Film4 announce that ten Film4 backed feature films will premiere at this year’s BFI London Film Festival (4-15 October 2023), a record for the UK-based feature film division of Channel 4.
Highlights include the World Premiere of Kibwe Tavares and Daniel Kaluuya’s The Kitchen which closes the Festival; the Headline Gala of Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things and debut features from Molly Manning Walker (How to Have Sex); Savanah Leaf (Earth Mama) and Moin Hussain (Sky Peals). In addition, the festival will also premiere Film4’s 4 Love Shorts, a collection of four ground-breaking short films from disabled and neurodivergent filmmakers demonstrating Film4’s commitment to supporting a more diverse and inclusive film industry.
In a period which has seen the British independent film industry face a multitude of challenges, Film4 has navigated some of their busiest and most prolific production years, shooting 12 films in 2021 and 15 in 2022. Film4’s 2023 LFF line up encapsulates what Film4 stands for and the broad range of filmmaking voices it supports.
Film4 takes pride in identifying and championing emerging filmmaking talent including Kibwe Tavares, Moin Hussain, Molly Manning Walker and Savanah Leaf and this year’s LFF programme showcases how this early investment can lead to the incredible career trajectories of world renowned established auteurs such as Steve McQueen, Yorgos Lanthimos and Jonathan Glazer.
Ollie Madden and Daniel Battsek, Director and Chairman of Film4, commented: “We are thrilled that so many of the films we’ve supported have been invited to premiere at this year’s BFI London Film Festival. The eclectic spread of titles represents our mission to support the most exciting, ground-breaking new talent, alongside established, world-renowned directors whom we’ve worked with for many years. We look forward to audiences discovering some truly remarkable films and to celebrating with all our filmmakers and partners in October.”
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The ten Film4-backed feature films are:
Andrew Haigh’s ALL OF US STRANGERS (UK Premiere, 8th October)
Jonathan Glazer’s THE ZONE OF INTEREST (UK Premiere, 13th October)
Kibwe Tavares and Daniel Kaluuya THE KITCHEN (World Premiere, 15th October)
Moin Hussain’s SKY PEALS (UK Premiere, 11th October)
Molly Manning Walker’s HOW TO HAVE SEX (UK Premiere, 10th October)
Savanah Leaf’s EARTH MAMA (UK Premiere, 5th October)
Steve McQueen’s OCCUPIED CITY (UK Premiere, 5th October)
Sudabeh Mortezai’s EUROPA (UK Premiere, 13th October)
William Oldroyd’s EILEEN (UK Premiere, 8th October)
Yorgos Lanthimos’ POOR THINGS (UK Premiere, 14th October)
