Deadline on Monday launched the streaming site for Contenders London 2025, its showcase of movies that fires up the awards season.
The cast and creatives from nine leading awards contenders appeared over the weekend at the in-person-only event, which unspooled at London’s Ham Yard Hotel. Discussions delved deep into the journey behind these projects, and some creatives teased what they have coming next and touched on hot-button topics such as AI.
The lineup of movies comprised Netflix’s buzzy quartet of Ballad of a Small Player, about a high-stakes gambler laying low in Macau; George Clooney comedy Jay Kelly; Sundance hit Train Dreams; and Rian Johnson’s Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. Apple was in town with racing feature F1: The Movie and Paul Greengrass’ Matthew McConaughey thriller The Lost Bus, while Universal showcased Wicked: For Good and Amazon presented Nia DaCosta’s romance drama Hedda and Venice Film Festival drama After the Hunt.
Panelists included Jon M. Chu (director), Johnson (Writer/Director/Producer), Ram Bergman (Producer), Josh O’Connor (Actor), Kerry Condon (Actor), Noah Baumbach (Writer/Director/Producer)
David Heyman (Producer), Nina Gold (Casting Director), Adam Sandler (Actor), Luca Guadagnino (Director/Producer), DaCosta (Writer/Director/Producer), Sean Bobbitt (Director of Photography), Hildur Guðnadóttir (Composer), Lucy Bevan (Casting Director), William Goldenberg (Editor), Edward Berger (Director/Producer), Colin Farrell (Actor), Fala Chan (Actor), Clint Bentley (Co-Writer/Director), Joel Edgerton (Actor) and Felicity Jones (Actor).
Contenders Film: London was produced in partnership with United for Business, Eyepetizer Eyewear and AV8 Group.