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XVIII New British Film Festival
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October 30 - November 16
Formula Kino Horizon 
 British cinema, with the exception of rare copies such as "Bond" or "Harry Potter", it is difficult to divide into the mainstream and arthouse. But it is easily divided into "genuinely British genres," one of which is the film biography. No wonder: many people consider the "English biography" as a separate literary genre, and numerous film biographies - from "Young Winston" to "Iron Lady", from "Music Lovers" to "24 Hours Party People" - turned it into one of the main "specializations" of British cinema.
The XVIII festival "New British Cinema" will almost become the record-breaker in the number of biographical films: the program of this festival is a fascinating promenade in the company of very important persons of British history and culture. The audience will learn a lot about the personal life of Queen Victoria (Victoria and Abdul) and the activities of Scottish psychiatrist and thinker Ronald David Laing ("Mad to be Normal") in the second half of the 20th century. They can immerse themselves in the idyllic atmosphere of Sussex in the 1920s and observe how Alan Alexander Milne came up with Winnie the Pooh ("Goodbye, Christopher Robin"). Walk along the inspiringly dreary streets of Manchester in the late 1970s and early 1980s, along with the future leader of The Smiths, Stephen Patrick Morrissey ("England is Mine") and will visit the studio of the outstanding sculptor Alberto Giacometti, whose retrospective just passed at Tate Modern ("Final Portrait").
Directing cinema is another fad of the XVIII festival "New British Cinema". The films of honored artists, such as the new picture of the creator of Notting Hill, Roger Michell ("My Cousin Rachel" - a screen version of the novel by Daphne du Maurier with Rachel Weiss in the lead role), as always, coexist in the program with debuts (Francis Lee's film "God’s Own Country", called by critics" British "Brokeback Mountain" "). The most piercing actor's way will happen in Eric Styles' film "That Good Night", where one of his last roles was played by the deceased in January John Hurt.
A variety of mysterious stories - no matter, with elements of Gothic, spying conspiracy or a grim story from a distant past, another traditional British "specialization." In the presented at the XVIII festival "New British Cinema" fresh samples of genre movies without secrets and mysteries will not do. Actively making a career overseas, Reese Ahmed will play a private detective in the political thriller "The City of Tiny Lights", and the star of North American serials Colin Morgan will investigate the secrets of his family in the drama "Waiting for You".
For dessert, the heroine of the comedy "Daphne" will remind everyone that the modern Britain is not only Sherlock and James Bond, but Bridget Jones: a young woman in the performance of a TV star from Manchester, Emily Beecham will have to deal with the inevitable consequences of her own growing up.
The closing film of the XVIII festival "New British Cinema" will be the drama "Breathe for us" - the directorial debut of Andy Serkis, who is known worldwide as Mr. Motion Capture (Gollum, King Kong, chimpanzees Caesar and Supreme Leader Snouk in one bottle) Great Britain got a hand on equally colorful roles of rock heroes like Ian Dury and producer Joy Division Martin Hannett. A heroic pair of protagonists were played by actors who, without any stretch, can be considered the main British stars of the last twelve months: Claire Foy, who played the role of young Elizabeth II in the TV series "The Crown", and Andrew Garfield, who managed to mark the leading roles in Martin Scorsese and Mel Gibson, and also to battle London theater-goers with his work in "Angels in America" on the stage of the National Theater.
Festival's Guests:
Simon Callow was born in 1949 in London. He lived in Africa for three years, studied at the London Oratory School on his return and subsequently spent a year at Queen’s University Belfast, from which he ran away to become an actor. After three years training at the Drama Centre, he made his debut at the Edinburgh Festival in 1973, playing the front end of a horse in Büchner’s Woyzeck. In 1979, he created the part of Mozart in the first production of Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus. He has appeared extensively with the RSC, the National Theatre, at the Royal Court, in the West End and all over the country. Over the years he has done a number of one-man plays including The Importance of Being Oscar, The Mystery of Charles Dickens, Being Shakespeare (in London, New York and Chicago), two sold-out seasons of A Christmas Carol at the Arts Theatre and Tuesday at Tesco’s in Edinburgh and New York. His films include Amadeus, A Room with a View, Shakespeare in Love, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Phantom of the Opera, Chemical Wedding, Late Bloomers, No Ordinary Trifle and Acts of Godfrey in which he plays God. He has directed over thirty shows, including Carmen Jones and the premieres of Shirley Valentine and Single Spies at the National Theatre. He has written 14 books, including a memoir Love is Where It Falls, biographies of Charles Laughton and Orson Welles, and a number of books about the theatre, starting with Being an Actor and recently continuing with My Life in Pieces, which won the coveted Sheridan Morley Award. His biography of Dickens, Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World, was published in 2012; his biography of Wagner, Being Wagner, appeared earlier this year.
Ian Christie is a past president of Europa Cinemas and former head of exhibition and distribution at the British Film Institute. A film and media historian, broadcaster and curator, he is especially interested in the field of production design, about which he has published one book and many articles, and studies how new technologies affect audiences. He is currently Professor of Film and Media History at Birkbeck College, London University, and lectures at the UK National Film School and internationally.
Darren Emerson is a director, producer and co-founder of London production companies VR City and East City Films. His first VR film “Witness 360: 7/7” was selected in competition at IDFA Doc Lab in 2015, the inaugural Kaleidoscope VR Festival and has played at many high profile festivals including Cannes, One World Humanitarian Film Festival, Docville, Docaviv, as well as being part of the MIT Virtually There conference and exhibition in 2016. Darren also directs live action VR for commercial and broadcast clients such as BBC, ITV, MTV, and The National Theatre. Darren is a passionate advocate of VR story-telling and has been invited to speak at VR Labs at CPH:DOX, IDFA Doc Lab, BFI Future Film Fund, I-docs, EDEF, the One World Humanitarian Film Festival, Raindance Film Festival, Sheffield Doc/Fest, Dubai International Film Festival, the Berlinale and Cannes.
Charles Garrad was a pioneer of the architectural installation in the 1970’s and spent the early part of his career making his own work, exhibiting extensively, and teaching in many art schools. His main concerns across all media have consistently been time, memory, the atmospheric quality of places and the significance of objects. In the 1980’s an increasing interest in film drew him towards the industry. He cut his teeth as a production designer in pop promos and moved on to TV drama and feature films. He has directed a large number of short films and written several screenplays. He recently completed Waiting for You, his first feature film as director which stars Fanny Ardant and Colin Morgan. He continues to work as an artist and director.
Liz Rozenthal is an early advocate and pioneer of interactive and immersive storytelling, new media business models and audience engagement. Liz is founder & CEO of Power the Pixel, an organisation helping international media businesses and creatives adapt to stay relevant to digital change and changing audiences. Liz advises organisations on innovation strategies and helps creators and businesses to ideate, finance and distribute stories that engage connected audiences. She is an expert in devising innovation-centred development labs, markets & programmes around interactive storytelling and VR. Liz has advised many international media organisations, including national and regional funds, leading international festivals, production companies and commissioners on innovation strategy, funding programmes and project strategy She is currently programmer for Venice International Film Festival's new VR competition section and Venice Production Bridge Finance Market. Liz is a member of BAFTA, the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a fellow of the RSA and a director of the board of The Space (BBC & Arts Council England commisoning fund for digital arts projects) and on the advisory board of Immerse UK, the leading immersive technology group in the UK.
The Festival's main base will be Formula Kino Horizont. All films are shown in English with Russian subtitles.
Festival Films:
Victoria and Abdul. Drama/History/Biography. UK, USA 2017, 112 min. Directed by Stephen Frears. Starring: Judi Dench, Olivia Williams, Michael Gambon, Olivia Williams, Paul Higgins, Simon Callow, Tim Pigott-Smith. The extraordinary true story of an unlikely friendship in the later years of Queen Victoria's (Judi Dench) remarkable rule. When Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal), a young clerk, travels from India to participate in the Queen's Golden Jubilee, he is surprised to find favor with the Queen herself. As the Queen questions the constrictions of her long-held position, the two forge an unlikely and devoted alliance with a loyalty to one another that her household and inner circle all attempt to destroy. As the friendship deepens, the Queen begins to see a changing world through new eyes and joyfully reclaims her humanity.
Final Portrait. Comedy/Drama/Biography. UK 2017, 90 min. Directed by Stanley Tucci. Starring: Geoffrey Rush, Armie Hammer, Clémence Poésy, Tony Shalhoub, Sylvie Testud. In 1964, while on a short trip to Paris, the American writer and art-lover James Lord is asked by his friend, the world-renowned artist Alberto Giacometti, to sit for a portrait. The process, Giacometti assures Lord, will take only a few days. Flattered and intrigued, Lord agrees. So begins not only the story of an offbeat friendship, but, seen through the eyes of Lord, an insight into the beauty, frustration, profundity and, at times, downright chaos of the artistic process. Final Portrait is a portrait of a genius, and of a friendship between two men who are utterly different, yet increasingly bonded through a single, ever-evolving act of creativity. It is a film which shines a light on the artistic process itself, by turns exhilarating, exasperating and bewildering, questioning whether the gift of a great artist is a blessing or a curse.
Mad to be Normal. Drama/Biography. UK 2017, 107 min. Directed by Robert Mullan. Starring: Elisabeth Moss, David Tennant, Michael Gambon, Gabriel Byrne. During the 1960s, a renegade Scottish psychiatrist courts controversy within his profession for his approach to the field, and for the unique community he creates for his patients to inhabit. Awards & Festivals: Galway Film Fleadh - Best International Film, Audience Award; Newport Beach International Film Festival - Best Actor.
Goodbye Christopher Robin. Family/Biography. UK 2017, 107 min. Directed by Simon Curtis. Starring: Margot Robbie, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Macdonald. A rare glimpse into the relationship between beloved children's author A. A. Milne and his son Christopher Robin, whose toys inspired the magical world of Winnie the Pooh. Along with his mother Daphne, and his nanny Olive, Christopher Robin and his family are swept up in the international success of the books; the enchanting tales bringing hope and comfort to England after the First World War. But with the eyes of the world on Christopher Robin, what will the cost be to the family?
England is Mine. Drama/Music/Biography. UK 2017, 94 min. Directed by Mark Gill. Starring: Jessica Brown Findlay, Jack Lowden, Jodie Comer. An amusing and evocative portrait of singer-songwriter Steven Patrick Morrissey, focused on his young adult years in Manchester. Set in the 1970s as his ambitions to be a musician developed, but before he went on to become lead singer of seminal 1980s band The Smiths, this is Morrissey (beautifully played by rising star Jack Lowden) brimming with youthful arrogance, but searching to find his place in the musical world. A would-be writer, he sends letter after letter to the New Musical Express, but finds himself forced to take a job at the local tax office to help his family. He is constantly taking time off to spend time with London-bound local art student Linder (an entrancing Jessica Brown Findlay) or hiding on the office roof to write lyrics. Made with a wonderfully wry sense of humour, it presents a fish-out-of-water Morrissey, intent on railing on those around him, but also too shy and insecure at times to break from the mainstream. Awards & Festivals: Edinbourgh International Film Festival - participation.
City of Tiny Lights. Drama/Crime/Thriller. UK 2016, 110 min. Directed by Pete Travis. Starring: Riz Ahmed, Billie Piper, James Floyd. In the teeming, multicultural metropolis of modern-day London, a seemingly straightforward missing-person case launches a down-at-heel private eye into a dangerous world of religious fanaticism and political intrigue. Awards & Festivals: Toronto International Film Festival - World Premiere.
Daphne. Drama. UK 2017, 91 min. Directed by Peter Mackie Burns. Starring: Emily Beecham, Geraldine James, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor. Daphne, 31, Londoner. Busy days, hectic nights, friends, people, lovers, are all welcome distractions from the constant and creeping feeling that her life is somehow stuck. Too young too settle quietly, too old to keep on messing about without aim. One night, an unexpected event slowly but steadily forces her to confront this existential limbo head on, and start looking very closely at the person she has become. Awards & Festivals: Edinbourgh International Film Festival - Best Performance in a British Film.
God’s Own Country. Drama/Romance. UK 2017, 104 min. Directed by Francis Lee. Starring: Josh O'Connor, Alec Secareanu, Gemma Jones. Spring. Yorkshire. Isolated young sheep farmer Johnny Saxby numbs his daily frustrations with binge drinking and casual sex, until the arrival of a Romanian migrant worker Gheorghe, employed for the lambing season, ignites an intense relationship that sets Johnny on a new path. Awards & Festivals: Berlin Film Festival - Männer Award; Sundance Film Festival - Best International Feature Film Director; Edinbourgh INternational Film Festival - Best British Film; Galway Film Fleadh - Best International Debut; Transylvania International Film Festival - Special Jury Prize; Sydney International Film Festival - participation.
David Bowie is. UK 2014, 95 min. Directed by Hamish Hamilton, Katy Mullan. Described by The Times as “stylish & outrageous” and The Guardian as “a triumph”, the David Bowie is exhibition was the fastest-selling in the Victoria & Albert Museum’s history, featuring a remarkable collection from the David Bowie Archive, including handwritten lyrics, original costumes, music videos, Bowie’s own instruments and album artwork . First released in 2013, this film takes the audience on a fascinating journey through the exhibition with special guests and expert insights revealing the creativity and evolution of Bowie’s ideas.
My Cousin Rachel. Drama/Romance/Mystery. UK, USA 2017, 106 min. Directed by Roger Michell. Starring: Rachel Weisz, Sam Claflin, Holliday Grainger, Iain Glen, Simon Russell Beal. Philip, an orphan, was taken in and brought up by his cousin Ambrose, a Devon landowner he loves like a father. At a time, Ambrose, who has been advised by his physician a warmer climate, leaves for Tuscany. There he meets and marry Rachel, a half-Italian cousin of his. After an idyllic outset, the situation deteriorates. Shortly before his death, Ambrose manages to alert Philip: his wife is killing him slowly. Willing to sort out the truth, Philip goes to Ambrose's place but he does not find Rachel, who has gone away. Instead he meets Rainaldi, her friend and lawyer, who does not inspire him with confidence. He returns to his estate, persuaded that Rachel is evil and is the direct cause of Ambrose's death. Some time later, Rachel announces her coming. Determined to welcome her coolly, he is stunned to discover a woman not only beautiful but elegant, intelligent and sensitive. Instead of strangling her like he said he would, he falls in love. Madly.
That Good Night. Drama. UK, Portugal 2017, 90 min. Directed by Eric Styles. Starring: John Hurt, Sofia Helin, Max Brown, Charles Dance. Ralph, a once-famous screenwriter, is in his seventies and terminally ill. He has two final missions: to be reconciled to his son, Michael, and, secretly, to ensure he is not a burden to his wife, Anna, as he goes "into that good night".
The Killing of a Sacred Deer. Drama/Mystery. UK, Ireland 2017, 121 min. Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. Starring: Nicole Kidman, Colin Farrell, Alicia Silverstone, Barry Keoghan. Steven, a charismatic surgeon, is forced to make an unthinkable sacrifice after his life starts to fall apart, when the behaviour of a teenage boy he has taken under his wing turns sinister. Awards & Festivals: Cannes Film Festival - Best Screenplay; Sitges International Film Festival - participation.
Waiting for You. Drama. UK, France 2017, 92 min. Directed by Charles Garrad. Starring: Colin Morgan, Fanny Ardant, Audrey Bastien. A reclusive French musician is visited in her remote manor house by a young grieving Englishman who is seeking to uncover secrets about his late father’s past. A lyrical mystery drama, Charles Garrad’s spellbinding feature debut stars Northern Irish actor Colin Morgan (Merlin, Testament of Youth) and one of French cinema’s most celebrated performers, Fanny Ardant (The Woman Next Door). A coming-of-age story filmed on location in the south of France and urban England, it centres on a young man, Paul who – compelled by grief and curiosity – is keen to find out more about his late father’s life. Visiting the mysterious, melancholic Madeleine, a musician, in her magnificently crumbling, secluded manor house, she reveals some disturbing secrets about both his father’s past and his own. Awards & Festivals: Belfast International Film Festival - participation.
The Party. Comedy/Drama. UK 2017, 71 min. Directed by Sally Potter. Starring: Timothy Spall, Kristin Scott Thomas, Cillian Murphy, Patricia Clarkson, Bruno Ganz, Emily Mortimer, Cherry Jones. A comedy wrapped around a tragedy unfolds in real time in a house in London in the present day. Janet is hosting an intimate gathering of friends to celebrate her promotion to Shadow Minister of Health in the party of opposition. Her husband, Bill, seems preoccupied. As their friends arrive, some of whom have their own dramatic news to share, the soirée gradually unravels. An announcement by Bill provokes a series of revelations that rapidly escalate into all-out confrontation. As people’s illusions about themselves and each other go up in smoke, along with the canapes, The Party becomes a night that began with champagne but ends with blood on the floor. Awards & Festivals: Berlin Film Festival - Guild Film Prize; Melbourne International Film Festival - Audience Award (3d Place).
Breathe. Drama/Romance/Biography. UK 2017, 117 min. Directed by Andy Serkis. Starring: Claire Foy, Diana Rigg, Andrew Garfield. When Robin is struck down by polio at the age of 28, he is confined to a hospital bed and given only a few months to live. With the help of Diana's twin brothers and the groundbreaking ideas of inventor Teddy Hall, Robin and Diana dare to escape the hospital ward to seek out a full and passionate life together - raising their young son, traveling and devoting their lives to helping other polio patients. Awards & Festivals: London International Film Festival - Opening Film.
Schedule:
30 October, Monday
20:00 Victoria and Abdul. Q&A: Simon Callow. Registration. Tickets
31 October, Tuesday
19:00 NBFF Talks: 115 Years of Sci-fi in Film, a Lecture with Sergey Obolonkov. Registration
20:00 Final Portrait. Tickets
1 November, Wednesday
19:30 Mad to be Normal. Tickets
2 November, Thursday
19:30 Goodbye Christopher Robin. Tickets
3 November, Friday
19:30 England is Mine. Tickets
21:30 City of Tiny Lights. Tickets
4 November, Saturday
15:00 Daphne. Tickets
17:00 God’s Own Country. Tickets
19:10 David Bowie is. Tickets
5 November, Sunday
15:00 My Cousin Rachel. Tickets
17:10 Final Portrait. Tickets
19:00 That Good Night. Tickets
6 November, Monday
15:00 Goodbye Christopher Robin. Tickets
17:30 England is Mine. Tickets
19:30 Mad to be Normal. Tickets
7 November, Tuesday
19:30 My Cousin Rachel. Tickets
8 November, Wednesday
19:00 NBFF Talks: VR From Inside: An Author's Guide to Storytelling and Film Making. Moscow Film School. Registration
19:30 Final Portrait. Tickets
9 November, Thursday
19:30 God’s Own Country. Tickets
10 November, Friday
19:00 NBFF Talks: Craft and Concept: From Architectual Installations to Feature Films. Moscow Film School. Registration
20:00 The Killing of a Sacred Deer. Tickets
11 November, Saturday
13:00 NBFF Talks: From Magic Lanterns to VR: What can we learn from the history of film technology? Moscow Film School. Registration
16:30 Waiting for You. Q&A with Charles Garrad. Tickets
19:00 Mad to be Normal. Tickets
21:15 David Bowie is. Tickets
12 November, Sunday
13:00 NBFF Talks: Starting With People – Prototyping, Participation and Personalisation. Moscow Film School. Registration
16:30 Goodbye Christopher Robin. Tickets
19:00 City of Tiny Lights. Tickets
13 November, Monday
19:30 England is Mine. Tickets
15 November, Wednesday
20:00 The Party. Tickets
16 November, Thursday
20:00 Breath. Tickets
More info
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