The 57th BFI London Film Festival kicks off today and is serving up its usual offering of inspiring, inventive and distinctive films in a 12 day celebration of cinematic splendour. Usually reserved for film critics and journalists, the BFI gives everyone a chance to get in on the action with a host of new feature films, documentaries and galas. Our drivers will be out and about during the festival, transporting people to the event as well as ensuring our customers embark on that journey of a lifetime. Inspired by the category devoted to ‘Journey’ films, we thought we would take a closer look at what the festival has to offer.
‘Everything Good is Happening Somewhere Else’
We all get that ‘grass is greener’ feeling from time to time and our feet start to itch as we long to explore, to get away and to see what's on the other side. This year’s journey category all explore a journey in one form or another and the choices we make along the way. Road trips, personal adventures and voyages of discovery all feature heavily and highlight the power of film to provide an escape and transport you to an altogether other worldly place. Often the twist and turns of the journey can be as significant as the destination and sometimes, we do not end up where we expect (unless you are in one of our cars of course). All these themes are touched upon in a collection of short films which prove to be an enthralling watch, entitled ‘Everything Good is Happening Somewhere Else’ showing on the 11th, 12th and 13th of October.
World Premier: The Epic of Everest
The BFI have rifled through their archives to bring us the largely unseen, Captain John Noel’s, The Epic of Everest. The newly restored masterpiece follows George Mallory and Andrew Irvine on their doomed expedition to the summit of Everest in 1924. Now, 89 years on, the debate continues over whether the pair actually made it to the top on their third and final attempt on the mountain. The film captures the tragedy of the journey but can not offer an end to the debate. What it does offer is one of mountaineering’s most captivating stories, some of the first footage of life in Tibet and insight into communities surviving in the most harshest of landscapes. This poignant and heart wrenching film charting an epic journey will be shown for the first time on the 18th of October.