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Festivals >> London >> 2008 >> Film On The Square


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Described by the organisers as: "The most anticipated new titles from around the world, in the heart of the West End."

Read our full 2008 London Film Festival .


The Baader Meinhof ComplexFrozen River
(Country: China, Hong Kong, Japan; Director: Jia Zhang-Ke; Writer: Jia Zhang-Ke, Zhai Yongming; Cast: Jianbin Chen, Joan Chen, Liping Lu, Zhao Tao)
Blend of fiction and documentary looks at a Chinese munitions plant scheduled for conversion into luxury apartments. Showing with Cry Me A River.
See:

(Country: Japan; Director: Takeshi Kitano; Writer: Takeshi Kitano; Cast: Takeshi Kitano, Kanako Higuchi, Kumiko Aso, Aya Enjôji, Masatô Ibu, Akira Nakao, Nao Omori, Ren Osugi, Eri Tokunaga, Mariko Tsutsui, Yûrei Yanagi)
A creative's attempts to attain his goals... and his constant failure.

(Country: Canada; Director: Atom Egoyan; Writer: Atom Egoyan; Cast: Scott Speedman, Rachel Blanchard, Kenneth Welsh, Devon Bostick, Aaron Poole, Dominic Cuzzocrea, Katie Boland, Noam Jenkins, Arsinée Khanjian, Geraldine O'Rawe, Duane Murray)
A young man’s family history provides the catalyst for this timely and considered story touching on themes of prejudice and fear.

(Country: US; Director: Nanette Burstein; Writer: Nanette Burstein)
This irreverent cinema vérité chronicles four seniors at an Indiana high school and yields a surprising snapshot of Midwestern life. ,

(Country: US; Director: Sacha Gervasi; Cast: Steve 'Lips' Kudlow, Robb Reiner, Ivan Hurd, Tiziana Arrigoni, Chris 'CT' Tsangerides, Glenn Gyorfy, Kevin Goocher, Lee Ulrich, Slash, Tom Araya, Scott Ian, Malcolm Dome, Lemmy, Gary Greenblatt, Toby Kudlow, Droid Reiner, Ginny Kudlow, Michael Schenker, JJ French, Fraser Hill, Jane Reiner)
At 14, best friends Robb Reiner and Lips made a pact to rock together forever. Their band, Anvil, hailed as the "demi-gods of Canadian metal", influenced a musical generation that includes Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax, despite never hitting the big time. Following a calamitous European tour, Lips and Robb, now in their fifties, set off to record their 13th album in one last attempt to fulfill their boyhood dreams. See: ,

Lion's DenTokyo!
(Country: Germany; Director: Uli Edel; Writer: Stefan Aust, Bernd Eichinger; Cast: Martina Gedeck, Moritz Bleibtreu, Johanna Wokalek, Bruno Ganz, Simon Licht, Jan Josef Liefers, Alexandra Maria Lara, Heino Ferch, Nadja Uhl, Hannah Herzsprung)
Exploration of the Red Army Faction, a left-wing militant group formed by radicalised children of the Nazi generation. ,

(Country: US; Director: Lance Hammer; Writer: Lance Hammer; Cast: Michael J Smith Sr, Jim Myron Ross, Tarra Riggs, Johnny McPhail)
A riveting, lyrical portrait of an emotionally frayed family whose lives are torn asunder by a tragic act in a small Mississippi Delta town. See:

(Country: France; Director: Arnaud Desplechin; Writer: Emmanuel Bourdieu, Arnaud Desplechin; Cast: Catherine Deneuve, Mathieu Amalric, Anne Consigny, Melvil Poupaud, Jean-Paul Roussillon, Emile Berling, Emmanuelle Devos)
Ensemble drama about a family brought together - and, possibility on course to be torn apart - by the illness of their matriarch.

(Country: New Zealand, UK; Director: Toa Fraser; Writer: Lord Dunsany, Alan Sharp; Cast: Jeremy Northam, Sam Neill, Bryan Brown, Peter O'Toole, Charlotte Graham, Judy Parfitt, Jenna Pollard, Eva Sayer, Dudley Sutton)
Peter O'Toole stars as a misanthropic curmudgeon who unexpectedly re-lives joyous and painful memories thanks to the revels of a drunken curate. ,

(Country: US; Director: Courtney Hunt; Writer: Courtney Hunt; Cast: Melissa Leo, Misty Upham, Charlie McDermott, Michael O'Keefe, Mark Boone Junior, James Reilly, Jay Klaitz, John Canoe, Dylan Carusona, Michael Skye, Gargi Shinde, Rajesh Bose, Azin Jahanbakhsh, Jack Phillips, James Phillips)
Set in rural upstate New York on a Mohawk Reservation bordering Canada, a mother left to care for her teenage son finds herself lured into the world of illegal immigrant smuggling. ,

Dean SpanleySugar
(Country: South Korea; Director: Kim Ji-Woon; Writer: Kim Ji-Woon, Kim Min-Suk; Cast: Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun, Jung Woo-sung, Kim Pan-joo, Ryu Seung-soo, Ryu Chang-sook, Deligeer, Yoon Jae-moon, Sohn Byung-ho, Kim Gwang-il, Ma Dong-suk, Lee Chung-ah)
Manchurian homage to Sergio Leone sees unlikely protagonists vie over a treasure map. ,

(Country: USA; Director: Andrew Fleming; Writer: Pam Brady, Andrew Fleming; Cast: Steve Coogan, Catherine Keener, Joseph Julian Soria, Skylar Astin, Phoebe Strole, Melonie Diaz, Arnie Pantoja, Michael Esparza, Natalie Amenula, Marshall Bell)
In this rambunctious comedy, a high school drama teacher injects love and passion for theatre into his students by creating a musical sequel to Shakespeare's Hamlet.

(Country: Germany, Italy, Austria, France; Director: Luigi Falorni; Writer: Luigi Falorni, Gabriele Kister, Senait Mehari; Cast: Letekidan Micael, Solomie Micael, Seble Tilahun, Daniel Seyoum, Mekdes Wegene, Samuel Semere)
The story of a young girl who is passed to the Eritrean Liberation Front.

(Country: Italy, France; Director: Paolo Sorrentino; Writer: Paolo Sorrentino; Cast: Toni Servillo, Anna Bonaiuto, Piera Degli Esposti, Paolo Graziosi, Giulio Bosetti, Flavio Bucci, Carlo Buccirosso, Giorgio Colangeli, Alberto Cracco, Lorenzo Gioielli, Gianfelice Imparato)
The life and times of notorious Italian politician Guilio Andreotti. ,

(Country: UK; Director: Sharon Maguire; Writer: Sharon Maguire, based on the novel by Chris Cleave; Cast: Michelle Williams, Ewan McGregor, Matthew Macfadyen, Sidney Johnston, Jonathan Andrews, Ehti Aslam, Sasha Behar, Robin Berry, Gavin Brocker, Nicholas Courtney, Natalie Dormer)
A spirited young mother juggles grief and love in the aftermath of a dramatic terrorist attack in London. See: , ,

ReligulousRachel Getting Married
(Country: France, Belgium, Liberia; Director: Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire; Writer: Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire; Cast: Christophe Minie, Daisy Victoria Vandy)
In an unnamed African country a 15-year-old leads a platoon of younger teens on a rampage which threatens another youngster's way of life.

(Country: Mexico; Director: Fernando Eimbcke; Writer: Fernando Eimbcke, Paula Markovitch; Cast: Diego Cataño, Hector Herrera, Daniela Valentine, Juan Carlos Lara II, Yemil Sefani)
After a teenager crashes his car, he goes in search of help, revealing trauma in his life along the way.

(Country: France; Director: Agnès Jaoui; Writer: Jean-Pierre Bacri, Agnès Jaoui; Cast: Jean-Pierre Bacri, Jamel Debbouze, Agnès Jaoui, Pascale Arbillot, Guillaume De Tonquedec, Frédéric Pierrot, Mimouna Hadji, Florence Loiret, Laurent Jarroir, Anne Werner, Jean-Claude Baudracco)
A self-centred politican has to deal with the politics of relationships when she returns to her home town.

(Country: Argentina, South Korea, Brazil; Director: Pablo Trapero; Writer: Alejandro Fadel, Martín Mauregui, Santiago Mitre, Pablo Trapero; Cast: Martina Gusman, Elli Medeiros, Rodrigo Santoro, Laura García, Tomás Plotinsky)
Drama about an imprisoned mum who faces the prospect of having her child taken from her.

(Country: US, Italy; Director: Spike Lee; Writer: James McBride, James McBride; Cast: Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Omar Benson Miller, Pierfrancesco Favino, Valentina Cervi, Matteo Sciabordi, John Turturro, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Leguizamo)
‘It’s a World War II film – a brutal mystery that deals with historic events and the stark reality of war. But it’s also a lyrical, mystical story of compassion and love.’ Spike Lee

BallastJohnny Mad Dog
(Country: US; Director: Peter Sollett; Writer: Lorene Scafaria, based on the novel by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan; Cast: Michael Cera, Kat Dennings, Alexis Dziena, Ari Graynor, Aaron Yoo, Jay Baruchel, Rafi Gavron)
A sweetly funny story of two young people thrown together during the course of one New York night, as they search for their favourite band's secret gig.

(Country: UK; Director: Terence Davies; Writer: Terence Davies)
Documentary ode to Liverpool.

(Country: Italy; Director: Ferzan Ozpetek; Writer: Melania Gaia Mazzucco, Sandro Petraglia, Ferzan Ozpetek; Cast: Isabella Ferrari, Valerio Mastandrea, Valerio Binasco, Nicole Grimaudo, Federico Costantini, Monica Guerritore, Angela Finocchiaro, Stefania Sandrelli, Nicole Murgia, Gabriele Paolino, Giulia Salerno)
An Italian politician vies for re-election, while trying to fend off corruption charges and keep his family together.

(Country: Italy, UK; Director: Antonello Grimaldi; Writer: Nanni Moretti, based on the book by Sandro Veronesi.; Cast: Nanni Moretti, Blu Di Martino, Valeria Golino, Alessandro Gassman, Hippolyte Girardot, Isabella Ferrari)
"How to grieve" is the unexpressed question faced by Pietro, a Rome television executive (Nanni Moretti), after his wifes sudden death. This movingly understated film traces his spiritual rebirth.

(Country: US; Director: Jonathan Demme; Writer: Jenny Lumet; Cast: Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Mather Zickel, Bill Irwin, Anna Deavere Smith, Anisa George, Tunde Adebimpe, Debra Winger, Jerome LePage, Beau Sia, Dorian Missick)
Sibling rivalries and family frictions run deep at a wedding.

TulpanOf Time And The City
(Country: US; Director: Larry Charles; Writer: Bill Maher; Cast: Bill Maher, David Rosen, Kamal Farah, David L Parsons, Shmuel Strauss, Levi Halperin, Aki Nawaz, Jimmy Turkmani, Ferre van Beveren, Fatimah Elatik, Geert Wilders, Reginald Foster, John Westcott, Francis Collins, Dean Hamer, Jeremiah Cummings, George V Coyne, Andrew Newberg, Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda, Brian Weiss, Ray Suarez, Yisroel Dovid Weiss, Kathy Maher, Julie Maher, Mark Pryor, Joe Copland, Ken Ham, Steve Burg, Ted Bachman, Bill Gardiner)
According to the festival synopsis: "Religulous could be billed as the funniest, most irreverent and provocative documentary you will see in this lifetime, if its pertinence didn't give you the chills." So there.

(Country: US; Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood; Writer: Gina Prince-Bythewood, based on the novel by Sue Monk Kidd; Cast: Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, Sophie Okonedo, Paul Bettany)
Coming-of-age story about sisters whose lives are thrown into disarray by the arrival of a 14-year-old in search answers about her family's past.

(Country: Belgium, UK, France, Italy, Germany; Director: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne; Writer: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne; Cast: Arta Dobroshi, Olivier Gourmet, Morgan Marinne, Jérémie Renier, Fabrizio Rongione, Alban Ukaj)
Marriages of convenience spell trouble for all concerned in this topical drama against the backdrop of New Europe. ,

(Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck; Cast: Algenis Perez Soto)
Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, who last teamed up for Half Nelson, chronicle the journey of Dominican baseball star Miguel "Sugar" Santos recruited from his native country to play in the US minor leagues.

(Country: US; Director: Charlie Kaufman; Writer: Charlie Kaufman; Cast: Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, Tom Noonan, Michelle Williams, Emily Watson, Hope Davis, Dianne Wiest, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Paul Sparks, Stanley Krajewski, Christopher Evan Welch)
The story of theatre director Caden Cotard (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) and his drive to produce his masterwork. Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut... so expect inventiveness. ,

Hamlet 2The Silence Of Lorna
(Country: Australia; Director: Matthew Newton; Writer: Matthew Newton; Cast: Ewen Leslie, Toby Schmitz, Matthew Newton, Jacki Weaver, Charles ‘Bud’ Tingwall, Gracie Otto)
Three Australian sailors spend an eventful night on the town in Sydney. See:

(Country: France, Italy, Turkey; Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan; Writer: Ebru Ceylan, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Ercan Kesal; Cast: Yavuz Bingol, Hatice Aslan, Rifat Sungar, Ercan Kesal, Cafer Köse, Gürkan Aydin)
A magnificently intense, brooding tale of family brought low by a twisted chain of deceits.

(Country: France, Japan; Director: Michel Gondry, Leos Carax, Bong Joon-Ho; Writer: Michel Gondry, Leos Carax, Bong Joon-Ho; Cast: Ryo Kase, Denis Lavant, Teruyuki Kagawa)
Portmanteau film sees two French directors and a Korean one centre plots on Tokyo... and sounds just about mad enough to get away with it.

(Country: Germany, Kazakhstan, Poland, Russia, Switzerland; Director: Sergei Dvortsevoy; Writer: Sergei Dvortsevoy, Gennadi Ostrovsky; Cast: Askhat Kuchencherekov, Tolepbergen Baisakalov, Ondas Besikbasov, Samal Esljamova,)
A man dreams of becoming a shepherd in the Kazakhstan steppe, but is there room for such dreams in the modern world?

(Country: US; Director: James Gray; Writer: James Gray, Ric Menello; Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vinessa Shaw, Isabella Rossellini, Elias Koteas, Moni Moshonov, Julie Budd, Nick Gillie, Carmen M. Herlihy, Samantha Ivers, Anne Joyce)
A man struggles with his emotions as his founds tentative relationships with two women. ,

Quiet ChaosWarlords
(Country: US; Director: James Toback; Writer: James Toback; Cast: Mike Tyson)
The boxer talks about his life. See:

(Country: China, Hong Kong; Director: Peter Chan, Wai Man Yip; Writer: Tin Nam Chun, Junli Guo, Jiping He, Jianxin Huang, Jo Jo Yuet-chun Hui, Oi Wah Lam, Lan Xu, James Yuen; Cast: Jet Li, Andy Lau, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Jinglei Xu, Bao-ming Gu, Xiaodong Guo, Yachao Wang, Bo Zhou)
Nineteenth Century battle epic about blood brothers who find their bond is tested.

(Country: USA; Director: Kelly Reichardt; Writer: Jonathan Raymond, Kelly Reichardt; Cast: Michelle Williams, Will Patton, Will Oldham, John Robinson, Wally Dalton, Larry Fessenden, Brenna Beardsley, Ayanna Berkshire, M. Blash, John Breen, Michael Brophy)
Drama about a young woman's attempts to find her lost dog. ,

Box office and information

News & Features Repo

Jean-Pierre Améris talks about his comedy Romantics Anonymous.

Michel Hazanavicius, the Dardennes and others on cinematic and fairy tale influences.

McQueen, Fassbender, Cronenberg, Durkin, Olsen, Payne talk about clothes and authenticity

Events include a rare screening of The Blue Angel

2012 event will recover its glamour, says Chris Fujiwara
Playing Now! Italian Film Festival - Giovanna's Father


Cinema with a Latin flavour.
Running in London from May 1.

Running from April 29.

Line up now in for the festival which runs in April.
Archive australian film fest - global haywire

Highlights of 2007-2008.

Running until March 18.

Highlights of 2007-2008.

Highlights of 2006-2008.

Archive of festival coverage.

Reviews from 2007-2008.

Coverage of the 2008-2009 festival.
Daily diary and reviews from 2005-2008.

Coverage of the international festival.
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