Kate Winslet in BBC Films' A Little Chaos
BBC Films has an eclectic mix of titles at this year’s BFI London Film Festival, including gala premieres, competition titles, and a showcase for some of the talent we work with at microbudget level.
Testament of Youth takescentre stage, having its World Premiere as the Mayor of London Centrepiece Gala. If you’ve not heard of its young, talented star Alicia Vikander yet, we’re certain that by this time next year hers will be the name on everyone’s lips. Alongside her, Taron Egerton has been nominated for the Best British Newcomer Award for his portrayal of Edward, Vera’s beloved brother. Kit Harington, Dominic West and Emily Watson also star in this adaptation of Vera Brittain’s era-defining First World War memoir. Director James Kent (The White Queen) captures Vera’s humanity and inner strength in this moving tale.
A Little Chaos takes the Love strand Gala Premiere. Alan Rickman directs and also stars alongside Kate Winslet (pictured above) and Matthias Schoenaerts. Sabine (Winslet) is a strong-willed landscape designer who challenges sexual and class barriers when she is chosen to build one of the main gardens at King Louis XIV’s (Rickman) new palace at Versailles, causing her to become professionally and romantically entangled with the court’s renowned landscape architect André Le Notre (Schoenaerts). A Little Chaos is a classic tale of love and loss, with Winslet at its centre as a widow struggling with personal demons that threaten her happiness.
BBC Films' The Falling
Acclaimed director Carol Morley (Dreams of a Life) brings an intriguing and unsettling drama The Falling, starring Maisie Williams, Florence Pugh, Maxine Peake and Greta Scacchi. Set in 1969 at an English girls’ school, two friends face tragedy sparking a delirium that pushes the school into chaos. You may recognise Maisie Williams from her TV role as the irrepressible Arya Stark in Game of Thrones, but in The Falling she expresses the range that secured her place as one of Screen Internationals’ ‘Stars of Tomorrow’.
Guy Myhill’s electrifying debut, The Goob, is in competition for the First Feature prize. It was made as part of the iFeatures scheme, supported by BBC Films. Newcomer Liam Walpole is “Goob”, a teenager who for the past 16 years has helped his mother (Sienna Guillory) with the harvest. Now her boyfriend, Gene Womack (Sean Harris), is on the scene. Womack is a stock-car supremo, lady’s man and cruel task-master. When an incident brings Goob into direct conflict with Womack, it seems things can’t get any worse – but two seasonal workers help Goob discover his own inner freedom. Set and shot on location in rural Norfolk, The Goob shows a part of Britain rarely featured on film.
In X + Y, Morgan Matthews tells the story of a teenage autistic maths prodigy struggling to find his place in the world. Asa Butterfield, Sally Hawkins, Rafe Spall and Jo Yang star in this fictionalized adaptation of Matthews’ own documentary, Beautiful Young Minds. Matthews’ affecting, human story is brought to life with strong performances from all its cast, but especially Butterfield as a boy who needs to understand what love is.
Maverick Michael Winterbottom’s latest film is the multi-layered, postmodern tale, The Face of an Angel. Daniel Brühl stars as Thomas, a director asked to make a film of a horrific true-life crime. His source material is a book written by a journalist covering the case, Simone (Kate Beckingsale). As he works, his personal and professional lives unravel, leaving him to question everything he thought he knew about the case and himself. Alongside Brühl and Beckingsale, the film features Cara Delevingne in what is being called a ‘breakout acting role’ for the superstar model.
Kevin Kline in BBC Films' My Old Lady
Rounding up our titles featuring in the 2014 festival, Riz Ahmed directs and stars in the short film Daytimer - screened as part of the London Calling short film strand. We’re incredibly proud that Riz’s first film as a director has been selected for this showcase of London’s most exciting new filmmakers.
Jacqui Barr is Marketing Executive, Film for BBC Films
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