Mike Leigh is this year's guest of honour at RIFF 2014

His latest film, Mr.Turner shown at the festival

Distinguished British director, Mike Leigh  will be guest of honour at the Reykjavík International Film Festival, RIFF.  His latest film, Mr.Turner will be screened at the festival. Leigh has directed various films throughout the years and gained attention for his different take on topics such as the British lower-classes.  His most famous films are undoubtedly Naked and Secrets &Lies where he presents the lower classes in a cutting and realistic manner. 

Leigh begins his projects without a script, but starts from a basic premise which is developed through improvisation by the actors. Leigh works initially one-to-one with each actor, developing a character who is based, in the first place, on someone he or she knows. "The world of the characters and their relationships is brought into existence by discussion and a great amount of improvisation – that is, improvising a character. And research into anything and everything that will fill out the authenticity of the character." It is only after months of rehearsal, or 'preparing for going out on location to make up a film', that Leigh writes a shooting script, a bare scenario. Then, on the shoot, on location, after further 'real rehearsing', the script is finalised. "I'll set up an improvisation ,... I'll analyse and discuss it,... we'll do another, and I'll ... refine and refine... until the actions and dialogue are totally integrated. Then we shoot it."

Leigh has been described as "a gifted cartoonist ... a northerner who came south, slightly chippy, fiercely proud (and critical) of his roots and Jewish background; and he is a child of the 1960s, and of the explosion of interest in the European cinema and the possibilities of television.

Leigh’s latest movie, Mr.Turner has received great acclaim from critics, receiving 100 percent from Rotten Tomatoes and 97 out of 100 from Metascore. 

The topic of Mr.Turner is somewhat different to his common ones. The film tackles the life of one of Britain’s most famous artists, J.M.W.Turner who painted his most famous works in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Turner, who painted in a romantic pre-impressionist style is best known for his almost abstract washes of colour in paintings of ships at sea, the most famous being “The Snow Storm.” Turner was quite an eccentric and is played by British actor Timothy Spall, who received great acclaim for his interpretation of Turner especially from The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph who award the movie a full line of stars. 

Previous guests of honour at RIFF have included Milos Forman, Lukas Moodysson and Jim Jarmusch. 

Mr.Turner is a wonderful addition to the variety of excellent films being shown at the RIFF festival this year. The full programme will be announced later in September.