“127 Hours,” director Danny Boyle’s follow-up to his Oscar winning “Slumdog Millionaire,” has been chosen as the closing-night attraction at the BFI London Film Festival, which runs from October 13 to October 18.
The film stars James Franco in the true story of Aron Ralston, the mountain climber who was trapped by a falling boulder for five days in Utah, and had to cut off his own forearm to free himself.
Boyle also had the closing-night film at the festival in 2008 with “Slumdog,” which went on to win eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.
“It is unprecedented for us to chose a closing night film from the same director only two years later,” festival artistic director Sandra Hebron said in the press release announcing the selection. “But ‘127 Hours’ was the obvious choice for us – with filmmaking as bold and adventurous as its subject matter, it confirms Danny Boyle as one of the world's finest and most visionary directors.”
Fox Searchlight will release “127 Hours” in November.
The Kiera Knightley/Carey Mulligan drama “Never Let Me Go” has already been announced as the festival’s opening-night attraction. The entire lineup will be announced on September 8.
