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Veteran radio and TV presenter Simon Mayo will be visiting BFI Southbank this weekend along with cohort Mark Kermode to record a special Festival edition of The Culture Show for BBC2. He was good enough to share these musings with us.

I'm attending this year's Festival... because it would be rude not to.

My time will be spent... trying not to look too stupid.

The first thing that springs to mind when I think of London is... home.

The best thing about film festivals is... the nice pass you get with a ribbon on it.

The worst thing about film festivals is... there is nothing bad about film festivals. But I have never been to Cannes.

If I could sit next to anyone during a festival screening, it would be... I'd rather have an empty seat next to me, please.

The last film I saw was... An Education and it was... really rather fine actually.

The best film I've seen this year is... Frost/Nixon. Hello, Michael Sheen!

The festival film I'm most looking forward to is... The Road.

If I wasn't visiting the Festival, I'd be spending my time... being a taxi service and helping rather inadequately with assorted homework.

The Culture Show Festival special is showing on Thu 22 Oct, 19:00, BBC2

More interviews

Samuel Maoz, director of Lebanon
Paul King, director of Bunny and the Bull
Lindy Heymann and Leigh Campbell, director and writer of Kicks
Lucy Bailey and Andrew Thompson, makers of Mugabe and the White African
Harmony Korine, director of Trash Humpers
Tarik Saleh, director of Metropia
Stephen Poliakoff, director of Glorious 39
David Morrissey, director of Don't Worry About Me
Cristian Mungiu, director of Tales from the Golden Age
Joe Swanberg, director of Alexander the Last
Martin Pieter Zandvliet, director of Applause
Yorgos Lanthimos, director of Dogtooth

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