Welcome to loco 2023

What a lot has changed since the last LOCO festival in 2019. A pandemic, an energy crisis, an invasion, a new monarch, three prime ministers and a celebrity lettuce later, we are delighted to say that LOCO is BACK for its 10th edition. An exciting array of talented film and TV creators are joining forces for a weekend of comedy delights at Picturehouse Hackney.

This year we celebrate the role of comedy in the face of adversity, and the importance of laughter in helping us navigate this mess we call life. 

LOCO 2023 opens with Oscar-nominated director Basil Khalil’s debut feature A Gaza Weekend. Recipient of the FIPRESCI prize at Toronto International Film Festival 2022, and in development long before COVID-19 toilet rolled its way into our lives, it features Stephen Mangan and Mouna Hawa as a couple seeking refuge in Gaza, which has become one of the safest places to be, following the outbreak of the deadly ARS virus. 

As part of our collaboration with StudioCanal, Paul Merton joins us to answer your questions after a screening of the Ealing classic The Lavender Hill Mob, and we celebrate Hackney director Wendy Toye with a screening of the hilarious We Joined The Navy. Toye was a rare female voice in post-war British filmmaking, and we are delighted to be showcasing her legacy and impact on the careers of later filmmakers.

We are also excited to be screening three programmes of shorts by some of the brightest comic talents on the final day of the festival, followed by our annual awards ceremony.

We are, as ever, hugely grateful to our collaborators and sponsors. We can’t wait to share this programme with you and look forward to seeing you at Picturehouse Hackney for four days of laughter.

Anna Wetherell | Festival Director

Benedict Morrison | Artistic Director