UCLU Festival of the Moving Image: 'Truth and Lies'

UCL student-run film festival Festival of the Moving Image returns this month

The award-winning Festival of the Moving Image (FoMI) returns on the 27th February with a thrilling new programme! As a result of last year’s success, the festival has been transferred to the Bloomsbury Theatre in central London. The 2015 festival will run over four days and will feature a superb selection of headline films and Q&A panels with renowned industry figures, as well as interactive activities, such as a guided walking tour. As with previous years, members of UCLU Film Society have assembled a festival committee who take sole responsibility for the planning and running of the event. In addition, this year the festival is very fortunate to have the support of ODEON Cinemas.

Our headline events and film screenings on 27th and 28th of February, as well as 2nd March, will take place in the prestigious 550-seater Bloomsbury Theatre in the heart of central London. On 1st March, screenings will be hosted in ODEON Tottenham Court Road (the walking tour will also begin and end in the surrounding area).

This year, the festival will focus on the theme of “Truth and Lies”. Recently, issues surrounding government surveillance and secrecy have been thrust into the limelight. In particular, publications like WikiLeaks, the Snowden files, and the Guantanamo Diary have fuelled impassioned debate and discussion: is it acceptable for governments to lie to protect its people? Is it in our interest not to know the whole truth? Can privacy exist in the modern world? The medium of film has long been the weapon of choice for those who seek to conceal, as well as reveal – this year, FoMI turns its attention to a selection of provocative and outstanding films exploring the finer lines between fact and fiction.

The 2015 festival aptly opens with Laura Poitras’ critically acclaimed documentary about Edward Snowden and the NSA spying scandal, Citizenfour. The film will be followed by a panel discussion featuring UCL academics. Other highlights of the festival line-up include a screening of the fantastically surreal Toto le Héros (accompanied by a Q&A with director Jaco Van Dormael) and a talk by Jan Harlan (Stanley Kubrick’s regular executive producer) about filmmaking as art. The festival will also feature a fascinating guided tour by Dr Chris O’Rourke, who will take festival-goers around significant locations in London’s cinematic history.

The ethos of FoMI has always been to create an environment which fosters the enjoyment and critical discussion of all kinds of film - this year is no different. Festival-goers can expect a highly diverse and exciting line-up: from foreign language masterpieces to indie shorts to cult classics, even those with the most eclectic tastes will find plenty of interest.

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