The line-up of the 6th LOCO London Comedy Film Festival at BFI Southbank has been announced. Highlights include new films featuring Julian Barratt, Noel Fiedling, Julia Davis, Alice Lowe, Aisling Bea, Brett Goldstein and Roger Allam.
The festival runs from May 4 - 7 and opens with the UK premiere of The Hippopotamus, based on Stephen Fry’s bestselling black comic novel and directed by John Jencks, starring Roger Allam, Tim McInnerny, Fiona Shaw, Matthew Modine, Emily Berrington and Russell Tovey.
The closing film is Every Brilliant Thing, a filmed version of the worldwide hit stage show about a young man dealing with his mother’s suicide attempts, followed by a conversation with its writer Duncan Macmillan (City of Glass, People, Places and Things) and co-writer and star Jonny Donahoe.
The LOCO Discovery Awards return for a sixth year, honouring British first time feature filmmakers. The 2017 nominees are: Mindhorn, directed by Sean Foley and starring Julian Barratt, Andrea Riseborough, Harriet Walter, Simon Farnaby, Essie Davis and Steve Coogan; Chubby Funny, directed, written by and starring Harry Michell, also starring Augustus Prew, Isabella Laughland and Alice Lowe; and Brakes directed and written by Mercedes Grower and starring Julian Barratt, Noel Fielding, Julia Davis, Kerry Fox, Steve Oram, Seb Cardinal and Kate Hardie.
LOCO celebrates new European cinema with the UK premieres of The Night My Mother Killed My Father (Spain), and We Used To Be Cool(Austria) + Q&A with director Marie Kreutzer: a social satire about hipsters becoming parents that LOCO will celebrate with its first ever Parent and Baby Premiere, in partnership with Raising Films.
There are also preview screenings of Aki Kaurismäki's refugee storyThe Other Side of Hope (Finland), which won Best Director at the Berlin Film Festival and Hanne Holm's Oscar-nominated A Man Called Ove (Sweden).
As Edgar Wright prepares to release his new film Baby Driver, LOCO celebrates the 10th anniversary of the second film in his Cornetto Trilogy Hot Fuzz with a special screening and Q&A with filmmakers and cast (line up tbc). The action comedy classic features an unmatched cast of British comedy stars including Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jim Broadbent, Bill Nighy, Olivia Coleman, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine and Rafe Spall.
Further highlights of LOCO 2017 include three programmes of new British short films including the festival premiere of Bullet To The Heart, directed by Jon Drever and starring Brett Goldstein and Aisling Bea; Deeds Not Words, a celebration of the female stars of silent comedy with a new live score by The Lucky Dog Picturehouse; On the Internet Nobody Knows You’re a Clown, a special event showcasing some of online comedy’s rising stars curated by female film collectiveSorta Kinda Maybe Yeah; Comedians Cinema Club bringing together some of the UK’s best comedians to create a hilarious improvised movie version of Hot Fuzz; and an exhibition honouring Betty Box and Peter Rogers for their contribution to British comedy as producers of the Doctor and Carry On series as well as many other classics.
Denise Hicks, Director of The LOCO London Comedy Film Festival said, “I am delighted that the 6th LOCO London Comedy Film Festival returns to its home at the BFI Southbank, to present the world’s most original comedy films. We're thrilled to be presenting the 10th anniversary screening of Edgar Wright’s cult hit Hot Fuzz, a celebration of friendship as much as a skewering of the cop buddy movie genre. And if you’re keen to discover the next big thing in comedy cinema, be sure to get your tickets to the screenings of Sean Foley’s Mindhorn starring Julian Barratt, Mercedes Grower’s Brakes starring Noel Fielding and Harry Michell’s Chubby Funny starring Michell alongside Alice Lowe.”
The Festival runs from May 4 - 7. Tickets and info here.
