It may be an old, well-worn adage, but there’s no getting around the fact that time really does fly. Not only is it the first day of August (white rabbits etc), it’s also time to once again announce the opening of this year’s London Film Festival. Yes, **The Times BFI 51st London Film Festival **(to give it its full title) is only a few months away and we can now reveal that the two week celebration of all that’s shiny and new in modern cinema is set to kick off on October 17, with the gala screening of David Cronenberg’s London-set thriller, Eastern Promises.
The UK shoot was shrouded in secrecy, but we do know that the movie reunites Cronenberg with his History Of Violence star Viggo Mortenson who’ll play Nickolai Luzhin - a London crime boss who is pestered by midwife Anna Khitrova’s (Naomi Watts) investigations.
The legendary director** **says that he’s “thrilled to be returning to the scene of the crime. Eastern Promises is the first film I’ve ever shot entirely away from my home in Canada, and it makes perfect sense that it is set in London, home of so many of my most potent film influences. I can’t wait to be there!". The Festival’s Artistic Director, Sandra Hebron, added: “It’s hugely exciting that a director who has consistently thrilled and challenged us throughout his career has made a film in our city. This gripping, powerfully directed and acted story of lives colliding in contemporary London is the perfect opener for our Festival.”
Eastern Promises hits UK screens on October 26. Stay tuned to Empire for up to the minute news from the LFF 2007, including the full line-up - coming very soon.