The 2010 London Film Festival opening film is announced

It’s the most wonderful time of the year… Don’t worry, it’s not Christmas quite yet. But for some of us, mid-October beats late December hands down in terms of comfort, joy and gifts for all, because that’s when the 54th BFI London Film Festival rolls into town.

And the first door on our LFF countdown calendar has just been opened with the announcement that this year’s opening film is set to be Mark Romanek’s highly anticipated adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s brooding rites-of-passage drama ‘Never Let Me Go’. prestigious English boarding school into the harsh light of the real world.

Produced in part by Film4 and Danny Boyle collaborator Andrew MacDonald’s company DNA Films, adapted by Alex Garland and featuring a supporting cast which includes the likes of Charlotte Rampling and Sally Hawkins, ‘Never Let Me Go’ should showcase the best in modern British filmmaking, and as such is an ideal opener for the capital’s flagship film festival.

In the meantime, we at Time Out have set ourselves to musing on what the closing film might prove to be. If they’re sticking with British film (and there’s a lot of good stuff around this year), picks might include the new remake of ‘Brighton Rock’ with Sam Riley, Helen Mirren and John Hurt or perhaps the impressive-looking historical drama ‘The King’s Speech’, with Colin Firth. But if they’re looking further afield, is there a chance for Anton Corbijn’s classy-looking George Clooney starrer ‘The American’, or perhaps Danny Boyle’s Utah-set mountain climbing actioner ‘127 Hours’ with James Franco.

One thing’s for certain: as soon as we know, you’ll know. The festivities kick off on October 13… but keep an eye on www.timeout.com/film for all the latest news as it unfolds, and for exclusive in-depth coverage of the event itself.

Here’s a trailer to keep you interested until October.