The Times BFI 50th London Film Festival will open on 18th October with the European premiere of The Last King of Scotland, the first fiction feature by Oscar-winning documentary director Kevin Macdonald.
The film stars James McAvoy (The Chronicles of Narnia) as a Scottish doctor who becomes entangled with one of the world's most barbaric figures: self-appointed Ugandan President Idi Amin, played by Forest Whitaker. Based on the award-winning novel by Giles Foden, the film also stars Gillian Anderson (A Cock and Bull Story), Kerry Washington (Fantastic Four) and Simon McBurney (Friends with Money).
"The Last King of Scotland is a perfect Opening Night film for us: a compellingly original British feature from an imaginative and talented young director," says Sandra Hebron, the Festival's Artistic Director. "Kevin Macdonald and his cast and crew must be congratulated for balancing historical fact with psychological insight in such a lively, accessible and thought-provoking way."
Kevin Macdonald adds: "It would be an honour to be chosen any year to open The Times BFI London Film Festival, but it's particularly great to be kicking off the 50th edition. I'm so pleased to be having the European premiere of The Last King of Scotland in my home city and at a Festival where I myself have discovered so many wonderful movies over the years."
The Times BFI London Film Festival is the UK’s largest public Film event and this year’s programme is sure to be showing something for everyone. Documentary fans are promised 22 factual features including Olivier Meyrou’s Beyond Hatred, Sydney Pollack’s Sketches of Frank Gehry, David Leaf and John Scheinfeld’s The US Vs John Lennon and 37 Uses For A Dead Sheep from Ben Hopkins. Nick Broomfield's Ghosts, about the Chinese workers who lost their lives in Morecambe Bay will also screen as part of a British homegrown selection.
In celebration of its jubilee year the Festival plays host to two major special events: a free outdoor live-mix screening A Portrait of London: Trafalgar Square and the world’s largest surprise film screening in 50 screens.
Posted by Rosie Saunders on 14/09/2006