Kristy Matheson is gearing up for the 68th BFI London Movie Competition (LFF), her second because the BFI fest’s director.

The Australian, who beforehand programmed the Edinburgh Movie Competition, and her group have chosen a complete of 255 titles from 80 nations, mixing such highlights from this 12 months’s fest circuit as Sean Baker’s Cannes-winning Anora, Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez, Pablo Larraín’s Maria, Mike Leigh’s Laborious Truths, Marielle Heller’s Nightbitch, Ali Abbasi’s The Apprentice and Edward Berger’s Conclave, with 40 world premieres.

Amongst these are the likes of WWII drama Blitz, starring Saoirse Ronan, Harris Dickinson and extra, the third LFF-opening film from London-born Steve McQueen that kicks off the fest on Oct. 9, Ben Taylor’s Pleasure, starring Thomasin McKenzie, James Norton and Invoice Nighy within the story of the group that invented IVF, and Netflix’s animated That Christmas, directed by Simon Otto and starring Brian Cox because the voice of Santa Claus, in addition to Jodie Whittaker, Fiona Shaw and Invoice Nighy.

The Pharrell Williams LEGO biopic Piece by Piece will shut the 68th version of the competition on Oct. 20.

Matheson, who succeeded new Berlin Movie Competition director Tricia Tuttle as the pinnacle of the LFF, talked to The Hollywood Reporter about what went into placing collectively her sophomore version, new nations represented and the significance of star energy.

LFF 2024 will function 255 titles from 79 nations, together with the world premieres of 16 options. What are a few of the key world premieres?

To have the ability to open the competition with Steve McQueen’s Blitz is superb, and to have that as a world premiere is such a cherry on high. There are different terrific world premieres, reminiscent of an Irish movie known as 4 Moms [from director Darren Thornton], which may be very emotional, but additionally very comedic and superbly acted. It’s a type of movies that basically has broad enchantment. You don’t need individuals to let it slip beneath their radar, as a result of it’s a very joyful movie to expertise.

In competitors, we’ve one other movie known as The Extraordinary Miss Flower, which is from Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard who made 20,000 Days on Earth, the Nick Cave documentary. Once more, they convey this intense creativity to how they inform the story of somebody’s life by way of documentary.

We don’t have a proper market right here on the London Movie Competition, however London itself is such an important place for individuals to platform their movies, not simply in preparation for an awards run, but additionally for movie groups and distributors trying to actually highway take a look at movies in entrance of audiences, as a result of we’ve such robust and adventurous audiences right here in London. It’s additionally a really efficient place for individuals to come back and do enterprise as a result of it doesn’t need to be an extended journey to get so much achieved.

We’re an audience-facing competition. So after we put this system collectively, we’re enthusiastic about the entire program. We actually are very honored and excited to launch movies into the world. However that’s not the one metric for us to consider. We actually need this system to be very interesting to a number of totally different viewers members, in order that’s guiding our decision-making.

Are there any themes or genres which might be significantly properly represented throughout the LFF lineup?

Animation is large this 12 months. We’ve had the pleasure of seeing a number of terrific animation movies, and never all for younger audiences. We do have some nice movies for younger audiences and households, reminiscent of That Christmas and The Wild Robotic. So, animation is knocking it out of the park.

We even have a number of several types of animation, from Adam Elliot’s lovely Annecy winner, Memoir of a Snail, which is beautiful, handcrafted claymation, proper by way of to the very refined Lego 3D that you simply see in our closing evening movie, Piece by Piece. There’s a beautiful movie from the Dominican Republic known as Olivia & the Clouds, which is one other totally different sort of animation type. So, individuals who love animation will discover so much.

The opposite factor that has been charming us all through the lineup is animals, which abound in our program this 12 months. There are such a lot of nice animal performers, stars, and heroes in motion pictures throughout the board. As we went alongside, we saved saying: “Oh, look, it’s one other animal movie.” We have now the terrific movie, Pepe [about a hippo once owned by Colombian drug baron Pablo Escobar]. We have been all enthusiastic about who our favourite animals are, and Pepe is unquestionably up there. For me, it’s our favourite hippo.

Loads of these movies are our connection to the world, how people and animals coexist. How can we enrich one another’s lives? However a few of these movies are additionally extra of that philosophical relationship between the animal and the human world. A few of them are issues from a extra environmental perspective, such because the animation Circulate, which has a completely animal solid. It’s at how we have to relate in an interspecies approach and take a look at what we have to do with a purpose to survive.

Some other massive philosophical themes or focus subjects throughout the LFF lineup?

I’d say motherhood in all of its many guises. We’ve obtained an important movie known as Motherboard, a beautiful documentary from right here within the U.Okay. a couple of girl [Victoria Mapplebeck] who’s documented her life as a mom and documented her little one, which may be very shifting and an fascinating examination. We even have one thing all the best way as much as Marielle Heller’s Nightbitch with Amy Adams, which is an entire different form of examination of motherhood, however one thing that I feel most people who find themselves dad and mom of younger kids or who’ve that reminiscence will be capable to actually join with.

And one other factor that’s been actually pleasing this 12 months is to see a few movies that function incapacity however don’t essentially have it on the forefront because the theme. There’s a French movie known as My Every little thing, starring Laure Calamy by Anne-Sophie Bailly, and there’s an Australian comedy known as Audrey [by director Natalie Bailey]. Each of these movies function disabled characters who’re simply a part of the make-up of the movie. And in them, we see skilled actors who’re disabled taking part in these roles. Each movies actually assist normalize incapacity. It’s not about individuals making a degree, it’s simply that these are nice performers doing fantastic work in them.

How is the audio system and different occasions lineup of LFF totally different this 12 months?

What’s very thrilling is that we’ve a way more sturdy lineup of Display Talks, that means we’ve extra alternatives this 12 months for individuals to fulfill and have that extra intimate second and listen to somebody speak about their careers.

Is the extra sturdy speaker lineup, together with the likes of Zoe Saldaña, Daniel Kaluuya, and Lupita Nyong’o, as a result of final 12 months was so troublesome with the strikes?

Actually, by way of the abilities which might be coming, we’re actually happy with the spectacular and eclectic lineup. However clearly, with the strikes final 12 months, there wasn’t a chance to listen to from abilities in entrance of the digicam, so it’s nice to have the ability to invite performers again to talk to audiences. Lupita Nyong’o is a voice actor in The Wild Robotic, which is only a complete different dimension and a unique sort of appearing that we’ll speak about along with her alongside along with her complete profession. The identical is true for Zoe Saldaña with Jacques Audiard’s Emelia Pérez. When you’ve been following her profession, you won’t assume this movie is the subsequent pure step. So, it’ll be fascinating for us to have the ability to hear how she’s journeyed by way of her profession.

Are there any nations represented with movies at LFF for the primary time?

Not for the very first time, however we’ve a movie from Indonesia known as Crocodile Tears, which is a terrific first function, even when not the primary time we’ve screened a movie from Indonesia. It’s a very fascinating story of a mom and son, one other movie about motherhood, however with a really totally different tack. And the movie is taking part in with style in a very fascinating approach.

From Singapore this 12 months, once more a rustic that isn’t a first-time addition to the LFF, however not one which we see a variety of movies from, we even have an important movie that was simply in Venice and known as Stranger Eyes, which is a slow-burn thriller [about a young couple dealing with the sudden disappearance of their baby daughter and looking for clues about the kidnapper].

After which one other movie, Small Hours of the Night time from Daniel Hui [which the LFF website describes as “a somber chamber piece that implores us to find connections between divergent acts of political dissidence across history]. So, I feel Southeast Asia on the whole is properly represented this 12 months. There are some terrific movies from Vietnam, and we noticed a variety of terrific movies from South East and East Asia this 12 months, however significantly Southeast Asia felt fairly thrilling.

The Dominican Republic additionally makes a very robust exhibiting. We’ve obtained a beautiful movie known as Sugar Island [directed by Johanné Gómez Terrero and about the complex past, present and future lives of Afro-Dominican people in the Dominican Republic], Pepe [from Nelson Carlos de los Santos Arias], and the animated Olivia & the Clouds. They aren’t all the identical sorts of movies: an animation, a extra experimental movie, a drama. It’s good to see the range of filmmaking kinds.

And Brazil additionally has an important exhibiting this 12 months. And once more, they’re all very totally different by way of filmmaking kinds and subjects they’re coping with. [They include Brazil’s Oscar contender by director Walter Salles, I’m Still Here, Julia de Simone’s Formosa Beach, Marcelo Caetano’s Baby, Juliana Rojas’ Cidade; Campo, and Marco Dutra’s Bury Your Dead].

[On Oct. 11, the London fest will even put on “DJ Night: Ritmos do Brasil,” described as “a night of the very best Brazilian music to complement the breadth of Brazilian films in this year’s festival.”]

Inform me a bit in regards to the thematic strands that the competition makes use of to draw audiences in new methods and construction the LFF lineup. They vary from Love, Debate and Snicker to Thrill, Cult, Household, Experimenta and extra.

The strands are actually very useful for us after we’re programming the competition as a result of it simply implies that we’ve to maintain a test on ourselves. We would indulge a bit and be like, “Oh, right here’s one other unhappy, moody movie.” Or we’d indulge and say we simply wish to watch a number of enjoyable comedy movies. So it’s good for us.

And it will possibly assist the viewers attempt to decipher such an enormous program by giving a little bit of a suggestion, relying on their very own and their buddies’ tastes and moods. Thrill, I feel, is a very good instance. In that part, we’ve all the pieces out of your very conventional thrillers proper by way of to a slow-burn movie like Stranger Eyes. You could possibly place that movie in a number of totally different locations. For instance, it might additionally sit in Dare, as a result of it’s fairly formally daring. It might sit in Debate as a result of it brings up a variety of questions. However for us, the strands are a technique to get an viewers member to take an opportunity on one thing they don’t know. Somebody may say “Oh, I like thrillers.” Or “I’m going to the competition with a good friend, and so they actually like these sorts of movies.” So, we hope the strands supply a little bit of a information to assist navigate the competition.

Some strands are fairly broad…

Sure, reminiscent of love. I imply, so many movies are about love. We love love within the motion pictures. However , this 12 months we put Alex Ross Perry’s movie Pavements in Love, which can appear to be an odd place to place it. It might have simply gone into Create as a result of it’s in regards to the inventive course of and about people who find themselves making issues. However what actually struck us after we watched the movie was that it’s actually a love letter to fandom. Fandom is one thing that all of us have interaction with, in several methods and on totally different ranges, however the movie is a complete love letter to the band Pavement. So, sure we’re making strands broad sufficient to attempt to enchantment to many various tastes and cease us from being too indulgent.