London Film Festival 2020
This is a list of everything I have seen at The BFI London Film Festival 2020 in chronological viewing order.
I was able to see movies #1 to #11 before the festival and #12 to #49 at the festival itself virtually via The BFI Player, but also Ammonite (2020) in-person at The Watershed in Bristol on IMDb's 30th birthday -- an excellent way to end the festival.
I was able to see movies #1 to #11 before the festival and #12 to #49 at the festival itself virtually via The BFI Player, but also Ammonite (2020) in-person at The Watershed in Bristol on IMDb's 30th birthday -- an excellent way to end the festival.
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- DirectorPhyllida LloydStarsMolly McCannClare DunneRuby Rose O'HaraA young mother escapes her abusive husband and fights back against a broken housing system. She sets out to build her own home and in the process rebuilds her life and re-discovers herself.Sundance 2020
- DirectorElizabeth LoStarsZeytinNazarKartalThe world of Zeytin, a stray dog living life on the streets of Istanbul.Film Independent
- DirectorBassam TariqStarsRiz AhmedAiysha HartAnjana VasanA British Pakistani rapper is on the cusp of his first world tour, but is struck down by an illness that threatens to derail his big break.Marche du Film
- DirectorNatalie Erika JamesStarsRobyn NevinEmily MortimerBella HeathcoteA daughter, mother and grandmother are haunted by a manifestation of dementia that consumes their family's home.US VoD
- DirectorJosephine DeckerStarsElisabeth MossOdessa YoungMichael StuhlbargA famous horror writer finds inspiration for her next book after she and her husband take in a young couple.US VoD
- DirectorBen SharrockStarsSidse Babett KnudsenKenneth CollardAmir El-MasryOmar is a promising young musician. Separated from his Syrian family, he is stuck on a remote Scottish island awaiting the fate of his asylum request.Toronto International Film Festival 2020
- DirectorMalgorzata SzumowskaMichal EnglertStarsAlec UtgoffMaja OstaszewskaAgata KuleszaZhenia, a Russian-speaking immigrant from the East, works as a masseur in Poland and becomes a guru-like figure in a wealthy gated community of his clients.Toronto International Film Festival 2020
- DirectorChaitanya TamhaneStarsAditya ModakArun DravidSumitra BhaveSelf-doubt, sacrifice and struggle converge into an existential crisis for a devoted classical vocalist as the mastery he strives for remains elusive.Toronto International Film Festival 2020
- DirectorChloé ZhaoStarsFrances McDormandDavid StrathairnLinda MayA woman in her sixties, after losing everything in the Great Recession, embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.Toronto International Film Festival 2020
- DirectorCathy BradyStarsNora-Jane NooneNika McGuiganKate DickieThe story of two sisters who grew up on the fractious Irish border. When one of them, who has been missing, finally returns home, the intense bond with her sister is re-ignited. Together they unearth their mother's past, but they uncover secrets and resentments which have been deeply buried and now threaten to overwhelm them.Toronto International Film Festival 2020
- DirectorRegina KingStarsKingsley Ben-AdirEli GoreeAldis HodgeA fictional account of one incredible night where icons Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown gathered discussing their roles in the Civil Rights Movement and cultural upheaval of the 60s.Toronto International Film Festival 2020
- DirectorBill Ross IVTurner RossStarsPeter ElwellMichael MartinShay WalkerA look at the final moments of a Las Vegas dive bar called 'The Roaring 20s'.
- DirectorSteve McQueenStarsGary BeadleDarren BraithwaiteRichie CampbellMangrove tells this true story of The Mangrove Nine, who clashed with London police in 1970. The trial that followed was the first judicial acknowledgment of behavior motivated by racial hatred within the Metropolitan Police.
- DirectorMiranda JulyStarsRichard JenkinsDebra WingerEvan Rachel WoodA woman's life is turned upside down when her criminal parents invite an outsider to join them on a major heist they're planning.
- DirectorAmeen NayfehStarsAli SulimanAnna UnterbergerMotaz MalheesA Palestinian father trapped on the other side of the separation wall is trying to reach the hospital for his son.
- DirectorTalya LavieStarsAvigail HarariRan Khalil DankerDan AmroussiFollowing a fight in their honeymoon suite on the night of their wedding, a bride and groom embark on a surreal urban odyssey through the streets of Jerusalem.
- DirectorFarnoosh SamadiStarsSadaf AsgariSahar DolatshahiAzita HajianA school teacher from Tehran is preparing to attend a wedding in northern Iran. When her husband suddenly forbids her to go, she makes a choice that will place her on a painful path zig to atonement.
- DirectorJerry RothwellStarsDonna BudwayEmma BudwayJeremy DearBased on the book by Naoki Higashida, this immersive film explores the experiences of non-speaking autistic people around the world.
- DirectorEkwa MsangiStarsNtare Guma Mbaho MwineZainab JahJayme LawsonReunited after 17 years, an Angolan immigrant is joined in the U.S. by his wife and daughter. Now strangers sharing a one-bedroom apartment, they discover a shared love of dance that may help them overcome the distance between them.
- DirectorTomm MooreRoss StewartStarsHonor KneafseyEva WhittakerSean BeanA young apprentice hunter and her father journey to Ireland to help wipe out the last wolf pack. But everything changes when she befriends a free-spirited girl from a mysterious tribe rumored to transform into wolves by night.
- DirectorMohammad Reza AslaniStarsFakhri KhorvashMohamad Ali KeshavarzAkbar ZanjanpourThe first lady of a noble house has died and now there is conflict between the remainders for taking over her inheritance.
- DirectorAbel FerraraStarsWillem DafoeDounia SichovSimon McBurneyAn exploration into the language of dreams.
- DirectorGarrett BradleyStarsSibil Fox RichardsonRobert G. RichardsonMahlik RichardsonFox Rich fights for the release of her husband, Rob, who is serving a 60-year sentence in prison.
- CreatorMickey DownKonrad KayStarsMyha'laMarisa AbelaHarry LawteyYoung bankers and traders make their way in the financial world in the aftermath of the 2008 collapse.
- DirectorHarry MacqueenStarsColin FirthStanley TucciPippa HaywoodSam and Tusker are traveling across England in their old RV to visit friends, family and places from their past. Since Tusker was diagnosed with dementia two years ago, their time together is the most important thing they have.
- DirectorPaulette McDonaghStarsMarie LorraineArthur GreenawayJohn FaulknerThe daughter of the head of a criminal gang falls in love with the son of her father's most bitter enemy.
- DirectorMatthew FiferKieran MulcareStarsMatthew FiferSheldon D. BrownSandra BauleoA New York love story that toes the line between narrative and doc with two actors reliving parts of their own experiences.
- DirectorKen FeroThe struggles for justice by families of people killed by police in the UK. A poignant and political reflection on resistance capturing the brutality, trauma and relentless fightback of those who will not be silent about state violence.
- DirectorDamiano D'InnocenzoFabio D'InnocenzoStarsElio GermanoTommaso Di ColaGiulietta RebeggianiA few families living out on a limb in the suburbs of Rome. Tensions here can explode at any time; ultimately it's the children who bring about the collapse.
- DirectorLav DiazStarsNanding JosefBart GuingonaDon Melvin BoongalingA look at how much human beings are like animals.
- DirectorArie EsiriChuko EsiriStarsJude AkuwudikeKemi Lala AkindojuKelechi UdegbeIn Lagos, Nigeria, tragedy and fate intervene as two people try to better the lives of their families.
- DirectorChristian PetzoldStarsPaula BeerFranz RogowskiMaryam ZareeUndine works as a historian lecturing on Berlin's urban development. But when the man she loves leaves her, the ancient myth catches up with her. Undine has to kill the man who betrays her and return to the water.
- DirectorJennifer SheridanStarsSophie RundleOlive GrayMatt StokoeGripped by a violent, terrifying illness, Rose lives in seclusion with her husband, but the arrival of a stranger shatters the fragile refuge they have built.
- DirectorNatalia MetaStarsErica RivasNahuel Pérez BiscayartDaniel HendlerThe story of Inés, a young woman who after a traumatic episode during a trip with her partner begins to confuse herself between the real and the imaginary.
- DirectorThomas VinterbergStarsMads MikkelsenThomas Bo LarsenMagnus MillangFour high-school teachers consume alcohol on a daily basis to see how it affects their social and professional lives.
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsDavid ByrneJacqueline AcevedoGustavo Di DalvaSpike Lee documents the former Talking Heads frontman's brilliant, timely 2019 Broadway show, based on his recent album and tour of the same name.
- DirectorYemi BamiroStarsDavid FalkJemele HillScoop Jackson'One Man and His Shoes' tells the story of the phenomenon of Air Jordan sneakers showing their social, cultural and racial significance and how ground-breaking marketing strategies created a multi-billion-dollar business.
- DirectorGianfranco RosiGianfranco Rosi's new documentary is an immersive portrait of those trying to survive in the war-torn Middle East.
- DirectorAleem KhanStarsJoanna ScanlanNathalie RichardTalid ArissSet in the port town of Dover, Mary Hussain suddenly finds herself a widow following the unexpected death of her husband. A day after the burial, she discovers he has a secret just twenty-one miles across the English Channel in Calais.
- DirectorFernanda ValadezStarsMercedes HernándezDavid IllescasJuan Jesús VarelaA mother travels across Mexico in search for her son whom authorities say died while trying to cross the borders into the United States.
- DirectorBenjamin ReeStarsKarl Bertil-NordlandBarbora KysilkovaØystein SteneAn artist befriends the thief who stole her paintings. She becomes his closest ally when he is severely hurt in a car crash and needs full time care, even if her paintings are not found. But then the tables turn.
- DirectorMichel FrancoStarsNaian González NorvindEligio MeléndezMónica Del CarmenA lavish high-society wedding unexpectedly turns into a class struggle that leads to a violent coup.
- DirectorBrandon CronenbergStarsAndrea RiseboroughChristopher AbbottJennifer Jason LeighAn agent works for a secretive organization that uses brain-implant technology to inhabit other people's bodies - ultimately driving them to commit assassinations for high-paying clients.
- DirectorBohdan SlámaStarsMagdaléna BorováCsongor KassaiStanislav MajerHow to reconcile with killings committed by your own neighbors? How to face growing evil that nobody stands against? What can human will overcome and what is the value of humility and hope?
- DirectorSteve McQueenStarsDennis BovellSaffron CoomberFrankie FoxA single evening at a house party in 1980s West London sets the scene, developing intertwined relationships against a background of violence, romance and music.
- DirectorFrancis LeeStarsKate WinsletSaoirse RonanGemma Jones1840s England, acclaimed but overlooked fossil hunter Mary Anning and a young woman sent to convalesce by the sea develop an intense relationship, altering both of their lives forever.
- DirectorRob LemkinStarsToby StephensStephane CornicardFemi NylanderA people's history of colonialism like no other
- DirectorPeter WollenStarsTilda SwintonPatrick BauchauBill PatersonIn the 1970s, aliens send a female android diplomat to Earth on a mission of peace. She lands in war-torn Palestine instead of MIT by mistake and meets a friendly UK journalist there. They begin a series of insightful conversations.
- DirectorAnna Cazenave CambetStarsTallulah CassavettiAna NeboracCorentin FilaEsther follows her crush from the south of France to Paris at summer's end.
- DirectorPete DocterKemp PowersStarsJamie FoxxTina FeyGraham NortonJoe is a middle-school band teacher whose life hasn't quite gone the way he expected. His true passion is jazz. But when he travels to another realm to help someone find their passion, he soon discovers what it means to have soul.