BFI London Film Festival to Be Shorter, Offer More Screenings

This year's BFI London Film Festival will be shorter, but feature more screenings at more venues, organizers said Tuesday.

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The BFI, the lead body for U.K. film, said that the 56th edition of the festival, held in partnership with American Express, will run October 10-21, four days shorter than last year. But it said it will see "an increase in the number of screenings and venues, in new parts of the capital."

BFI head of exhibition and festival director Clare Stewart’s new strategic direction particularly includes an increase in the capacity for primetime screenings. The festival previously announced new program categories, competitive sections and enhanced awards.

The organization said the changes are "designed to give a wide and diverse audience more opportunities to take part in the Festival and celebrate outstanding films from the U.K. and around the world from both new and established talent."

In addition to the use of movie theaters in Leicester Square (Odeon West End, Vue West End, Odeon Leicester Square and Empire) and the BFI Southbank cinema, the BFI festival is adding four regional cinemas: the Hackney Picturehouse, the Renoir in Bloomsbury, Screen on the Green in Islington and the Rich Mix in hip East London's Shoreditch.

"The BFI London Film Festival is one of the jewels in the capital’s cultural crown, and we want to ensure that as many people as possible have the opportunity to experience it," Stewart said. "Whether it’s a film aficionado diving straight in to our festival program or a moviegoer coming to the festival for the first time - more screenings, more venues and more London boroughs makes it a film festival for everyone.’

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com

Twitter: @georgszalai