Emerald Fennell’s ‘Saltburn’ to Open London Film Festival

The BFI London Film Festival has landed one of the most anticipated British films of the year as the backdrop for 2023.

saltburnEmerald Fennell’s second feature after her Oscar-winning directorial debut promising young womenwill have its international premiere when it opens the event on October 4 at London’s Royal Festival Hall.

Starring Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Alison Oliver, Archie Madekwe and Carey Mulligan, and compared to The talented Mr. Ripley, the film is described by festival organizers as a “beautifully wicked tale of privilege and desire.” Set in the mid-2000s, the story follows student Oliver (Keoghan) who, struggling to find his place at Oxford University, finds himself drawn into the world of the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton (Elordi), who invites him to Saltburn, its the sprawling estate of an eccentric family, for a summer they’ll never forget.

As soon as the credits started saltburnIt was clear we had met our opening night film,” said incoming London Film Festival director Kristy Matheson, marking her first festival since taking on the role earlier this year. “Academy Award winner Emerald Fennell returns with an expertly crafted thrilling and exciting journey in a film that showcases an enormous depth of UK talent in front of and behind the camera. With its exceptional performances, delicious plot twists and a soundtrack of early 21st century pop hits, this hugely ambitious film immediately captured our hearts and we can’t wait to share it with audiences in London and across the UK this October”.

Amazon Studios and MGM will release the film, which comes from MRC’s LuckyChap Entertainment and Margot Robbie (Robbie produces, as he did on promising young woman), in theaters on November 24.

“I am honored that our film can open this year’s BFI London Film Festival,” said Fennell, who won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and the BAFTA for promising young womanand can currently be seen starring alongside Robbie in Barbie. “It’s a festival that inspired me a lot growing up, one that I enthusiastically followed from my bedroom on the other side of London. It feels very special that saltburnthis very British tale of excess can make its international debut in the wonderful BFI.”

The 67th edition of the BFI London Film Festival will take place from October 4 to 15. The full lineup will be revealed on August 31.