The ICO team saw a huge amount of films at this year’s London Film Festival, and in this blog we share a few titles to look out for in the coming months.
Isabel Moir, Film Programmer
Alcarràs (dir. Carla Simón)
Winner of the Golden Bear at this year’s Berlinale, Carla Simón’s second feature beautifully observes the Solé family who for generations have made a living from the summer harvest of their peach orchard in Alcarràs. However, we soon learn this could be their last year as this multigenerational household faces upheaval when the owner of the property decides to sell the land. Simón returns to the rural region of Catalonia Spain which also served as the backdrop of her celebrated debut Summer 1993 which was released by New Wave in 2018 to UK cinemas.
Like Simón’s first feature, Alcarràs draws from her own personal experiences of growing up in a rural environment and the challenges and hardship that her family and other farming communities have faced. Simón has expressed that she wanted her film to raise awareness around the difficulties of agriculture and family farming and how this type of practice is no longer being protected. With a cast of all non-professional actors, Alcarràs delicately navigates the different perspectives and challenges they are each faced with, creating a rich tapestry of experiences and emotions. Simón wonderfully captures their lives, inviting the viewer to soak up the sun-drenched images with the smell of peaches, whilst also sensitively highlighting tradition and their attachment to the land with the uncertain future they all face.
MUBI will release this title in the UK and Ireland on 6 January, and it will also be available to watch in-person and online at ICO Autumn Screening Days 2022.
Nicole Davis, BFI NETWORK Executive
Blue Jean (dir. Georgia Oakley)
Georgia Oakley’s directorial feature debut Blue Jean is a precise and poignant portrait of a young gym teacher struggling to own her sexuality against the backdrop of Margaret Thatcher’s anti-gay Section 28 ruling. The film – shot by DP Victor Seguin – looks astonishing and features a blindingly good soundtrack and costume design. But two things struck me most while watching the film this year at London Film Festival: Rosy McEwen’s central performance, as she inhabits the secrecy, anguish, betrayal and heartbreak that characterise Jean’s journey; and the writing – intelligent, perceptive and never quite going where you think it might.
Altitude will release this title in the UK on 10 February 2023, and it will also be available to watch in-person at ICO Autumn Screening Days 2022.
Mikaela Smith, Film Programmer
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (dir. Laura Poitras)
My anticipation for this was quite high, having seen and been impressed by Laura Poitras’ previous docs (namely Risk, and Citizenfour). She seems to have a particular knack for creating deep character portraits of people within a broad and fairly complex political and cultural landscape. So, she seemed like a great fit to take on Nan Goldin’s colourful history, her work and her activism against the Sackler family. I also quite recently watched Dopesick, so felt I was well equipped for the elements of her story that intertwined with America’s opioid epidemic, and the harrowing story of corporate greed that surrounds it (I was not, and tears were shed).
The documentary is sort of a tale in two parts: a deep dive into Goldin’s psyche, looking at how her history, and her trauma fed into her artistic output; and the story of Goldin’s tireless work to bring the Sackler family to some form of justice by stripping them of their philanthropic ties to the art world. You could easily fill a feature length documentary with one of those topics, but I don’t think Poitras is at fault for bringing them together – they go hand in hand, and Goldin’s early work, her proximity to the AIDS epidemic and ACT UP protests were part of a legacy that led to her activism work with PAIN. It’s fascinating, if heart-breaking, to see it all laid bare. Poitras uses Goldin’s work – slideshows, exhibitions, books – to separate the film into sections, each relating to a different portion of her life, and how she came to produce the works.
To me, the film felt incredibly rich and detailed without being overstuffed – there’s a lot to contend with, but that’s life. The non-traditional style makes this docu-biopic incredibly textured and engaging, and even those unfamiliar with Goldin’s work (or the Sackler’s) should find themselves easily swept in.
Altitude will release this title in the UK on 27 January 2023, and it will also be available to watch in-person at ICO Autumn Screening Days 2022.
Eliza Sealy, Assistant Film Programmer
You Won’t Be Alone (dir. Goran Stolevski)
You Won’t Be Alone was probably my most surprising watch of London Film Festival. Expecting to be scared by a chilling folk horror, I was blown away by the depth and tenderness of this film.
The first feature from director Goran Stolevski, the film follows Nevana (Sara Klimoska) a young speechless girl who is turned into a witch by ‘Wolf-Eateress’ Maria (Anamaria Marinca). Having spent the start of her life isolated and away from human companionship, we watch as Nevana tries to understand what it means to be human and adapt to the cards she has been dealt. We watch her enchantment with the natural world she is discovering, and we alone witness her poetic thoughts.
I found myself immersed from start to finish, swept away by dreamlike visuals and a spellbinding score. The acting is incredible throughout, with understated yet powerful performances from all involved. There are beautiful moments of joy and warmth, contrasted with scenes of gore and loss, truly highlighting the breadth of the human experience. This film is, at its core, a story of love, pain, and the very natural urge to find connection in an often-harsh world. Stolevski has created an original and compelling first feature that is sure to stay with you long after watching.
You Won’t Be Alone is out now on streaming platforms.
Jake Abatan, Marketing and Administrative Coordinator
The Menu (dir. Mark Mylod)
There couldn’t have been a more appropriate Surprise Film for this year’s London Film Festival than The Menu, which follows a group of super-rich “foodies” who travel to a remote island for an exorbitantly expensive meal from the world renowned Chef Slowik (Ralph Fiennes). Like the guests, whose evening takes a surprising, and darkly comical, turn for the worst, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this sardonic stab at the pretentious and privileged in our society – but was pleasantly surprised to discover that the film is far more light, and funny, than I anticipated.
The raw ingredients may be similar to this year’s Boiling Point, which examined the emotional toll of working in a restaurant, but in contrast The Menu is more about the type of people who consume haute cuisine, than those who are consumed by the pressures of working in that world. The film is very much a comedy, rather than the horror-thriller it’s billed to be – but wonderfully makes use of the latter’s tropes to make the gags hit that little bit harder. I particular I loved the film’s production style and cinematography, which parodies the look and feel of self-serious cooking shows like Master Chef, and makes sure that the “eat the rich” (no, not in that way) subtext goes down smoothly.
Disney will release this title in the UK on 18 November 2022.
Header: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (dir. Laura Poitras), screened at this year’s London Film Festival