Film - Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House

Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House in London brings the best of contemporary, cult and classic films cinema to one of the most spectacular settings in London...

The annual festival, which runs from August 10th to 23rd, presents a two-week programme – handpicked by Film4 and Somerset House – of contemporary, cult and classic films, plus premieres of forthcoming releases, from around the world. The state-of-the-art projection onto London’s largest outdoor screen and surround sound ensure that every line and every look of every film can be fully appreciated by audiences.

PREMIERES, INCLUDING SPECIAL GUEST APPEARANCES

The 2017 festival will open with An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, the stirring sequel to the Oscar®-winning 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth, which follows the former Vice President Al Gore as he continues his fight against climate change. Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House is thrilled to welcome Al Gore to present the premiere and participate in a special on-stage Q&A.

Currently in contention for the prestigious Palme d’Or award at Cannes film festival, the highly-anticipated The Square takes the centrepiece premiere of Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House. From Swedish director Ruben Östlund, the creator of the international hit Force Majeure, the dark satire is set in a modern-art museum and centres on its successful curator, who hires a new PR company to create a buzz around his shiny new installation. The PR’s initiatives instead plunge it into crisis and effects exquisite embarrassment. The Square stars Dominic West (The Wire; The Affair) and Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men), with Danish actor Claes Bang in the lead role.

Direct from Sundance and Cannes film festivals, Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House will close with Patti Cake$ - a bold, funny and infectiously upbeat coming-of-age crowd-pleaser from director Geremy Jasper. Starring Australian newcomer Danielle MacDonald and Bridget Everett (Inside Amy Schumer, Girls, Sex and the City), Patti Cake$ is the story of a New Jersey girl who dreams of becoming a superstar rapper. The cast and director will come to London to close the season in style.

CELEBRATORY SCREENINGS

The festival will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Blow-Up, an iconic and stylish portrait of ‘60s swinging London from legendary Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni.

ALSO SHOWING

Double-bills make for exciting, extended Saturday nights at Somerset House. This year’s first double-bill pairs Donnie Darko with The Omen, two eerie tales about creepy kids directed by dark forces. The following Saturday brings together two white-knuckle thrillers - Jaws and Deliverance.

Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House will bring director Gurinder Chadha and writer Meera Syal’s funny, frank and touching 1993 British comedy Bhaji on the Beach back to the big screen. In their directorial and screenplay debuts, Chadha and Syal created a groundbreaking film, which became an instant favourite upon release. Inspired by Syal’s own childhood trips to the seaside, the film follows a group of South Asian women on a road trip from Wolverhampton to Blackpool for an eventful day at the beach.

As well as Blackpool, festival-goers will be transported to Bruges, with black comedy In Bruges starring Colin Farrell, Ralph Fiennes and Brendan Gleeson, and Berlin, with the high-wire, late-night adventure of Victoria, which was shot in one single, unbroken take through the streets of the German capital.

The programme will once again allow audiences to discover masterpieces of film-making throughout the ages, which they may have missed out on or re-experience in its full glory in the gorgeous grandeur of Somerset House’s central courtyard. The 2017 triple Academy Award® winner (including Best Film) Moonlight will play alongside the Japanese animated family favourite from Studio Ghibli, My Neighbour Totoro, and a bona fide classic of 1970s American cinema All the President’s Men. In a story that could be ripped from today’s headlines, Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman star as crusading journalists whose revelations rocked the White House.

Finally, two star-studded casts – one of the 1940s and one of the 1990s – will feature in The Philadelphia Story, the romantic comedy classic of Hollywood’s golden age, and cult teen movie Cruel Intentions. Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and James Stewart form a love triangle in the sophisticated farce of The Philadelphia Story (later remade with Grace Kelly into High Society), while Ryan Phillippe and Sarah Michelle Gellar are the wealthy, scheming siblings intent on corrupting innocent prey Reese Witherspoon and Selma Blair in Cruel Intentions.

Tickets from £17 (plus booking fee) available from 10am on Friday 19 May at somersethouse.org.uk

Here's the full programme:

August 10 - Opening Night: Uk Premiere - An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth To Power
August 11 - Victoria
August 12 - Donnie Darko + The Omen
August 13 - The Philadelphia Story
August 14 - Moonlight
August 15 - All The President’s Men
August 16 - Centrepiece: Uk Premiere - The Square
August 17 - Bhaji On The Beach
August 18 - In Bruges
August 19 - Jaws + Deliverance
August 20 - My Neighbour Totoro
August 21 - Cruel Intentions
August 22 - Blow-Up
August 23 - Closing Night: Uk Premiere - Patti Cake$

THE FULL FILM4 SUMMER SCREEN AT SOMERSET HOUSE EXPERIENCE

DJs - Ahead of each evening’s film in the courtyard, a leading DJ will play sundown sets inspired by the upcoming feature. DJs confirmed in the programme, curated by Euphonica, include the founder of the legendary London club night Blow Up, Paul Tunkin, ahead of the anniversary screening; self-confessed Studio Ghibli superfan Norsicaa (itself a play on the name of the Studio’s first feature film), and hip hop DJ and producer DJP, who will open Patti Cake$’ premiere.

Behind the Screen - On selected nights, as an extra early-evening event before the main film, illustrious industry talent will talk about the craft of cinema, offering a wealth of behind-the-scenes insights in Somerset House’s indoor Screening Room.

Summer Screen Prints – The popular exhibition will return for a fifth year with Print Club London and will be open in the West Wing (next to the courtyard) before the film begins. A cast of contemporary illustrators and artists will create alternative posters for the films in this year’s festival programme.

Food & Drink - Audiences are welcome to tuck into their own picnics or enjoy tasty treats from the food stalls situated around the neoclassical courtyard. A Peroni Nastro Azzurro bar, serving their new aperitivo Peroni Ambra, will also be open in the West Wing.

Image - Somerset House