One of our most-anticipated films in the Locarno Film Festival lineup is Ray & Liz, the directorial debut from acclaimed U.K. photographer and artist Richard Billingham. Shot by Under the Skin cinematographer Daniel Landin, the film is divided into three chapters as Billingham recalls his memories of growing up, and specifically his parents’ relationship. World premiering today, the first trailer, clip, and poster have now arrived which shows off the film’s distinct style and promising drama.
“Ray & Liz is a concentration of my own lived experience of growing up in a tower block on a council flat during Thatcher-era Britain. By sticking true to real life, lived experience and observation I want to recreate a world that can only have come about from my being a witness to it,” Billingham said. “Throughout the film Ray and Liz’s relationship is tested by poverty, addiction and being sold short of the better things in life. But against a framework of this I also want to show a world unseen. In the early 90s I began photographing my father Ray, with the intention of making paintings. I grew increasingly interested in the photographs, in composition, mood, texture, shape and form.”
Ahead of our review, see the first trailer, clip, and poster below for the film starring Ella Smith, Justin Salinger, Patrick Romer, Deirdre Kelly, Tony Way, Sam Gittins, Joshua Millard-Lloyd.
On the outskirts of Birmingham and the margins of society, the Billingham family perform extreme rituals and break social taboos as they muddle through a life decided by factors beyond their control. Based on director and photographer Richard Billingham’s memories, the film focuses on his parents Ray and Liz, their relationship and its impact on Richard and his younger brother Jason as they grow up in a Black Country council flat.
Ray & Liz premiered at Locarno Film Festival.