Sandra Hebron, Artistic Director of the BFI London Film Fstival The 55th London Film Festival will mark the end of Sandra Hebron’s time as Artistic Director of the Festival. Since taking up the role in 2003, Hebron has been a hugely influential figure in the growing popularity and success of the London Film Festival. Cinemoi meets with Sandra to discuss what the Festival has meant to her.
How important has the contribution of French Cinema been to the London Film Festival? “ I think it has been really important to us. Probably since the festival started and the reason the festival began was to give audiences a number of opportunities to see films that had premiered at other festivals around the world. Of course Cannes has a tradition of programming French Cinema, so some of the great French ‘auteurs’ were premiered here from very early on. For us, we’ve always had a dedicated French strand within the Festival. We’ve sometimes been criticised for that because quite often the British section is smaller than the French section. But that is a reflection of the quality of the films coming through. So, I think French Cinema is very important to us and it is important to recognise that there is a good audience for French Cinema in London.”
So we can expect a broad range of films from France at this year’s festival? “Certainly. Even though France is one of the preeminent film distributing countries in the foreign language market, we only get to see a tiny fraction. So what the festival can do is make a broader range of French films available to audiences and then hopefully some of those films might secure distribution in the UK.”
How vital is it that the London Film Festival continues to thrive? “Of course I would say it is vital because the festival is very precious to me, but I think that festivals are really very important. Particularly now, they’re important in a number of ways; they’re a way of audiences and filmmakers getting to meet each other. We often say how great it is for audiences to meet and get to talk to filmmakers, but we also have to remember how great it is for filmmakers to actually get to talk to audiences. Festivals do still provide a broader range of film viewing experience than any other platform currently. At a time when we are being told our film consumption will be ever more private and frenetic and residual, my experience with the Festival has in fact demonstrated that people still have a very strong desire for a kind of collective, shared experience. “
Considering that this is your last Festival as Artistic Director, what have been your personal highlights over the years? “It’s very difficult to single a particular highlight after working on the Festival for so many years and in a sense every day of the Festival is a highlight. Every time I introduce a film and a filmmaker that comes in a bit under the radar and I see audiences love the film as much as I do, those moments are personal highlights. Really fun things have been some of the ‘Surprise Screenings’ where we have managed to actually keep it a surprise! I was really happy doing The Wrestler a few years ago with Mickey Rourke and Darren Aronofsky. But there are loads and loads of highlights”
And finally, do you hope this year’s Festival will send you out with a bang? “I guess the final public event for me will be the Closing Night Gala and I’m really pleased to be closing with The Deep Blue Sea. The Festival overall will hopefully be regarded as a good year. I think the programme is strong, I think it’s very varied, so hopefully people will react positively.”
The 55th BFI London Film Festival starts the 12th October and runs until the 27th October