The 2009 David Lean Lecture given by Atom Egoyan

The David Lean Lecture

The lecture series serves to carry on the legacy of the great director David Lean, one of the founders of the British Film Academy (as it was then known) in 1947 and continuing inspiration to many through his exceptional body of work. The David Lean Lecture in 2007 was presented by American Director David Lynch.

Previous lectures have been delivered by:
2007: David Lynch
2006: Oliver Stone
2005: Woody Allen
2004: John Boorman
2003 Ken Loach
2002 Robert Altman
2001 Sydney Pollack

The 2009 lecture will be given by Atom Egoyan. Over the course of three decades at the forefront of the international film industry, Egoyan has become one of contemporary cinema’s most celebrated auteurs. With feature films including The Adjuster, Calendar, Exotica, The Sweet Hereafter, Felicia’s Journey, Ararat, Where the Truth Lies and 2008’s Adoration Egoyan has garnered countless prizes and nominations, led by Grand Prix and International Critics Awards from the Cannes Film Festival and two Oscar® nominations for The Sweet Hereafter.

Egoyan’s elegant and inventive films feature lonely hearts and isolated figures of unfulfilled desire in often surreal and gloomy scenarios, yet all of his characters are redeemed by his extraordinary compassion for them and insight into their thoughts and feelings. His films are a rare mix of intellect, style and great heart.

Following the UK premiere of his Chloe at the London Film Festival, Egoyan joins the Academy for the prestigious Lean Lecture. With generous support by the Lean Foundation, the lecture is an event in which the world’s most celebrated and compelling directors provide insight into their experiences and into their unique take on cinema and the industry.

Where:
BAFTA
Princess Anne Theatre, 195 Piccadilly, London W1J 9LN

When:
7:45pm Friday 23 Oct, 2009

The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival: Sam Taylor Wood Talk

The highly acclaimed artist and filmmaker comes to the BFI to discuss her career transition from gallery to cinema with Tim Marlow.

Whilst creating her first major artwork Killing Time in 1994, and the subsequent 1996 multi-screen works Travesty of a Mockery and Pent-Up, Sam Taylor-Wood gained valuable experience working with actors, and she has applied a cinematic sensibility to her still photographic work as well as her films ever since. Her diagnosis and recovery from both colon cancer in 1997 and breast cancer in 2001, influenced her already melancholic work, exploring and reflecting on the theme of mortality in such works as Still Life (2001) and A Little Death (2002) while experimenting with the distortion of time and motion. Pieces from 2005-2006; David, Prelude in Air and The Last Century, focus on moments of vulnerability and intimacy and remind us of elements now lost from our culture. Taylor-Wood’s impressive short narrative film Love You More (LFF 2008) has much in common with her artwork, in as much that it is a simple idea, beautifully executed, and as with all of her work, it is the visual expression of the idea that is so original. We are proud to present the World Premiere of Sam’s first feature Nowhere Boy as our Closing Night film, and very excited that she will be in conversation to discuss her work. Timothy Smith

Where
BFI NFT1

When
18:30 Tues 27 October

Tickets for Monday's screening of Disney's Crimson Flight & QA available

One lake, a million birds, an incredible story

In a remote and forgotten wilderness, one of nature’s last great mysteries unfolds: the birth, life and survival of a million crimson-winged flamingos. Against the dramatic backdrop of unforgiving, never-before filmed landscapes, we follow the birth of a tiny flamingo hatchling, and the perils and fortunes of her life in the extraordinary ‘other world’ of Lake Natron in northern Tanzania.

The first title to be released under the new Disneynature label, THE CRIMSON WING will take you on a breathtaking and beautiful journey through a story that only nature itself could tell.

To download tickets simply go to http://www.seefilmfirst.com and enter code: 482610

The film starts at 6.30pm. Seefilmfirst tickets must be changed for cinema tickets at the cinema Box Office by 6.15pm. There will be a Q&A with the films producers and director at the end.

Where
Cineworld Haymarket
63-65 Haymarket, London, SW1Y 4RL

When
6.15 for 6:30pm, 21 September, 2009

Preview: Fish Tank and Q&A with director Andrea Arnold

Curzon Cinemas is proud to welcome ANDREA ARNOLD in a post screening discussion along with the film on Sunday 13 September 3pm at Curzon Soho.

Justly picking up another Cannes Grand Jury Prize, Andrea Arnold’s follow-up to Red Road is an intense and surprising story of love, lust and family.

Fifteen-year-old Mia (Jarvis) is at war with everything: her family, her school, and the girls on her estate. Her one release is dancing, a passion that she practices in secret. Things change when her mother (Wareing) introduces charismatic new boyfriend Connor (Fassbender, Hunger) – but Arnold’s subtle and unpredictable script keeps us guessing as to just what influence the newcomer will bring to bear. Drawing a fantastically raw and yet immensely accomplished performance from newcomer Katie Jarvis, Arnold, who draws on her own background growing up in London’s East End, has crafted a potent and poetic British film that places her at the vanguard of world cinema.

Where
Curzon Soho
99 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 5DY

When
3pm, Sunday 13 October, 2009

The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival: Wallace & Gromit's 20th Anniversary

Master animator Nick Park discusses his illustrious career and helps us celebrate 20 years since Wallace & Gromit hit our screens.

As a child, Nick Park’s career aspirations included being an artist for the Beano comic and an inventor. By far, his best invention has been Wallace & Gromit, who first appeared on our screens 20 years ago. In 1985, Park became an invaluable addition to Aardman Animations, and A Grand Day Out (which he began as a student at the NFTS) earned him his first of many BAFTA awards. Four Academy Awards followed, not just for his much-loved shorts Creature Comforts, The Wrong Trousers and A Close Shave, but also for his feature Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Park’s perfectionist attention to detail and his ability to infuse his plasticine characters with humanity and humour (not to mention giving an immense vocabulary and emotional range to a dog that never speaks a word) is testament to the genius of his imagination and to his unsurpassed talent as an animator. To celebrate Park’s ‘cracking’ achievements we are delighted to be able to screen A Grand Day Out, digitally remastered for the occasion. Nick Park will be interviewed on stage after the screening by journalist David Gritten. Timothy Smith

Where
BFI NFT1

When
15:15 Sat 24 October

Hitchcon'09 – Celebrating 30 Years of The Hitchiker's Guide To The Galaxy

Get yourself a ticket for the biggest party the unfashionable end of the galaxy has ever seen and join best-selling author Eoin Colfer – creator of criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl – and actor Simon Jones, the original Arthur Dent, in a celebration of 30 years of the late, great Douglas Adams’ classic British comedy. This’ll be your first chance to see, hear and buy the sixth instalment, And Another Thing… by Eoin Colfer.

With other out-of-this-world entertainment throughout the day – including special free screenings of the Hitchhiker’s series in The Clore Ballroom – this is one event no self-respecting lover of classic British comedy will want to miss.

One of the best dystopian sci-fi movies to come out of the 70s, Rollerball focuses on an ultra-violent sport used to keep an overpopulated planet under control and probes its links to politics, the media and big conglomerates. When a star player refuses to obey the owners of his team, the stage is set for a Gladiator-like confrontation between a rebellious individual and the corporate power that seeks to crush him.

Events include:
Photo Call
Start the day at a photocall of the largest number of Hitchhiker’s fans ever.

Session 1: The Douglas Adams Chat Show
A full panel of Hitchhiker’s experts and friends of Douglas Adams discusses the great man and his work.

Booksigning: Mega-signing of the fantastic new edition of the first five Hitchhiker’s novels.

Sessions 2 & 3 (And Another Thing… & Hitchhikers Live On Stage!)
The sixth book in the series, special guests and a live gig – Sessions 2 & 3 of our day-long celebration of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Booksigning: Eoin Colfer
Buy the new sixth book in the series a day before everyone else and get it signed by Eoin Colfer.

Where
The Southbank Centre
Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX

When
Sunday 11 October, 2009

The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival: Clive Owen Talk

Held in the highest regard by everyone he’s worked with, Coventry’s favourite son comes to the BFI for a discussion about his career.

Straight out of drama school, Clive Owen landed a starring role in his first feature Vroom (LFF 1988) and within two years he was starring in TV crime drama Chancer. Concerned that he would be stereotyped into television roles, he chose to take a controversial role in Stephen Poliakoff’s Close My Eyes which fed his desire to explore a more interesting career path in both film and theatre. Since then, Owen has taken particular care to work with scripts that he feels passionate about, and has the highest regard for the actors and directors that he works with. This strong work ethic has seen repeat collaborations with director Mike Hodges on Croupier and I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead, and he has enjoyed working more than once with Julia Roberts and Paul Giamatti. The hard work was rewarded with both a BAFTA and a Golden Globe for his performance in Closer, and Owen went on to impress as anti-hero Dwight McCarthy in Sin City. His work on Children of Men was also highly acclaimed, and writer-director Alfonso Cuaron has personally credited Owen with contributing to the script. The Boys Are Back sees Owen in a very different acting role (as well as Executive Producer), and working once again with a wonderful script. We are very pleased to welcome such a dedicated actor to take part in the BFI Screen Talks series. Timothy Smith

Where
BFI NFT1

When
18:30 Thu 22 October

The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival: Jane Campion Talk

The Oscar winning director comes to the BFI to discuss her impressive career.

There is often a deliberate ambiguity in a Jane Campion film which allows the audience to focus on what is unseen or unsaid and openly interpret the narrative possibilities. Since Campion’s first short film Peel won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1982, she has made her mark internationally as a filmmaker with a distinctive visual and narrative style. Her use of strong female characters has undoubtedly contributed to her films becoming marked as powerful texts for feminist analysis. The recurring themes of madness and desire in Campion’s work are prevalent in her debut feature Sweetie (LFF 1989), and a fascination with the darker side of romance is demonstrated by her declared passion for the Gothic literature of the Brontës, and exemplified in The Piano (for which Campion was nominated for a Best Director Oscar in 1993 and won for Best Screenplay, in addition to many other awards, including her second Palme d’Or). In the beautiful Bright Star, Campion sews her signature style poetically through the narrative to help create a sensitive portrayal of a tragic love story in a way that only Jane Campion could. Timothy Smith

Where
BFI NFT1

When
18:30 Tue 20 October

The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival: Julianne Moore Talk

One of the most daring and talented actors of her generation comes to the BFI to discuss her diverse slate of work.

When she first appeared in feature films, Julianne Moore garnered much attention for her talent and her presence on screen, with roles in films such as Short Cuts (LFF 1993) and [Safe] (LFF 1995). A number of Oscar nominations and a slew of other awards followed, for her roles in Boogie Nights (LFF 1997), The End of the Affair, Far from Heaven (LFF 2002) and The Hours. By cleverly positioning her career across both the mainstream studio system and independent film, Moore has been able to use her status at the box office to help independent directors find funding for projects that otherwise may not have been made. Although she always brings individuality and originality to the diverse range of roles that she chooses, Moore has a rare skill of being able to play characters in a natural and believable way that audiences often relate to, whilst at the same time highlighting the complexities of a character (few other actors could play a porn-star cokehead with such tenderness and sensitivity). The range and diversity in her talent are especially evident in her portrayal of a wife and mother in Atom Agoyan’s Chloe and almost the antithesis of that in Tom Ford’s A Single Man. Timothy Smith

Where
BFI NFT1

When
18:30 Fri 23 October

The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival: Lee Daniels – Script Factory and NFTS Masterclasses

The remarkably gifted producer-turned-director discusses his work, including his powerful new feature Precious.

Few people have the qualities needed to be a successful producer and even fewer have those needed to be a successful director. Lee Daniels’ natural skills as a producer allowed him to make Monster’s Ball (for which Halle Berry won an Oscar) as his first film. He then went on to gain further critical acclaim as a producer with The Woodsman (LFF 2004). Daniels is an extremely creative producer with a strong vision. He is so secure and determined in the way he envisages his films, and so hands-on as a producer that it was natural (and inevitable) that he would try his hand at directing. Daniels believes that he learned a great deal from his debut directorial experience on Shadowboxer, and that this made him an even better producer on his next project, Tennessee. This also started his fruitful collaboration with Mariah Carey, who stars in that film as well as playing a supporting role in his new offering Precious which he has directed and produced. In this deeply moving and powerful film, Daniels expertly balances the absolute horror of the title character’s experience with humour and fantasy, and proves that all of the heart and soul he puts into his films is definitely paying off. Timothy Smith

Where
BFI NFT1

When
13:00 Sat 24 October