Sawajiri Erika’s “Helter Skelter” to be shown at the London Film Festival

Following record box-office earnings of 2 billion yen (around $25.3 million USD), Helter Skelter is making another breakthrough as it will be showing at the 56th BFI London Film Festival. Director Ninagawa Mika will be in London for the October 12th showing. She will give her greetings before the movie, and will also appear for a teach-in after the showing.

Spearheading the London Film Festival is film critic and programmer Tony Rayns. Rayns was responsible for introducing directors like Kitano Takeshi and Wong Kar Wai to the international audience. Attention will be on director Ninagawa as she makes her appearance on the international stage.

Helter Skelter is showing as a special invited piece from Rayns, under the “DARE pathway” category. This category is a new one started by festival director Clare Stewart for films that’s “in-your-face, up-front and arresting, and will take audiences out of their comfort zone.”

Rayns expressed his praise for the film, “The second feature by Mika Ninagawa (daughter of the celebrated theatre director Yukio Ninagawa) lives up to its name. It’s a big, splashy thrill-ride, kinda reminiscent of vintage Ken Russell, which tears into the supermodel/teen-idol industries that make the world of Japanese pop culture go round. “

He also remarked that Sawajiri Erika is “Japan’s Kate Moss”. Part of his introduction to the film reads,”Her outer beauty masks the tantrums of a self-hating queen bitch – and the work of a ‘beautician’ whose clinic is under police investigation for its criminal techniques.”

The film is a big hit in Taiwan and will be showing in Hongkong (9/20), Korea and other countries. It seems that Helter Skelter will be continuing to make waves in the film industry.

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