LFF 2016 PREVIEW: JOURNEY THROUGH FRENCH CINEMA

'An ingenious mix of the personal and the historical'

Joan Dupont, Film Comment

'A shining example of what appears to be a growing genre: the documentary examination and celebration of the art of narrative cinema'

Kent Jones, Film Comment

'Essential viewing for cinephiles and Francophiles alike'

Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter

Clocking in at 3 hours and 15 minutes, the second-longest of my 2016 LFF films (on the whole, an uncommonly brief bunch), Bertrand Tavernier presents Journey Through French Cinema. It's sure to be a real treat, watching a master of the medium reflect on the culture which inspired him, to which he himself has contributed enormously, and which has proven such a vast influence on my own appreciation of the medium. And critics seem to agree that the film is a treat indeed, having praised the film since its premiere at Cannes this year. I look forward to spending a few hours with Tavernier and French film, and also to the planned second part of this proposed double feature of docs from the great director.

LFF 2016 PREVIEW: RAW

'It's rare to see such confidence in a first feature'

Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter

'Ducournau's control of her material is masterful'

Chloe Roddick, Sight & Sound

'Inventively grisly (or gristly)... stylistically rich, super-macabre'

Jonathan Romney, Screen Daily

Striving to see a wide variety of styles in my annual excursions to the London Film Festival, I normally schedule at least a few genre titles into my programme. Debut feature film director Julia Ducournau's Raw could meet my quota alone, by the sounds of things. Critics at Cannes ate the cannibal drama up, and its FIPRESCI prize win there wouldn't be the last of its festival triumphs, as a citation from TIFF proved only yesterday. A headline-grabber already, several months away from its first confirmed theatrical release, this ought to be a must-see for all cinephiles and genre film fans headed to LFF this year.