London, UK – I Will Tell International Film Festival announced its return to London cinemas, with
additional outdoor and virtual screenings of films from around the world including the UK, US, Canada,
Iran, India, Ukraine, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Australia. The long running festival expands
throughout London with screenings at venues across the city, including Prince Charles Cinema in Leister
Square, The Tabernacle in Notting Hill and a special outdoor screening at Portobello Green, Notting Hill
as part of Community Day, as well as offering virtual screenings via the Festival’s streaming platform,
iwilltell.com/virtual.

The I Will Tell International Film Festival Opening Night Gala will be hosted by BFI Southbank on 7th July
where the film CLOCK, a British urban coming of age story directed by Lola Atkins, will premiere. The film
is led by an ethnically diverse, and predominately female, cast and crew and will set the for the festival’s
16th annual lineup which includes inspirational untild stories from around the world.

Justin Johnson, Lead Programmer at BFI Southbank says, “We’re delighted to host the Opening Night of
the I Will Tell International Film Festival at BFI Southbank this year and to be supporting director Lola
Atkins and the cast and crew of CLOCK. We look forward to welcoming audiences to a Festival that has
been working tirelessly to champion underrepresented filmmakers for more than 15 years”
CLOCK director Lola Atkins has stated, “I’m delighted that we have phenomenal platforms like I WILL
TELL, which have deliberately chosen to be the voice and legs for those who have often not been
included in the conversation.” She adds, “To be a part of the Opening Gala at the esteemed BFI
Southbank, where many great works have graced the screens for an impeccable select few is an
incredible opportunity.”

Ahead of its 16th edition, I WILL TELL International Film Festival founder, Jenny Lee, is challenging the film
industry to better support greater inclusion and equality of ethnically diverse filmmakers within the
industry. In the UK, more than 90% of films are distributed by a handful of distributors from a specific
demographic with its own bias. “I Will Tell International Film Festival creates a space at the table to help
adjust the current imbalance. It follows then that the festival would showcase the work of an exciting
black female filmmaker alongside a Ukrainian epic,” says Lee.

The festival closes with the Peace Gala and Premiere of SLOVO HOUSE: UNFINISHED NOVEL, a
challenging Ukrainian epic on the relationship between authority, power and creativity, followed by a
Q&A. Speakers for the Q&A include director Taras Tomenko, a Ukrainian Ambassador and
representatives from countries around the world with underreported crises such as the republic of
Congo, Yemen and Afghanistan.

Subsequent screenings will take place at cinemas across London including the premiere of REMEMBER
ME: THE MAHALIA JACKSON STORY starring Ledisi, a music –driven biopic of the Queen of Gospel
chronicling herstory from the days of singing in her mother’s front yard to international stardom and her
significant influence on Dr Martin Luther King Jr and the Civil Rights movement. The faith-based
documentary SEND PROOF, also screening at the festival is an exploration of the gap between the
intellectual and the spiritual.

Additional I Will Tell events include The Community Day with outdoor screenings to take all day for a full
day of film, music and fun under the sun ending with a silent disco on Portobello Green, in addition to
The Sunflowers Exhibition which uses an innovative way of raising awareness of, and funds for, Ukraine
and other under-reported humanitarian crises in countries around the world.

Festival Founder and Director, Jenny Lee, concludes, “The main draw of I WILL TELL is that it’s so much
more than watching films. At a time when people are searching for more meaning, purpose and
authentic connections, the festival provides audiences with insight through cinema and art. It’s about
communities coming together to be inspired and to share their ideas on important issues that affect the
way we live now and in the future.” She continues, “And of course, it’s about supporting independent
filmmakers from around the world who bring us stories that would otherwise not have been told,
sometimes risking their lives and livelihoods to change ours.”

For more information and tickets https://iwilltell.com/