BFI London Film Festival 2021 at HOME

Tom Grieve, Cinema Editor
The Harder They Fall
HOME

BFI London Film Festival 2021 at HOME Manchester, Manchester 6 — 17 October 2021 Tickets from £9 — Book now

Last year, London Film Festival opened up its programme to the rest of the country for the first time. Alongside the usual London events, online streaming and satellite screenings in regional cinemas meant that the festival was more accessible than ever, and audiences across the UK got to see some of the year’s finest films at the same time as cinemagoers in the capital.

This new mode of operation was obviously a success, because London Film Festival returns to Manchester, and HOME, once again this October — and they’re bringing some of our most anticipated movies of the year with them.

There are the obvious big names such as Wes Anderson’s (Moonrise Kingdom) The French Dispatch (Sun 10 Oct) — which sees the American auteur reenlist regulars such as Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton and Owen Wilson for a witty tribute to The New Yorker magazine — and beloved British director Edgar Wright’s (Shaun of the Dead) slick 1960s-set horror Last Night in Soho (Tue 12 Oct), starring Anya Taylor-Joy.

The French Dispatch
The French Dispatch

There’s more star power on show in opening night film, the world premiere of explosive new western, The Harder They Fall (Wed 6 Oct). Starring Idris Elba, LaKeith Stanfield and Regina King, Jeymes Samuel’s feature debut is a stylish number inspired by the real-life stories of African-American cowboys. Meanwhile, festival closer The Tragedy of Macbeth (Sun 17 Oct) is a solo effort from Joel Coen, who casts Denzel Washington in a weighty Shakespeare Adaptation.

Jane Campion’s (The Piano) The Power of the Dog (Mon 11 Oct), also visits the American West, for a dark drama featuring Benedict Cumberbatch and Jesse Plemons as two wealthy brothers. The extraordinary director has impressed with two seasons of Top of the Lake made in her native New Zealand, but there’s much anticipation for this return to big screen filmmaking.

We’re most excited for Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car and Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Memoria 

But we’re probably most excited for Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car (Sun 10 Oct) and Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Memoria (Sat 16 Oct). Japanese director Hamaguchi has proven himself one of the world’s most exciting new directorial talents in recent years with slippery, mysterious dramas such as Happy Hour and Asako I & II. His latest sees him working from a Haruki Murakami short story for what’s billed as a serene, yet riveting drama.

A new Apichatpong will always be a big event in art house circles. The prize-winning Thai director (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives) is known for meditative, dreamlike ventures into jungles, forests and folklore, where wandering figures meet strange circumstances within unconventional narrative structures. Memoria sees the filmmaker working in English for the first time, with Tilda Swinton cast as a woman investigating a mysterious bang in Colombia.

Drive My Car
Drive My Car

In total, there are eleven films in total showing across a week and a half at HOME this October, and they all come with some kind of pedigree. Pablo Larrain’s (Jackie) latest, Spencer (Thu 7 Oct) is a snapshot of the life of Princess Diana as played by the ever-fascinating Kristen Stewart. Acclaimed British director Clio Barnard (The Selfish Giant) returns with Bradford-set romance Ali & Ava (Thu 14 Oct), while Sebastian Meise’s Cannes prize-winning queer prison drama Great Freedom (Sat 16 Oct), stars the magnetic Franz Rogowski.

BFI London Film Festival 2021 at HOME Manchester, Manchester 6 — 17 October 2021 Tickets from £9 Book now

What's on at HOME Manchester

Where to go near BFI London Film Festival 2021 at HOME

Manchester
Restaurant
Indian Tiffin Room, Manchester

Indian Tiffin Room is a restaurant specialising in Indian street food, with branches in Cheadle and Manchester. This is the information for the Manchester venue.

The Ritz Manchester live music venue
Manchester
Music venue
The Ritz

The Ritz was originally a dance hall, built in 1928, has hosted The Beatles, Frank Sinatra and The Smiths and is still going strong as a gig venue now.

Homeground
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Event venue
Homeground

Homeground is HOME’s brand new outdoor venue, providing an open-air space for theatre, food, film, music, comedy and more.

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Café or Coffee Shop
Burgess Cafe Bar
at IABF

Small but perfectly-formed café – which also serves as the in-house bookstore, stocking all manner of Burgess-related works, along with recordings of his music. It’s a welcoming space, with huge glass windows making for a bright, welcoming atmosphere.

Rain Bar pub in Manchester
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Rain Bar

This huge three-floor pub, formerly a Victorian warehouse, then an umbrella factory (hence the name), has one of the city centre’s largest beer gardens. The two-tier terrace overlooks the Rochdale canal and what used to be the back of the Hacienda, providing an unusual, historic view of the city.

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Bar or Pub
The Briton’s Protection

Standing on the corner of a junction opposite The Bridgewater Hall, The Briton’s Protection is Manchester’s oldest pub. It has occupied the same spot since 1795, going under the equally patriotic name The Ancient Britain.

Castlefield Gallery, Manchester
Castlefield
Gallery
Castlefield Gallery

The influential Castlefield Gallery sits at the edge of Manchester’s exciting Castlefield district, an ideal home for thought-provoking contemporary art.

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