Foreign film festival round-up, Into Film Festival: this week’s new film events

Foreign film festival round-up

The world is yours at the cinema this week, as a perfect storm of national cinema festivals converges on London before spreading over the rest of the country. The well-established French film festival (Nationwide, Fri to Dec 7) showcases work by Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert (pictured, inset), Mathieu Amalric and Jean-Luc Godard, plus Alain Resnais’ final film, Life Of Riley, based on an Alan Ayckbourn play.

Czech film event Made In Prague (London, Sat to 30 Nov) marks the 25th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution with highlights including sports doping drama Fair Play and a documentary on dissident Marta Kubišová.

Then there’s the UK Jewish film festival, which was turned away by the Tricycle Theatre earlier this year owing to its partial funding by the Israeli state. There’s little state propaganda in the programme, but there are films from 27 countries, including Israeli film Zero Motivation, a sharp comedy on women’s military service. The festival plays in Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds and Nottingham as well as London (Thu to 23 Nov).

Moving east, the London Iranian film festival (London, Sat to 9 Nov) includes Fish And Cat, shot in a single take, and Sealed Secret, starring Leila “A Separation” Hatami. The London Korean film festival (London, Thu to 15 Nov, then touring) mixes crowdpleasers such as action epic Kundo: Age Of The Rampant with offerings from auteurs Im Kwon-taek and Kim Ki-duk. And if you’re in Edinburgh or Glasgow, this year’s Africa In Motion (Sat to 9 Nov) has a theme of “looking back”.

Into Film Festival, Nationwide

Possibly the most inclusive event in the land, this plans to mount 2,500 screenings for some 300,000 young viewers (ages 5-19) across the UK – every single one for free. Even those far-flung corners without a decent venue are served by an 80-seat mobile cinema. The emphasis is on education, with curriculum-related resources on hand, but the programme is far from dry. What better way to discuss bullying than over a series of hero-themed film screenings, such as Guardians Of The Galaxy or The Lion King, or black history via showings of costume drama Belle and 12 Years A Slave? Or democracy accompanied by The Lego Movie? Highlights include a preview of codebreaking drama The Imitation Game and Disney’s Bears, while guests include directors David Yates and Clio Barnard, and actors Imelda Staunton and Jason Flemyng.

Various venues, Tue to 21 Nov

Aesthetica Short Film Festival, York

It’s not just about what they show here, it’s the way they show it. The goal is to “transform the entire city centre into a pop-up cinema”, say the organisers (York-based arts magazine Aesthetica), and you’ll find screenings in historic buildings around the city, including the Yorkshire Museum, York St John University, the Theatre Royal, schools, churches, cafes and galleries, and cinemas too. There are 300 shorts on offer, some with an appropriately high street slant: the festival works with London College Of Fashion and there’s a programme of shorts including striking work from Vivienne Westwood, Topshop and Karen Millen, featuring a host of top models, photographers and stylists. There are ads and music videos as well as dramas, comedies, artists’ films and documentaries.

Various venues, Thu to 9 Nov