Chloé Zhao's 'Hamnet' Captivates London Film Festival, Taking Home Audience Award as Attendance Soars
The BFI London Film Festival witnessed a record-breaking turnout, with 235,853 attendees flocking to screenings and events across the UK's capital city during its 69th edition. This year's festival, held from October 8th to 19th, saw a 94% occupancy rate at both free and paid in-person events, a slight increase from last year's 92%.
Among the highlights of the festival was the European premiere of Rian Johnson's 'Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery', which kicked off the event. The festival also hosted 44 red-carpet events, showcasing the industry's finest talent. However, it was Chloé Zhao's 'Hamnet' that truly stole the show.
Based on Maggie O'Farrell's novel, 'Hamnet' tells the story of William and Agnes Shakespeare grappling with contrasting experiences of grief following the death of their son. The historical drama stars Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley, and it was a hit with the audience.
Mescal, who attended the film's premiere at the festival, expressed his enthusiasm for the project, saying, 'I loved the book so much. And [Telluride Film Fest] was one of those times where I shamelessly put myself in position for a film.' He added, 'I really think this would work, and I'm very glad that Chloé agreed to.'
The film's success was further celebrated when it won the LFF audience award for best feature film. Justine Simons, the deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries, praised the festival's impact, stating, 'The numbers this year show why London is one of the world's best celebrations of cinema.'
Other notable winners at the festival included Lucrecia Martel's 'Landmarks' (Nuestra Tierra), which took home the best film award in the official competition, and David Bingong's 'The Travelers' (Les Voyageurs), which won the Grierson Award in the LFF documentary competition. Vincho Nchogu's 'One Woman One Bra' won the Sutherland Award in the first feature competition, and Said Zagha's 'Coyotes' claimed the Short Film Award in the LFF short film competition.
The festival showcased a diverse range of 252 titles from 79 countries, with 41% of the works created by female and non-binary filmmakers. All features and series screened to UK audiences for the first time, including 28 world premieres and 11 international premieres. Over 1000 international and UK filmmakers, XR artists, and series creatives presented their work in person, while the industry forum welcomed over 3,400 delegates. Over 860 media outlets were accredited to the LFF and attended press and industry screenings of 160 films.
