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London Film Festival · 2015

London Film Festival 2015

Documentary Competition

Competing for the Grierson Award.

Programme

12 films · 2 reviews

Jump to a film

(Be)longing (Volta à Terra)

Life for a youngster in a rural town where tradition rules the roost.

(Country: Portugal; Year: 2014; Director: João Pedro Plácido; Writer: Laurence Ferreira Barbosa, João Pedro Plácido)

Censored Voices

One week after the 1967 Six-Day War, renowned author Amos Oz and editor Avraham Shapira recorded intimate conversations with soldiers returning from the battlefield. The Israeli army censored the recordings, allowing only a fragment of the conversations to be published. Censored Voices reveals these recordings for the first time.

(Country: Israel, Germany; Year: 2015; Director: Mor Loushy; Writer: Mor Loushy)

The Fear Of 13

After 23 years on Death Row, convicted murderer Nick Yarris petitions the court for his execution.

(Country: UK; Year: 2015; Director: David Sington)

World premiere.

Frame By Frame

Review preview for Frame By Frame

Even though the structure of the film is fairly formulaic it opens a window onto worlds rarely glimpsed from outside.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A documentary about Afghan photojournalists.

(Country: Afghanistan; Year: 2015; Director: Alexandria Bombach, Mo Scarpelli; Stars: Massoud Hossaini, Wakil Kohsar, Najibullah Musafer, Farzana Wahidy)

Full review

European premiere.

Francofonia

Dramatised story of the two men who tried to preserve the treasures of the Louvre in the face of war.

(Country: France, Germany; Year: 2015; Director: Aleksandr Sokurov; Writer: Aleksandr Sokurov; Stars: Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, Vincent Nemeth, Benjamin Utzerath, Johanna Korthals Altes)

In Jackson Heights

Documentary about the district in New York's Queens.

(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Frederick Wiseman)

Jia Zhangke, A Guy From Fenyang

Documentary about the Chinese director.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2014; Director: Walter Salles; Writer: Walter Salles, Jean-Michel Frodon; Stars: Jia Zhangke)

Mr. Gaga

Documentary about Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin.

(Country: Sweden, Israel; Year: 2015; Director: Tomer Heymann; Writer: Tomer Heymann)

International premiere.

The Pearl Button (Le Bouton de Nacre)

Review preview for The Pearl Button

Looking at all these themes on paper, there is no way they should be able to co-exist within the same film, let alone do so in harmony, but Guzmán lets each wave of thought flow over the other, tributaries of history gathering to a ocean of argument.

Amber Wilkinson · 5 out of 5
Water, the longest border in Chile, also holds the secret of two mysterious buttons which were found on its ocean floor.

(Country: Chile, France, Spain; Year: 2015; Director: Patricio Guzmán; Writer: Patricio Guzmán)

Full review

Public House

This genre-blending documentary turns community action to save a pub into a participatory opera.

(Country: UK; Year: 2015; Director: Sarah Turner)

World premiere.

Sherpa

Conflict between Sherpas and westerners in the wake of tragedy on Everest.

(Country: Australia, Nepal; Year: 2015; Director: Jennifer Peedom; Writer: Jennifer Peedom)

European premiere.

Something Better To Come

A 14-year account of the life of a young Russian girl.

(Country: Russia, Poland; Year: 2015; Director: Hanna Polak; Writer: Hanna Polak)