Christopher Andrews’ “Bring Them Down,” starring Barry Keoghan and Christopher Abbott, Sean Dunn’s “The Fall Of Sir Douglas Weatherford,” and Marianne Elliott’s “The Salt Path,” featuring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs, are among the eight films selected for the Great 8 showcase. This showcase presents new UK feature films from first and second-time UK filmmakers to international distributors and festival programmers.
Now in its seventh year, the 2024 Great 8 showcase is funded and produced by the BFI and the British Council, with support from the Great Britain & Northern Ireland campaign, BBC Film, and Film4.
In preparation for Cannes, unseen footage from all of the titles will be introduced by their filmmakers and screened exclusively online for buyers and festival programmers on May 9. The screenings will be available across five different time zones, and all features will be accessible to buyers during the market.
After two years of online editions in 2022 and 2023, the 2024 showcase marks its return to a physical format. The films and filmmakers will be present at Cannes and will be introduced to international delegates attending the market at a special reception at the UK Pavilion on May 16.
The lineup also includes the Tribeca premiere documentary “Witches” from Elizabeth Sankey. In this film, Sankey uses her own experience of being admitted to a psychiatric ward after the birth of her son to explore the unexpected yet compelling connections between perinatal mental health illness and the history and portrayal of witches in Western society. Sankey uses clips of cinematic witches to illustrate her own experience and those of fellow sufferers.
Great 8 2024 line-up
Brides (UK-It)
Dir. Nadia Fall
Scr. Suhayla El-Bushra
Prods. Nicky Bentham, Marica Stocchi
Prod cos. Neon Films, Rosamont, BFI, Ffilm Cymru Wales, Bankside Films, MIC, FVG Audiovisual Fund and ieie productions.
Cast: Ebada Hassan, Safiyya Ingar, Yusra Warsama, Cemre Ebuzziya, Aziz Capkurt
Sales: Bankside Films
Bring Them Down (UK-Ire-Belg)
Dir-scr. Christopher Andrews
Prods. Ivana MacKinnon, Jacob Swan Hyam, Ruth Treacy , Julianne Forde , Jean-Yves Roubin, Cassandre Warnauts
Prod cos. Wild Swim, Tailored Films, Screen Ireland, MUBI, Frakas Productions. Supported by the UK Global Screen Fund
Cast: Christopher Abbott, Barry Keoghan, Colm Meaney, Nora-Jane Noone, Paul Ready
Sales: Charades
The Fall OF Sir Douglas Weatherford (UK)
Dir-scr. Sean Dunn
Prods. Scott Macaulay, Jennifer Monks, Alex Polunin
Prod cos. BBC Film, BBC Scotland, BFI, Screen Scotland, Ossian Pictures, Come Into the Fold, Forensic Films
Cast: Peter Mullan, Gayle Rankin, Jakob Oftebro, Sid Sagar, Lewis MacDougall
Sales: Charades
On Falling (UK-Port)
Dir. Laura Carreira
Prods. Jack Thomas O’Brien, Mario Patrocinio
Prod cos. BBC Film, BFI, Screen Scotland, Sixteen Films, BRO Cinema, ICA, Goodfellas
Cast: Joana Santos, Inês Vaz, Piotr Sikora, Jake McGarry, Neil Leiper
Sales: Goodfellas
The Salt Path (UK)
Dir. Marianne Elliott
Scr. Rebecca Lenkiewicz
Prods. Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley, Lloyd Levin, Beatriz Levin
Prod cos. Number 9 Films, Shadowplay Features with the support of BBC Film, Rocket Science, Lipsync
Cast: Gillian Anderson, Jason Isaacs
Sales: Rocket Science
Sunlight (UK)
Dir. Nina Conti
Scrs. Shenoah Allen, Nina Conti
Prods. Sam Parker, Will Machin, Keagan Karnes, Tabitha McDonald
Prod cos. Anyway Content, Metro International, Inspirado
Cast: Nina Conti, Shenoah Allen, Bill Wise
Sales: Metro International
Surviving Earth (UK)
Dir-scr. Thea Gajić
Prods. Aleksandra Bilić, Sophie Reynolds
Cast: Slavko Sobin, Olive Gray, Stuart Martin, Peter Coonan, Toni Gojanović, Ann Ogbomo
Prod cos. My Accomplice, Sona Films, BFI, Film4
Sales: TBA
Witches (UK) – documentary
Dir-scr. Elizabeth Sankey
Prods. Manon Ardisson, Chiara Ventura, Jeremy Warmsley
Prod cos. Ardimages UK, Montgomery Avenue, Mubi, Garden Studios
Sales: Mubi
