London Film Festival 2013

View other London Film Festival Films by strand: Cult, Dare, Debate, Documentary Competition, Experimenta, Family, First Feature Competition, Galas, Journey, Laugh, Official Competition, Sonic, Thrill, Treasures

Vic + Flo Saw a Bear Vic + Flo Saw a Bear
Vic + Flo Saw a Bear and La Belle Et La Bête
2 Autumns 3 Winters (2 Automnes 3 Hivers) (Country: France; Year: 2013; Director: Sébastien Betbeder)
A man decides to change his life by taking up running. It's a start...
Adore (Two Mothers) (Country: Australia, France; Year: 2013; Director: Anne Fontaine; Writer: Christopher Hampton; Stars: Naomi Watts, Robin Wright, Xavier Samuel, James Frechevile)
A pair of lifelong friends fall for one another's sons.
Bad Hair (Pelo Malo) (Country: Venezuela; Year: 2013; Director: Mariana Rondón; Writer: Mariana Rondón; Stars: Beto Benites, Samantha Castillo, Nelly Ramos, María Emilia Sulbarán)
Junior is a 9 year-old with "bad hair". His efforts to smooth it down for the school picture incur the wrath of his mother Marta. His grandfather suggests that the boy stay with him on a permanent basis. He doesn't care if he's effeminate; he only wants to secure someone to look after him in his old age. Marta refuses and sets out to "re-educate" her son. Junior wants to live with his mother and for her to love him.
La Belle Et La Bête (Beauty And The Beast) (Country: France; Year: 1946; Director: Jean Cocteau; Writer: Jean Cocteau, based on the story by Mme Leprince de Beaumont; Stars: Jean Marais, Josette Day, Marcel Andre, Mila Parely, Nane Germon, Michel Auclair, Raoul Marco)
Timeless classic that lives up to the label.
Blue Is The Warmest Colour (La Vie D’Adele - Chapitre 1 & 2, The Life of Adele, Blue Is The Warmest Color) (Year: 2013; Director: Abdellatif Kechiche; Writer: Julie Maroh, Abdellatif Kechiche, Ghalia Lacroix; Stars: Léa Seydoux, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Salim Kechiouche, Jérémie Laheurte, Catherine Salée, Aurélien Recoing, Mona Walravens, Alma Jodorowsky, Fanny Maurin, Benjamin Siksou, Sandor Funtek, Benoît Pilot, Baya Rehaz, Karim Saidi)
Two young women fall unexpectedly and passionately in love.
Hello Carter Hello Carter
Hello Carter and Those Happy Years
Bertolucci On Bertolucci (Country: Italy, France, UK; Year: 2013; Director: Walter Fasano, Luca Guadagnino; Stars: Bernardo Bertolucci)
Documentary on the life and work of the legendary director.
Child's Pose (Pozitia Copilului) (Country: Romania; Year: 2013; Director: Calin Peter Netzer; Writer: Razvan Radulescu, Calin Peter Netzer; Stars: Luminita Gheorghiu, Bogdan Dumitrache, Florin Zamfirescu)
An upper class woman loses all sight of morality as she strives to save her son from a prison sentence for knocking down an killing a child.
Fandry (Country: India; Year: 2013; Director: Nagraj Manjule; Writer: Nagraj Manjule; Stars: Kishore Kadam, Chhaya Kadam)
An 'untouchable' youngster struggles to reconcile his status with his dreams.
Floating Skyscrapers (Płynące wieżowce) (Country: Poland; Year: 2013; Director: Tomasz Wasilewski; Writer: Tomasz Wasilewski)
Kuba attends an art opening with his girlfriend of two years and bumps into Mikal. The connection between these two young men is instantaneous and intoxicating, and despite opposition from all sides, he allows Mikal into his life. The results go beyond anything he could have imagined.
Gloria (Country: Chile, Spain; Year: 2012; Director: Sebastián Lelio; Stars: Paulina García, Sergio Hernández, Diego Fontecilla, Fabiola Zamora)
A woman finds late romance at a dance club, but will family intrude?
Sandra Sandra
Sandra and Child's Pose
Grand Central (Country: France; Year: 2013; Director: Rebecca Zlotowski; Writer: Gaëlle Macé, Rebecca Zlotowski; Stars: Léa Seydoux, Tahar Rahim, Denis Ménochet)
A complex romance set against the backdrop of the nuclear power industry.
Hello Carter (Country: UK; Year: 2013; Director: Anthony Wilcox; Writer: Anthony Wilcox; Stars: Charlie Cox, Jodie Whittaker, Paul Schneider)
One man's quest to win back his ex takes him on a series of adventures through London
It's All So Quiet (Boven Is Het Stil) (Country: Netherlands, Germany; Year: 2013; Director: Nanouk Leopold; Stars: Jeroen Willems, Henri Garcin, Wim Opbrouck, Martijn Lakemeier)
A Dutch farmer opens up about his emotional distance as he anticipates the impending death of his father.
It Felt Like Love (Country: US; Year: 2013; Director: Eliza Hittman; Writer: Eliza Hittman; Stars: Gina Piersanti, Giovanna Salimeni, Ronen Rubinstein, Jesse Cordasco, Nick Rosen, Case Prime)
On the outskirts of Brooklyn, a 14-year-old girl’s sexual quest takes a dangerous turn when she pursues an older guy and tests the boundaries between obsession and love.
Jeevan Smriti (Country: India; Year: 2013; Director: Rituparno Ghosh)
Docu-drama about poet-artist Rabindranath Tagore.
Grand Central Grand Central
Grand Central and The Past
Ladder To Damascus (Country: Qatar, Lebanon, Syria; Year: 2013; Director: Mohamed Malas; Writer: Mohamed Malas, Samer Mohamad Ismail; Stars: Gianna Aanid, Izzat Abou Jabal, Hussein Al Shazli, Nohad Assi, Mustafa El Mustafa, Najla El Wa'za, Roula Falhout, Radwan Jamous, Ghassan Jbaii, Ziad Kalthoum, Rana Malas, Hussein Marii, Bilal Martini, Lara Saade, Naouar Yussef)
A young aspiring actress in Syria discovers she has been inhabited by the soul of a woman who died on the day she was born.
The Last Impressario (Country: Australia; Year: 2013; Director: Gracie Otto)
Bio-doc of Michael White – playboy, bon vivant and the man who transformed Britain’s cultural scene in the 1970s.
The Lusty Men (Country: US; Year: 1952; Director: Nicholas Ray, Robert Parrish; Writer: David Dortort, Alfred Hayes, Horace McCoy, Andrew Solt, Claude Stanush, Jerry Wald; Stars: Susan Hayward, Robert Mitchum, Arthur Kennedy, Arthur Hunnicutt, Frank Faylen, Walter Coy, Carol Nugent, Maria Hart, Lorna Thayer, Burt Mustin, Karen King, Jimmie Dodd, Eleanor Todd, Barbara Blaine, Hazel Boyne)
An injured rodeo star returns to his hometown years after he left.
May In The Summer (Country: US, Qatar, Jordan; Year: 2013; Director: Cherien Dabis; Writer: Cherien Dabis; Stars: Cherien Dabis, Hiam Abbass, Bill Pullman, Alia Shawkat, Nadine Malouf, Alexander Siddig)
A bride-to-be is forced to reevaluate her life when she reunites with her family in Jordan and finds herself confronted with the aftermath of her parents’ divorce.
Model Shop (Country: France, US; Year: 1969; Director: Jacques Demy; Writer: Jacques Demy, Carole Eastman; Stars: Anouk Aimée, Gary Lockwood, Alexandra Hay, Carol Cole, Tom Holland, Severn Darden, Neil Elliot, Jacqueline Mille, Duke Hobbie, Anne Randall, Craig Littler, Hilary Thompson, Jon Lawson, Jean Sorel, Jon Hill)
A man embarks on an affair with a French divorcee.
Gloria Gloria
Gloria and Blue Is The Warmest Colour
Must Have Been Love (Det måste ha varit kärlek) (Country: Norway, Finland; Year: 2012; Director: Eirik Svensson; Writer: Eirik Svensson, Jyrki Väisänen; Stars: Pamela Tola, Espen Klouman-Høiner, Laura Birn, Audun Hjort, Mattis Herman Nyquist, Rosa Salomaa, Pihla Viitala)
If there’s only ever one love of your life, what happens if they slip through your fingers?
On My Way (Elle S'En Va) (Country: France; Year: 2013; Director: Emmanuelle Bercot; Writer: Emmanuelle Bercot, Jérôme Tonnerre; Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Camille, Mylène Demongeot)
Popping out for cigarettes, a middle aged woman just keeps going, increasingly determined to leave her old life behind.
The Past (Le Passé) (Country: France; Year: 2013; Director: Asghar Farhadi; Writer: Asghar Farhadi; Stars: Bérénice Bejo, Tahar Rahim, Sabrina Ouazani)
A couple meeting to finalise their divorce find themselves in difficult emotional terrain.
The Police Officer's Wife (Die Frau des Polizisten) (Country: Germany; Year: 2013; Director: Philip Gröning; Writer: Philip Gröning; Stars: Alexandra Finder, David Zimmerschied, Pia Kleemann, Chiara Kleemann, Horst Rehberg, Katharina Susewind, Lars Rudolph, Fabian Stromberger)
Study of the effects of domestic abuse on a young family.
The Sarnos: A Life In Dirty Movies (Country: Sweden; Year: 2013; Director: Wiktor Ericsson; Writer: Wiktor Ericsson; Stars: Joseph W Sarno, Peggy Steffans, Jamie Gillis, Michael Raso, Matthew Sarno, Annie Sprinkle, John Waters)
Portrait of erotic auteur Joe Sarno and his wife and collaborator Peggy.
Adore Adore
Adore and Bad Hair
So Young (Zhi wo men zhong jiang shi qu de qing chun) (Country: China; Year: 2013; Director: Wei Zhao; Writer: Qiang Li, Yiwu Xin; Stars: Mark Chao, Geng Han, Zishan Yang, Shuying Jiang, Bao Bei'Er, Kai Zheng, Yao Zhang, Yase Liu, Hong Han, Ming Huang, Yang Lan, Hong Pan, Liya Tong)
A reunion tests the bonds of college classmates formed six years earlier.
The Spectacular Now (Country: US; Year: 2013; Director: James Ponsoldt; Writer: Scott Neustadter, Michael H Weber; Stars: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kyle Chandler)
Sutter is a high school senior who lives for the moment; Aimee is the introvert he attempts to "save." As their relationship deepens, the lines between right and wrong, friendship and love, and "saving" and corrupting become inextricably blurred.
Sandra (Country: Italy; Year: 1965; Director: Luchino Visconti; Writer: Suso Cecchi D'Amico, Enrico Medioli, Luchino Visconti, Suso Cecchi D'Amico, Enrico Medioli, Luchino Visconti; Stars: Claudia Cardinale, Michael Craig, Jean Sorel, Marie Bell, Renzo Ricci, Fred Williams, Amalia Troiani, Vittorio Manfrino, Renato Moretti, Paola Piscini, Isacco Politi, Giovanni Rovini, Glenn Saxson, Ferdinando Scarfiotti)
A woman returns to her hometown for her father's funeral and becomes embroiled in family politics.
Stop The Pounding Heart (Year: 2013; Director: Roberto Minervini)
A home schooled youngster calls her lifestyle into question after meeting a young man at a rodeo.
Suzanne (Country: France; Year: 2013; Director: Katell Quillévéré; Stars: Sara Forestier, Adèle Haenel, François Damiens)
The close relationship between two sisters and their widowed father becomes complicated when one of them falls pregnant.
May In The Summer May In The Summer
May In The Summer and The Wishful Thinkers
Those Happy Years (Anni felici) (Country: Italy, France; Year: 2013; Director: Daniele Luchetti; Writer: Daniele Luchetti, Daniele Luchetti, Sandro Petraglia, Stefano Rulli, Caterina Venturini; Stars: Micaela Ramazzotti, Kim Rossi Stuart, Martina Gedeck, Niccolò Calvagna, Samuel Garofalo, Benedetta Buccellato, Pia Engleberth, Angelique Cavallari, Ivan Castiglione, Sylvia De Fanti)
Romantic comedy about the ups and downs of a struggling experimental artist in 1970s Italy and his relationship with his wife and two children.
Thy Womb (Sinapupunan) (Country: Philippines; Year: 2012; Director: Brillante Mendoza; Writer: Henry Burgos; Stars: Nora Aunor, Bembol Roco, Lovi Poe, Mercedes Cabral, Glenda Kennedy)
An infertile midwife and her husband find a surrogate mother.
A Time in Quchi (Shu Jia Zuo Ye) (Country: Taiwan; Year: 2013; Director: Tso chi Chang; Stars: Liang-Yu Yang, Yun-Loong Kuan, Ya-Ruo Lin, Yung-Heng Yen, Shaoyi Jiang, Han-Yi Yao, Chi-Han Chen)
Vara: A Blessing (Country: Hong Kong, US; Year: 2013; Director: Khyentse Norbu; Writer: Sunil Gangopadhyay, Khyentse Norbu; Stars: Shahana Goswami, Mohamed Adamaly, Swaroopa Ghosh, Rohit Raj, Devesh Ranjan, Rajah Ganesshan, Gayan Anuradha Dissanayake, Ruvin De Silva, Kaushalya Navaratne, Geeta Chandran, Maximus Alles, Kushan Weerasuriya, Dhanushka Nilaweera, Shehan Omerdeen, Chinthaka Fernando)
A woman agrees to pose for a sculptor, despite the risks.
Vic + Flo Saw a Bear (Country: Canada; Year: 2013; Director: Denis Côté; Writer: Denis Côté; Stars: Pierrette Robitaille, Romane Bohringer, Marie Brassard, Marc-André Grondin, Georges Molnar)
A couple, one of whom is just out of prison, hide away in a house in the woods until the past comes calling for them.
It Felt Like Love It Felt Like Love
It Felt Like Love and Floating Skyscrapers
The Wishful Thinkers (Los ilusos) (Country: Spain; Year: 2013; Director: Jonás Trueba; Writer: Jonás Trueba; Stars: Francesco Carril, Aura Garrido, Luis Miguel Madrid, Vito Sanz, Isabelle Stoffel, Mikele Urroz, Andrea Vicunia)
A film about the desire to make films, or about what some filmmakers do when they are not making movies.
News

59th New York Film Festival early bird highlights Futura, Jane By Charlotte, James Baldwin: From Another Place and The Velvet Underground

More news and features

Playing Now

Eye For Film continues to support festivals both locally and across the world. At the moment, we're covering:

Sands Film Festival
Weekend film event in St Andrews

Queer East

Visions du Réel
Swiss documentary showcase

Overlook Film Festival

New Directors/New Films
New York's celebration of new voices

In the Archive


Archive of festival coverage.

Daily diary and reviews from 2005-2018.

Coverage of the lynchpin German festival.