The cinematographic firmament of the English capital this month seems to be lit by the orrery of Italian cinema; the official monthly publication of the BFI has dedicated its cover and issue to the current state of the boot-shaped peninsula and a succinct season of Italian films is also running at the Riverside Studios.

Although the Birds Eye View festival's chosen appellation would suggest a panoramic aerial view of the sensitive side of filmmaking, the scopic dimensions of the female proactive gaze have proved able to subvert the hetero-driven directives of dominant cinema through a desiring multi-subjectivity that transcends the restrictive dualisms object/subject, panoramic/POV, absence/presence, etc.

Exhibit A tells the timely story of a normal family disintegrating under financial pressure, eventually driven to the unimaginable.

Charles Dickens was the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era and remains one of Britain’s best-loved authors, whose novels and short stories have never gone out of print.

If you fancy heading down to this year's London Film Festival, the all important booking information is after the jump. No need to thank us!

In the event you're planning to go to this year's London Film Festival, you can get an idea of what filmic delights await you, by checking out the full schedule below. The Men Who Stare at Goats certainly sounds interesting...

Think of Hammer horror and you inevitably conjure up grisly images of paint-drenched gore in tremendous Technicolor, extravagant stories set within sumptuous gothic locations and films showcasing the indisputable talents of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.

Ken Loach, exceptional film director, brings a heart-warming tale to our cinemas: A story of a broken postman who finally realises that his friends – and football legend Eric Cantona – are his weapons with which to avoid self-destruction.

Football hooligans and fashion, an impressionable era in more ways than one, says writer Kevin Sampson, as his 1998 cult novel turned film Awaydays is about to be released. It tells the story of Carty, a middleclass fashion nut who’s longing to join a football gang called The Pack. It’s Merseyside in the late 1970s; they wear Fred Perry shirts, green anoraks and Adidas trainers, all with androgynous wedge haircuts. They stand out when they go to football matches, especially the away days. Carty meets Elvis in a club. Elvis is part of The Pack and is Carty’s way in – except Elvis is a dreamer, a wannabe artist, looking for a way out. Carty experiences an intoxicating buzz from the violence of his first away day; Elvis wants more than just Carty's friendship and he doesn't want to lose him to The Pack. This is the story of that tug of control.

Kevin Sampson talks to Seven about the struggle to bring his book to the screen.

The Bird’s Eye View Film Festival recently brought together discrete female filmmakers from Afghanistan, the pioneering producers of Nigeria’s Nollywood and humanist porn director Petra Joy (among many others) to celebrate the achievements of women in film. The five year anniversary brought tears and laughter, inspiration and encouragement to those rising against the surprisingly low statistics of women in the industry and their fans.