Film directors today highlighted the importance of the British movie industry amid mass cinema closures and blockbuster release delays — while championing the London Film Festival as proof of the industry’s “resilience”.
Top British directors with films premiering at the LFF said the fact the festival was taking place at all was a “rebuttal” of the pandemic and the impact it has had on the arts scene.
This year’s festival comes as Cineworld, the UK’s largest cinema operator, confirmed it will temporarily close its 127 sites in Britain, putting 5,500 jobs at risk. This includes all Picturehouse cinemas in the UK and 536 Regal theatres in the US, putting a further 45,000 jobs at risk.
A number of blockbusters, which are vital to cinema income, have also been postponed. Bond movie No Time To Die, which was due to open next month, will now premiere in April next year, while sci-fi film Dune and Robert Pattinson’s The Batman have also been postponed.
Harry Macqueen, the director of Supernova — a film about dementia starring Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci — said the festival was “proof that the British film industry is in great health and is producing important work. The fact that LFF is happening at all is a big rebuttal to the pandemic itself”.
Yemi Bamiro, the director of One Man and His Shoes — about Air Jordan trainers — said: “This year’s festival is a celebration of resilience and adaptability ... the fact that the festival is happening is incredible.”
Steve McQueen’s Mangrove, starring Letitia Wright and Jack Lowden, will kick off the festival tonight. Francis Lee’s film Ammonite, starring Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan, is the closing film, screened on October 17.
Films featuring Hollywood A-listers including Elisabeth Moss and Riz Ahmed are among the 58 films from 40 countries that will also be screened digitally and in cinemas.
Figures from Film UK suggest the industry generated a turnover of £14.8 billion in 2017 with its direct contribution to UK GDP totalling £6.1 billion. The theatre industry contributed some £32.3 billion to the UK economy.
