Oxford International Film Festival Opens with Q&A with Timothy Spall

A global pool of talent has been secured for the second OXIFF (The Oxford International Film Festival 2017), which takes place from 5th till 7th May at the renowned Phoenix Picturehouse in the heart of beautiful and historic Oxford. Opening the festival is Stanley A Man of Variety starring and co-written by Timothy Spall followed by a Q&A session.

Spall is outstanding in this amusing and often moving story of Stanley, a middle-aged man who enjoys watching classic British films and TV shows from the ‘60s and ‘70s. In prison for a crime that he’s convinced he didn’t commit, and after years in solitary confinement, his quest to see his daughter for her 16th birthday becomes an obsession. So he begins to talk to his comedy heroes from the past, each one trying to help him remember if, or what, he has done.

This is the first time since Alec Guinness in Kind Hearts and Coronets that one performer has played all of a film’s principal roles. It is a towering achievement from Spall, who moves from the flamboyant Noel Coward to the grotesque Max Wall via the ukulele-playing George Formby with ease. Hugely successful at the UK Film Festival 2016 and the Manchester Film Festival 2017, among others, Stanley A Man of Variety will delight and surprise its audiences in equal measure.

Stanley A Man of Variety has already won several awards, including the Edgeware Outstanding Achievement award at the UK Film Festival in London and the Jury Special Mention for Outstanding UK Film at the Manchester International Film Festival in 2017.

This film will be opening the festival at 7pm on Friday 5th May 2017. This screening will be followed by a Q&A with Timothy Spall himself. To find out more information about the festival and films showing, please visit www.oxiff.com