It’s a good few weeks to be a fan of, er, small wooden puppet boys. 2022 is officially the year of Pinocchio, with Robert Zemeckis’ live-action Disney version dropping in just over a week’s time on Disney+ – and the long-awaited stop-motion adaptation from Guillermo del Toro coming to Netflix later this year. The Oscar-winning genre legend has cooked up a different spin on Carlo Collodi’s fable due to hit screens worldwide in December – but before then, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio will receive its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival.
It’s one of a number of world premieres due to take place at this year’s festival, which runs in the capital from 5 – 16 October. The festival will begin with the premiere of Matilda The Musical, and elsewhere will feature the first screenings of Nora Twomey’s Cartoon Saloon movie My Father’s Dragon, Asif Kapadia’s latest film Creature, Neil Maskell’s directorial debut Klokkenluider, the Mark Rylance-starring Inland, and Dean Craig’s The Estate starring Anna Faris and Toni Collette. Check out the full list of the LFF’s newly-announced feature world premieres below:
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson
Creature – Asif Kapadia
The Estate – Dean Craig
Becoming Plant – Grace Ndiritu
Blue Bag Life – Lisa Selby, Rebecca Hirsch Lloyd-Evans, Alex Fry
If The Streets Were On Fire – Alice Russell
Inland – Fridjof Ryder
Klokkenluider – Neil Maskell
Name Me Lawand – Edward Lovelace
Pretty Red Dress – Dionne Edwards
She Is Love – Jamie Adams
Super Eagles ’96 – Yemi Bamiro
The Origin – Andrew Cumming
The Blue Rose Of Forgetfulness – Lewis Klahr
The Girl From Tomorrow – Marta Savina
The Blaze – Quentin Raynaud
Kanaval: A People’s History Of Haiti in Six Chapters – Leah Gordon, Eddie Hutton Mills
My Father’s Dragon – Nora Twomey
Xalé – Moussa Sene Absa
The Store – Ami-ro Sköld
SHTTL – Ady Walter
Stay tuned for the full BFI London Film Festival 2022 line-up coming soon – and start preparing your hearts (wooden or otherwise) for the arrival of Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio.