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About Time presented in a special screening

We are pleased to announce that the film About Time by Richard Curtis will be presented at a special screening in our 11th edition.

Daniela Michel, director of FICM, commented: “We are very excited to be able to present this special screening at the festival. We hope everyone enjoys it as much as we do, as it is one of our favorite films of the year.”

For more than three decades New Zealand director Richard Curtis has developed a unique vision of the film and television industry, giving the public unforgettable characters that have made us laugh and cry with them through the travels that accompany our ordinary lives.

Now, with About Time, Curtis presents his most personal film to date:

At the age of 21, Tim Lake discovers that he can travel in time. The night after another unsatisfactory New Year’s Eve party, Tim’s father tells him that the men in his family have always had the ability to travel through time. Tim cannot change history, but he can change what happens and has happened in his own life, so he decides to make his world better… getting a girlfriend. Unfortunately, this is not as easy as it may appear.

When he moves from the coast of Cornwall to London to pursue a career as a lawyer, Tim finally meets beautiful, but insecure Mary. They fall in love, and after an unfortunate incident of traveling in time he realizes he will never meet her. So they meet each other for the first time over and over again, but finally, after an ingenious trip back in time, he wins her heart.

Tim then uses his power to create the perfect romantic proposal in order to save his wedding from the worst speech that his godfather could give and to save his best friend from a professional disaster. But as his unusual life progresses, Tim discovers that his unique gift cannot save him from the pains and the ups and downs that affect all families everywhere. There are severe limits to what the journey back in time can achieve, and it can also be dangerous.

The idea for About Time arose from a conversation that Curtis had with a friend about what they would do if they were told they had only 24 hours to live. “We both decided that we would spend a very normal day at home with the family, doing the things we normally do,” Curtis recalls. “I think it was an interesting observation and the next step was how to incorporate this into a film. It should be about someone who could manipulate their last day or manipulate their life in a way that would enable them to reach that conclusion. That is when I thought about traveling in time.”

About Time stars Domhnall Gleeson (Anna Karenina, 2012; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, 2011) and Rachel McAdams (Mean Girls, 2004; The Notebook, 2004; The Vow, 2012). In addition, it has an outstanding production team, including the photography director John Guleserian, production director Paul Kelly, editor Mark Day, costume designer Verity Hawkes and composer Nick Laird-Clowes. The producers of About Time are Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, who have produced all of Curtis’ films, together with Nicky Kentish Barnes. The team also includes executive producers Liza Chasin and Amelia Granger.

Curtis began his career as screenwriter for classic television programs such as Not the Nine O’Clock News (1979 to 1982), Mr. Bean (1990 to 1995) and The Vicar of Dibley (1994 a 2007). When Curtis made his debut as a writer for the big screen, he took the international public by surprise with his moving comedy screenplays, such as Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Notting Hill (1999) and Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001). These films prepared the world for his debut as a director, with the successful Love Actually (2003), followed by his love letter to the sixties The Boat That Rocked (2009), shown at the 7th edition of FICM.

You can check out About Time in our film directory: here