The new Paul Greengrass and Tom Hanks film will open the festival on October 9th.
It has just been announced that the Somali pirate thriller, Captain Phillips will open this years BFI London Film Festival. The film is based upon the real life hijacking of the US container ship Maersk Alabama in 2009. Captain Phillips stars the two- time Academy award winner Tom Hanks and is directed by Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum director Paul Greengrass.
Inspired by the book ” A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea” by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty, the film is an intense political piece that takes a deep look at the affects of globalisation. During the film, Captain Phillips (Hanks) and the Somali pirate Muse (Barkhad Abdi) both find out the true cost that outside economic forces will have upon them.
BFI Head of Exhibition and Festival Director, Clare Stewart says: “We are thrilled to be opening the BFI London Film Festival by welcoming Paul Greengrass – one of the great supporters of the BFI and British film – back to London for the European premiere of Captain Phillips. Our Festival audiences will be captivated by Greengrass’s virtuoso filmmaking; Captain Phillips is an intense, high-stakes drama, focusing on two men forced onto a collision course by global political forces much larger than themselves. Featuring spellbinding performances by Tom Hanks and four Somali-American actors (Barkhad Abdi, Faysal Ahmed, Barkhad Abdirahman and Mahat M. Ali), we are excited to be presenting this film as our Opening Night Gala”.
The 57th BFI London Film Festival runs from October 9th-20th 2013.
Sources: BFI