Three French openers on UK screens
by Annika Pham
Malian filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako’s political drama Bamako [+see also:
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Bamako – picked up at last year’s Cannes Film Festival by Artificial Eye – is being released on four screens. The political drama, which takes a look at poverty and debt in Africa, has received rave reviews in the UK press. Artificial Eye has put together a strong publicity and promotional campaign in partnership with Christian Aid and Film Education to spread word-of-mouth.
Optimum Releasing is launching Orchestra Seats in nine London cinemas and five regional venues and Tartan Films is platforming the Vincent Cassel vehicle Satan at the ICA in London.
UK documentary film Blue Blood by Stevan Riley is being released in three cinemas by Darkhorse Pictures. The film follows the paths of five Oxford University students as they try to make it into a boxing squad. Those who do will get to face off against students from the University of Cambridge and earn the right to call themselves a "Blue". The film was shot, edited and produced by Riley, himself a graduate of Oxford.
The UK box office is being dominated by local action comedy Hot Fuzz, which took the number one position by storm last weekend with over £5m grossed from 427 screens. The new film from the team behind Shaun of the Dead, director Edgar Wright and stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, is well positioned to become another major hit for UK production powerhouse Working Title.
Also holding very strong is Luc Besson’s Arthur and the Invisibles [+see also:
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In at number seven is 20th Century Fox’s Notes on a Scandal [+see also:
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