The stars came out and the heavens opened for the opening night of the 58th BFI London Film Festival. Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley and the cast and crew of the opening film, Alan Turing biopic The Imitation Game, walked a sodden red carpet in Leicester Square for the European premiere of the movie.
Clare Stewart, director of the LFF, is now in her third year managing both the festival and the expectations that people have of the event. After the success of last year, with numerous films that screened at the festival making appearances in awards season, Stewart is understandably upbeat about the role of London Film Festival in an increasingly crowded festival market.
“I think we have a really significant role to play in terms of the awards season calendar. You could see that last year where we had the European premiere of 12 Years A Slave and showings of Captain Philips, Gravity, Philomena. All films that really benefited from their festival profile in terms of their awards season campaign.”
So what does she make of this year's programme and their chances with the various Academies?
“This year I think we have some real contenders. The Imitation Game, tonight's film, is stunning and right up there in terms of the big films of the year. As is Fury, our closing night film directed by David Ayer and starring and produced by Brad Pitt. Across the course of the festival some of our headline galas such as Foxcatcher directed by Bennett Miller. We have him, Steve Carell, and Sienna Miller coming to that. Reese Witherspoon is joining us for Wild, as is Jason Reitman from Men, Women and Children and Damian Chazell and the cast from Whiplash.”
Despite less than favourable weather conditions, those gracing the carpet were in high spirits braving the rain to give the baying mob of fans the signatures and selfies they craved. Director Morten Tyldum (Headhunters) was joined by Mark Strong, Charles Dance, Allen Leech and Matthew Beard to launch the film. Keira Knightley spent the best part of an hour talking to fans and signing their memorabilia, as did lead actor, Benedict Cumberbatch, who took a momentary respite from posing for photographs to speak to Empire.
We asked him about his upcoming role as Richard III in the latest series of BBC Two's The Hollow Crown, adapting Shakespeare's historical plays, and he said, “It's just an extraordinary classic, it's got some of the richest earliest poetry of his mastery. To try and portray a man who is conditioned into becoming the person we revel in in Richard III. I'm playing him in Henry VI parts one, two and three as well you see him as a younger man. You see him as an increasingly crippled younger man with scoliosis and through being continually edged and pushed onto the outside is turned into what he turns into.”
Even with the rain and soggy carpeting, the Festival's opening night was far from a washout. Andy Serkis, John Hurt, Terry Gilliam and George Groves all joined proceedings and sneaked into the Odeon Leicester Square to escape the weather and to keep their feet considerably drier than Team Empire's.
The BFI London Film Festival has now begun and runs until October 19. We'll be covering it every step of the way. The Imitation Game, meanwhile, hits UK cinemas on November 14.
Reporting by Joshua Hammond and Jenny Scouler