August 10 - OPENING NIGHT: UK PREMIERE - AN INCONVENIENT SEQUEL: TRUTH TO POWER
August 11 - VICTORIA
August 12 - DONNIE DARKO + THE OMEN
August 13 - THE PHILADELPHIA STORY
August 14 - MOONLIGHT
August 15 - ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN
August 16 - CENTREPIECE: UK PREMIERE - THE SQUARE
August 17 - BHAJI ON THE BEACH
August 18 - IN BRUGES
August 19 - JAWS + DELIVERANCE
August 20 - MY NEIGHBOUR TOTORO
August 21 - CRUEL INTENTIONS
August 22 - BLOW-UP
August 23 - CLOSING NIGHT: UK PREMIERE - PATTI CAKE$
Tickets from £17 (plusbooking fee) available from 10am on Friday 19 May at somersethouse.org.uk
Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House brings the best of cinema to one of the most spectacular settings in London. The annual festival presents a two-week programme – handpicked by Film4 and Somerset House – of contemporary, cult and classic films, plus premieres of forthcoming releases, from around the world. The state-of-the-art projection onto London’s largest outdoor screen and surround sound ensure that every line and every look of every film can be fully appreciated by audiences.
PREMIERES, INCLUDING SPECIAL GUEST APPEARANCES
The 2017 festival will open with An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, the stirring sequel to the Oscar®-winning 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth, which follows the former Vice President Al Gore as he continues his fight against climate change. Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House is thrilled to welcome Al Gore to present the premiere and participate in a special on-stage Q&A.
Winner of the prestigious Palme d’Or award at this year’s Cannes film festival, The Square takes the centrepiece premiere of Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House. From Swedish director Ruben Östlund, the creator of the international hit Force Majeure, the dark satire is set in a modern-art museum and centres on its successful curator, who hires a new PR company to create a buzz around his shiny new installation. The PR’s initiatives instead plunge it into crisis and effects exquisite embarrassment. The Square stars Dominic West (The Wire; The Affair) and Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men), with Danish actor Claes Bang (The Bridge) in the lead role.
Direct from Sundance and Cannes film festivals, Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House will close with Patti Cake$ - a bold, funny and infectiously upbeat coming-of-age crowd-pleaser from director Geremy Jasper. Starring Australian newcomer Danielle MacDonald and Bridget Everett (Inside Amy Schumer, Girls, Sex and the City), Patti Cake$ is the story of a New Jersey girl who dreams of becoming a superstar rapper. The cast and director will come to London to close the season in style.
CELEBRATORY SCREENINGS
The festival will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Blow-Up, an iconic and stylish portrait of ‘60s swinging London from legendary Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni.
ALSO SHOWING
Double-bills make for exciting, extended Saturday nights at Somerset House. This year’s first double-bill pairs Donnie Darko with The Omen, two eerie tales about creepy kids directed by dark forces. The following Saturday brings together two white-knuckle thrillers - Jaws and Deliverance.
Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House will bring director Gurinder Chadha and writer Meera Syal’s funny, frank and touching 1993 British comedy Bhaji on the Beach back to the big screen. In their directorial and screenplay debuts, Chadha and Syal created a groundbreaking film, which became an instant favourite upon release. Inspired by Syal’s own childhood trips to the seaside, the film follows a group of South Asian women on a road trip from Wolverhampton to Blackpool for an eventful day at the beach.
As well as Blackpool, festival-goers will be transported to Bruges, with black comedy In Bruges starring Colin Farrell, Ralph Fiennes and Brendan Gleeson, and Berlin, with the high-wire, late-night adventure of Victoria, which was shot in one single, unbroken take through the streets of the German capital.
The programme will once again allow audiences to discover masterpieces of film-making throughout the ages, which they may have missed out on or re-experience in its full glory in the gorgeous grandeur of Somerset House’s central courtyard. The 2017 triple Academy Award® winner (including Best Film) Moonlight will play alongside the Japanese animated family favourite from Studio Ghibli, My Neighbour Totoro, and a bona fide classic of 1970s American cinema All the President’s Men. In a story that could be ripped from today’s headlines, Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman star as crusading journalists whose revelations rocked the White House.
Finally, two star-studded casts – one of the 1940s and one of the 1990s – will feature in The Philadelphia Story, the romantic comedy classic of Hollywood’s golden age, and cult teen movie Cruel Intentions. Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and James Stewart form a love triangle in the sophisticated farce of The Philadelphia Story (later remade with Grace Kelly into High Society), while Ryan Phillippe and Sarah Michelle Gellar are the wealthy, scheming siblings intent on corrupting innocent prey Reese Witherspoon and Selma Blair in Cruel Intentions.
THE FULL FILM4 SUMMER SCREEN AT SOMERSET HOUSE EXPERIENCE
DJs - Ahead of each evening’s film in the courtyard, a leading DJ will play sundown sets inspired by the upcoming feature. DJs confirmed in the programme, curated by Euphonica, include the founder of the legendary London club night Blow Up, Paul Tunkin, ahead of the anniversary screening; self-confessed Studio Ghibli superfan Norsicaa (itself a play on the name of the Studio’s first feature film), and hip hop DJ and producer DJP, who will open Patti Cake$’ premiere.
Behind the Screen - On selected nights, as an extra early-evening event before the main film, illustrious industry talent will talk about the craft of cinema, offering a wealth of behind-the-scenes insights in Somerset House’s indoor Screening Room.
Summer Screen Prints – The popular exhibition will return for a fifth year with Print Club London and will be open in the West Wing (next to the courtyard) before the film begins. A cast of contemporary illustrators and artists will create alternative posters for the films in this year’s festival programme.
Food & Drink - Audiences are welcome to tuck into their own picnics or enjoy tasty treats from the food stalls situated around the neoclassical courtyard. A Peroni Nastro Azzurro bar, serving their new aperitivo Peroni Ambra, will also be open in the West Wing.
-Ends-
For further press enquiries, please contact Stephanie Lilley on stephanie.lilley@somersethouse.org.uk or 020 7845 4624
Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House, Somerset House, Strand, London, WC2 1LA
About Somerset House
A unique part of the London cultural scene, Somerset House is an historic building where surprising and original work comes to life. From its 18th-century origins, Somerset House has been a centre for debate and discussion – an intellectual powerhouse for the nation. Somerset House is today a key cultural destination in London in which to experience a broad range of artistic activity, engage with artists, designers and makers and be a part of a major creative forum – an environment that is relaxed, welcoming, and inspirational to visit while providing a stimulating workplace for the cultural and creative industries.
Since its opening in 2000, Somerset House has built up a distinctive outdoor public programme including Skate, concerts, an open-air film season and a diverse range of temporary exhibitions throughout the site focusing on contemporary culture, with an extensive learning programme attached. In October 2016, Somerset House launched Somerset House Studios, a new experimental workspace connecting artists, makers and thinkers with audiences. The Studios provide a platform for new creative projects and collaboration, promoting work that pushes bold ideas, engages with urgent issues and pioneers new technologies. Somerset House is also one of the biggest community of creative organisations in London including The Courtauld Gallery and Institute of Art, King’s College London Cultural Institute and over 100 other creative businesses. It currently attracts approximately 3.4 million visitors every year.
www.somersethouse.org.uk
About Film4
Film4 is available for free to everyone with digital TV. A daily line-up of great movies guarantees a choice for every type of film fan, including the best of British film-making, US independent films, Hollywood blockbusters, mainstream drama and comedy.
About Film4 Productions
Film4 is Channel 4 Television’s feature film division. Film4 develops and co-finances films and is known for working with the most distinctive and innovative talent in UK and international filmmaking, whether new or established.
Film4 has developed and co-financed many of the most successful UK films of recent years, Academy Award®-winners such as Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave, Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, Lenny Abrahamson’s Room, Alex Garland’s Ex Machina, Asif Kapadia’s box office record breaking documentary Amy and Phyllida Lloyd’s The Iron Lady, in addition to critically-acclaimed award-winners such as Mike Leigh’s Mr. Turner, Chris Morris’s Four Lions, Shane Meadows’ This is England, Clio Barnard’s The Selfish Giant, Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin and David Mackenzie’s Starred Up.
Film4’s recent releases include Ben Wheatley’s Free Fire, Danny Boyle’s T2 Trainspotting, Andrea Arnold’s American Honey, Ang Lee’s Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, Adam Smith’s Trespass Against Us, Susanna White’s Our Kind of Traitor, Todd Haynes’ Carol, Sarah Gavron’s Suffragette, Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Lobster and Andrew Haigh’s 45 Years. Forthcoming releases include Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Lynne Ramsay’s You Were Never Really Here, John Cameron Mitchell’s How To Talk To Girls At Parties, Rungano Nyoni’s I Am Not a Witch, Benedict Andrews’ Una, and Baltasar Kormákur’s The Oath. Films in production include Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Favourite, Bart Layton’s American Animals, Stephen Merchant’s Fighting With My Family, Martin McDonagh’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Andrew Haigh’s Lean on Pete, Clio Barnard’s Dark River, Pawel Pawlikowski’s Cold War, Tinge Krishnan’s Been So Long, Jim Hosking’s An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn, Michael Pearce’s Beast, Paddy Considine’s Journeyman, Toby MacDonald’s Old Boys, Sebastián Lelio’s Disobedience, Garth Davis’s Mary Magdalene and Asif Kapadia’s Maradona. Forthcoming productions include Steve McQueen’s Widows and Mike Leigh’s Peterloo.
For further information visit www.film4.com/productions
About Peroni Ambra
Launched in the UK in Spring 2017, Peroni Ambra is the innovative new drink offering, from Peroni Nastro Azzurro; and is brewed and bottled in Padova, Italy. Inspired by the Italian ritual of ‘aperitivo’, an authentic italian ritual; designed to open the palate and stimulate the appetite before a meal, typically a social occasion at the start of the night. The unique recipe behind Peroni Ambra combines the crisp and refreshing taste of Peroni Nastro Azzurro and the sharpness of Italian Chinotto – a rare citrus fruit, found in Liguria, North West Italy. Reaffirming Peroni’s passion for craftsmanship and authentic Italian heritage, Peroni have worked closely with the farmers of Besio, where the Chinotto is sourced. The essential oils found in the Chinotto peel are macerated into a natural extract; this essence is then blended with a higher ABV Peroni Nastro Azzurro, enhancing the flavour profile as it allows for the Chinotto to express its rare and authentic taste. 6% ABV, £6 RRP.
Peroni Ambra is distinctively served from its 250ml bottle into a bespoke Italian tumbler glass, over ice, and garnished with an orange peel twist.
Peroni Ambra is currently available to enjoy at ‘Somerset House Terrace Presented by Peroni Ambra,’ before becoming more widely available in a selection of top end bars across London.
