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The mornings are getting chilly and the central heating's back on, which must mean it's autumn and BFI London Film Festival time. The 60th iteration of the UK's biggest celebration of film is in full swing and the capital's cinemas are currently awash with the most exciting films from around the globe.
The 2016 programme is the strongest for years with some truly great film content on offer. Below, Digital Cinema Media's Head of Film, Tom Linay, takes time out from the darkened room to offer his 10 to shine at the event this year.
A Monster Calls
Based on the graphic novel by UK based, American writer Patrick Ness this is a fantasy drama that apparently packs a sledgehammer emotional punch. Newcomer Lewis MacDougall stars as a boy who seeks the help of a tree monster to cope with his single mom's terminal illness. Juan Antonio BAyona directs and his next gig is shepherding the behemoth Jurassic World 2, so the suits at Universal must have thought very highly of this title. If you can’t get to see it at the festival, it’s in cinemas on New Year’s day.
Christine
This is the true life story of Christine Chubbuck, a television reporter in 1970s Florida. It features an absolutely knockout performance from Rebecca Hall as Chubbuck, who struggles to progress at the station where she works and decides to take action into her own hands. It’s engrossing and brilliantly performed and builds to a moving climax.
Creepy
If you're a fan of Japanese horror, you'll probably have seen Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 2001 film, Pulse, which featured more unsettling moments in its first 30 minutes than you'll find in a year's worth of American horror films. He's returned to genre filmmaking with this tale of a missing family and the detective tasked with examining the case.
Certain Women
Wendy and Lucy and Meeks Cutoff showed that director, Kelly Reichardt and lead actor, Michelle Williams are terrific creative collaborators. This third film from the pair covers the lives of three women who intersect in small-town America, where each is imperfectly blazing a trail. With Kristen Stewart and Laura Dern in the cast, this is set to be another brilliantly observed drama.
Una
Rooney Mara has become one of the most compelling actors around and she has three films playing in the festival. Lion is one of the major galas, so tickets a scarce but you can still get a seat at one of Una's three screenings. Mara stars alongside another magnetic performer in Ben Mendelsohn, as a young woman who unexpectedly arrives at an older man's workplace, looking for answers. It's reportedly a challenging, uncomfortable drama, and with Riz Ahmed in the cast it should feature a trio of excellent performances.
Paterson
If your only encounter with Adam Driver on screen is as Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Force Awakens then you'll probably want to check out his starring role in Jim Jarmusch's Paterson. Driver plays a New Jersey bus driver, who also writes poetry. It debuted in competition at this year's Cannes Film Festival and was one of the most acclaimed films to come out of the festival. Jarmusch films are always worth watching and Driver's screen presence is unlike any actor out there.
Goldstone
I love a film set in the Australian outback. The sheer vastness of the landscape always hooks me in and after his last film, Mystery Road played at the festival in 2013, I've been keen to see what director Ivan Sen got up to next. Luckily, it's a sequel to Mystery Road, with Aaron Pederson reprising his role as aboriginal detective, Jay Swan. Mystery Road showed a ton of promise, and hopefully Goldstone will see it fully realised.
Personal Shopper
One of the most satisfying screen journeys of the last few years has been seeing Kristen Stewart break free of the shackles of The Twilight Saga and star in a range of idiosyncractic arthouse titles from some of Europe's most distinguished directors. Personal Shopper sees her once again teaming up with Clouds Of Sils Maria director, Olivier Assayas in this ghost story that takes place in the fashion underworld of Paris. It's divided opinion, but that just marks it out even more as one to watch.
The Wailing
South Korean director, Hong-jin Na's debut film The Chaser was a brutal, gripping thriller and marked him out as a filmmaker to follow. His latest film is an atmospheric chiller about a village that is beset by sickness after the arrival of a mysterious stranger. A policeman is drawn into the incident and is forced to solve the mystery in order to save his daughter. If it's anything like The Chaser it will be swimming around in your head for days.
Screen Talk: Paul Verhoeven
It's not just films though, some of the world's most celebrated filmmakers are in town and sitting down for lengthy chats about their work and career. This year the line-up includes Werner Herzog and Ben Wheatley but if I could only see one, I'd go for Paul Verhoeven's. The man behind Robocop, Total Recall and Basic Instinct is now in his late-70s but he has a film in the official competition, the much talked about Elle, and it's reportedly his best in years. If his films are anything to go by, he won't be short of things to say.
If they don't whet your appetite, then there's still a huge selection to choose from, and if you're lucky enough to get a ticket to the sold-out Moonlight, a beautiful, romantic coming-of-age tale, you'll be seeing one of the very best films of the year. Whatever you see, we're lucky to have the London Film Festival, so make the most of it.