A packed line-up of big names, hidden treasures and arthouse faves is making its way to the capital as the UK’s biggest film festival returns for its 70th edition.
The BFI London Film Festival returns for its 70th edition, welcoming 251 titles including features, shorts, series and immersive works from around the globe. The LFF will take centre stage at its flagship venue, the BFI Southbank, the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, select cinemas in London’s West End and 10 other venues across the UK.
As previously announced, the LFF will kick off on 7 October with the European première of Simon Stone’s Elsinore, a compelling story centred on actor Ian Charleson, with Jesse Eisenberg’s love letter to community theatre, The Debut, wrapping things up on 18 October. Over these 11 days, there’ll be plenty of opportunities for audiences to enjoy some of the best new films of the year, including 33 world premieres. The festival has already announced its Official Competition titles, which include new films from Carol Morley, Sergei Loznitsa, Hirokazu Koreeda, Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor, as well as their Screen Talks programme, with a stacked line-up including Andrew Scott, Ava DuVernay, Brad Bird, Cynthia Erivo, James Gray, Jesse Eisenberg, John Malkovich, Mahershala Ali, Naomi Ackie and Sofia Coppola.
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Behemoth! by Tony Gilroy
Ink by Danny Boyle
Being Heumann by Siân Heder
The Beloved by Rodrigo Soroyen
La Bola Negra by Javier Calvo, Javier Ambrossi (Los Javis)
Bunker by Florian Zeller
Club Kid by Jordan Firstman
Fatherland by Paweł Pawlikowski
Fjord by Cristian Mungiu
I Love Boosters by Boots Riley
Klara and the Sun by Taika Waititi
A Long Winter by Andrew Haigh
Minotaur by Andrey Zvyagintsev
Paper Tiger by James Gray
Possible Love by Lee Chang-dong
Prima Facie by Susanna White
Ray Gunn by Brad Bird
Tender Loving Care by Mike Leigh
Wild Horse Nine by Martin McDonagh
Wildwood by Travis Knight
Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother by Bassam Tariq
Special Presentations
Documentary Special Presentation: 14th by Ava Duvernay
Archive Special Presentation: Gone to Earth by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Experimenta Special Presentation: Shab-Nameh: Women of Iran’s Forgotten Left by Maryam Tafakory
Flare Special Presentation: Sweet Milk Lake by Harvey Zielinski
Series Special Presentation: Trip to the Northern Lights by Michael Winterbottom
Immersive Special Presentation: Water Body by Marshmallow Laser Feast
The festival’s usual themed sections (Love, Debate, Laugh, Dare, Thrill, Cult, Journey, Create, Experimenta, Family, Treasures and Shorts) are back in full swing, making the vast programme a bit easier to navigate, encouraging discovery and opening up the festival to new audiences.
Below, we’ve selected four key highlights from each strand; however, the complete programme features 251 titles in total, including new releases, TV series, restorations and more, can be found at bfi.org.uk.
Love
All of a Sudden by Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Frank and Percy by Sean Mathias
Pakeezah (1972) by Kamal Amrohi
The Slightest Touch by Rachel Fleit
Debate
Gentle Monster by Marie Kreutzer
I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning by Clio Barnard
Musk by Alex Gibney
My Undesirable Friends: Part II – Exile by Julia Loktev
Laugh
Wicker by by Alex Huston Fischer, Eleanor Wilson
The History of Concrete by John Wilson
It Gets Worse by Leo Reich
Lali by by Sarmad Khoosat
Dare
At Night by Beatrice Gibson
My Wife Cries by Angela Schanelec
Filipiñana by Rafael Manuel
Mary Madeleine by Gessica Généus
Thrill
Moonglow by Isabel Sandoval
The Meltdown by Manuela Martelli
Josephine by Beth de Araújo
The Match by Juan Cabral, Santiago Franco
Cult
The Devils (1972) by Ken Russell
The Face of Horror by Anna Biller
The Blood Countess by Ulrike Ottinger
Godzilla Minus Zero by Takashi Yamazaki presented at the BFI IMAX
Nightborn by Hanna Bergholm
Journey
VisionQuest by Christopher J. Byrne, Gandja Monteiro, Vincenzo Natali, Terry Matalas
The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives by Daniel Oriahi
In the Shadows by Anthony Wonke
No Good Men by Shahrbanoo Sadat
Create
Congo Boy by Rafiki Fariala
Zero Intention of Living Quietly by Edward Lovelace
The Echo Chamber by Andrea Pallaoro
The Story of Documentary Film – The 1990s by Mark Cousins
Family
Iron Boy by Louis Clichy
Julián by Louise Bagnall
My Friend the Sun by Alejandra Pérez
A Mighty Adventure was directed by Toe Yuen
Experimenta
Hanabi by Ana Vaz
Landscapes of Shame by Patrick Hough
all that appears solid is built on blood by Izdihar Afyouni, Gelare Khoshgozaran
Masao Adachi Takes a Passport Photo by Kamal Aljafari
Shorts
Treasure Island by Miryam Charles
Aman by Rahul Roye
Daughters of the Late Colonel by Elizabeth Hobbs
Free Eliza (Notes on Anatomical Imperfection) by Alexandra Matheou
Plus, LFF Expanded brings 9 projects that fall within the categories of immersive art, extended reality or video games, inviting audiences to discover new frontiers of storytelling as part of the festival programme.
The 70th BFI London Film Festival runs from 7–18 October, 2026. Visit bfi.org.uk for the full programme.
