The 57th BFI London Film Festival will open and close with films starring the Hollywood star

(TRAVPR.COM) UK - August 15th, 2013 - Two contrasting new films starring double Oscar-winner Tom Hanks will open and close the 57th BFI London Film Festival, which runs 9-20 October 2013.  Captain Phillips, which tells the story of a hijacked US container ship by Somali pirates, will open the festival on Wednesday 9th October at the Odeon Leicester Square and stars Hanks in the title role. 11 days and more than 200 films later, the festival concludes on Sunday 20th October with the Saving Mr. Banks, starring Hanks as Walt Disney in the extraordinary untold story of how Mary Poppins was first brought to the big screen.

This year's BFI London Film Festival in association with American Express is the second under the helm of former Sydney Film Festival director Clare Stewart. As well as a whole host of world premieres, blockbuster screenings, gala films and celebrity-studded ceremonies, the festival will also champion independent films, foreign language cinema, documentary work, animation and BFI National Archive classics. A full programme of events for what is the biggest annual film festival in London will be announced on Wednesday 4th September.

Forrest Gump and Philadelphia star Hanks is expected to attend both the Opening Night Gala and Closing Ceremony of the festival for the European Premieres of his latest films. Directed by Paul Greengrass (United 93, The Bourne Supremacy), maritime drama Captain Phillips is a multi-layered examination of the 2009 hijacking of the US container ship Maersk Alabama by a crew of Somali pirates. Hanks puts in a "spellbinding performance" as the Alabama's commanding officer, Captain Richard Phillips, alongside his Somali counterpart, Muse (Barkhad Abdi).

Far cry from this complex and pulsating portrait of the myriad effects of globalization, Saving Mr. Banks casts Hanks as Walt Disney opposite fellow two-time Academy Award-winner Emma Thompson, who plays the London-based author of Mary Poppins, P.L. Travers. A stellar international supporting cast includes In Bruges star Colin Farrell, Paul Giamatti (Sideways) and Ruth Wilson (Luther). The poignant and funny story of bringing one of the biggest characters in children's fiction to the big screen promises to be a "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" ending to the London Film Festival.

Visitors attending the BFI London Film Festival from outside the capital can book their accommodation on the events, entertainment and London hotels website LondonTown.com, where there's a comprehensive choice of accommodation to suit all budgets and locations.

The London Film Festival attracts Hollywood players and indie film-makers from all around the globe and takes place at the BFI Southbank and selected cinemas - including the Odeon Leicester Square - all over London. A consistently excellent film programme is traditionally enhanced by a number of correlating events, such as informal post-screening Q&As, guest appearances, workshops and master-classes. The full programme will be announced on Wednesday 4th September.

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