Movie News / Press Releases / Film Clips Red Sparrow "Training Montage" film clip In the clip, we see Jennifer Lawrence in training at ‘Sparrow School’ where she learns the art of seduction and is told that her ‘body belongs to the state’. In the character piece, Joel Edgerton gives a fascinating insight into his character, Nate Nash, accompanied by never-before-seen footage of the film. Edgerton plays Lawrence’s first target and love interest. DIRECTED BY: Francis Lawrence SCREENPLAY BY: Justin Haythe based on the novel by Jason Matthews PRODUCED BY: Peter Chernin and Steve Zaillan CAST: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenaerts, Jeremy Irons, Mary-Louise Parker, Charlotte Rampling Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence) is drafted against her will to become a “sparrow,” a trained seductress in the Russian security service. Dominika learns to use her body as a weapon, but struggles to maintain her sense of self during the dehumanizing training process. Finding her power in an unfair system, she emerges as one of the program’s strongest assets. Her first target is Nate Nash (Joel Edgerton), a CIA officer who handles the agency’s most sensitive infiltration of Russian intelligence. The two young operatives fall into a spiral of attraction and deception, which threatens their careers, allegiances and the security of both countries. Based on the book by former CIA officer Jason Matthews, “Red Sparrow” reunites Jennifer Lawrence with her “Hunger Games” director, Francis Lawrence with Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenaerts, Charlotte Rampling, Jeremy Irons, and Mary Louise Parker rounding out the cast. RED SPARROW is in UK cinemas March 1st 2018 #PressReleases #MovieNews #FilmClips #JenniferLawrence

★★★★ Directed by Alex Garland Starring Natalie Portman, Oscar Isaac, Tessa Thompson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez Netflix Film Review by George Wolf Alex Garland's work as both a writer (28 Days Later..., Sunshine, Never Let Me Go) and a writer/director (Ex Machina) has shown a visionary talent for molding the other-worldly and the familiar. Annihilation unveils Garland at his most existential, becoming an utterly absorbing sci-fi thriller where each answer begs more questions. A strange force of nature dubbed "The Shimmer" has enveloped the land near a remote lighthouse, and is spreading. Years of expeditions inside it have yielded only missing persons - including Kane (Oscar Issac). When Kane suddenly returns home and almost immediately falls prey to a life-threatening illness, his wife Lena (Natalie Portman, perfectly nailing a desperate curiosity) is detained for questioning by the military. Lena, a biology professor with years of Army training, volunteers to join the new, all-female exhibition into "Area X," hoping to find any shred of information that could save her husband's life. Adapting the first novel in Jeff VanderMeer's "Southern Reach Trilogy," Garland has found a perfect scratch for his psychological itch. Garland builds the film in wonderful symmetry with the hybrid life forms influenced by The Shimmer. Taking root as a strange mystery, it offers satisfying surprises amid an ambitious narrative flow full of intermittent tension, scares, and blood - and a constant sense of wonder. Just his second feature as a director, Annihilation proves Ex Machina was no fluke. Garland is pondering similar themes—creation, self-destruction, extinction—on an even deeper level, streamlining the source material into an Earthbound cousin to 2001. Utilizing wonderfully strategic splashes of color, and a shifting timeline that drops purposeful breadcrumbs, Garland gives us a mystifying new world from the comforts of our own. Annihilation is the work of a top-tier genre filmmaker, and a challenging journey offering many rewards for those with no appetite for spoon feedings. #AlexGarland #NataliePortman #OscarIsaac #TessaThompson #JenniferJasonLeigh #GinaRodriguez #GeorgeWolf #film #movies #entertainment #filmreviews #moviereviews #SciFi #sciencefiction #fantasyfilms #NetflixFilmReviews

★★★ Directed by Nick Parks Starring Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston, Timothy Spall, Maisie Williams Film Review by Hope Madden There is something adorably British about Nick Parks’s latest plasticine adventure, Early Man. No I am not being condescending. It’s animated. It’s supposed to be adorable. This Aardman export—the Brit animation studio responsible for the Wallace & Gromit classics, among others—pits dunder-headed but lovable cave dwellers against greedy Bronze Age Euro-trash as it spoofs sports flicks. We open at the dawn of time, when dinosaurs and cave men and giant, toothy mallards roamed the earth outside Manchester, England. Around lunchtime. It’s silly. And sweet. And basically a 90-minute mash note to Manchester United. When those posh bullies from the Bronze Age (led by Tom Hiddleston’s Lord Nooth) push Dug (Eddie Redmayne) and his nincompoopy cavemen friends out of their fertile valley, Dug devises a challenge to regain his beloved home. Like all great sports films, Early Man pushes the underdog narrative to epitomize more than simple foot-to-ball competition. Plus, you really do want these earnest faces, overbites and all, to learn to believe in themselves. And why can’t a pig play soccer? Dug’s quick trip into town square offers opportunities for the Aardman Easter eggs—be sure to scan the vendor booths for hilarious names. With voice talent to spare (Timothy Spall and Rob Brydon are among those with smaller roles), you’re assured the intentionally silly jokes are delivered expertly. The problem is that Early Man would have made for a really hilarious short. The story doesn’t benefit from a 90-minute stretch. The setting—mainly an imposing landscape littered with enormous rib bones—doesn’t offer enough opportunity for visual distraction and the characters are not memorable enough to keep your attention for the full run time. Expect much of the familiar: googly eyes, enormous teeth, simple characters and kind-hearted laughter. CGI mixes with the stop-action to rob the film of some character, but Early Man has charm to spare. #HopeMadden #movies #film #entertainment #moviereviews #filmreviews #EarlyMan #NickParks #AardmanAnimationStudios #TomHiddleston #EddieRedmayne #TimothySpall #MaisieWilliams

Film News / Movie Trailers IN CINEMAS 2018 Starring: AML AMEEN, SHELDON SHEPHERD, SHANTOL JACKSON and STEPHEN GRAHAM. Set in '70s Kingston and '80s Hackney, Yardie centres on the life of a young Jamaican man named D (Aml Ameen), who has never fully recovered from the murder, committed during his childhood, of his older brother Jerry Dread (Everaldo Creary). D grows up under the wing of a Kingston Don and music producer named King Fox (Sheldon Shepherd). Fox dispatches him to London, where he reconnects with his childhood sweetheart, Yvonne (Shantol Jackson), and his daughter who he's not seen since she was a baby. He also hooks up with a soundclash crew, called High Noon. But before he can be convinced to abandon his life of crime and follow "the righteous path", he encounters the man who shot his brother 10 years earlier, and embarks on a bloody, explosive quest for retribution - a quest which brings him into conflict with vicious London gangster Rico (Stephen Graham). Watch the official first trailer for Yardie below from Studiocanal.

Film News / Movie Trailers / Netflix About Annihilation: Lena, a biologist and former soldier, joins a mission to uncover what happened to her husband inside Area X - a sinister and mysterious phenomenon that is expanding across the American coastline. Once inside, the expedition discovers a world of mutated landscape and creatures, as dangerous as it is beautiful, that threatens both their lives and their sanity. From visionary writer and director Alex Garland (Ex Machina, 28 Days Later) and based on the acclaimed best-selling Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer, Annihilation stars Natalie Portman, Oscar Isaac, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson, Gina Rodriguez and Tuva Novotny. Watch the official Annihilation trailer from Netflix below... The film will be launching on Netflix on 12th March. Check out some of our Netflix Film Reviews.

★★★ Directed by: Matthew Butler Hart Starring: Alex Hassell, Dickon Tyrrell, Graham Butler, Fisayo Akinade, Conleth Hill, Tori Butler Hart, Alix Wilton Regan, Emma King Indie Film Review By: Jack Bottomley The ghosts of our past often come back to haunt us, be it in a troubling regressive thought or literally paying for a mistake. This is just the way it is in life; however, sometimes the past not only haunts us but also traps and torture us and it is little wonder that storytellers have, for generations, cautioned us on watching our actions in the present as they may come back to get us in the future. Alas, mankind rarely listens but such tales are ingrained into the fabric of many different cultures and have spurred on countless stories of ghosts, witches and all manner of other darkness of immeasurable extent. And in Matthew Butler Hart’s Gaelic ghoul tale, we have another story of the past attacking the present. The film is set in 1846 on a remote Scottish island, as 3 worn down men drift on a small boat towards the nearest mist-laden land after being shipwrecked. On this mysterious island, they encounter a man who takes them in to his home but soon realize that there is far more sinister goings on at play, as this island and its inhabitants hold a troubling secret. No doubt, you have heard of similar tales before as this one and come the final stretch of the film, the actual mystery is not all that shocking a revelation. The Isle is an old fashioned supernatural-tinged drama, with horror elements and period settings and while slow at points, the film has its fair share of effective atmospherics, as it evokes sea faring fears of being shipwrecked and stranded on an unknown place. Tori (who also co-stars in the feature) and Matthew Butler Hart’s screenplay may not shock those familiar with such stories and some sequences are a tad frantic (a sex scene mid-film) but in their setting and characters, they have constructed a film that is still resourceful in raising some strong moments of tension. The limitations of budget can often crop up and up skittle independent films but The Isle is blessed with a setting that is absolutely stunning. The jagged hills, misty seas and ocean crashing against the rocky shores are really the true stars here and director of photography Pete Wallington has done a splendid job in giving the story precisely the right backdrop. True a few night scenes are a touch too darkly lit to fully decipher but it hardly mars the overall impact of the cinematography. Add to this a wicked (in more ways than one) score by Tom Kane, with a haunting use of melody, and you have yourself a feature that uses every inch of its superb scenery to tremendous effect. In many ways evoking the look of films like The Witch and The Wicker Man in its ragged environments and morally ambiguous isolated communities. The production design by Gini Godwin and Sophia Stocco, Costume Design by Melanie Jane Brookes and some strong Hair and Make-Up work (considering the budget) by Becci Mapes, all of melt into this natural backdrop and feel successfully vintage and, where necessary, rather unsettling. Hart’s film really makes such great use of the elements at hand and a very talented cast and crew and Hart knows what tone he is aiming for. The characters, like the plot, are not all too surprising or complex but in the second half and once the story gets going, certain characters are allowed to flicker more brightly. Alex Hassell makes for a strong lead as Oliver, with Fisayo Akinade and Graham Butler being good support. However the strongest performances come from Dickon Tyrrell and Conleth Hill, while Tori Butler Hart, Alix Wilton Regan and Emma King’s parts are given more depth in a well-played ending. The Isle is an enjoyable supernatural drama/horror, which has some long drawn out moments but ultimately offers some effectively atmospheric moments, thanks to the hard work of all involved and how they use the elements they have at their disposal. Watch the official movie trailer for The Isle below. #Supernatural #Drama #Horror #MatthewButlerHart #AlexHassell #DickonTyrrell #IndieFilmReviews #IndieFIlms #JackBottomley #GrahamButler #FisayoAkinad #ConlethHill #ToriButlerHart #AlixWiltonRegan #EmmaKIng

★★★ Directed by James Bushe Starring Darren Sean Enwright, Richard Lee O’Donnell and Jenny Stokes Indie Film Review by Seamus Conlon In one act of technical imagination in an otherwise fairly retro horror film, Cannibals and Carpet Fitters opens by deceiving us into thinking we about to watch a ‘found-footage’ movie unfold before us. Gillian (Jessica-Jane Stafford) and Jack (Alex Zane) are a couple on a camping retreat to the countryside documenting their kooky antics with a video camera, until they get lost and hear some ominous rumblings in the bushes…When the found-footage phase of the film concludes in a gory spectacle, we then move into the vast and isolated mansion of Mrs Hanning (Jenny Stokes). This house emerges not as a port amidst the storm, but the root of the horrors, since Mrs Hanning’s brood of sub-rational, pre-verbal adult sons turn out to be the cannibalistic horde who consume those who wander too close to the jaws of the Hannings’ mansion. The proceeding bulk of the film focuses on the clumsy misadventures of carpet fitters Colin (Darren Sean Enwright), Dean (Richard Lee O’Donnell) and Malcolm (Dominic Holmes) as they move towards their unfortunate appointment to fit carpets for the Hannings. There are genuine shocks along the way and many impressive grisly effects – ‘Cannibals and Carpet Fitters’ doesn’t have any of the technical deficiencies one might expect from and indie horror film when it comes to it’s ability to represent humans beings being sliced vertically down the middle by an axe. Also to the credit of writer Richard Lee O’Donnell (the writer as well as star of the film) is an admirable willingness not to bend to many of the usual plot formulae of horror films. Here we cannot trust that any heroine will be savoured as a ‘final girl’ to fend off the monsters to the end of the film, nor we can anticipate that only those who behave insensibly and recklessly will be moralistically penalised with death – the innocents are as likely prey as the callous. Nevertheless, Cannibals and Carpet Fittters doesn’t score particularly high on originality. The slapstick horror-comedy fusion and story concerning a bunch of unheroic English everymen getting entangled in a flesh-eating nightmare clearly comes straight from ‘Shaun of the Dead’. The motif of wandering people stumbling into the den of inbred backwoods monsters has been a horror movie staple from Ed Gein-inspired flicks like ‘Psycho’ and ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ onwards. Sadly the film doesn’t film doesn’t possess any new ingredients of its own to elevate itself above being a pastiche, enjoyable a pastiche as it is. The film’s defining core seems to be the comic juxtaposition between its impossibly macabre plot elements and the characters’ cavalier sense that their hellish situation is an extension of their usual humdrum activities – at one point, hiding in a room from bloodthirsty cannibals, a character ironically says, ‘this is definitely the worst job we’ve been on’. Consequently the principle appeal of Cannibals and Carpet Fitters is that it offers its viewers more of the same humorous horror they’ve likely already seen before. #IndieFilmReviews #IndieFilms #SeamusConlon #Comedy #JamesBushe #DarrenSeanEnwright #RichardLeeO39Donnell #JennyStokes

Movie News / Film Festivals / Press Releases Opening with the UK Premiere of MY DAYS OF MERCY, Closing with European Premiere of POSTCARDS FROM LONDON BFI Flare: London LGBTQ+ Film Festival unveiled its 32nd edition’s full programme tonight. One of the most significant and long-standing film events in the world’s LGBTQ+ calendar, BFI Flare will present over 50 features, more than 90 shorts and a wide range of special events, guest appearances, discussions, workshops, club nights and much more. Tickets go on sale via bfi.org.uk/flare to BFI Patrons, Champions and Members from 26th February and General Public on 5th March. Tricia Tuttle, Artistic Director, BFI Festivals ‘Queer cinema has never offered more richly complex and diverse characters and stories than we have seen in the last few years and that shines through in the quality of Festival that the programme team have put together. This diversity has also inspired us to update our Festival name to BFI Flare: London LGBTQ+ Film Festival. That Q+ reflects shifts in cultural conversations around identity, but also the Festival’s own ethos as welcoming and inclusive.’ This year we’re delighted to be presenting the Festival in partnership with our recently announced Main Supporter ? Pureland Foundation. Bruno Wang, Founder of Pureland Foundation said: ‘We are delighted to support BFI Flare: London LGBTQ+ Film Festival. The Festival mirrors Pureland Foundation’s belief in the power of the arts and culture to promote inclusion and social well-being and to celebrate diversity in our communities. The programme announced today is extremely exciting and we look forward to seeing audiences come together to enjoy these creative and thought-provoking films’. The Centrepiece Screening of the Festival is the World Premiere of UK feature documentary, A Deal with the Universe, the debut from former BFI Flare programmer Jason Barker, which tells the inspiring tale of a very different kind of pregnancy. The Special Presentation is Robin Campillo’s modern queer classic: 120 BPM a rousing, heart-breaking account of AIDS activist group ACT-UP: Paris. The Special Event in collaboration with The Art Machine is Rise: QTIPOC Representation and Visibility in Film is a special one-day series of talks and workshops, providing a platform to examine the importance of inclusion and the stories of queer people of colour, both on and off the screen. A number of themes and highlights emerge including a showcase of works by and about queer D/deaf and disabled people: ● The World Premiere of Laura Marie Wayne’s heart-breaking documentary Love, Scott is a sensitive and moving portrait of a young man left paralysed after a homophobic attack. The film charts the impact of the attack over the year, following his life changing ordeal. ● Stumped (dir. Robin Berghaus) is an extraordinary documentary which tells the story of comedian Will Lautzenheiser, a young film professor who prevails over the loss of his limbs with humour and revolutionary medicine. ● Pulse (dir. Stevie Cruz-Martin) features a young disabled man embarking on a radical transition. ● Fighters of Demons, Makers of Cakes is an unconventional and fantastical collection of shorts curated by Sandra Alland, which examines LGBTQ+ disabled, neurodiversity, chronically ill and/or D/deaf lives. Filmmakers explore the diversity of LGBTQ+ families in a number of films in the Festival: ● Jason Barker’s heartfelt and documentary A Deal with the Universe is a very personal chronicle of becoming a parent. Drawing on the filmed diaries made over the last ten years that document both Jason’s gender transition as well has his parental journey. This film is ground-breaking in terms of its intimate insights into gender identity and new parenthood. ● Paternal Rites (dir. Jules Rosskam) questions how to approach an abusive past in this contemplative mix of home movies, collages and interviews. ● Belgian documentary F.A.M.I.L.Y investigates the concept of family through the children of same-sex couples. ● Shorts programme Trans Family Matters is a broad spectrum of stories, encompassing challenges, triumphs and personal breakthroughs. HIV/AIDS has been a central concern of queer filmmakers since the 1980’s. The programme reflects on the rich history of AIDS on screen in a number of ways: ● Multi award-winning Robin Campillo’s feature film 120 BPM is an extraordinary account of ACT-UP Paris in the 1990’s. ● Mediations in an Emergency is a free access, all day event reflecting on the representation of HIV/AIDS on screen. Highlights will include clips of little seen material from the BFI archive, a look at awareness posters from the V&A. BFI Flare Programmer Brian Robinson gives an illustrated talk on Cinema of Aids featuring 30 years of the virus on screen and we will be screening classic AIDS films Buddies, Silverlake Life: The View from Here and A Home at the End of the World. 2018 sees the welcome return of BFI NETWORK @ Flare Mentorships in partnership with BAFTA. The programme offers UK-based LGBTQ+-identified emerging filmmakers strong professional networks and better understanding of the market. Now in their 4th year, the Mentorships have connected filmmakers to the heart of the industry ? with 2017 Mentors including Sundance Grand Prize-winner, Desiree Akhavan, Russell T Davies and Tom Harper. And we were thrilled to see participant Harry Lighton recognised by BAFTA at the 2018 Awards with a nomination for his short film, Wren Boys. The 2018 participants will be announced at this year’s Festival. Alongside this, the Festival’s Industry Programme returns, once again offering a range of panels, workshops and masterclasses exploring issues in LGBTQ+ film production, distribution and exhibition from development and crowdfunding to casting and exhibiting internationally, alongside in-conversation discussions with individuals who have made a major contribution to LGBTQ+ representation in the mainstream, and examinations of UK and US television landscapes. BFI FLARE: LONDON LGBTQ+ FILM FESTIVAL, 2018 FULL PROGRAMME From 21st March to 1st April at BFI Southbank, the Festival will showcase the best in contemporary global LGBTQ+ features and short films, talks and archive screenings. The Festival opens with the UK premiere of My Days of Mercy on Wednesday 21st March. Powered by stirring performances from Ellen Page (JUNO, INCEPTION, FREEHELD) and Kate Mara (HOUSE OF CARDS, THE MARTIAN), Tali Shalom-Ezer’s follow up to PRINCESS is a poignant love story between two women from vastly different backgrounds and opposing political views. The Festival’s Closing Gala is the European Premiere of Steve McLean’s stylish and sexy Postcards from London. The film tells the story of beautiful teenager Jim (Harris Dickinson, BEACH RATS) who, having travelled from the suburbs, finds himself in Soho where he falls in with a gang of unusual high class male escorts ‘The Raconteurs’. Set in a vibrant, neon-lit, imaginary vision of Soho, this morality tale manages to be both a beautifully shot homage to the spirit of Derek Jarman and a celebration of the homo-erotic in Baroque art. Special Presentations include the World Premiere of Jason Barker’s debut documentary A Deal with the Universe, which tells the inspiring tale of a very different kind of pregnancy. Robin Campillo’s modern queer classic: 120 BPM is a rousing, heart-breaking account of AIDS activist group ACT-UP: Paris. The Special Event is Rise: QTIPOC Representation and Visibility in Film a special one-day series of talks and workshops, providing a platform to examine the importance of inclusion, both on and off the screen. The Festival is further divided into three sections: HEARTS, BODIES AND MINDS. Highlights in the programme include: HEARTS include films about love, romance and friendship. The Happy Prince, written, directed and starring Rupert Everett as Oscar Wilde. The heartfelt and passionate biopic also stars Colin Firth and Emily Watson. Love, Simon (dir. Greg Berlanti) is a warm and witty coming out drama which tells the story of a closeted high-schooler who fears his best-kept secret might be revealed. The Festival’s Love, Simon premiere is supported by SKY. Mario (dir. Marcel Gisler) is a story of love and heartbreak on and off the pitch for two young football players. Close-Knit (dir, Naoko Ogigami) concerns a trans woman who realises her deep desire for motherhood. Restored to celebrate its 30th anniversary: James Ivory’sMaurice is a sumptuous restoration of the E.M. Forster gay novel. Montana (dir. Limor Shmila) is a compelling story of a young woman confronting old traumas and hidden truths in her childhood home. Becks (dir. Elizabeth Rohrbaugh, Daniel Powell) stars Broadway star Lena Hall as a musician who finds herself back in the hometown she left behind. The Wound (dir. John Trengove) tells the story of a lonely factory worker, who joins the men of his community to initiate a group of teenage boys into manhood. The film won the BFI London Film Festival Sutherland Award. BODIES include stories of sex, identity and transformation. The diverse selection of films includes: Conversations with Gay Elders, directed by David Weissman (We Were Here) is a fascinating documentary conversation with a gay, older man about his life before and after Stonewall. Trudie Styler’s directorial debut Freak Show is this year’s Interbank LGBT Forum Special Screening and stars Alex Lawther as an unrepentant high school outsider. The Carmilla Movie (dir. Spencer Maybee) is a feature length to the hit web series which follows the exploits of Lesbian vampire Carmilla. The World Premiere of Scottish documentary filmmaker Tristan Aitchison’s Sidney & Friends is a candidly poignant account of intersex and trans life in Kenya. The World Premiere of Tomorrow Never Knows (dir. Adam Sekuler) is a thought provoking documentary about a transgender person who decides to undertake a conscious death, following their Alzheimer’s diagnosis. The World Premiere of Uncle David 2 (dir. Gary Reich) bold and adventurous sequel to Uncle David. MINDS feature reflections on art, politics and community. The 34th (dir. Linda Cullen, Vanessa Gildea) is a documentary about the battle to extend marriage equality to same sex couples in Ireland. James Crump directs Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex, Fashion & Disco, a compelling and colourful documentary about the bisexual illustrator who forever changed the fashion world. The World Premiere of Southern Pride (dir. Malcolm Ingram) is a timely documentary about two towns in Mississippi organising Pride events in Trump’s America. Dear Fredy (dir. Rubi Gat) is an inspiring documentary about a heroic gay Jewish sportsman who ended up in Auschwitz. Susanne Bartsch: On Top (dir. Anthony&Alex) is a fantastic look at the fashionista and socialite who re-imagined the New York party scene in the 1980’s. The World Premiere of Cherry Grove Stories (dir. Michael Fisher) a documentary about Fire Island, once called the gayest place on earth. BFI Flare also includes a wide range of events, talks and debates: Radfem/Trans: A Love Story is a clip show and talk examining how rifts in the feminist movement have been shown on screen. Programmer Jay Bernard and invited guests will examine how schisms have been shown on screen and the imaginative ways deep-rooted conflicts in the feminist movement have been represented and resolved in the past. Inspired by two fashion forward documentaries in the festival (Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex, Fashion & Disco, Susanne Bartsch: On Top) Gay Garb is a lecture that pays homage to the gay designers of the golden age, including clips from the Roaring Twenties, Dirty Thirties, Flying Forties and Nifty Fifty’s. Following the thrills and spills of the BFI Flare Film Quiz last year, Michael Blyth leads the challenge again, inviting you to put your queer knowledge to the test with the Big Gay Film Quiz We see the return of the popular BFI Flare Club Nights (Fri 23, Sat 24, Thurs 29, Fri 30th at Benugo Lounge with our favourite DJ’s including: BBZ, Debbie Does BFI Flare, Club Kali, The Prince Farah Show and Unskinny Bop for the BFI Flare Closing Night Party. We will also screen four of the best queer films to hit cinemas over the past 12 months. Second Chance Sunday will also feature catch-up screenings and some of the most popular titles in this year’s programmes including multi Oscar nominated Call Me By Your Name (dir. Luca Guadagnino, starring Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer) a lush summer romance tinged with all the longing and heartache of adolescence.Battle of the Sexes (dir. Valerie Faris, Jonathan Dayton) stars Emma Stone as Billie Jean King in this thrilling account of her highly publicised fight for equality in women’s tennis. God’s Own Country (dir. Francis Lee) is the highly acclaimed story of a young farmer, who embarks on a relationship with a migrant worker in Northern England. A Fantastic Woman (dir. Sebastián Lelio) stars Chile’s first out trans actress Daniela Vega, who shines in this thoughtful drama on confronting intolerance. The BFI Southbank will also host the popular press and industry (P&I) screenings for all those with accreditation. For further details about Press and Industry accreditation and the full programme see www.bfi.org.uk/flare BFI Flare: London LGBTQ+ Film Festival is programmed by Jay Bernard, Michael Blyth, Zorian Clayton, Brian Robinson and Emma Smart, led by Tricia Tuttle, Artistic Director, BFI Festivals.

Movie  News / Film Festivals / Press Releases PYEWACKET TO RECEIVE EUROPEAN PREMIERE AT GLASGOW FRIGHTFEST 2018 'To reverse the ritual - she must repeat it.' Summary: A teenage girl regrets performing a ritual to summon a witch in this brilliant, brooding and flat-out frightening supernatural chiller from the producers of modern horror classics The Witch and The Void, featuring The Walking Dead’s Laurie Holden. Key talent: Laurie Holden (The Walking Dead, The Mist) Nicole Munoz (Once Upon A Time, Hemlock Grove) Chloe Rose (Hellions) James McGowan (Suicide Squad) Adam MacDonald (Director, Backcountry) Lee Malia (Composer, guitarist with Bring Me The Horizon) Jonathan Bronfman (Producer, The Void, The Witch) Synopsis: After her father dies, teenager Leah is forced, by her unstable mother, to leave her friends behind and move to a house in the woods. Feeling isolated and hopeless, Leah turns to Black Magic to release her anger. She naively performs an occult ritual found in a book on her bedroom shelf to invoke the spirit of a witch to kill her mother. Terrified by strange occurrences, and stricken by guilt, Leah desperately tries to reverse the spell, but soon realizes she has awoken something in the woods... and nothing can prepare her for the terror that has been unleashed. We like it because: “Pyewacket can take many forms. Don’t trust your lying eyes.” Forget teen-friendly jump scares and Ouija board pranks - this the real deal, that goes deep into the dark heart of the occult. From the producer of cult hits The Void and The Witch, PYEWACKET can take its place alongside those other-wordly modern horror classics. Adam MacDonald, who directed the impressive killer bear thriller Backcountry, has crafted a deliciously taut slow burner, with outstanding central performances from Nicole Munoz as witchcraft-obsessed teenager Leah, and The Walking Dead’s Laurie Holden as her mother. As surprising as it is inventive, the film plants a seed of dread from the moment teenager Leah performs an occult ritual in the woods, building to an excruciating climax that will do for the woods what Jaws did for the water. Although there are nods to other genre favourites - thumps in the attic recall The Exorcist, the house in the woods The Evil Dead - PYEWACKET is its own bone-chilling beast. With an ominous, brooding score (by Bring Me The Horizon’s Lee Malia), PYEWACKET is an unnerving, original terror experience that will delight fear fans in search of a genuine creep out. Take a deep breath and prepare for your nerves to be shattered… PYEWACKET is showing at Glasgow FrightFest on 3rd March 2018. It is released on Digital HD 16th April and DVD on 23rd April 2018 from Signature Entertainment. #MovieNews #PressReleases #FilmFestivals

★★★★ Directed by Michael Haneke Starring Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Fantine Harduin, Toby Jones, Franz Rogowski, Mathieu Kassovitz Film Review by Hope Madden Happy End is as perceptive as it is dispassionate—and this, as every choice filmmaker Michael Haneke makes—is intentional. Channeling themes from across his career, pulling most noticeably from both his 1992 horror Benny’s Video and his 2012 masterpiece Amour, Haneke slowly, deliberately unveils a tale of distance. His subjects are the well-off Laurent family: a doddering patriarch (Amour’s brilliant Jean-Louis Trintignant), the daughter who runs the company (Isabelle Huppert), her surgeon brother (Mathieu Kassovitz), her disappointing son (Franz Rogowski), and the surgeon’s 13-year-old daughter, Eve (Fantine Harduin). Eve has come to live with the family because of her mother’s suicide. In the film’s opening moments, we watch as an emotionally unattached and unnamed character documents a mother’s every banal moment with critical commentary before poisoning a pet hamster. It’s a maneuver that announces Haneke’s point: whether by way of technology, psychosis or money, the Laurents lack any depth of emotion, intimacy or personal connection. Or is it humanity they lack? The filmmaker braids together the stories and points of view of several main participants, keeping his focus at arm’s length until we’ve become apprehensive about every move. Why is Georges (Trintignant) wandering the median in a wheelchair and talking to strangers? What struggles could cause Pierre (Rogowski) to behave—and dance—like that? Why would anyone leave a baby alone with Eve? Patient viewers will recognize Haneke’s deliberate and chilly storytelling, but Happy End really requires your patience. Still, don’t let your eye wander because too many frames contain a startling image, and this filmmaker won’t insist that you notice. Eventually the distance becomes somewhat problematic because it feels as if Haneke is pulling punches he was happy to land in previous films. As is always the case, though, you’re repaid for your efforts. Whether it’s the understated brilliance of the performances (Trintignant and Harduin are particularly memorable), the chilling clash of human emotion with whatever has taken its place within the Laurent family, or the diabolical final image, Happy End leaves you stunned. #HappyEnd #HopeMadden #film #movies #entertainment #moviereviews #filmreviews #independenetfilm #Frenchfilm #MichaelHaneke #IsabelleHuppert #JeanLouisTrintignant #FantineHarduin #TobyJones #FranzRogowski #MathieuKassovitz

Written and Directed by Anthony DeRouen Starring Joseph Camilleri, Nadia Latifi, Jeanne Young, and Germaine Gaudet Short Film Review by Euan Franklin Horror can have comedy and comedy can have horror, and it’s often entertaining to watch both in action. We think of the Zombie Walk to the Winchester in Shaun of the Dead, or the gruesome liver-cutting scene in Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life – images both funny and horrific. The debut horror short from Anthony DeRouen is something similar, but not in a good way: unintentionally funny and stylistically horrific. He Takes and Returns takes place in a Californian suburb, following a perfect family the night before setting off to Yosemite National Park. But the night holds confusing terrors as a mysterious creature, known as the Coactore (Latin for “money collector”), lingers around the house – terrorizing the family. Although DeRouen has (apparently) written He Takes and Returns as part of a larger narrative, there’s very little substance to the film. We are immediately smacked by the low-quality image, which doesn’t look good enough even for an iPhone. A naive viewer could watch with open arms and consider the increasing number of theatrical releases made with amateur cameras (David Lynch’s Inland Empire, Sean Baker’s Tangerine, and the upcoming Steven Soderburgh movie Unsane) – the imperfection could be seen as part of some post-modern style. But within 30 seconds, you realise it was just DeRouen’s cheapest option, and he doesn’t even get the best out of it. In spite of this, it is the least of the film’s problems. With the characters, DeRouen tries to convince us of a nuclear-family ideal that nobody believes in anymore. There’s the teenage daughter (Nadia Latifi), desperate to play another game of Jenga (really? Jenga?). There’s her father (Joseph Camilleri), who tucks her into bed – despite her being way, way too old – and sings awkward lullabies. And the mother (Jeanne Young)… well, there’s nothing interesting or significant to say about her, aside from the random friend of hers (Germaine Gaudet) who re-appears at the end of the film. We don’t care about what happens to them, and so the horror-movie tension is lost. Even worse, their conversations are constructed with atrocious dialogue – exceedingly clunky in both content and delivery – baring little resemblance to human vernacular. The Coactore – i.e. the big, tall, hairy monster – doesn’t strike fear as much as boredom. It’s like an expensive Halloween costume used to frighten children and amuse grown-ups. I’ll admit: if the Coactore appeared in my house, I’d find it creepy but never scary. It enjoys activities other than killing, like knocking over things on the kitchen counter – hardly something to keep you awake at night. Regrettably, it has more in common with an annoying house-pet than a spine-shaking villain. He Takes and Returns isn’t as tedious as its title, but it’s still another mediocre display of amateur filmmaking. It is entertaining in its badness and if DeRouen had decided to make a comedy, the film would be more engaging. Unfortunately, it’s meant to be serious – leading horror and comedy to come together in the worst possible way. #HeTakesandReturns #AnthonyDeRouen #ShortFilmReviews #EuanFranklin #Monster #JosephCamilleri #NadiaLatifi #JeanneYoung #GermaineGaudet

Directed by Keyvan Sheikhalishahi Starring Agnès Godey, Götz Otto and Keyvan Sheikhalishahi Short Film Review by Annie Vincent With a compelling blurb, Vesper promises an intriguing psychological rollercoaster, but unfortunately, it does veer a little off course. Vesper opens interestingly enough: a middle aged woman, Marge (Godey), is visited by her teenage nephew, Christian (Sheikhalishahi), who is slowly going blind. Despite his young age, it is clear they are close as he is visiting due to his concern for her safety. Why? Because she has revealed in phone calls that her ex-husband, Walter (Otto), has found her, after nine years spent hiding from him, and has been sending her threatening, and psychologically warped, letters. In a bid to help his aunt, Christian goes to the meeting place stipulated in the final letter, only to be humiliated and beaten back to the house by Walter who seems unhinged enough to end his wife’s life. The viewer’s journey through this one is a little challenging, which is sad because the idea really could have been quite good. Initially, it seemed that the translation into English (subtitled) might be diluting the nature of the relationship between Marge and Walter as both Marge and Christian seemed excessively worried about the return of Walter and the tone of the letters he had sent. It felt a little like they knew something we didn’t and it would have been helpful for the audience to gather a deeper understanding of the nature of their previous relationship and what exactly she was running from. It turns out, the ambiguity here was part of the outcome, and so, it eventually makes sense, but what it also means is that the audience are already alert to the twist in this psychological thriller: Marge’s state of mind. As such, the journey towards the climax becomes a bit predictable – no unreliable narrator leading us up the garden path here. We know she is unreliable from the off. Whilst the script leaks out all of that tension and mystery too soon, there are some good performances put in, especially by Godey who plays the disturbed and vulnerable housewife well, whilst revealing a subtler vixen-like side. Otto also oozes that fatal charm required by all violent-husband-caricatures and is convincing in his menace. The close camerawork in the house scenes is also well done, with the use of light and shadow thoughtful in establishing the moody tension required for the genre. Despite concerns about the possible pitfalls of translation in terms of nuance, the subtitles themselves are accurate and grammatically correct for English-speaking audiences so a plot can certainly be followed. Sadly, it is the working of that plot line that hasn’t quite delivered here, which is a shame as it is easy to see how this could have been an engaging addition to the genre. #ShortFIlmReviews #ShortFilms #AnnieVincent #KeyvanSheikhalishahi #AgnèsGodey #GötzOtto #WorldCinema #FrenchCinema