Jessica Swale's Summerland to close BFI Flare: LGBTIQ Film Festival in March

Summerland, the feature debut by Olivier Award-Winning playwright and theatre director Jessica Swale, will close this year’s BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival on Saturday 28 March.

Starring Gemma Arterton and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Summerland follows reclusive writer Alice (Arterton), whose life is disrupted when she is made to care for young Frank (Lucas Bond), an evacuee from the London Blitz, seeking refuge in her Kent home. As the two begin to bond, secrets from Alice’s past are revealed and her long-buried emotions begin to surface.

Swale’s Summerland is being presented alongside Matt Fifer and Kieran Mulcare’s Cicada, and Disclosure: Trans Lives of Screen, directed by Sam Feder. Michael Blyth, Senior Programmer of BFI Flare said: “With Matt Fifer and Kieran Mulcare’s Cicada and Jessica Swale’s Summerland, we are thrilled to be showcasing the works of three extraordinary new directorial voices for our Opening and Closing Night films. Alongside the Centrepiece screening of alumni filmmaker Sam Feder’s fascinating documentary Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen, this trio of Special Presentations beautifully reflect the richness and diversity of contemporary queer cinema.”

Summerland is written and directed by Jessica Swale and is distributed by Lionsgate UK. The remainder of the programme for BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival will be revealed tomorrow.

More information about the festival can be found on the BFI website and further information about Jessica Swale’s work can be found on her website.

Image copyright Michael Wharley.