The 59th BFI London Film Festival will be held from 7th to 18th October 2015 in venues across London. Over twelve days, 240 films from over 70 countries will be screened. BFI is recognised as the biggest film event in the UK and one of the most prestigious festivals in Europe. This year’s edition will present films in fifteen categories, including Love, Debate, Dare, Laugh, Thrill, Cult, and Journey.
There are four competitions held during the festival: the Official Competition; the First Film Competition; the Documentary Competition; and the newly-introduced Short Film Award. Polish films will take part in three of them. Also Paweł Pawlikowski, the director of the award-winning Ida will head the jury of the Official Competition. He will be accompanied by Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kristin Scott Thomas, Christine Vachon and Mabel Cheung. Pawlikowski said:
It is an honour to be Jury President for the BFI London Film Festival this year especially as my last film Ida won the Best Film Award in 2013 at the very beginning of its journey.
11 Minutes in the Official Competition
The Official Competition for inspiring and inventive films, will include 11 Minutes by Jerzy Skolimowski along with 12 other films. 11 Minutes is a Polish thriller that has already been shown at film festivals around the world including Toronto and Venice. It received the Special Jury Prize at the 40th Gdynia Film Festival and was recently chosen as Poland's nomination for the Academy Awards. The film focuses on 11 minutes in the lives of several people whose paths interweave in unpredictable ways. Skolimowski pushes boundaries and creates an adventurous piece full of action and emotions that holds the audience tight until the very end.
The Here After in the First Feature Competition
The First Feature Competition for the most original and innovative debut out of 11 competitors including the Polish-Swedish co-production The Here After directed by Magnus von Horn. It’s the story of a teenager who decides on a new start after being released from a juvenile delinquent centre. However, when he returns to his community nobody is willing to forgive nor forget his crime. His presence brings out the worst in those around him, and he starts to fear for his life. Instead of continuing to run away from his past, John decides he has to confront it. The Here After was awarded Best Script and Best Director at the 40th Gdynia Film Festival.
Something Better to Come in the Documentary Competition
The Documentary Competition for films capturing real-life social or cultural significance will include Something Better to Come by Hanna Polak. The film is a Danish-Polish co-production telling the story of a young woman growing up on the outskirts of Moscow. It took 14 years to film Yula, a woman born and raised on one of the largest landfills in Europe. Polak’s documentary has already received the Special Jury Award at Amsterdam’s IDFA.
Body/Ciało in the Dare section
Body/Ciało, an award-winning film directed by Małgorzata Szumowska will be presented in the Dare section, said to take the audience out of their comfort zone. In her film, Szumowska investigates all sides of the word “body” and applies an infinite number of tags to it. She carefully observes the physicality of her protagonists and shows bodies that are old and obese, dead, addicted, massacred, starved, anorexic, chilled, erotic, as well as the body of a hermaphrodite and a body freed from the burden of taboo. Bodies of animals processed as food, and astral bodies that communicate with the living via mediums.
Next to Me in the Journey section
Next to Me, a 14-minute film by Marta Prus will be included in In the Neighbourhood, part of the Journey section. Films included in this section are meant to shift perspectives and to take audiences on journeys through life-changing moments. Next to me is a Polish-Croatian co-production that tells the story of a girl followed around by two older girls.