queue of 4 people. About 2 hours before booking. Smoothest booking experience I've ever had for this festival. Shoutout to the 6 hardworking members of the box office who did a fantastic job going through people's lists. Had 16 movies booked in 7 minutes.
Managed to get the saver seats for every single RFH showing I had planned. Although I have noticed they have upped the price of both back of stalls and balcony, these were a bargain last year as the screen was big enough that it was a perfect view. Second row wasn't too bad last year so I was happy to go for it due to the price. Although my neck might hurt a little after the week is over.
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