Kristy Matheson, BFI festivals director

0:13Hello and welcome to the special episode of the Monaco Weekly. I'm Fernando Augusto Pacheco, and for today's show, I speak with the new BFI Festival's director, Christy Matheson. She tells me all about her very first London Film Festival. And remember, this year's festival counts with 252 film titles from 92 countries.

0:44Christy Maffeson, welcome to Monaco Radio. You're the new BFI Festival's director. What an exciting job, right? It's a real privilege. It's so much fun and I get to see so many great films and interact with so many incredible people. So, yeah, it feels like a real treat. Before we talk about the festival this year, tell us where you were before. I know you were in charge of the Edinburgh Film Festival. I presented the 2022 edition of the Edinburgh Film Festival. And then prior to that, I was working at home in Australia. I'd spent quite a number of years as the director of film at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, which is a dedicated film, television, video game and digital art museum in Melbourne.

1:27Well, I think the BFI London Film Festival, which I've been attending for years, is such an exciting one. And I think because it belongs to Londoners in a way, because it's not just for the industry, I feel. Would you agree with that? Yeah, I think the festival is really uniquely placed to service audiences really well and also industry. So it's this lovely mix where you get to present films with the filmmaking team there, but you're presenting them to audiences who have found these films and, you know, got themselves to the cinema. And then alongside that, we have a really robust industry program as well.

2:00So sitting alongside the audience program is a whole suite of events where people are, you know, doing business. They're seeing works in progress. So it's a lovely mixture of both. And that feels very satisfying to present. And one thing, you know, I was looking at the numbers. Apparently they're, correct me if I'm wrong, but 252 titles from 92 countries. I mean, this is such an opportunity because, unfortunately, a lot of the small films, I know even with the amazing work of the BFI, but sometimes they do miss out. People don't know where to find them, right? So I think this is the perfect opportunity for any cinephile out there, right?

2:35Yeah, and I think what's lovely is that, you know, the program, which I pulled together with a very, very talented team of programmers, everybody who works on the festival has their own unique taste in cinema, their own perspective on cinema. And so that really allows us to present an enormous range of films. So, you know, we divide the program up across many different ways. But, you know, if audiences feel like they want to go to the cinema and have a laugh, we've got films there which we point you to, our strands such as Thrill, you know, if you want to go out and see some really thrilling films.

3:09So we try and divide the program up in a way that maybe also people can think about the mood they're in or maybe who they might be going to the cinema with and choose something that they feel will align to that. I already noticed one change in this year's Film Festival which is I have the catalogue of films and it's in more of a handbag format here I think that's, please continue with that I really enjoy that Well, you know, we love our brochure but this year we opted for a more compact version One, it's just much easier to pop in your pocket or your bag and carry about and hopefully people will be reading it on the tube and on the bus and as they're moving around the city but also we really thought about how we were writing about the films so all of the people who program the films write the film notes and we really tried to condense those, not to put less detail in but we thought it would be helpful and make the films more approachable to people who maybe don't always go to festivals.

4:06So we tried to make it compact and pithy but not lose any of the smarts along the way. I love it already. Let's talk about some of the films. The first will be opened by the new Emerald Fanel, which is Saltburn. And I have to say I'm so excited about that because Promising Young Woman was such an amazing film. What can you tell us? Because you've seen Saltburn from what I can see. I have indeed, yeah. You know, I feel like it's a fizzy thrill ride of a film. It's got enormous production values. It's got an incredible cast. But it's also just underpinned by this laser sharp writing. And so the characters are really sharply drawn and they're given great dialogue.

4:44And so it's a very thrilling film to watch because you're seeing performers who are having clearly an exceptionally fun time making this film. But I just like the way that, you know, with the last film, we saw the world through the eyes of a woman and her navigating the world. And this time, you know, Emerald has turned her gaze onto young men and it's equally as thrilling. You think you'll go home? Honestly? home doesn't mean the same for me as it does for you Felix well why don't you come home with me come to Saltburn

5:25I've seen the trailer I mean it looks amazing and there's a new chicken run as well that's a bit of a surprise after so many years I love the first one so I think that's also quite an exciting addition we're so happy to have this film and very very proud to have the world premiere of Chicken Run to Dawn of the Nugget is its full title. But this will be our Mayor of London gala and we're so excited. We have a very, very fun red carpet planned for everyone who's going to come along to see the film. But I think for anyone who loves the original Chicken Run, you are not going to be disappointed. But what's great is that film really stretches across a number of generations and so I just love the idea that at this screening, you know, Royal Festival Hall will be full to the brim of many generations of chicken run fans.

6:14So I think it's going to be such a fun, fun time. Last time we broke out of a chicken farm. Well, this time...

6:29We're breaking in. And let's talk about curation because it's amazing. As I said, the festival is very open to the public, but also very different genres as well. Of course, you have the wonderful arthouse films and potential Oscar favorites later this year. But you also, I don't know, it feels to me quite open. It feels to me that there's no prejudice when it comes to genres, if it's a blockbuster or a little arthouse from, you know, from whatever country in the world. Yeah, I think that what makes this program so fun to put together is, you know, like I said, I'm working with an incredibly talented team of programmers.

7:04And so there are some films that we've all seen and we all love. And there are other films that, you know, are nominated by two or three programmers. So what's kind of great is that we're all pulling together a collection of films. And really for us, you know, we're thinking about, you know, what is going to be a defining film for cinema this year? Are there stories we haven't seen on screen yet? But it's really underpinned by quality. So we're really looking at the, you know, the directors and the film teams who are really using cinema as a language to do something. And so I think that by having very broad parameters and really thinking about the audience, so that is really how we make our decisions.

7:46We lens our programming through thinking about audience. And, you know, with a country like the UK, which is so incredibly diverse, it just gives you so much scope. You can meet many, many audiences. So that's really what we're trying to do. When it comes to cinema, of course, you know, the industry has been challenged by COVID, the strikes in the United States. the economy in general and many other aspects, are you still optimistic? I mean, if you look at the selection of films, you wouldn't think there is a crisis in the cinematic world, but are you still optimistic about cinema in general? Yeah, very, because, you know, I think cinema loves to sort of beat itself down.

8:26And, you know, I feel like for as long as I have been working in this industry, there has been a crisis and people, cinema is dying, cinema is dead. And then every year I watch more films and I'm overwhelmed by how incredibly talented and creative people are. And I'm overwhelmed by the stories that I'm seeing. So, you know, there were so many more films that we loved, which we couldn't put in the program for lots of different reasons. And I'm sure that when we start viewing again in November after this year's festival wraps, we are going to be so delighted and surprised with all the new films that we're going to meet.

9:03So I certainly think for someone who gets to see a lot of films, there's certainly no artistic crisis in cinema, that's for sure. I like that. And I think I'll agree with you on that. Let's talk about some perhaps other films and you can pick. But for example, I'm very excited. There are two films for some reason. One, because it's from Brazil, my own country, Power Alley or Levinche, which I've heard some great reviews. And May December by Todd Haynes.

9:51Those are my picks, but would you have perhaps some other titles you would like to mention? I mean, both of those are terrific films, and I think anyone who is a fan of Todd Haynes' previous films is going to love May, December, to powerhouse performances there on screen, which is, they're really incredible. Why do you want to play me? When they sent me the script, I thought, here is a woman with a lot more to her than I remember from the tabloids. What would make a 36-year-old woman have an affair with a seventh grader? People, they, like, see me as the victim. I wanted it. I really love Warwick Thornton's film The New Boy, which is an Australian film, and it stars Kate Blanchett.

10:37But she is really outshone by her very much, much tinier co-star. And it's this incredible film that is set in 1940s Australia. And Kate Blanchett plays a nun who is overseeing a group of young boys who've been orphaned by the authorities. They're indigenous boys and they've been deliberately orphaned by the authorities. and it's a very incredibly beautiful and hard-hitting politically but it's sort of looking at this clash of spirituality and cultures and like all of Warwick's films, it's incredibly visually ambitious, it's beautifully performed and it's a really big screen film so I would encourage people to seek that one out.

11:16That's amazing and the whole kind of focus of the festival is back to the South Bank as well which is great. Yeah, so we're really thrilled. We'll have obviously a lot of screenings at our home at BFI Southbank over at Royal Festival Hall. Our expanded program, which is all really, would really encourage people to have a look at its all manner of virtual and mixed reality works. And that's taking place down at Barge House, which is just down near the OXO Tower. So we have a lovely range of things for people to do down there. And then, of course, in the West End, people can catch us as well. So certainly walkable, that's for sure.

11:51That's fantastic. Christy, good luck with your first BFI Lonely Film Festival as well. Thank you so much. My pleasure. Thank you. That was Christy Matheson, BFI Festival's director. The show was edited by Steph Chungo and I am Fernando Augusto Pacheco.