Beth Webb - Events EditorBack for its second year, The London Comedy Film Festival is making a beeline straight for your funny bone with a gigglesome array of films, performance and activities.
Back for its second
year, The London Comedy Film Festival is making a beeline straight for your
funny bone with a gigglesome array of films, performance and activities.
Purposefully assigned to the most depressing week of the year, LoCo 2012 has
surpassed last year’s thoughtful programme to bring the best of upcoming comedy
and long established humour for this long weekend.
As well as the festival, LoCo hold a string of events to
ensure that life’s not getting you down. On December 1st they’re
inviting you to celebrate the pin up, neurotic comic Woody Allen’s birthday with a series of special events deemed
Woodystock at the Hackney PictureHouse. Seeing in the night with token Allen
masterpiece Manhattan, live stand up
and jazz ensue for a thoroughly colourful evening. Book your tickets HERE
During the festival’s programme launch this week, amongst
the chirpy furballs hanging from the work space at the London Institute of
Contemporary Arts, co founder Jonathan Wakeham aptly described LoCo as “a small
animal with a big footprint,” which was evident as last year’s festival washed
the city with carefully selected comedy. This year we see a broader array of
treats for all tastes. The 2012 line-up proves as much of a celebration.
With the sad passing of notorious comic writer Nora Ephron earlier this year, the BFI Southbank and The Lexi Cinema will
be flinging open their doors in remembrance for The Ephrathon. Heartburn,
Sleepless in Seattle and Julie & Julia will be screened following
introductions for special guests, and falls in with a new segment focusing on
women in comedy. The Working Woman Day will be on the 26th of
January, and includes discussions, previews and a live chat show.
Opening this year’s festival, 3D animated biography A Liar’s Autobiography follows the life
of Monty Python star Graham Chapman, and will be introduced Terry Jones as well as the film’s
directors Bill Jones, Ben Timlett and Jeff Simpson.
Ending the evening’s events will be What Have The Pythons Ever Given
Us? a discussion on the influences of the mighty troop on
contemporary comedy.
Working Title and STUDIOCANAL’s new offering I Give It a Year stars Rafe Spall, Rose Byrne, Stephen Merchant and Olivia Colman and will be showing on
the 26th, with all in attendance required to turn up in their
wedding best. The film is followed by a Q&A with writer and director Dan Mazer, who’s previous attributes
include Brüno and The Dictator.
This year’s other big budget contribution will be a closing
night UK premiere of Movie 43 (Main Picture),
boasting a massive ensemble cast including Kate
Winslet, Emma Stone, Johnny Knoxville and Richard Gere and directed by genre
veterans The Farrelly Brothers.
For families, there’s a 50th anniversary
screening of The Pink Panther at the
BFI Southbank, accompanied by a School of Slapstick where visitors between 8
and 12 can don miniature trenches and walk in the clumsy footsteps of Inspector Clouseau on his hunt for the
missing Pink Panther diamond.
For full details of the programme as well as all of LoCo’s
other events, visit their website HERE
