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30 Jan – 9 Feb 2025

Mike Leigh

Mike LEIGH is an English writer and director with a career spanning film, theatre, and television. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), the Camberwell School of Art, the Central School of Art and Design and the London School of Film Technique. Leigh is known for his lengthy rehearsal and improvisation techniques with actors to build characters and narrative for his films. He has directed about twenty plays and made his film debut in 1971 with Bleak Moments. Between 1973 and 1987 he only worked in TV. In 1988 he returned to the film world and won several major prizes with films such as Naked (1993), Career Girls (1997) and Secrets and Lies (1996), which won the Palme D’Or at Cannes; received 7 nominations at the BAFTAs, winning Best British Film and Best Original Screenplay; and received five Oscar nominations. Hard Truths (2024) is his newest feature, starring Marianne Jean-Baptiste, and screens at IFFR 2025.

Filmography

Bleak Moments (1971), Hard Labour (1973), The Birth of the Goalie of the 2001 F.A. Cup Final (1975), Old Chums (1975, short), Probation (1975, short), Afternoon (1975, short), A Light Snack (1975, short), The Permissive Society (1975, short), Nuts in May (1975), Knock for Knock (1976, short), The Kiss of Death (1976), Abigail’s Party (1977), Who’s Who (1978), Grown-Ups (1980), Home Sweet Home (1982), Meantime (1983), Four Days in July (1984), The Short and Curlies (1987, short), High Hopes (1988), Life is Sweet (1991), A Sense of History (1992, short), Naked (1993), Secrets and Lies (1995), Career Girls (1997), Topsy-Turvy (1999), All or Nothing (2002), Vera Drake (2004), Happy-Go-Lucky (2008), Another Year (2010), Mr. Turner (2014), Peterloo (2018), Hard Truths (2024)

Mike Leigh at IFFR

  • Hard Truths

    Marianne Jean-Baptiste delivers a career best performance in this family drama from veteran Mike Leigh.

  • Naked

    Johnny is a tramp who fights his way with his razor-sharp tongue through poverty-stricken England.

  • Topsy-Turvy

    The successful ninetheenth-century operetta duo Gilbert and Sullivan are in danger of splitting up, but Japan brings salvation: The Mikado is a sma