Festival news and highlights

64th BFI London Film Festival XR submissions open

Submissions close 17 June

64th BFI London Film Festival submissions open

21 February 2020

Submissions close 17 June

Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman draws 63rd BFI London Film Festival to a close

15 October 2019

Audience attendance was up 6% across London this year, watching films from 78 countries around the world, with 40% female directors across programme and 60% female directors in competition.

2019 competition winners announced at 63rd BFI London Film Festival

12 October 2019

And the winners are...

14 of the best film posters at the BFI London Film Festival 2019

11 October 2019

The art of a great film poster is alive and well at this year’s Festival. Here are some of the best.

Axone director Nicholas Kharkongor: ‘This has never been tried before in Bombay’

10 October 2019

Taking its name from a pungent regional dish, Axone is a comic look at the prejudices faced by north-east Indians emigrating to the big cities. Director Nicholas Kharkongor tells Sneh Rupra, part of our LFF Critics Mentorship Programme, why his film is pushing Bollywood boundaries.

10 great crime epics

10 October 2019

With Martin Scorsese’s three-and-a-half-hour gangster saga The Irishman about to have its UK premiere at the BFI London Film Festival, help while away the hours with one of these epic crime dramas.

Talking About Trees – How the wind helped inspire my film about cinema and resistance

7 October 2019

In his own words, director Suhaib Gasmelbari reveals a key moment in the genesis of his new, Berlin prize-winning documentary about four filmmakers who group together to revive an old Sudanese cinema.

Brazil in a Black Mirror: How Bacurau turns the western on its head

4 October 2019

Director Kleber Mendonça Filho explains the eerie prescience of his genre-bending thriller in which the cowboys are the Indians and the Indians are the cowboys.

Where to begin with Kim Longinotto

4 October 2019

Your next obsession: the brave, observational documentaries of Kim Longinotto

Six to see at LFF if you like... LGBTQ+ cinema

3 October 2019

Alex Davidson recommends a hot half dozen of the best queer films to explore at this year’s Festival.

Rose Plays Julie: The dissection of a scene

2 October 2019

In their own words, Irish directing duo Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor recall a difficult day at a veterinary hospital for a pivotal scene in their new film Rose Plays Julie.

Three to see at LFF if you like... documentaries

2 October 2019

Christine Bardsley recommends three hot tickets at the BFI London Film Festival: a film by an established director, a great debut and a wild card.

Rose Glass, writer-director of Saint Maud, wins IWC Schaffhausen Filmmaker Bursary Award

2 October 2019

One of the largest prizes for the arts in the UK, the Bursary offers talent at the beginning of their career the gift of time, allowing them to grow and develop as a filmmaker.

Three to see at LFF if you like... Indian films

1 October 2019

Cary Rajinder Sawhney recommends three hot tickets at the BFI London Film Festival: a film by an established director, a great debut and a wild card.

Moving images across borders and boundaries: Experimental film at the LFF

1 October 2019

LFF Programme Advisor Sarah Perks highlights how a rich sense of different places around the world underpins the Experimenta strand at this year’s Festival.

Three to see at LFF if you like... punk and new wave music

30 September 2019

Manish Agarwal recommends three hot tickets at the BFI London Film Festival: a film by an established director, a great debut and a wild card.

Eight shorts to look out for at the 63rd BFI London Film Festival

30 September 2019

With 116 short films screening at this year’s Festival, we asked our shorts programmers to highlight one film each that particularly grabbed their attention.

Three to see at LFF if you like... British comedies

27 September 2019

Leigh Singer recommends three hot tickets at the BFI London Film Festival: a film by an established director, a great debut and a wild card.

Every female filmmaker at the 63rd BFI London Film Festival

26 September 2019

Senior Programmer Kate Taylor introduces the list of women in the director’s chair at this year’s Festival.

Competition juries announced for 63rd BFI London Film Festival

26 September 2019

This year’s Jury Presidents at the 63rd BFI London Film Festival are Wash Westmoreland, Jessica Hausner, Yance Ford and Jacqui Davies.

The system is broken: Five conversation starters in Debate at the LFF

26 September 2019

From gentrification in Hoxton to the power dynamics of tourism in Senegal, LFF programme advisor Sophie Brown recommends five films in this year’s Festival that tackle hot-button issues head on.

Three to see at LFF if you like... films from Iran and Afghanistan

23 September 2019

Elhum Shakerifar recommends three hot tickets at the BFI London Film Festival: a film by an established director, a great debut and a wild card.

Where to begin with Budd Boetticher

23 September 2019

Your next obsession: the spare, low-budget westerns and B movies of Budd Boetticher.

LFF For Free: New free public events programme announced

23 September 2019

In a new initiative for 2019, 30 free events will complement and expand the fun at the 63rd BFI London Film Festival.

International filmmakers and stars confirmed to attend the 63rd BFI London Film Festival

19 September 2019

The 63rd BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express today announces more filmmakers and stars attending this years’ Festival.

Where creation begins: A deep dive into Experimenta at the LFF

19 September 2019

From a trance-like journey into creation to the heart-spilling sounds of Spanish divas, this year’s Experimenta programme finds artist-filmmakers looking beyond the surface of things to find new depths and resonances.

Late additions announced for 63rd BFI London Film Festival

18 September 2019

The Festival additions include Screen Talks with Michael B. Jordan and Céline Sciamma, and five new films: Waves, Just Mercy, The Friend, Harriet and Wasp Network.

Three to see at LFF if you like... films from Scandinavia and the Nordic countries

17 September 2019

Sarah Lutton recommends three hot tickets at the BFI London Film Festival: a film by an established director, a great debut and a wild card.

Personal, social and historical trauma in five films from Dare at the LFF

16 September 2019

Paul Ridd explores the theme of trauma, and ways to cope with it, binding together five highlights from the Dare strand at this year’s BFI London Film Festival.

Three to see at LFF if you like... films from the Middle East and North Africa

11 September 2019

Elhum Shakerifar recommends three hot tickets at the BFI London Film Festival: a film by an established director, a great debut and a wild card.

Three to see at LFF if you like... German films

6 September 2019

Juliane Grieb recommends three hot tickets at the BFI London Film Festival: a film by an established director, a great debut and a wild card.

Meet the programming team for the 63rd BFI London Film Festival

5 September 2019

We are delighted to introduce the full programming team who have worked on the 2019 edition.

Three to see at LFF if you like... Spanish-language films

3 September 2019

Maria Delgado recommends three hot tickets at the BFI London Film Festival: a film by an established director, a great debut and a wild card.

Three to see at LFF if you like... Eastern European films

30 August 2019

Peter Hames recommends three hot tickets at the BFI London Film Festival: a film by an established director, a great debut and a wild card.

63rd BFI London Film Festival programme announced

29 August 2019

The full programme of films and events for the 63rd BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express® has been unveiled.

63rd BFI London Film Festival announces 2019 Official Competition selection

28 August 2019

With 60% of films from a female director or co-director, the winner will be revealed at a public award presentation following sell-out surprise screenings in 2018.

Love, Life and Laughter screens as BFI LFF’s Archive Special Presentation with live musical accompaniment

27 August 2019

The 63rd BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express is thrilled to announce that this year’s Archive Special Presentation is Love, Life and Laughter.

63rd BFI London Film Festival American Express Gala is European Premiere of Rian Johnson’s Knives Out

19 August 2019

The 63rd BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express is thrilled to announce that this year’s American Express Gala will be Rian Johnson’s Knives Out.

LFF Critics Mentorship Programme 2019

9 August 2019

Do you want be a film critic or journalist? Apply now to the LFF Critics Mentorship Programme.

International premiere of Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman to close 63rd BFI London Film Festival

5 August 2019

The 63rd BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express is thrilled to announce that this year’s Closing Night gala will be Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman.

European premiere of Armando Iannucci’s The Personal History of David Copperfield to open 63rd BFI London Film Festival

16 July 2019

The 63rd BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express is thrilled to announce that this year’s Opening Night gala will be Armando Iannucci’s The Personal History of David Copperfield.

Artwork revealed for the 2019 BFI London Film Festival

12 July 2019

Inspired by the NFT sign on our building at BFI Southbank, created in 1957 by Norman Engleback, this year’s LFF creative harks back to some of our classic Festival artwork from the 1960s.

Dates announced for 63rd BFI London Film Festival

11 February 2019

This year the BFI London Film Festival will run from 2-13 October. Feature and short film submissions are now open.