The London UK Film Focus (LUFF) will return to the capital in June 2010 for a four-day session exclusively dedicated to the export of British film. This year’s LUFF will present a host of hotly anticipated premiere screenings to over 120 international film buyers and festival directors, in a bid to encourage the export of new films outside the UK borders.

One of the programme’s highlights announced today from the Cannes Film Festival is Huge, the first film by comedian Ben Miller starring BAFTA winners Noel Clarke (Adulthood) and Thandie Newton (Crash). Buyers will also enjoy an exclusive preview of the anticipated third feature by Paul Andrew Williams (London to Brighton) Cherry Tree Lane, a crude drama about teenage violence. Joining them will be Exposé, the feature debut from actor-turned-director Martin Kemp (The Krays), Richard E. Grant starrer Cosi and Ways to Live Forever, a UK-Spain co-production with Ben Chaplin (Dorian Gray).

New to this year and responding to feedback from the industry, LUFF 2010’s line up also incorporates a selection of British films presented by foreign sales agents as well as non-British products brought by sales agents from the UK.

Building on the success of previous years, the Breakthrough strand at LUFF will once again show a pick of outstanding films seeking sales representation. Alongside the aforementioned Huge, this year’s Breakthrough will screen Honeymooner from director Col Spector, who picked up awards and rave reviews for his previous feature Someone Else and New Year’s Eve – a short starring Keira Knightley – and Treacle Junior, a story about self discovery from BIFA nominated writer/director Jamie Thraves and starring Aidan Gillen (The Wire).

Other titles announced to be part of LUFF 2010 are Film London Microwave’s Freestyle represented by High Point Media Group, Bonded by Blood starring Vincent Regan (Clash of the Titans) and Kierston Wareing (Fish Tank) and Soul Boy co-directed by Tom Tykwer (Perfume: The Story of a Murderer).

Now on its seventh year, LUFF will take place from 28 June until 1 July at its usual venue, the BFI Southbank. The event, funded by Film London and the UK Film Council, is produced in partnership with the BFI, Film Export UK, UK Trade & Investment and the London Development Agency. LUFF is today a fixture in the international industry’s calendar and it generates significant income for sales agents, with last year’s event resulting in approx $4m worth of sales, up $1m from 2008. The full line up, comprised of approximately 50 titles, will be released in June.

To find out more about LUFF, visit the event's dedicated website.  

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