Julian Barratt, Noel Fielding and Sally Phillips are among the stars of films featured in this year's London Comedy Film Festival. The full programme of the festival, which runs from April 20 - May 1 in cinemas around London, has been announced today. LOCO 2016 opens with the UK premiere of British director Ben Charles Edwards’ first feature film Set the Thames on Fire, starring Max Bennett, Michael Winder, Noel Fielding (pictured), Sadie Frost, Sally Phillips, Lily Loveless and Morgana Robinson.
Fielding also appears with Barratt in Steve Oram’s Aaaaaaaah!. Another highlight is Chanya Button's Burn Burn Burn starring Laura Carmichael, Chloe Pirrie, Joe Dempsie, Alice Lowe and Alison Steadman,
Other British comedies include the world premiere of The Darkest Universe, starring Will Sharpe, Tiani Ghosh and Joe Thomas and directed by Will Sharpe and Tom Kingsley; the world premiere of Hot Property, a satire on the housing crisis starring MyAnna Buring and directed by BAFTA-nominated writer/director Max McGill; and Black Mountain Poets, directed by Jamie Adams, which stars Dolly Wells and Alice Lowe as two friends on the run who are forced to pose as poets at a Welsh writers' retreat. There are also three programmes of new British comedy short films.
For a special international selection, The LOCO London Comedy Film Festival has partnered with the Institut francais to present Liberté, Égalité, Hilarité, a season of new French comedies screening at BFI Southbank and Ciné lumière at the Institut français. Highlights include the UK premiere of Michel Leclerc's La vie très privée de Monsieur Sim, an adaptation of The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim by award-winning British novelist Jonathan Coe, who will be interviewed after the screening. With thanks to Film Hub London's Boost Award, we are also screening Truffaut's The Adventures of Antoine Doinel at Cine Lumiere and five film clubs across London.
Further highlights of LOCO 2016 include two silent film screenings with new live scores by the Lucky Dog Picturehouse: a celebration of British 1920s silent comedy and a family-friendly introduction to silent comedy. There's also a look at comedy and brain science in partnership with Rich Pickings. And there's a chance to discover original comedy online in partnership with Comedy Central and Curzon Home Cinema.
Denise Hicks, Director of The LOCO London Comedy Film Festival said, “LOCO 2016 is our fifth year and our biggest festival yet. Inspired by The Wizard of Oz, we've searched the world for comedy films with Brains, Heart and Courage, and we look forward to bringing you twelve days of the world's most original comedy films. And don’t forget to look out for the LOCO Discovery Award nominees; if you’re looking for the next big name in British comedy film, there's no better place to start.”
More details and screening times here.
