2026 BFI London Film Festival
Annual Film Festival in London
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The 70th BFI London Film Festival is taking place from 7 to 18 October 2026.[1] The opening night gala on 7 October opened with Elsinore by Simon Stone, a biographical drama film about Scottish actor Ian Charleson, marking its European premiere.[2] The opening marks the beginning of ten days of film events in London, featuring premiere screenings of films such as Artificial, Bunker, Behemoth!, Ink, Club Kid, A Long Winter, Wild Horse Nine, Ray Gunn, and Paper Tiger at the Royal Festival Hall in Southbank.[3]
Opening filmElsinore by Simon Stone
Closing filmThe Debut by Jesse Eisenberg
LocationLondon, United Kingdom
Founded1957
LFF Poster | |
| Opening film | Elsinore by Simon Stone |
|---|---|
| Closing film | The Debut by Jesse Eisenberg |
| Location | London, United Kingdom |
| Founded | 1957 |
| Awards |
|
| Hosted by | British Film Institute |
| Artistic director | Kristy Matheson |
| Festival date | 7–18 October 2026 |
| Website | BFI |
The closing night gala will close with American musical comedy film The Debut by Jesse Eisenberg making its United Kingdom premiere at the Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall on October 18.[4]
Festival overview
The complete line-up was revealed on 2 September 2026.[5][6][7] On 7 September, 6 more films were added to Thematic Strands: Chris Rock's Misty Green and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin directed documentary Everest: The Other Side in the 'Journey', Jonathan Glazer's Joy of Joys and Cameron Winter at Carnegie Hall in the 'Create' and Banjong Pisanthanakun's Inherit in the 'Cult' whereas Primetime by Lance Oppenheim in 'Thrill' strands.[8] Sam Pollard, American film director, editor, producer, and screenwriter is serving as jury president of the main competition.
Screening venues
Seven London venues will screen the films during the festival's run:[9]
Juries
The jury members were as follows:[10]
Main Competition
Main competition jury will select the winner of the best film award.[11]
- Sam Pollard, American film director, editor, producer, and screenwriter – Jury president
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- Mariano Llinás, Argentine filmmaker and writer
- Julie La Bassiere, chief strategy officer at Global communications agency DDA
First Feature Competition (Sutherland Award)
- Amir El-Masry, British-Egyptian actor and producer – Jury president
- Alemberg Ang, Filipino independent film producer and former schoolteacher
- Rosa Bosch, an international film sales, distribution, and awards strategy executive and AMPAS member
Documentary Competition (Grierson Award)
- Sandhya Suri, British-Indian film director and documentarian – Jury president
- Kate Fitzpatrick, Australian television, film, and theatre actress. Senior programmer at Melbourne International Film Festival
- Andee Ryder, a BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning film producer
Short Film Competition
- Helen Simmons, producer, writer and Erebus Pictures co-founder – Jury president
- Leo Reich, British comedian and actor and writer. New York Times Critics’ Pick and Sky Arts breakthrough award nominee
- Jack Casey, script editor, story consultant and executive producer
Screen Talk
This year’s Screen Talks lineup includes:[12]
- Andrew Scott, Irish actor
- Ava DuVernay, American filmmaker
- Brad Bird, American filmmaker, animator, and voice actor
- Cynthia Erivo, British actress and singer
- James Gray, American filmmaker producer, and screenwriter
- Jesse Eisenberg, American actor, playwright, and filmmaker
- John Malkovich, American actor
- Mahershala Ali, American actor
- Naomi Ackie, English actress
- Sofia Coppola, American filmmaker and former actress
- Danny Boyle, English director and producer
- Robert Eggers, American filmmaker
- Javier Bardem, Spanish actor
Headline Galas
The Debut will close the festival,[13] and Artificial to have Gala screening on October 11.[14]
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening Night Gala | |||
| Elsinore | Simon Stone | United Kingdom, United States, Italy | |
| Closing Night Gala | |||
| The Debut | Jesse Eisenberg | United States | |
| BFI Patron's Gala[15] | |||
| Behemoth! | Tony Gilroy | United States | |
| Mayor of London's Gala | |||
| Ink | Danny Boyle | United Kingdom | |
| Gala | |||
| Artificial | Luca Guadagnino | United States, United Kingdom, Italy | |
| Being Heumann | Siân Heder | United States | |
| The Beloved | El ser querido | Rodrigo Sorogoyen | Spain |
| La bola negra | Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo | Spain, France | |
| Bunker | Florian Zeller | France, Spain | |
| Club Kid | Jordan Firstman | United States | |
| Fatherland | Paweł Pawlikowski | Poland, Germany, Italy, France | |
| Fjord | Cristian Mungiu | Romania, France, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland | |
| I Love Boosters | Boots Riley | United States | |
| Klara and the Sun | Taika Waititi | United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand | |
| A Long Winter | Andrew Haigh | United Kingdom, Canada | |
| Minotaur | Минотавр | Andrey Zvyagintsev | France, Germany, Latvia |
| Paper Tiger | James Gray | United States | |
| Possible Love | 가능한 사랑 | Lee Chang-dong | South Korea |
| Prima Facie | Susanna White | United Kingdom, Australia | |
| Ray Gunn | Brad Bird | United States | |
| Tender Loving Care | Mike Leigh | United Kingdom | |
| Wild Horse Nine | Martin McDonagh | United States, United Kingdom, Chile | |
| Wildwood | Travis Knight | United States | |
| Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother | Bassam Tariq | United States, United Kingdom | |
Competition
The festival’s three competition sections are as follows:[16]
Official Competition
The official competition lineup includes:[17]
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Miles Out | Carol Morley | United Kingdom | |
| Act 3 | Christine Molloy, Joe Lawlor | Ireland, United Kingdom | |
| Glaxo | Benjamín Naishtat | Brazil, Argentina | |
| Imperium | Sergei Loznitsa | Germany, France, Italy, Lithuania | |
| Ketticè | Giovanni Tortorici | Italy | |
| Look Back | ルックバック | Hirokazu Koreeda | Japan |
| My Notes on Mars | Lili Horvát | Hungary, Austria | |
| The Difficult Bride | Rubaiyat Hossain | France, Bangladesh, Portugal, Norway, Germany | |
| The Idiot(s) | Małgorzata Szumowska, Michal Englert | United Kingdom, Poland | |
| Woman Unknown | Kvinde ukendt | May el-Toukhy | Denmark, Latvia, Sweden |
First Feature Competition
The following films competed for the Sutherland Award, which is awarded to a directorial debut:
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Temples to Heaven | 9 วัด สู่สวรรค์ | Sompot Chidgasornpongse | Thailand, Singapore, France, Norway, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Qatar |
| Animol | Ashley Walters | United Kingdom | |
| Ben'Imana | Marie Clémentine Dusabejambo | Rwanda, Gabon, France, Norway, Ivory Coast | |
| A Common Story | Una storia | Anna Foglietta | Italy |
| Forest High | Forêt Ivre | Manon Coubia | Belgium, France |
| Fruit Gathering | သစ်သီးခူး | Aung Phyoe | Myanmar, Czech Republic, France |
| LADY | Olive Nwosu | United Kingdom, Nigeria | |
| The Last Day | Rachel Rose | United States | |
| Masc | Bertil Nilsson | United Kingdom | |
| Our Share of Sand | Shalini Adnani | United Kingdom, India, Greece | |
Documentary Competition
The following films will compete for the Grierson Awards, which is awarded to the Best Documentary of the competition.
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ba's Book | Ashley Duong | Canada | |
| The Calf Doll | Ankur Hooda | India | |
| Concrete Land | Asmahan Bkerat | Jordan, Palestine | |
| Concrete Turned to Sand | Jessica Johnson, Ryan Ermacora | Canada | |
| Dependence | Grace Harper Brighouse | Canada | |
| Once Upon a Time in Harlem | William Greaves, David Greaves | United States | |
| Queer Edward II | Theo Rollason | United Kingdom | |
| Sumo: Spirit Weighs Nothing | Erik Shirai | Japan, United States, Denmark, United Kingdom | |
Short Films Competition
The following films will compete for the Short Film award.
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aman | Rahul Roye | India, United Kingdom, United States, France | |
| Daughters of the Late Colonel | Elizabeth Hobbs | United Kingdom, Germany | |
| FarEye | Hayden Mclean | United Kingdom | |
| How To Hide It | Ramla Ali, Richard A. Moore | United Kingdom | |
| Into the Forest | Vers la forêt | Antonin Niclass | Switzerland |
| A Kind of Purity | Theo Shivdasani | United Kingdom | |
| Landscapes of Shame | Patrick Hough | Ireland-United Kingdom | |
| Mon Taxi | Meriem Sakrouhi | Morocco, United States | |
| Treasure Island | L’île aux trésors | Miryam Charles | Canada |
| White Musk | Fatima Wardy | Sudan, United States | |
Thematic strands
Love
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| All of a Sudden | Soudain / 急に具合が悪くなる | Ryusuke Hamaguchi | France, Japan, Germany, Belgium |
| Coward | Lukas Dhont | Belgium, France, Netherlands | |
| Dao | Alain Gomis | France, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal | |
| Flies | Moscas | Fernando Eimbcke | Mexico |
| Frank and Percy | Sean Mathias | United Kingdom | |
| Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! | Josef Kubota Wladyka | United States | |
| House of the Wind | Bernard Auguste Kouemo Yanghu | Cameroon | |
| In A Whisper | À voix basse | Leyla Bouzid | France |
| It Will Happen Tonight | Succederà questa notte | Nanni Moretti | Italy |
| Iván & Hadoum | Ian de la Rosa | Spain | |
| Lemonade | Kim Bartley | Ireland | |
| Mouse | Kelly O'Sullivan | United States | |
| Pakeezah | पाक़ीज़ा | Kamal Amrohi | India |
| Petrolheads | Emil Langballe | Denmark | |
| The Slightest Touch | Rachel Fleit | Ireland, United States | |
| To Hold a Mountain | Planina | Biljana Tutorov, Petar Glomazić | Serbia |
| Variations on a Theme! | Devon Delmar, Jason Jacobs | South Africa | |
Debate
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| All About the Money | Sinéad O'Shea | United States, Ireland | |
| Gentle Monster | Marie Kreutzer | Austria, France, Germany | |
| Good Little Soldier | Un bon petit soldat | Stéphane Brizé | France |
| I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning | Clio Barnard | United Kingdom, France, United States | |
| Musk | Alex Gibney | United Kingdom, United States | |
| My Undesirable Friends: Part II – Exile | Julia Loktev | United States | |
Laugh
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Banning Curse | Mohsen Amiryousefi, Mohsen Amiryousefi | Iran | |
| The Fox | Dario Russo | Australia | |
| The History of Concrete | John Wilson | United States | |
| Hot Water | Ramzi Bashour | United States | |
| Lali | Sarmad Khoosat | Pakistan | |
| Wicker | Eleanor Wilson, Alex Huston Fischer | United States, United Kingdom | |
Dare
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Day in the Life of Jo: Chapter Phaedra | Mia mera sti zoi tis tzo: kefalaio Faidra | Jacqueline Lentzou | Greece, Germany, France |
| Chronicles from the Siege | وقائع زمن الحصار | Abdallah Al-Khatib | Algeria, France, Palestine |
| Chronovisor | Jack Auen & Kevin Walker | United States | |
| Everytime | Sandra Wollner | Austria, Germany | |
| Filipiñana | Rafael Manuel | Singapore, United Kingdom, Philippines, France, Netherlands | |
| A Man of His Time | Notre Salut | Emmanuel Marre | Belgium, France |
| Mary Magdalene | Marie Madeleine | Gessica Généus | Haiti, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada |
| My Wife Cries | Meine Frau weint | Angela Schanelec | Germany, France |
| Rose | Markus Schleinzer | Austria, Germany | |
Thrill
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Church Bay | Rhys Marc Jones | United Kingdom | |
| The Dreamed Adventure | Das Geträumte Abenteuer | Valeska Grisebach | Germany, France, Austria, Bulgaria |
| Elephants in the Fog | तिनीहरू | Abinash Bikram Shah | Nepal, France, Germany, Brazil, Norway |
| Furies | Rami Kodeih | Lebanon, Brazil | |
| Josephine | Beth de Araújo | United States | |
| The Liberation | Guy Nattiv | United Kingdom, United States, New Zealand | |
| The Match | El partido | Juan Cabral and Santiago Franco | Argentina |
| Moonglow | Isabel Sandoval | Philippines | |
| Primetime | Lance Oppenheim | United States | |
Cult
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Blood Countess | Die Blutgräfin | Ulrike Ottinger | Austria, Luxembourg, Germany |
| The Devils | Ken Russell | United States, United Kingdom | |
| The Face of Horror | Anna Biller | United Kingdom | |
| Godzilla Minus Zero | ゴジラ-0.0マイナスゼロ | Takashi Yamazaki | Japan |
| Hot Spot | Agnieszka Smoczyńska | Poland, Greece, Sweden, Norway | |
| Inherit | คุณยายวรนาฏ | Banjong Pisanthanakun | Thailand |
| Nightborn | Yön Lapsi | Hanna Bergholm | Finland, France, Lithuania, United Kingdom |
| Rogue Trooper | Duncan Jones | United Kingdom | |
| The Unknown | L'Inconnue | Arthur Harari | France, Italy |
Journey
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ana, en passant | Fernanda Salgado | Brazil, Portugal, France | |
| A Bit of Light | کمی نور | Ali Asgari | Iran, Switzerland, Italy, Canada, Turkey |
| Clarissa | Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri | United States, Nigeria, Egypt | |
| Everest: The Other Side | Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin | United States, China, Nepal | |
| La Gradiva | Marine Atlan | France, Italy | |
| Misty Green | Chris Rock | United States | |
| No Good Men | Kabul Jan | Shahrbanoo Sadat | Germany, France, Norway, Denmark, Afghanistan |
| La Perra | Dominga Sotomayor | Chile, Brazil | |
| A Place to Heal | 15/18 | Cédric Kahn | France |
| The Station | Al Mahattah | Sara Ishaq | Yemen, Netherlands, France, Jordan, Germany, Norway |
Create
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cameron Winter at Carnegie Hall | Paul Thomas Anderson | United States | |
| Congo Boy | Rafiki Fariala | Central African Republic, France, Democratic Republic of Congo, Italy | |
| The Echo Chamber | Andrea Pallaoro | Italy, Belgium | |
| Joy of Joys | Jonathan Glazer | United Kingdom | |
| The Man I Love | Ira Sachs | United States, France | |
| Supporting Role | მეორეხარისხოვანი როლი | Ana Urushadze | Georgia, Estonia, Türkiye |
Experimenta
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire Flower | Hanabi | Ana Vaz | France, Brazil |
| Az Zeeb | Rafael Guendelman | Chile, Qatar | |
| Tropical Fractals | Fractais Tropicais | Leonardo Pirondi | Portugal, Brazil |
Family
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron Boy | Le Corset | Louis Clichy | France, Belgium |
| Julián | Louise Bagnall | Ireland | |
| Koschka | Bernd Sahling | Germany | |
| A Mighty Adventure | Toe Yuen | Golden Network Asia | |
| My Friend the Sun | Mi Amigo El Sol | Alejandra Pérez González | Mexico-Brazil |
Special Presentations
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archive Special Presentation | |||
| Gone to Earth (1950) | Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger | United Kingdom | |
| Documentary Special Presentation | |||
| 14th | Ava DuVernay | United States | |
| Experimenta Special Presentation | |||
| Shab-nameh: Women of Iran's Forgotten Left (2026) | Maryam Tafakory | United Kingdom, Iran | |
| BFI Flare Special Presentation | |||
| Sweet Milk Lake (2026) | Harvey Zielinski | Australia | |
| Series Special Presentation | |||
| The Trip to the Northern Lights (Episodes 1-2) | Michael Winterbottom | United Kingdom | |
| Immersive Special Presentation | |||
| Water Body (2026) | Marshmallow Laser Feast – Barnaby Steel, Ersin Han Ersin, Robin McNicholas | United Kingdom | |
Short films
The short film programme was divided into the following sections.
Altered States
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon Taxi | Meriem Sakrouhi | Morocco, United States | |
| Bundle | Carlo Milillo | United Kingdom | |
| To the North | Amer Nasser | Palestine | |
| Stolen Memories | Stjålne Minner | Anders Davidsen | Norway, Sweden |
| FarEye | Hayden Mclean | United Kingdom | |
| White Musk | Fatima Wardy | Sudan, United States | |
As the Years Roll By
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agnes | Leah Vlemmiks | United Kingdom, Canada | |
| All Change[18] | Lena Molander | United Kingdom | |
Call Your Bluff
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| How To Hide It | Ramla Ali, Richard A. Moore | United Kingdom | |
| Sweet Bitter Sweet | Nicolee Tsin | United Kingdom | |
| Laundreams | Amber Gadd, Evie Ward-Drummond | United Kingdom | |
| Micro Bangs | Iris Breward | United Kingdom | |
| A Twist of Hate | Maddy Shenai | United Kingdom | |
I See Myself
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Animals | Calvin Demba | United Kingdom | |
Land of Hope and Gory
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Sorrows of Young Charlotte | Shir Ariya | United Kingdom | |
Life / Drawing
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fantasies of a Rescue Dummy | Adrian Maganza | United Kingdom | |
Archive
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Devils (1971) | Ken Russell | United States, United Kingdom | |
| The Drifting (1964) | La Dérive | Paula Delsol | France |
| Gone to Earth (1950) | Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger | United Kingdom | |
| Pakeezah (1972) | पाक़ीज़ा | Kamal Amrohi | India |
| Panelstory (1979) | Panelstory aneb Jak se rodí sídliště | Věra Chytilová | Czechoslovakia |