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Post by callum on Sept 3, 2017 2:03:58 GMT
Here we go again! Programme announced this week, already got my timetable sorted: whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.aspWhat's everyone looking forward to? Can't wait for Downsizing, Battle of the Sexes, Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool... Hoping to find some lesser-known gems, too. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2017 2:35:52 GMT
Just finished planning my own timetable.
Will hopefully be seeing (depending on ticket availability):
120 Beats Per Minute
Battle of the Sexes
Call Me By Your Name
Downsizing
Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool
The Florida Project
Last Flag Flying
On Chesil Beach
The Shape of Water
And the surprise film.
Most anticipating Call Me By Your Name as the book is gorgeous, the trailer is gorgeous and it's the best reviewed film of the year thus far. Also can't wait for The Shape of Water which also has a gorgeous trailer and great reviews.
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Post by hal9000 on Sept 3, 2017 5:58:27 GMT
At other festivals I have seen and enjoyed CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, HAPPY END, THE PARTY, L'AMANT DPUBLE and THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER.
HE is minor Haneke and TP is minor Potter, but I'd recommend the others.
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Post by Jon on Sept 3, 2017 8:29:34 GMT
Battle of the Sexes is out on the 20th October and I believe there are screenings in the 9th so I'm going to wait and see Downsizing or The Shape of Water.
I'm surprised Murder on the Orient Express isn't debuting at the BFI film festival
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Post by n1david on Sept 3, 2017 13:25:14 GMT
Looks like there will be a few of us at some of these screenings!
I'm hoping for Battle of the Sexes, Call Me by your Name, Journey's End, 120bpm, Amant Double, Happy End, Florida Project and On Chesil Beach as my big attractions, plus a handful of others.
Hoping that on Thursday the BFI have their act together on ticket sales - I have to say for the last few years, on-sale days for the LFF and Flare have gone very smoothly - I think they could give theatres some instruction! A few years ago it used to be a nightmare every time guessing how long you'd have before the site went down, but I can't remember problems for some years now.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2017 13:38:19 GMT
If you have an American Express card for the National presale perk, there is also an Amex presale for the London Film Festival a couple of days after member's booking opens. There's an allocation of seats for every screening. I've often found that things that sell out during member's booking have good availability for the Amex tickets. There's a limit on how many presale tickets you can book in total (8 in previous years).
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Post by n1david on Sept 3, 2017 14:14:32 GMT
If you have an American Express card for the National presale perk, there is also an Amex presale for the London Film Festival a couple of days after member's booking opens. There's an allocation of seats for every screening. I've often found that things that sell out during member's booking have good availability for the Amex tickets. There's a limit on how many presale tickets you can book in total (8 in previous years). Ooh thanks xanderl, all these years I've had an Amex card and never knew that Amex had its own allocation - I assumed that sold out on Members Day meant sold out... Definitely worth remembering if I miss out on any of the big tickets on Thursday... |
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Post by n1david on Sept 3, 2017 14:16:37 GMT
Oops, dupe.
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Post by callum on Sept 3, 2017 20:48:04 GMT
Thank you Xanderl - has Amex booking been much of a rush in previous years? Will have a go at that when booking opens.
Been going to the festival for a few years now but never done a gala. This year I'm going to splash out and try for the Battle of the Sexes gala - film sounds right up my street and think it will be quite special to have Billie Jean King there.
I saw Where is Kyra? at the BAM Cinema Fest in New York with Michelle Pfeiffer and Kiefer Sutherland and really liked it, a shame it hasn't come to London. Gemini played there too but I missed that - happy to see it at London.
Looking forward to Call Me By Your Name a lot too but comes out the end of October IIRC? Mightn't be worth seeing it at the festival if I have a Cineworld Unlimited card. Others on my list are Killing of a Sacred Deer, Shape of Water, Brigsby Bear, the Obama doc and the Cate Blanchett event.
Frankly I'm surprised that a few of Suburbicon, Lady Bird, The Leisure Seeker, Death of Stalin and Darkest Hour aren't at the festival. Perhaps they're all candidates for the Suprise Film. Hope it's better than Sully this year.
And as much as I'm looking forward to Mudbound on the Meyerowitz Stories, does anyone else feel like there's not much point getting festival tickets when they're going to be on Netflix (in the case of Meyerowitz) in a matter of days following the screening!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2017 21:01:14 GMT
I've not seen much at the festival for the last couple of years, but when I did more I found Amex booking entirely stress free and had no problems getting tickets for everything I wanted
Agree with you it's not really worth booking for stuff you'll be able to see elsewhere shortly afterwards, unless you (eg) have the chance to see them at the Odeon Leicester Square rather than on TV or a tiny cinema. I've got Odeon Limitless + Picturehouse membership so anything that's going to be out in the next few months I can see for free if I wait!
By the way, Hiddleston fans - I've seen him three times turning up at screenings at the festival, including when he turned up to do a Q&A after "High Rise" on the Sunday morning showing, not just at the gala screening the previous night. Only celeb I've ever known to do that.
Amazed "Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool" has finally been made. It's a great story, I remember the first attempt to film it would have starred (I think) Damon from Brookside in the late 80s.
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Post by n1david on Sept 3, 2017 21:21:15 GMT
By the way, Hiddleston fans - I've seen him three times turning up at screenings at the festival, including when he turned up to do a Q&A after "High Rise" on the Sunday morning showing, not just at the gala screening the previous night. Only celeb I've ever known to do that. Was delighted when Ryan Gosling (and many of the production team) showed up for a chat after the 11am Saturday presentation of La La Land last year... The only film showing I've been at which has had applause after the opening scene... |
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Post by kathryn on Sept 3, 2017 21:26:22 GMT
Ryan Gosling turned up to the Saturday morning showing of La La Land last year and we got Vanessa Redgrave at our non-gala showing of Secret Scriptures.
I found most things available for Amex booking last year - it was only the really big galas that tickets were very limited for, and we decided they were out soon enough to see on general release anyway.
I need to check the schedule properly to see how the showings fall out. I definitely want to see The Shape of Water, Breathe, Downsizing, Journeyman, and Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool. Mudbound and Call Me By Your Name also appeal. Could probably wait for Battle of the Sexes to show up in the cinema as that will get a wide release.
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Post by callum on Sept 3, 2017 21:35:48 GMT
Yes, even when the movie is only coming out in a few months, the experience of being at 'the festival', seeing it in an audience of film-lovers and sometimes getting to see a Q&A with cast/crew is definitely worth paying extra. Ryan Gosling appearing at the 11am screening of La La Land last year has already been mentioned, but the full cast and directro/writer of Moonlight (sorry Faye Dunaway) in attendance was special too.
Brie Larson at the screening of Room a couple of years ago was great also.
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Post by kathryn on Sept 3, 2017 21:40:06 GMT
Seeing Room at LFF - at a bog-standard screening, no cast - is still one of my absolute cinema-going highlights. I knew nothing about it going in other than 'a mother and son are trapped in a room' and it just Blew. Me. Away. Such a priviledge to experience it completely cold - the marketing gave away half the film's plot when it actually got released, seeing it then wouldn't have been the same experience at all.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2017 1:34:44 GMT
I know Call Me By Your Name is out October 27th but I've been anticipating it since it premiered to raves at Sundance in January and truly cannot wait any longer! I'm sure I'll be seeing it again when it's on general release.
Last year was my first time at LFF and I only went for one day because I really wanted to see La La Land. Got a ticket to Moonlight beforehand, not knowing much about it other than the rave reviews. Came out of the Moonlight screening with a shaking hand I was so moved. When I later saw La La Land and liked it a lot, but kept thinking about Moonlight, I had a feeling the Oscar race wasn't as clear cut as it was being made out to be. Had the director and entire adult cast of Moonlight at the screening and the director of La La Land came to that one too. It is a great experience.
For anyone interested, here are the guests confirmed to attend this year:
Andy Serkis, Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy, Martin McDonagh, Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell, Valerie Faris, Jonathan Dayton, Emma Stone, Andrea Riseborough, Elisabeth Shue, Luca Guadagnino, Timothée Chalamet, Paul McGuigan, Annette Bening, Jamie Bell, Julie Walters, Saul Dibb, Sam Claflin, Asa Butterfield, Toby Jones, Stephen Graham, Yorgos Lanthimos, Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Barry Keoghan, Richard Linklater, Bryan Cranston, Dee Rees, Carey Mulligan, Jason Mitchell, Mary J. Blige, Garrett Hedlund, Guillermo del Toro, Lynne Ramsay, Joaquin Phoenix, François Ozon, Patrick Imbert, Takashi Miike, Sean Baker, Brooklynn Kimberly Prince, Valeria Cotto, Bria Vinaite, Samuel Maoz, Noah Baumbach, Emma Thompson, Saoirse Ronan, Billy Howle, Michel Hazanavicius, Louis Garrel, Stacy Martin, Bérénice Bejo, Joachim Trier, Todd Haynes, Oakes Fegley, Jaden Michael, Clio Barnard, Daniela Vega, Greg Barker, Shirin Neshat, David Fincher, Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallanay, Sally Potter, Bruno Ganz, Emily Mortimer, Cillian Murphy, Kristin Scott Thomas, Timothy Spall, Lucrecia Martel.
Hoping Lady Bird is the surprise screening, getting a great reaction out of Telluride film festival and sounds like exactly my kind of thing.
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Post by Jon on Sept 4, 2017 1:40:33 GMT
Frankly I'm surprised that a few of Suburbicon, Lady Bird, The Leisure Seeker, Death of Stalin and Darkest Hour aren't at the festival. Perhaps they're all candidates for the Suprise Film. Hope it's better than Sully this year. It's probably Surburbicon or Darkest Hour that'll be the Surprise Film. Darkest Hour's exclusion from the festival is a bit odd. Molly's Game would be a good one as well, it's at TIFF but not the BFI. |
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Post by Marwood on Sept 4, 2017 8:26:17 GMT
Looking at getting tickets for:
Downsizing
The Shape Of Water
Journeyman
My Generation
(maybe) Jabberwocky
and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri: but I'm never successful in the BFI ballots for these galas, but at £40 a ticket I won't be too disappointed.
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Post by callum on Sept 4, 2017 10:24:06 GMT
I always get annoyed when a film I really want to see (like this year) is the Closing gala! No repeat screening the following day for a fraction of the price! Couldn't have cared less about Free Fire last year.
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Post by Marwood on Sept 4, 2017 18:03:18 GMT
After reading a couple of reviews, going to try for Brawl In Cell Block 99, I saw Bone Tomahawk at the LFF a couple of years ago and thought it was awesome (although not one to see if you have a phobia about tomahawks going anywhere near your nether regions...)
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Post by Marwood on Sept 7, 2017 9:10:33 GMT
Anyone having any joy booking anything? The screen just freezes whenever I try to do anything, can't even get to look at the films let alone try and book one. It's a shambles to tell the truth: every year, without fail, you can count on the BFI to cock thing up on the day tickets go on sale to members.
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Post by n1david on Sept 7, 2017 9:31:58 GMT
Yes, I’m struggling too. The past few years I haven’t found too bad but getting to the film pages is taking forever. Half past and I’ve got three films in my basket.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2017 9:37:19 GMT
For the first 20 minutes or so I was in the same boat, literally taking 5 minutes to load one page. Then suddenly it started going pretty swiftly.
Managed to get everything I wanted. Decided not to go for Film Stars in the end as I could only fit the gala in and although it looks good, it doesn't look £30 good, especially with it coming out in November before the US anyway.
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Post by Marwood on Sept 7, 2017 9:49:00 GMT
Took until half ten before I could get to pick anything, and by that time, all of the galas that I was interested in were pretty much sold out (I'm not paying £30 to £40 to sit at the back of the balcony). Journeyman was sold out, but have managed to get tickets for Brawl In Cell Block H, My Generation, Pickups and The Party.
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Post by n1david on Sept 7, 2017 10:49:47 GMT
Was very odd - there seemed to be a negative interaction between the hotel WiFi here in Spain and the BFI website. Which I switched to using 3G on my phone, I had no problems - but the hotel WiFi was fast with other sites and remained glacial for the BFI when I went back to it after. So missed some of the galas I wanted, but got most other things. Will have another go next week at the Amex booking for Downsizing, Amant Double and Chesil Beach.
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Post by Marwood on Sept 7, 2017 14:20:57 GMT
Took until half ten before I could get to pick anything, and by that time, all of the galas that I was interested in were pretty much sold out (I'm not paying £30 to £40 to sit at the back of the balcony). Journeyman was sold out, but have managed to get tickets for Brawl In Cell Block H, My Generation, Pickups and The Party. Just noticed my typo, it is in fact Brawl In Cell Block 99 I'm going to see, must have had a subliminal urge to watch a movie of Prisoner: Cell Block H when I typed that out earlier  |
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