The Times BFI 52nd London Film Festival: Talks and Workshops

The Times BFI 52nd London Film Festival: Talks and Workshops

25 September, 2008
by: Joe Harrod

A fantastic element in this festival is the classes and lectures organised by BFI and featuring some of the biggest talents in the film-making world sharing their expertise (and their biased opinions) witth aspiring film-makers, writers and actors.

There's a wealth of sessions at this year's event, all of which you can find on the BFI's website. Here's the pick of the bunch, or at least the ones where you'll find Spoonfed at the front, pencil and paper at the ready, swot-style.

Michael Sheen
16 October: Purcell Room
Sheen, a long-serving character and bit-part actor recently plunged into the limelight as David Frost in Frost/Nixon, talks and takes questions about the life of a journeyman actor, and the professional satisfaction of working support roles. And presumably, the even greater satisfaction of breaking out of your character jacket and into starring parts. JK

Peter Morgan – Screen Masterclass
19 October: National Film Theatre
Peter Morgan is one of Britain's foremost writers and one of the few screenwriters in mainstream cinema who manages to stamp his personality on films such as The Last King of Scotland, The Queen, The Other Boleyn Girl and his latest film Frost/Nixon (showing at this year's festival). All explore political power through unusual one-on-one relationships. Here he talks about his career and Frost/Nixon. JK

Shooting an Icon – Finding the Person behind the Personality
20 October: Delegate Centre
In response to the numerous films dealing with iconic figures at this years London Film Festival - Che, Tyson, Frost/Nixon – Time Out present this free panel discussion about the difficulties facing film-makers bringing real-life people to the screen. This promises to be an unusual and insightful angle on the film-making process. JK

Robert Carlyle
26 October: National Film Theatre
Begbie from Trainspotting talks to a packed house about his life and a career which has seen him take on over 30 film roles from a stripping Sheffield steel worker, to a Bond villain. This'll be one of the more popular talks as Carlyle is a big star but he's also a charismatic and intelligent speaker. It's only surprising because he's played his fair share of incoherent wrecks... JH

Charlie Kaufman – Screen Masterclass
29 October: National Film Theatre
Charlie Kaufman, the writer of the brilliant Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Being John Malkovich, talks about his collaboration with directors such as Michael Gondry and Spike Jonze, and his move into directing with the Philip Seymour Hoffman film Synecdoche, New York. JK


Big Hitters

Independents and Documentaries

Best Foreign Films

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Joe Harrod