Londoner’s Diary
A sea of blonde heads bobbed outside Curzon Mayfair last week as Stanley Johnson’s progeny gathered for the premiere of his new film, In the Footsteps of Marco Polo. But in among all of that flaxen hair and bravado, Boris was nowhere to be found. Had he forgotten?
It turned out to be a classic case of crossed wires. While the film ended up starting half an hour late because Stanley was waiting outside for a photo-op with his eldest son, Boris was in fact sat patiently inside the cinema after his security detail had snuck him in through a side door.
Stanley, meanwhile, posed with his youngest son and co-star Max and Chinese ambassador to the UK Zheng Zeguang.
The film follows Stan and Max on their travels across China, along the route that explorer Marco Polo took in the 13th century. It paints a glorious picture of the country, with the duo often saying how “stunning”, “dazzling” and “fantastic” everything is. This may come as no surprise, since the film is funded by the state-run China Central Television.
The Londoner asked Stanley if he had any qualms about visiting Xinjiang, where Uyghur Muslims have been persecuted by the Chinese state. “Oh no, it’s all fine, absolutely fine,” he breezed. “We had a wonderful time, we met so many different people, in all sorts of different situations.” While in the city of Kashgar in Xinjiang, Stanley and Max watch a traditional Uyghur music performance and praise the city’s multiculturalism, making no mention of regional detention camps.
Ambassador Zheng made a speech at the premiere: “I hope all of you, and people in the UK, will be following the footsteps of Marco Polo and also the footsteps of Stanley Johnson.” While state-owned newspaper China Daily has praised the “hilarious banter” between father and son, the film is yet to be bought by a British TV channel.
