Monday, October 25
7pm
The LFF isn't just about flashy galas or ferreting out new international curiosities – there's a wealth of riches, both home-grown and international, to rediscover in the Treasures from the Archive strand. A prime example is this collection of films from the lor-luv-a-duck school of postwar London documentary. The most natural, and the most beautifully shot, is Bow Bells, a mélange of silent images from the East End – dockside urchins, cranes and freighters, markets and beggars – set to music hall songs.
Next up is Festival, directed by Derek York and scripted by Laurie Lee - a short, stagy but charming documentary about one boy's free visit to the 1951 Festival of Britain, which reminds you what a bold and beautiful dream that event was, just six years after the war.
Finally, Portrait of Queenie takes us into the boisterous Poplar pub run by Queenie and Slim Watts in 1964, where Victorian musical standards jostle for space with burgeoning jazz and pop. There's nothing more unnatural than ordinary folk pretending to be natural for the patrician documentarian's lens, but the music – and the portrait of London caught between bomb-damage and modernity, is striking.
To book tickets call 020 7928 3232 or visit www.bfi.org.uk
The 54th BFI London Film Festival is in partnership with American Express. The London Evening Standard is a media partner.
