ONCE UPON A TIME IN LONDON
UK, 2019, 111’
Once upon a time in London charts the epic rise and legendary fall of a nationwide criminal empire that lasted for three action-packed decades from the late 1930s. The one-time friends and partners in crime turned bitter enemies oversaw a fledgeling East End and Soho underworld responsible for brutal protection rackets, vicious lawbreaking, shocking corruption and glamorous associations, which paved the way for the notorious Kray twins to exert their dominance over the capital’s gangland realm.
Rumley has been described as "one of the most important and intelligent British filmmakers in business" by Empire Magazine. Screen International described him as "one of the great British film outsiders with the ability to pierce conventions". Hollywood Reporter called him a "master of psychological thriller". After directing 8 feature films and 2 anthology films, he is one of the most successful and prolific British directors of his generation.
Specializing mainly in extreme drama and psychological horror, his films have been presented at festivals around the world, including Toronto, Rotterdam, SXSW, Sarajevo, Tallin, Transylvania, Buenos Aires and Stockholm. His films have won nearly 50 awards, including Sitges' best films, Fantastic Fest and Fantasia, and companies such as Netflix, eOne, Magnolia, IFC and Image have distributed them. Between 2010 and 2016, Rumley, a London native, lived and shot three feature films in the United States, but returned to the United Kingdom in 2015 to direct Crowhurst in Bristol and surrounding areas. Crowhurst, of which Nicolas Roeg is an executive producer, was released in theaters by Studio Canal in 2017.
