London Comedy Film Festival 2023 (LOCO) has revealed its full programme of screenings at Hackney Picturehouse, 11-14 May 2023.
Following the UK premiere on 11 May of A Gaza Weekend (2022) by Oscar-nominated director Basil Khalil, the festival continues with The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), to be introduced by Ealing comedies enthusiast Paul Merton, alongside a screening of his own short film The Suicidal Dog (2000).
LOCO also shines a light on the work of groundbreaking mid-20th century British director Wendy Toye, with a screening of We Joined The Navy (1962), plus her short film The Stranger Left No Card (1952). The latter caused a sensation upon its release at Cannes, where it was described by Jean Cocteau as ‘a masterpiece’.
Neil Maskell’s directorial debut Klokkenluider (2022) also features as a special screening, to be followed by a Q&A with the creative team. This darkly comic thriller follows Ewan, a government whistleblower and his forthright Flemish wife Silke, as they are sent to a remote country house in west Belgium, to await the arrival of a British journalist.
LOCO has always championed the work of newly emerging comedy filmmaking talent. Three screenings of short films will feature on the last day of the festival, 14 May, including the work of various exciting new voices in British filmmaking, plus more established names such as Mark Gatiss, Jason Isaacs, Josie Lawrence, Joe Lycett, Maxine Peake and Phil Wang.
