BFI, British Council Unveil Hot U.K. Projects Headed to Cannes in 2022

The BFI and British Council have revealed the line-up for this year’s Great8 showcase, which allows international distributors and festival programmers to get an early look at eight releases from emerging U.K. filmmakers in the run-up to Cannes Marché.

Now in its fifth year, the showcase on May 12 will allow filmmakers to screen unseen footage from the films, which will be available to buy during the market, which runs from May 17-28.

Of the eight films selected for the showcase, one has also been selected for the official Directors’ Fortnight and another for the Critics’ Week line-up. The remaining six films are in post-production.

The Great8 showcase is funded and organized by the BFI and the British Council, in partnership with BBC Film and Film4. It has previously presented films including “I Am Not A Witch” and “Calm with Horses.”

Neil Peplow, the BFI’s Director of Industry and International Affairs, said: “Great8 has established itself to become an excellent showcase that presents work from some of the U.K.’s most talented and diverse talent, each with a unique story to tell.”

“We have seen how films from previous Great8 line-ups have gone on to be successful with worldwide audiences, and are excited by the interest being shown by buyers, programmers and industry in this year’s line-up which includes two films featuring in key Cannes sidebar selections as well as sneak peeks from six titles nearing completion.”

Briony Hanson, the British Council’s director of film added: “It feels like another banner year for U.K. talent with a range of first and second features about to complete that are going to knock the socks off international audiences. It’s especially gratifying to see that they come from filmmakers working all around the UK and speaking from really diverse perspectives. This is another Great8 we can be really excited about.”

Check out the line-up below:

AFTERSUN (pictured above)
Director/Writer: Charlotte Wells
Producers: Adele Romanski, Amy Jackson, Barry Jenkins, Mark Ceryak
Cast: Paul Mescal, Frankie Corio, Celia Rowlson-Hall
Production – PASTEL, Unified Theory, BBC Film, BFI, Screen Scotland, Tango
Sales: Charades

BIRCHANGER GREEN
Director/Writer: Moin Hussain
Producers: Michelle Stein
Cast: Faraz Ayub, Natalie Gavin, Claire Rushbrook, Simon Nagra, Steve Oram, Jeff Mirza
Production – Escape Films, Film4, BFI, Screen Yorkshire
Sales: Bankside Films

BLUE JEAN
Director/Writer: Georgia Oakley
Producer: Hélène Sifre
Cast: Rosy McEwen, Kerrie Hayes, Lucy Halliday
Production – Kleio Films, BBC Film, BFI
Sales: Film Constellation

ENYS MEN
Director/Writer: Mark Jenkin
Producer: Denzil Monk
Cast: Mary Woodvine, Edward Rowe, Flo Crowe, John Woodvine
Production – Bosena, Film4, Sound/Image Cinema Lab
Sales: Protagonist Pictures

A GAZA WEEKEND
Director: Basil Khalil
Writers: Basil Khalil, Daniel Chan
Producer: Amina Dasmal
Cast: Loai Noufi, Stephen Mangan, Mouna Hawa, Maria Zreik, Adam Bakri,
Production – BFI, Film4, Alcove Filmed Entertainment, Twickenham Studios, Faiza Saleh Ambah,
Arab Fund for Arts and Culture
Sales: Protagonist Pictures

KENSUKE’S KINGDOM
Directors: Kirk Hendry, Neil Boyle
Writer: Frank Cottrell-Boyce
Producers: Camilla Deakin, Ruth Fielding, Stephen Roelants, Sarah Radclyffe, Barnaby Spurrier, Adrian Politowski, Martin Metz, Jean Labadie, Anne-Laure Labadie
Cast: Sally Hawkins, Cillian Murphy, Raffey Cassidy, Aaron MacGregor, Ken Wanatabe
Production – BFI, Align, Lupus Films, Kensuke’s Kingdom, Jigsaw Films, Melusine Productions, Le Pacte, Bumpybox, Film Fund Luxembourg, Ffilm Cymru Wales
Sales: Bankside Films

SCRAPPER
Director/Writer: Charlotte Regan
Producer: Theo Barrowclough; Executive producers: Daniel Emmerson, Michael Fassbender, Conor McCaughan
Cast: Harris Dickinson, Olivia Brady, Lola Campbell, Ambreen Razia, Alin Uzun
Production – DMC Film, BFI, BBC Film, Great Point Media
Sales: Charades

SWEET SUE
Director/Writer: Leo Leigh
Producer: Scott O’Donnell, Andy Brunskill, Tim Nash
Cast: Maggie O’Neill, Tony Pitts, Harry Trevaldwyn
Production – Somesuch, Sums Film & Media, BBC Film
Sales: Hanway Films

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