It goes without saying that the pandemic has certainly flipped every sector of life upside down. In terms of films, we have seen the industry reach a point where the fate of cinemas will now be in the hands of 2021. In the meantime, we have seen the majority of award frontrunners released on streaming websites, particularly Netflix who have a huge chunk of award worthy films this time around. The topic of streaming service films being up for major awards has been subject of much debate. I personally think that a film that can transfer the emotion and grandeur from the big screen to small screen and still keep its impact is a hugely difficult challenge and commend filmmakers who are able to do so.
Bearing this in mind, in the 13 years I have actively followed awards season, watching films for this awards season is turning out to be a unique experience. I love the fact that I can revisit the films for multiple views whenever I want. That being said, I cannot wait for cinemas to reopen and experience the full magic of the movies again.
I’ll be discussing my award season predictions in a week or so when I have watched a few more but for now, I’ll be leaving the links to the reviews I have written thus far and add to them as my film list grows.
There are so many more films for me to see and I am very excited. I’ll be posting links to those reviews in this article as well so you can follow any updates here.
Which film has been your favourite so far? Any potential Oscar winners on your list? Let me know in the comments below!
With London Film Festival concluding today and all of my reviews done and dusted, I thought I would write this post to roundup my experience. Being my first film festival, I was so excited to be apart of something I have been a fan of for years. Looking at the lineup, it seemed that there were four major films: Steve McQueen’s Mangrove, Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland, Pete Docter’s Soul and Francis Lee’s Ammonite and I was determined to see at least two of these. Luckily I was able to see Mangrove and Ammonite on the screenings but sadly wasn’t successful in the ballot to see Nomadland and I don’t live in London to see Soul. However, I was thrilled with all the films I watched. I decided that my target was to watch 10 films and make them as varied as I could. In total, I watched 12 films and this includes documentaries, shorts, animation, drama, horror, foreign language, etc. There wasn’t one film that disappointed me and many standouts that I hope go on to receive award recognition and open new doors to create more films.
Overall, what stood out to me was the quality of the writing in the films I watched which was absolutely fantastic. The creativity and originality of the films I watched shows that the industry isn’t failing and there is room for films that push boundaries. From adaptations to original pieces, each film was so distinctive and unique that I was so pleased with how many well-rounded characters there were.
I thought it would be fun to come up with my personal winners from the Festival from the films I watched. As I previously said, there were no disappointments so this will be tricky. I have also added a special Shoutout category because the winner of this gave two brilliant performances and has clearly had a stellar year. I wanted to recognise this with their own special category.
Here are the Smaller Pictures Winners of London Film Festival:
Best Picture – Wolfwalkers
Best Director – Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart for Wolfwalkers
Best Leading Actor – Riz Ahmed for Mogul Mowgli
Best Leading Actress – Tilda Swinton for The Human Voice
Best Supporting Actor – Fazlur Rahman Babu for The Salt in Our Waters (Nonajoler Kabbo)
Best Supporting Actress – Letitia Wright for Mangrove
Best Original Screenplay – Will Collins for Wolfwalkers
Best Adapted Screenplay – Pedro Almodóvar for The Human Voice
Best Documentary Feature – One Man and His Shoes
Best Original Score – Jim Williams for Possessor
Best Song – “Running with the Wolves”, AURORA from Wolfwalkers
Best Cinematography – Stéphane Fontaine for Ammonite
Best Editing – Matthew Hannam for Possessor
Best ProductionDesign – Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart and Maria Pareja for Wolfwalkers
Best Costume Design – Michael O’Connor for Ammonite
Best Hair and Makeup – The Human Voice
Special Shoutout Winner – Sean Bean for Wolfwalkers and Possessor
London Film Festival has given me some amazing memories and been a highlight of my year and a brilliant opportunity that I am so grateful for. I am also so excited to announce that I will be reviewing films from the upcoming Raindance Film Festival at the end of this month so my Festival journey hasn’t ended just yet!
So that’s it for my little awards section and roundup! Which film are you looking forward to seeing the most? Let me know in the comments below!
Just in case you want to read my reviews for the films, I have included them below. I really recommend watching all of them:
One of the final films for this year’s London Film Festival comes in the form of Francis Lee’s Ammonite. Written and directed by Lee, the film follows Victorian palaeontologist Mary Anning and her time spent with Charlotte Murchison who would eventually become a palaeontologist herself. Starring Oscar winner Kate Winslet and Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan as Anning and Murchison, respectively, Ammonite is a slow burning romance filled with beautiful cinematography and boasting a host of stellar performances. It premiered at Toronto Film Festival and was one of the most talked about films coming into London Film Festival so I was excited to have a chance to watch it.
Shot on location at the Jurassic Coast at Lyme Regis, Ammonite is just as hard and cold as its surroundings with Anning’s character specifically being chipped away at like one her fossils until we see her true self revealed. Francis Lee brings in a unique perspective by adding in a lesbian storyline due to Anning’s privacy regarding her personal life and with the knowledge that she never married or had children. There is no proof to say she was a lesbian but there isn’t any proof to say otherwise and the film hasn’t been written as confirmed history. What is fact, however, is that Anning’s life was full of injustices. From the offset, Anning’s injustices are seen as the fossil she uncovered is placed in the British Museum and her name is replaced by a man’s. This happens before we even see her onscreen. Our introduction to Anning is quite literally the science community erasing women from the narrative.
As expected, Kate Winslet is perfect casting as Mary Anning. Stubborn and guarded, Anning sees through the grandeur and spectacle of the male dominated science community. Bringing her best performance in years, Winslet’s Anning longs for happiness but shuts herself away from it, deciding to focus on her work. Even when she initially meets Roderick and Charlotte Murchison, she is reluctant and unhappy to give them a private audience as she prefers her own company. However, we see her facade fade away as she nurses Charlotte back to health after she contracts a fever. Anning longs to be among the elite in society but knows that she never will. Charlotte has everything she wants and even when presented with the opportunity to join her, Anning doesn’t want to be in a submissive position. Winslet plays Anning with strength and resilience that both aids and damages the character.
Saoirse Ronan’s performance as Charlotte Murchison puts her back in the familiar period setting that she excels in. Murchison is consumed by mental illness following the loss of her baby and is sent to shadow Anning at the insistence of her husband who goes travelling for five months. She is timid and quiet and quickly clashes with Anning’s brash character. After falling ill, Charlotte has a new outlook on life and grows attached Mary which slowly blossoms into a romance between them. As the film’s focus is mainly on Anning, I would say Ronan doesn’t shine as much as Winslet because we don’t get to know Charlotte to the same extent. I would have loved to have seen a more developed character arc for her or perhaps a note at the end of the film to confirm her own successful career as a palaeontologist. Ronan does the best with the material she has, however, and is a great onscreen match with Winslet. It’s hard to believe that it has taken so long to have these two powerhouses acting alongside each other.
The costume design by Michael O’Connor is a highlight in the film, particularly the handmade knit pieces the two leads wear. Anning’s weave and rib knit jumper is a beautiful and practical piece that has the robustness to reflect her profession and personality. On the other hand, Murchison’s delicate white knitted shawl is so fragile it could be lace. It is so fresh and clean which contrasts with the mud laden beach. Anning’s clothes are predominantly dark greys and blues and reflect the bleak coastal scenery with Murchison’s more bright and lavish outfits commanding the centre of attention in all of her scenes.
Overall, Ammonite shows Francis Lee’s skill with colour and vision, giving a voice to an overlooked woman in science. His boldness and imagination to suggest a different narrative doesn’t take away from Anning’s confirmed achievements. Lee has cemented himself as a director to watch with this strong follow-up to his 2017 debut, God’s Own Country.
Ammonite is screening at the London Film Festival on the 17th October and will be released in the United Kingdom in 2021.
