The film will receive its UK Premiere on Wednesday 14 October at the Odeon Leicester Square, attended by Academy Award® nominated director Todd Haynes and his stars: Academy Award® winner Cate Blanchett and Academy Award® nominee Rooney Mara.

A young woman in her 20s, Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara) is a clerk working in a Manhattan department store and dreaming of a more fulfilling life when she meets Carol (Cate Blanchett), an alluring woman trapped in a loveless, convenient marriage. As an immediate connection sparks between them, the innocence of their first encounter dims and their connection deepens.

While Carol breaks free from the confines of marriage, her husband (Kyle Chandler) threatens her competence as a mother when Carol’s involvement with Therese and close relationship with her best friend Abby (Sarah Paulson) comes to light. As Carol leaves the comfort of home to travel with Therese, an internal journey of self-discovery coincides with her new sense of space.

Based on Patricia Highsmith’s seminal novel, The Price of Salt, adapted by Emmy nominated screenwriter Phyllis Nagy, directed by Todd Haynes, CAROL stars Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Kyle Chandler, Jake Lacy and Sarah Paulson. 

Elizabeth Karlsen, producer, says: “As a British/American production it is very fitting that CAROL will premiere as the BFI London Film Festival’s American Express Gala. CAROL is a beautiful romance with two powerful women at its heart and we are truly honoured that UK audiences will have the chance to see such a female-driven film at one of the world’s most prestigious festivals. Phyllis Nagy’s wonderful adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s once-scandalous love story translates brilliantly to the big screen and Director Todd Haynes’ exquisite filmmaking has done terrific justice to a seminal novel.”

The 59th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express® runs from Wednesday 7 October-Sunday 18 October 2015. The full programme for the Festival will be announced on Tuesday 1 September 2015.