FESTIVAL OF COMMONWEALTH FILM celebrating Films from the Commonwealth Announces Slate for Inaugural Event this April

NEW LONDON FILM FESTIVAL CELEBRATING FILMS FROM THE COMMONWEALTH

“FESTIVAL OF COMMONWEALTH FILM”

FILMS INCLUDE BAFTA WINNING I AM NOT A WITCH AND BRITISH OSCAR NOMINATION MY PURE LAND

The Festival of Commonwealth Film (FCF) has announced the dates and venue for its inaugural event this year. Taking place on the 14th and 15th April 2018, the Festival will screen seven feature films and a programme of shorts with a human rights focus from all the regions of the Commonwealth. The festival will be held at the British Museum, tickets are open to the public and available to purchase from £10 (£5 concessions) via www.fcfilm.net.

Almost every feature film screening will be followed by a Q and A session with the filmmakers. The short film programme, produced by Commonwealth Writers, have a Pacific focus and will be shown on Sunday 15th.

Festival Co-Founder & Programme Manager for Commonwealth Writers, Janet Steel said “There are so many amazing storytellers and filmmakers around the Commonwealth, taking risks and sharing issues that impact on people’s lives. FCF will bring together many of these voices, sparking a dialogue on human rights issues and highlighting the change-making power of cinema.”

The festival is supported by Commonwealth Writers (part of the Commonwealth Foundation) and the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, and has been designed and scheduled to lead up to and compliment the Commonwealth Peoples Forum and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

The full list of feature films are as follows:

1. I Am Not A Witch [UK/Zambia] (fiction; 2018 BAFTA winner for Outstanding Feature Debut by a British Director)

2. My Pure Land [UK/Pakistan] (fiction but based on a true story; Britain's official 2018 entry for the Oscars' Best Foreign Language Film category)

3. Leitis in Waiting [US/Tonga] (documentary about Tongan transgender activists; European Premiere)

4. Not My Life [US production, shot in 14 countries including 5 Commonwealth nations] Doc about human trafficking and modern slavery, narrated by Glenn Close; UK Premiere

5. Cargo [Bahamas] (fiction about human trafficking in the Bahamas; European Premiere.

6. Simshar [Malta] (fiction about a Maltese fishing boat disaster against the background of the European migrant crisis; Malta's first-ever official entry into the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars)

7. Lipstick Under My Burkha [India] (fiction, originally refused certification by India's censors because of its “lady-oriented” story, about four women exploring their sexuality in modern India)

The short film programme will include two films from first-time writer-directors in Papua New Guinea, and two films from Tonga, one of which is by renowned women's rights advocate 'Ofa-Ki-Levuka Guttenbeil-Likiliki.

FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

Saturday April 14th

13:30- 15:30

Feature 1

Cargo

100’

Q&A w/ Kareem Mortimer + TBC

16:00-17:30

Feature 2

Not My Life

64’ + Q&A w/ Robert Bilheimer

18:00 – 20:00

Feature 3

Lipstick Under My Burkha

100’

TBC

20:30 – 22:30

Feature 4

I Am Not A Witch

92’

Sunday April 15th

13:00 – 14:00

Pacific & Caribbean Shorts (£5)

14:30 – 16:30

Feature 5

Simshar

Q&A w/ Rebecca Cremona + TBC

17:00 – 19:00

Feature 6

Leitis in Waiting

75’

Q&A w/ Joeleen, Dean Hamer & Joe Wilson

19:30 – 21:30

Feature 7

My Pure Land

98’

Q&A w/ Sarmad Masud + Halima Gosai Hussein