The new comedy-drama by Stephen Frears, based on the true story of a Scottish historian who left to brave all the obstacles to find the remains of Richard III, was presented this Friday.
English filmmaker Stephen Frears, whose career has been largely devoted to films about the British monarchy such as The Queenpresented his new feature film on Friday The Lost King at the Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff).
In the aftermath of Queen Elizabeth II’s death, which left millions in mourning across the world, the director admitted he still couldn’t explain why the general public remains so fascinated by the family British royal.
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“I don’t know, people just are! And it seems that I took advantage of it. So I better shut up“, he joked, questioned by AFP on the red carpet of the biggest film festival in North America, adding: “I am a Republican.»
His new comedy-drama The Lost King tells the true story of a Scottish amateur historian, Philippa Langley, who sets off to brave all obstacles to find the remains of Richard III, the controversial English monarch of the 15th century. An unusual quest, which will lead her to the bowels of a car park.
Films with royal accents
“The Queen’s death is something that deeply moves Britons“, observed the actor Steve Coogan, who gives the reply to Sally Hawkins. “But putting that aside, I think our film isn’t really about an obsession with the monarchy itself, but rather with Richard III, who is kind of a demonized king», immortalized by William Shakespeare.
Another feature film with royal accents, The Woman King was presented on Friday by Viola Davis and John Boyega, actors in a historical epic about female warriors in the West African kingdom of Dahomey in the 19th century. Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also carried a documentary co-produced with her daughter, In Her Handswhere women’s rights in Afghanistan are addressed through the journey of Zarifa Ghafari, one of the country’s first mayors, survivor of an assassination attempt by the Taliban.
Renowned for attracting crowds of moviegoers during its big premieres, Tiff has been hard hit by the pandemic and is counting on this edition, which will end on September 18, to regain its full aura. A host of Hollywood stars are expected in Toronto led by Steven Spielberg who is screening his very personal feature film The Fabelmans, evoking his childhood in Arizona.