Pippa Harris, James Wilson to lead BFI London Film Festival

The BFI London Film Festival has announced that two of the U.K.’s most acclaimed producers will lead the industry program at its upcoming 70th edition.

Pippa Harris, who produced “Hamnet,” “1917” and is currently working on “The Beatles” biopics, and James Wilson, who produced “The Zone of Interest,” “The Voice of Hind Rajab” and “Under the Skin,” are set to take part in their own spotlight conversations as part of the LFF’s industry forum.

Harris and Wilson will, according to the festival, discuss their careers, current projects and navigating the international film and TV market in a rapidly changing landscape.

“This year our industry programme puts a spotlight on producers and the vital role they play in shepherding artistic visions from their earliest stages through to the screen,” said BFI London Film Festival director Kristy Matheson. “I’m delighted that industry colleagues will have the opportunity to hear from Pippa Harris and James Wilson – two esteemed producers whose unique creative careers have given us some of the most memorable and critically acclaimed films of recent years.”

Harris is best-known for her longstanding partnership with Sam Mendes, with whom she co-founded Neal Street Productions. Alongside Oscar and BAFTA winners “Hamnet” and “1917,” her film credits including “Revolutionary Road,” “Jarhead” and recent family feature “The Magic Faraway Tree,” while on TV her productions include “Call the Midwife,” “Penny Dreadful” and “Britannia.”

Wilson, meanwhile, has an ongoing collaboration with director Jonathan Glazer, with whom he’s worked on both the Oscar and BAFTA-winning “The Zone of Interest” and “Under the Skin.” Last year, he produced Kaouther Ben Hania’s Oscar-nominated “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” while his other credits include Lynne Ramsay’s “You Were Never Really Here,” Aneil Karia’s “Hamlet” and “20,000 Days on Earth,” directed by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard.

The full LFF industry forum programme will be announced mid- September. The festival runs Oct 7-18.

-Variety