Little White Lies (magazine)

Little White Lies (magazine)
Title	Little White Lies
Frequency	Monthly
Founded	2005
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Little White Lies (magazine) is a British film magazine notable for its distinctive design, long-form criticism, and poster-like covers. Launched in the early 21st century, it occupies a place alongside other film periodicals and cultural publications, engaging readers through essays, interviews, and artwork that link contemporary cinema to broad artistic traditions. The magazine has intersected with mainstream and independent film culture, attracting contributors and subjects from across global cinema, visual arts, and publishing.

History

Little White Lies began amid the revival of print culture that included titles such as Sight & Sound, Empire (film magazine), and Cahiers du Cinéma, emerging from the London creative scene in the 2000s alongside outlets like The Guardian, The Independent, and The Observer. Its founding paralleled the careers of filmmakers such as Christopher Nolan, Greta Gerwig, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, and David Fincher, whose work shaped early editorial coverage. The magazine’s timeline intersects with festivals and institutions including Cannes Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, and BFI Southbank. Over successive issues it profiled actors and directors such as Meryl Streep, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cate Blanchett, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tilda Swinton, Alfred Hitchcock, Akira Kurosawa, Wes Anderson, Hayao Miyazaki, Pedro Almodóvar, Bong Joon-ho, Martin Scorsese, Stanley Kubrick, Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, Satyajit Ray, Sofia Coppola, Spike Lee, Ridley Scott, James Cameron, Francis Ford Coppola, Paul Schrader, Dennis Hopper, Robert Altman, Terrence Malick, Luca Guadagnino, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Asghar Farhadi, Yorgos Lanthimos, Lars von Trier, Rian Johnson, Richard Linklater, Guillermo del Toro, Tim Burton, Jim Jarmusch, Agnès Varda, Wong Kar-wai, Brian De Palma, Mike Leigh, Ken Loach, John Carpenter, Peter Jackson, Akira Kurosawa.

Editorial and Design Philosophy

The magazine’s editorial approach aligns with design-led publications such as Monocle, Wallpaper*, and Kinfolk, and adopts visual strategies seen in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and New Statesman. Emphasis is placed on thematic, auteur-focused criticism referencing film history and visual art movements like Surrealism, Expressionism, Italian Neorealism, French New Wave, New German Cinema, Dogme 95, and Eastman Kodak Company-era aesthetics. Covers often resemble collectible posters that evoke the work of illustrators and designers associated with Saul Bass, Milton Glaser, Paul Rand, Shepard Fairey, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Alex Ross, Olly Moss, Chip Kidd, and Stefan Sagmeister. Editorial priorities include championing critical voices similar to those writing for Film Comment, Cineaste, The New York Times, The Telegraph, The Times, and Variety.

Content and Features

Each issue typically pairs long-form criticism, director interviews, and artist commissions, addressing films from mainstream franchises like Star Wars, Marvel Cinematic Universe, James Bond, and The Lord of the Rings alongside independent titles shown at Sundance Film Festival and Telluride Film Festival. Regular features include cover stories on filmmakers such as Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson, Denis Villeneuve, Bong Joon-ho, and Greta Gerwig; career retrospectives on figures like Ingrid Bergman, Orson Welles, Brigitte Bardot, Humphrey Bogart, Vivien Leigh, and Katherine Hepburn; and essays that reference composers and collaborators including Ennio Morricone, John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Bernard Herrmann, Trent Reznor, and Ryuichi Sakamoto. Visual essays link cinema to photographers and artists such as Ansel Adams, Cindy Sherman, Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, Man Ray, Nan Goldin, and Andreas Gursky. Short sections engage with home media, streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and restoration projects from Criterion Collection and Arrow Video.

Contributors and Staff

Contributors have included critics, illustrators, and editors who have worked across outlets such as The Guardian, The New Yorker, Sight & Sound, Empire (film magazine), Variety, BBC News, Rolling Stone, Esquire, GQ, and The Independent. Guest writers and interview subjects have numbered among prominent directors, actors, composers, and cinematographers associated with institutions like Royal College of Art, Goldsmiths, University of London, National Film and Television School, American Film Institute, Film4, BBC Films, and production companies including A24, Focus Features, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Studios, Studio Ghibli, Toho Co., Ltd., and Pixar. Designers and illustrators tied to the magazine echo networks around Pentagram (design studio), House Industries, István Orosz, Olly Moss, and independent studios that collaborate with film festivals and museums such as Tate Modern, MoMA, LACMA, V&A, and Pompidou Centre.

Reception and Impact

The magazine has received praise from critics, academics, and practitioners for marrying criticism with collectible design, drawing comparisons to legacy titles like Film Comment and Cahiers du Cinéma while influencing independent magazine startups and design-led cultural projects in cities including London, New York City, Los Angeles, Paris, Berlin, Tokyo, Seoul, Toronto, and Melbourne. It has been cited in discussions at festivals such as Cannes Film Festival and institutions like BFI for its role in film discourse. Critics referencing the magazine have appeared in outlets including The Guardian, The Telegraph, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and The Economist.

Commercial Model and Distribution

Commercially, the magazine follows models used by boutique periodicals distributed in independent shops, museum stores, and global retailers alongside other niche publications such as Monocle and Kinfolk, with partnerships for limited-edition prints and collaborations involving galleries and festivals like BFI Southbank, ICA, National Gallery, Sundance Institute, and Berlinale. It is sold through newsstands and subscription services that also handle titles from publishers like Conde Nast, Hearst Communications, Time Inc., Immediate Media Company, and independent presses linked to Cassell & Company-style distributors. Special issues and prints are marketed to collectors, galleries, and film events across cultural networks including Frieze Art Fair, Art Basel, SXSW, and regional film societies.

Category:Film magazines