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London Film Festival · 2020

London Film Festival 2020

Debate

Programme

9 films · 4 reviews

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180 Degree Rule (180° Rule)

Tragedy strikes at the heart of a Tehran wedding.

(Country: Iran; Year: 2020; Director: Farnoosh Samadi)

200 Meters

Review preview for 200 Meters

Although the shift in the film's gears isn't exactly smooth, it's an ambitious idea for a first-time filmmaker and Nayfeh brings home the sharp reality of the smuggling business.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A man from the West Bank finds himself taking the smuggling route to Israel to be with his family.

(Country: Palestine; Year: 2020; Director: Ameen Nayfeh; Writer: Ameen Nayfeh; Stars: Ali Suliman, Anna Unterberger, Motaz Malhees, Lana Zreik, Gassan Abbas, Ali Suliman, Anna Unterberger, Motaz Malhees, Lana Zreik, Gassan Abbas)

Full review

African Apocalypse

Documentary considering the trauma and legacy of colonialism in Niger.

(Country: UK, Niger; Year: 2020; Director: Rob Lemkin)

Identifying Features (Sin Señas Particulares)

Magdalena makes a journey to find her son, gone missing on his way to the Mexican border with the US. Her odyssey takes her to meet Miguel, a man recently deported from the US. They travel together, Magdalena looking for her son, and Miguel hoping to see his mother again.

(Country: Mexico, Spain; Year: 2020; Director: Fernanda Valadez; Writer: Fernanda Valadez, Astrid Rondero; Stars: Mercedes Hernández, David Illescas, Juan Jesús Varela, Ana Laura Rodríguez, Laura Elena Ibarra, Xicoténcatl Ulloa)

Mangrove

Review preview for Mangrove

The ease with which McQueen shifts the tone from very serious argument to light-hearted banter is sterling.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
The true story of the Mangrove Nine, the group of black activists who clashed with London police during a protest march in 1970 and their highly publicised trial that followed.

(Country: UK; Year: 2020; Director: Steve McQueen; Writer: Steve McQueen, Alastair Siddons; Stars: Shaun Parkes, Letitia Wright, Malachi Kirby, Rochenda Sandall, Jack Lowden, Jumayn Hunter, Gary Beadle, Llewella Gideon, Sam Spruell, Gershwyn Eustache Jnr, Nathaniel Martello-White, Richie Campbell, Richard Cordery, Alex Jennings)

Full review See: Steve McQueen and Shabier Kirchner on working together and a scene with Letitia Wright and Shaun Parkes in Mangrove

One Man And His Shoes

Documentary considers cultural and commercial phenomena of Michael Jordan against the increasing commodification of black culture.

(Country: UK; Year: 2020; Director: Yemi Bamiro; Stars: David Falk, Jemele Hill, Scoop Jackson, DJ Clark Kent, Roland Lazenby, David Stern, Rick Telander, Sonny Vaccaro, David Falk, Jemele Hill, Scoop Jackson, DJ Clark Kent, Roland Lazenby, David Stern, Rick Telander)

Shadow Country (Krajina ve stínu)

Review preview for Shadow Country

Divis Marek's flowing camerawork, masterfully pulls the film together, as the action is allowed to flow across its large ensemble cast.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
An account of life in a Czech-Austrian border village from the 1930s-1950s.

(Country: Czech Republic; Year: 2020; Director: Bohdan Sláma; Writer: Ivan Arsenyev; Stars: Magdaléna Borová, Cyril Drozda, Csongor Kassai, Stanislav Majer, Robert Miklus, Pavel Nový, Barbora Poláková, Petra Spalková, Magdaléna Borová, Cyril Drozda, Csongor Kassai, Stanislav Majer, Robert Miklus, Pavel Nový, Barbora Poláková)

Full review

Time

Review preview for Time

Bradley’s direction emphasises the beauty of the Rich family’s resilience and humanity, with shots that carry the panoramic vistas of French New Wave and the hypnotic tones of underground cinema.

Stephanie Brown · 4 out of 5
Fox Rich fights for her husband’s release from jail, after he is sentenced to 60 years of incarceration for a bank robbery, a crime she also served time for in the Nineties.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Garrett Bradley)

Full review

Ultraviolence

Documentary, considering deaths in police custody in the UK.

(Country: UK; Year: 2020; Director: Ken Fero)