London Film Week is an international film festival taking place in the very heart of London during the first half of December. The aim of the Festival is to raise awareness and promote the various aspects of international cinema in all its forms. From avant-garde independents to more established filmmakers, the festival gathers filmmakers, industry professionals, and cinephiles worldwide for screenings, discussions, and networking events.

Out of Breath

Preview | Ana Petta, Brazil, 2022, 81min
Documentary

Filmmaker Ana Petta and doctor Helena Petta follow public health workers in marginalized areas of Brazil as they fight to save lives during the pandemic. With a sensitive gaze, the directors spotlight women facing the greatest challenges of their careers. “Out of Breath” exposes the intersections of race, religion, and class through character-driven cinema vérité.

Wed 6 Dec | 20:00 | Buy Tickets

Omen

Preview | Baolji, Belgium, Netherlands, Democratic Republic of Congo, Baloji, 90 mins

Following Koffi’s return to his birthplace after he has been ostracised by his family, Omen explore the weight of beliefs on one’s destiny through four characters accused of being witches and sorcerers, all of them intertwined and guiding each other into the phantasmagoria of Africa.

Omen is a “cinematic symphony exploring the complexities of social norms and expectations. It delves into the sacred and the profane, encapsulating rebellion and reverence in a profoundly personal homage to confronting fear, honouring grief, and navigating one’s place in the urgency of the present moment.”

Winner: New Voice ‘Un Certain Regard’, Festival de Cannes 2023

Thu 7 Dec | 20:00 | Buy Tickets

Youth (Spring)

Preview | Wang Bing, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, 2023, 215 mins

The harsh, almost dystopian life of workers in Chinese textile factories. Filmed by the greatest documentary filmmaker of his generation, Wang Bing.

“This is hell.” Over the course of five years, Wang follows various groups of people, most of them in their twenties, as they labour over their clothes-making, interact in the cramped dormitories where they live after hours, bargain (often fruitlessly) for better wages, and create emotional bonds and relationships with one another.

As the title suggests, this film is specifically about the lives of the young, forcefully and humanely depicting—with its director’s customary patience and unassuming formal rigour—the consequences of the country’s rapid growth on the minds and bodies of a new generation of workers.

Cannes Film Festival 2023 – In Competition

Fri 8 Dec | 19:30 | Buy Tickets

Shorts Programme

Preview | Various directors, 73 mins

Join us for a cinematic journey like no other! Experience the magic of storytelling in bite-sized brilliance with our Shorts Programme, featuring seven captivating short films that will leave you wanting more. From heartwarming tales to thrilling adventures, there’s something for everyone in this diverse lineup. Immerse yourself in the world of cinema and discover the artistry of emerging filmmakers.

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Last Summer

Preview | Catherine Breillat, France, 2023, 104m.

One of the world’s most consistently provocative filmmakers for nearly 50 years, Catherine Breillat proves with her incendiary, compelling new drama that she is not through toying with viewers’ comfort levels.

In Last Summer, Léa Drucker stars as Anne, a lawyer who specialises in cases of sexual consent and parental custody. Seemingly happily married to kind-hearted businessman Pierre with adopted twin daughters, Anne inexplicably finds herself drawn to Pierre’s estranged 17-year-old son Théo (Samuel Kircher) after the boy returns home to live with them. Breillat’s incisive screenplay—cannily altered from the Danish erotic thriller Queen of Hearts on which it’s based—elegantly surveys the situation’s extreme power dynamics while giving the brilliant Drucker the chance to create a character who exists entirely within her own moral boundaries.

Sat 9 Dec | 18:15 | Buy Tickets

Grey Matter

European Premiere | Arabella Burfitt-Dons, United Kingdom, 2023, 100m.

Chloe has never really been close with her Nan, Peg. However, when Peg gets diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and moves into the family home, Chloe’s forced to become a stay-at-home teenager overnight…

Sun 10 Dec | 15:20 | Buy Tickets

Monster

Preview | Hirokazu Kore-Eda, 2023, Japan, 126 mins

When her young son Minato starts to behave strangely, his mother feels that there is something wrong. Discovering that a teacher is responsible, she storms into the school demanding to know what’s going on. But as the story unfolds through the eyes of mother, teacher and child, the truth gradually emerges. Palme d’Or winner and internationally acclaimed director Kore-Eda Hirokazu returns with a delicate, powerfully moving story of love, duty, social conflict and secrets.

Winner Best Screenplay Cannes Film Festival 2023

Sun 10 Dec | 18:00 | Buy Tickets

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