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Tributes at premiere of Minghella's final film
Mark Blunden and Sophie Goodchild19 Mar 2008
The premiere of Oscar-winning director Anthony Minghella's final film became a celebration of his life with tributes led by BBC Director General Mark Thompson.
Mr Thompson said corporation bosses were in two minds whether to hold the screening of The No1 Ladies' Detective Agency, only hours after the film-maker died from a sudden brain haemorrhage.
But they went ahead with the showing at the British Film Institute on the South Bank last night at the request of Minghella's widow Carolyn, his son Max, daughter Hannah and other members of the family.
Mr Thompson said: "We weren't sure whether to go ahead with it or not but his family and people closest to him were very keen to show it and I think it was the right decision.
"Many people were not sure what tonight would feel like but in the end it felt right, it's such a life-affirming film. He was in the middle of a fantastic career and as a writer, director and producer. Maybe his best work was still to come."
Minghella, 54, had undergone an operation for cancer of the tonsils and neck and doctors at Charing Cross hospital were optimistic he would recover.
But while he was recuperating from surgery, the English Patient director suffered complications and severe bleeding, which triggered a heart attack.
A source at the hospital told the Standard: "The complication arose after he had the operation. This is a tricky operation - in patients who have a sudden haemorrhage one of the results is cardiac arrest." Broadcaster Andrew Marr, who attended last night's screening, said: "It feels like a party that's become a wake. I think there's an enormous amount of shock and people are incredibly upset.
"People are supposed to be having a good time but feel like they've been hit round the back of the head with a wet sandbag."
Stars, many of whom became close to Minghella, told how his direction brought out the best in them. Alan Rickman and Juliet Stephenson, who starred in his debut film Truly, Madly Deeply, spent much of the evening in deep conversation.
Stephenson, tears in her eyes, said: "To work with him was to be taken to the very edges of what you can do and made better, it was empowering."
Rickman added: "It's impossible to talk objectively. We're here because of a very personal relationship with Anthony. He was a profoundly talented film-maker. This evening was driven by his family, who felt it was the right thing to do. The atmosphere tonight is very unreal for us."
The No1 Ladies' Detective Agency, adapted by Minghella and Richard Curtis, tells the story of a company of women-only private eyes in Botswana. It will be screened on BBC1 on Easter Sunday.
