Opening night of 'Suffragette'

My daughter said she'd never been to a film before where the audience didn't start getting up to leave as soon as the closing credits began to roll. On the contrary, last night on the opening night of 'Suffragette' at the Odeon, Uxbridge, the entire audience stayed sitting in a kind of respectful silence right up until the camera operators' credits. That was the case the whole way through the film.

It's one of those films that everyone should see - our daughters and our sons. Perhaps particularly our sons. Apart from the stunning performances of the likes of Meryl Streep and Carey Mulligan, the film is edited to provide just the right balance of horror - there are some harrowing moments - and historical resonance. So many different perspectives of the time from 1912 until the sacrifice of Emily Wilding Davison in 1913 are represented here - from the factory owner to the protagonist's husband, the police and the government.

Go see it - it's a keeper!

Suffragette News

With the film 'Suffragette' premiering at the opening of the London Film Festival last night, the issue of the representation of women in the media has come to the fore. Meryl Streep in an interview with 'The Today Programme' expressed how 'enraged' she is about the lack of females in top jobs, not just in film, but everywhere. Carey Mulligan said "our industry is sexist. It's taken 100 years to make a film about this enormous human rights movement, and that's incredible to me."

The interviewer quoted some shocking statistics:

In 2014, the top 10 female actors earned just over half what the top 10 male actors did.
In 2014, only two out of the top 100 films were directed by women.
In 2014 there was no female actor over 45 in the lead or co-lead of any of the top 100 films.

Meryl Streep said, "It has to do with the distribution of films, the way films are financed. Of the 10 top buyers for films in the United States across all territories, there's not one woman. If the people who are choosing what goes out into the multiplexes are all of one persuasion, the choice will be limited and then that will be a self-fulfilling prophecy."

Feminist protesters used the occasion to stage a 'die-in' at the premiere to raise awareness about domestic violence.

Case Study: Suffragette

Our newest case study for AS and A2 students for 2015/6 will be the film 'Suffragette'. See below for key information.

The film will receive its European premiere on Wednesday 7 October at the Odeon Leicester Square, attended by the filmmakers and stellar cast (including Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter and Meryl Streep), with a live cinecast from the red carpet and simultaneous screenings taking place at cinemas across the UK.

See further information on the BFI Press Release at http://www.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/downloads/bfi-press-release-suffragette-opens-59th-bfi-london-film-festival-2015-06-03.pdf

Trailer: