September saw life starting to return to a form of normality with in-person and hybrid events taking place at Venice, Toronto and San Sebastian Film Festivals. Not only was it great to see so many UK films shortlisted, but even better to some winners too.
UK films at the Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival kicked off the month, running from the 1st to the 11th September and featured 8 films from the UK. Director, Maggie Gyllenhall, took home the award for best screenplay for her film The Lost Daughter and the Grand Jury Prize for Best VR Work went to Goliath: Playing with Reality. You can check out the full list of UK entries below.
● True Things, directed by Harry Wootliff
● The Card Counter, directed by Paul Schrader
● The Lost Daughter, directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal
● Spencer, directed by Pablo Larrain
● Last Night in Soho, directed by Edgar Wright
● The Last Duel, directed by Ridley Scott
● Becoming Led Zeppelin, directed by Bernard MacMahon
● Goliath: Playing with Reality, directed by May Abdalla and Barry Gene
The second edition of the Venice Architecture Film Festival also kicked off on the 1st of September and ran until the 5th. Whilst there were no UK entries, you can find a full list of the 20 films that were shortlisted for this year’s Communities competition here.
UK films at the Toronto International Film Festival
Crossing over with Venice, the Toronto International Film Festival took place from the 9th to the 18th September. Not only were there over 20 UK entries shortlisted, including 5 shorts, but the People’s Choice Award was given to Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast which puts it in the running as a contender for the 2022 Oscars. Check out the list of UK entries
● A Banquet, directed by Ruth Paxton
● Benediction, directed by Terence Davies
● Mothering Sunday, directed by Eva Husson
● Ali & Ava, directed by Clio Barnard
● Encounter, directed by Michael Pearce
● Silent Night, directed by Camille Griffin
● Belfast, directed by Kenneth Branagh
● The Electrical Life of Louis Wain, directed by Will Sharpe
● Last Night in Soho, directed by Edgar Wright
● The Forgiven, directed by John McDonagh
● Earwig, directed by Lucile Hadzihalilovic
● Nobody Has to Know, directed by Bouli Lanners
● True Things, directed by Harry Wootliff
● Three Minutes: A Lengthening, directed by Bianca Stigter
● The Rescue, directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin
● Dashcam, directed by Rob Savage
● Spencer, directed by Pablo Larrain
UK Short Film Entries
● The Future Isn’t What It Used to Be, directed by Adeyemi Michael
● Hanging On, directed by Alfie Barker
● Soft Animals, directed by Renee Zhan
● A Few Miles South, directed by Ben Pearce
● Bhai, directed by Hamza Bangash
● Egungun, directed by Olive Nwosu
You can find the full line up of the Short Cuts programme by clicking here.
UK films at the San Sebastian festival
Drawing the month’s events to a close, San Sebastian had just a couple of UK entries with Earwig picking up the Special Jury Prize. Find out more about these UK entries by clicking the links below.
● Earwig, directed by Lucile Hadzihalilovic
● Benediction, directed by Terence Davies
London’s October Film Festivals
Check out award-winning films and others at the British Film Institute’s London Film Festival taking place from October 6th to 17th with a mix of paid and free events - check the official website for all the details and screening times.
As usual the BFI London Film Festival features a selection of outstanding short films, which you can find out more about here or watch for free on the BFI Player for the duration of the festival.
A strong showing of UK shorts are also available in the short film showcase Your UK or Mine? with a running theme of community, love and personal acceptance in a bid to understand the identity of contemporary Britain. You can watch the trailers for some of the available films in this line-up below.
Precious Hair & Beauty, directed by John Ogunmuyiwa
Joy, directed by Alexandra Brodski
Femme, directed by Sam H Freeman & Ng Joon Ping
For Love, directed by Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor
Also, don’t miss one of the top genre film festivals worldwide, Fright Fest. The Halloween special returns later this month with 4 UK premieres. You can find out more and book tickets by clicking the links below.
● The Seed
● Amulet
We’re keen to hear your reviews of these British films, and if you can make it to one of this month’s festivals, we might see you there! Drop your comments below and if we’ve missed any events let us know.