52nd London Film Festival 2008: McQueen, Houellebecq, and Global Cinema
The 52nd London Film Festival, overseen by Sandra Hebron, took place from 15-30 October 2008, showcasing more than 200 films, including British premieres and archival works curated by Clyde Jeavons. Among the standout films were 'Hunger' (2008) by Steve McQueen, which portrays the 1981 H-Block hunger strike; 'The Possibility of an Island' (2008) by Michel Houellebecq, focusing on cloning; 'Night and Day' (2008) by Hong Sang-soo, centered on a painter's exile; and 'Liverpool' (2008) by Lisandro Alonso. Additional noteworthy features included Phil Solomon's 'Last Days in a Lonely Place' (2008), Jia Zhangke's '24 City' (2008), and restored works by Guy Debord and Djibril Diop Mambety. Agnès Varda's 'Les Plages d'Agnès' (2008) offered a reflection on her artistic journey.
Key facts
- 52nd London Film Festival ran 15-30 October 2008 under Sandra Hebron
- Over 200 films screened, mostly British premieres
- Steve McQueen's 'Hunger' depicts Bobby Sands's 1981 hunger strike
- Richard Hamilton's diptych 'The Citizen' (1981-83) inspired McQueen
- Michel Houellebecq's 'The Possibility of an Island' features Rosemarie Trockel objects
- Hong Sang-soo's 'Night and Day' supported by Musée d'Orsay
- Lisandro Alonso's 'Liverpool' completes a trilogy
- Phil Solomon's 'Last Days in a Lonely Place' uses Grand Theft Auto footage
- Jia Zhangke's '24 City' focuses on Chengdu factory redevelopment
- Guy Debord's films restored and distributed with English subtitles
- Djibril Diop Mambety's 'Touki Bouki' (1973) restored
- Koji Wakamatsu's 'United Red Army' (2007) covers 1970s Japanese leftist groups
- Agnès Varda's 'Les Plages d'Agnès' (2008) is an autobiographical film
Entities
Artists
- Steve McQueen
- Enda Walsh
- Richard Hamilton
- Bobby Sands
- Michael Fassbender
- Liam Cunningham
- Michel Houellebecq
- Rosemarie Trockel
- Andrei Tarkovsky
- Hong Sang-soo
- Yeong-ho Kim
- Gustave Courbet
- Lisandro Alonso
- Mark LaPore
- Phil Solomon
- Caspar David Friedrich
- Stan Brakhage
- Jia Zhangke
- Joan Cheng
- Lu Liping
- Zhao Tao
- Neil Beloufa
- Jean Rouch
- Ben Rivers
- Jean-Marie Straub
- Danièle Huillet
- Jean-Yves Petiteau
- Jean Bricard
- Cesare Pavese
- Guy Debord
- Djibril Diop Mambety
- Koji Wakamatsu
- Agnès Varda
- Jacques Demy
- Michel Auder
- Andrew Neel
- Viva
- Cindy Sherman
- Alain Resnais
- Chris Marker
- Margaret Thatcher
- Hou Hsiao-hsien
- Tsai Ming-Liang
- Sandra Hebron
- Clyde Jeavons
- Mark Webber
Institutions
- London Film Festival
- British Film Institute (BFI)
- Imperial War Museum
- Royal Mail
- Musée d'Orsay
- Louvre
- Lyon Biennial
- Venice Biennale
- Berlin Film Festival
- Art Fund
- The Scotsman
- Viennale
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- Belfast
- Northern Ireland
- Paris
- France
- Lyon
- Chengdu
- China
- Mali
- Scotland
- Denmark
- Loire river
- Germany
- Gunma prefecture
- Japan
- Senegal
- Jordan
- Lebanon
- United States
- Tierra del Fuego
- Argentina
Sources
- Afterall —