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FUNNY COW GALA | BFI London Film Festival 2017

4,540 views · Published 19 October 2017 · 3:36 · Indexed 14 October 2026

Channel: BFI · 2017 · Film & Animation

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We spoke to the cast and crew of Funny Cow, on the red carpet, ahead of their BFI Film Festival Gala screening.

Maxine Peake gives a formidable performance as an aspiring female comedian standing up to a violent husband and the sexist Northern England club circuit. This tough, streetwise British film shows that modern comedy has made giant strides since the in-your-face chauvinism of working men’s clubs in decades past. And yet, ill-treatment by men is something our eponymous heroine is grimly used to, from childhood beatings to an abusive husband (scriptwriter Tony Pitts, on terrifying form). More a film about the power of laughter and how to transform pain into humour than a straight-up comedy, Funny Cow is a fitting showcase for Peake. So often dazzling on stage and television, she’s hilarious and heart-breaking here. 

Director: Adrian Shergold | Producers: Kevin Proctor, Mark Vennis | Screenwiter: Tony Pitts
With Maxine Peake, Paddy Considine, Alun Armstrong, Corinne Bailey Rae, John Bishop

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