2023. Listed.
We’ve read all the best film lists and decided to do something a little different with the best list of random categories that we have chosen…
We love a themed evening, and our best party of the year goes to (very apt drumroll) the Everyman Babylon party back in a freezing and damp January in Crystal Palace. Cocktails, burlesque, live music and some very cheeky performers created an immersive experience that was a perfect setting for the film. This might be what audiences are looking for when they say they want more experiences in the cinema.
Babylon Preview + Party at Everyman Crystal Palace
The best film moment of the year arrived in Brixton in June when a short film in homage to Wes Anderson wowed the audiences and, in particular, one mum (Mandy). Asteroid Ritzy written and directed by Noah Kean (Mandy’s son, obvs), starring and crewed by his co-workers at their beloved Ritzy Cinema, is an inventive and fun rollick through a Wes Anderson-inspired day at the cinema when a new employee starts work. Shoutouts particularly to actors Alfred Wales and Barney Pike as the barmen, Monty McDade as Mr McPop, Aurelie Diz for her fabulous production design and of course to Noah for creating this brilliant, comic confection.
The best in conversation was Greta Gerwig in October when she came to the BFI hosted by Jesse Armstrong. She was utterly delightful, and the audience was enchanted with her, preceding most questions with a declaration of ‘Greta, I love you’. A refreshing Q+A that wasn’t about her ‘vision’ or ‘artistic process’ but a genuinely humble discussion about film, art, women and storytelling that left no audience member behind.
Greta Gerwig in conversation at the BFI Southbank.
The literary adaptation of the year…has to be Bianca Stitger and Steve Macqueen for Occupied City. The film is out on February 9 2024 and is a chilling documentary based on Stitger’s book, which takes a measured eye to the buildings and streets of Amsterdam and goes behind the door to uncover what happened during World War II. With stories of heroism and treachery, this is one of the most compelling and contemporary pieces of work that links our past with the present.
Occupied City by Steve McQueen and Bianca Stitger.
Best celebrity spot. Hardly a ‘spot’, but this was pretty eye-boggling when the key cast of The Iron Claw - Zac Efron, Lily James, Harris Dickinson, Jeremy Allen White and director Sean Durkin were in London as part of the promotional tour.
The Iron Claw Q+A, London.
And finally, the best work moment of the year was during the British Library’s Scale Up for Growth programme, supported by the Arts Council, and hearing established, expert consultants tell us that we’ve got a good thing going on with Mustard.
Sometimes, you just need to be told.
