A biopic of Hampstead stockbroker Nicholas Winton, and the directorial debut of actor Daniel Kaluuya will premiere at this year's London Film Festival.
Oscar-winner Anthony Hopkins stars in One Life, which follows the story of Winton, who helped rescue 669 children from Chechoslovakia on the eve of World War II. Also starring Johnny Flynn as the young Winton, who was spurred into action by the plight of fleeing Jewish refugees during a trip to Prague in 1938, the film's European premiere is at The Royal Festival Hall on October 12.
Kaluuya, who grew up on a Camden estate and attended Torriano Primary and St Aloysius in Highgate, has co-directed the dystopian London-set thriller The Kitchen whose world premiere closes the festival on October 15.
Winton was born to German-Jewish parents in Hampstead in 1909, and was living in Willow Road when he devoted every spare moment to the complicated paperwork needed to bring the children to safety. His wartime deeds only came to light decades later when his wife discovered a scrapbook of papers in the attic.
Hopkins plays Winton five decades on, haunted by those he was unable to help. Until a famous 1988 episode of That's Life presented by another Hampstead resident, Esther Rantzen, where he meets the survivors. The film, which goes on general release on January 1, 2024, also stars Belsize Park resident Helena Bonham Carter as Winton's mother Babette, Queen's Park actor Sam Spiro as Esther Rantzen, Romola Garai as Doreen Warriner, and Jonathan Pryce as Martin Blake.
Director James Hawes, said: “This film pretty much begins and ends in London and says so much about the people of this city, its heart and its history. So it feels right that we have our UK launch at the BFI London Film Festival.”
Iain Canning and Emile Sherman, of See-Saw Films, the production company behind Slow Horses, Heartstopper and The Power of The Dog, said: “It has been a privilege to tell Nicholas Winton’s story and portray his generosity of spirit. It means so much to us to be able to share One Life at this year’s festival, with an audience that is so passionate about the power of film."
Kristy Matheson, BFI London Film Festival Director, said: “James Hawes assured feature debut about Sir Nicholas Winton is a sweeping drama full of nuance and rich emotion. The incredible cast led by Sir Anthony Hopkins brings this inspirational true-life story to the screen and not a minute too soon. In a world full of conflict and inequity One Life serves to remind contemporary audiences about the power of seemingly small personal acts in defence of human rights and dignity when all seems lost.”
Filmed in London and Paris, The Kitchen is co-directed with Kibwe Tavares, and co-written with Joe Murtagh. (Woman in the Walls, Slow With Horses)
The dystopian sci-fi is set in a city where social housing and the welfare state have been eliminated and London is a playground for the rich. When motherless 12-year-old Benji hooks up with older Izi (Kane Robinson) they form an unlikely bond as residents of slum high rise The Kitchen, a community holding out against society.
The film is produced by Kaluuya's 59% Productions alongside DMC Film, and Film 4 and will be released by Netflix later this year. The Black Panther and Get Out actor has spoken about growing up on a Camden estate and the importance of youth drama clubs like Anna Scher, and Roundhouse Young Creatives in helping him to realise an acting career.
Tavares and Kaluuya said they both grew up in London and their film is " a love letter to our city".
"It’s a true honour to premiere it here, in our hometown. Starting a decade ago as a workshop in a local barbershop, the film’s journey from script to screen has been a continued collaboration between us, and the community of cast and crew that came to make up our ‘Kitchen’, including our two amazing leads Kane Robinson and Jedaiah Bannerman whose performances anchor the heart of our story. Together we have aimed to make something fresh, thoughtful and cinematic – an allegory and homage to the residents of ‘The Kitchen’ in every city in the world."
Matheson adds: “Kibwe Tavares and Daniel Kaluuya have made a film that totally explodes our expectations of contemporary UK cinema. We could not be more excited to close the festival with this inventive film set in a near future London that showcases this incredibly talented team who call this city home."
The BFI London Film Festival runs October 4-15 and includes screenings of Steve McQueen's Amersterdam documentary Occupied City, Sofia Coppola's Priscilla Presley biopic, Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon, Bradley Cooper's biopic of Leonard Bernstein Maestro, Emereld Fennell's follow up to Promising Young Woman, Saltburn, and Hayao Miyazaki''s The Boy and The Heron.
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