The 67th BFI London Film Festival was a film festival that took place from 4–15 October 2023. The competition films were announced on 29 August 2023 while the films for the galas and the strands were revealed on 31 August 2023. The juries for the various sections of the festival were announced on 19 September 2023.
The festival opened with Saltburn, directed by Emerald Fennell, and closed with The Kitchen, directed by Kibwe Tavares and Daniel Kaluuya.
Juries
Main Competition
Amat Escalante, Mexican film director, producer and screenwriter Kate Taylor, programme director of the 2023 Edinburgh International Film Festival Niven Govinden, British novelist
First Feature Competition (Sutherland Award)
Raine Allen-Miller, British film director Vanja Kaludjercic, festival director of International Film Festival Rotterdam Barry Adamson, British musician, composer, filmmaker and photographer
Documentary Competition
Rubika Shah, British writer and director Jeanie Finlay, British documentary filmmaker Paul Tonta, general manager theatrical acquisitions and film festivals at Madman Entertainment
Short Film Competition
Charlotte Regan, British writer and director Francesca Tomlinson, BFI Film Academy Young Programmer Rina Yang, cinematographer
Venues The partner venues for the festival included: London cinemas BFI Southbank Curzon Soho Curzon Mayfair Institute of Contemporary Arts Vue West End Prince Charles Cinema Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall Odeon Luxe Leicester Square - Press and industry screenings Picturehouse Central - Press and industry screenings
Expanded venues Bargehouse at Oxo Tower Wharf
UK-wide cinemas HOME, Manchester Watershed, Bristol Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow Broadway Cinema, Nottingham Showroom Cinema, Sheffield Queen's Film Theatre, Belfast Chapter, Cardiff Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle upon Tyne Midlands Arts Centre (MAC), Birmingham
Official Selection Galas The following films were selected for the Galas section, which screens world, European, and British premieres of the most anticipated films. English Title Director(s) Production CountryOpening Night Gala Saltburn Emerald Fennell United Kingdom Closing Night Gala The Kitchen Kibwe Tavares, Daniel KaluuyaUnited KingdomAmerican Express Gala One Life James HawesUnited KingdomMayor of London Gala Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget Sam Fell United Kingdom, United States, France Cunard GalaThe HoldoversAlexander PayneUnited StatesHeadline GalaAll of Us StrangersAndrew HaighUnited Kingdom The Bikeriders Jeff Nichols United States The Book of Clarence Jeymes Samuel The Killer David Fincher Killers of the Flower Moon Martin Scorsese Maestro Bradley Cooper May December Todd Haynes Nyad Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin Poor Things Yorgos Lanthimos United Kingdom, Ireland, United States
Special Presentations The following films were selected for the Special Presentations section. English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country The Boy and the Heron 君たちはどう生きるか Hayao Miyazaki Japan Cobweb 거미집 Kim Jee-woon South Korea The End We Start From Mahalia Belo United Kingdom Fallen Leaves Kuolleet lehdet Aki Kaurismäki Finland Foe Garth Davis Australia, United States Grime Kids Abdou Cisse United Kingdom Hit Man Richard Linklater United States Housekeeping for Beginners Goran Stolevski North Macedonia, Poland, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, Australia, United States Les Indésirables Bâtiment 5 Ladj Ly France, Belgium Memory Michel Franco Mexico, United States, Chile Occupied City Steve McQueen United Kingdom, Netherlands Priscilla Sofia Coppola United States, Italy The Zone of Interest Jonathan Glazer United Kingdom, United States, Poland
In Competition There were five competition sections, each with a different selection of films and different juries.
Official Competition The following films competed for the Best Film Award. English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Baltimore Christine Molloy, Joe Lawlor Ireland, United Kingdom Dear Jassi Tarsem Singh Dhandwar India Europa Sudabeh Mortezai Austria, United Kingdom Evil Does Not Exist 悪は存在しない Ryusuke Hamaguchi Japan Fingernails Christos Nikou United States Gasoline Rainbow Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross I Am Sirat Deepa Mehta, Sirat Taneja Canada The Royal Hotel Kitty Green Australia Self Portrait: 47 Km 2020 Zhang Mengqi China Starve Acre Daniel Kokotajlo (director) United Kingdom Together 99 Tillsammans 99 Lukas Moodysson Sweden, Denmark Highlighted title indicates section winner. 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 Black Dog George Jaques United Kingdom Earth Mama Savanah Leaf United States, United Kingdom Hoard Luna Carmoon United Kingdom In Camera Naqqash Khalid United Kingdom Mambar Pierrette Rosine Mbakam Belgium, Cameroon Paradise Is Burning Mika Gustafson Sweden, Italy, Denmark, Finland Penal Cordillera Felipe Carmona Chile, Brazil The Queen of My Dreams Fawzia Mirza Canada Sky Peals Moin Hussain United Kingdom Tiger Stripes Amanda Nell Eu Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, France, Germany, Netherlands, Indonesia, Qatar Tuesday Daina O. Pusić United Kingdom, United States Highlighted title indicates section winner. Documentary Competition The following films competed for the Grierson Award, which is awarded to a feature-length documentary. English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Bye Bye Tiberias Lina Soualem France, Palestine, Belgium, Qatar Celluloid Underground Ehsan Khoshbakht United Kingdom, Iran Chasing Chasing Amy Sav Rodgers United States A Common Sequence Mary Helena Clark, Mike Gibisser United States, Mexico Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano على حافة البركان Cyril Aris Germany, Lebanon The Klezmer Project Adentro mía estoy bailando Leandro Koch, Paloma Schahmann Austria, Argentina Queendom Agniia Galdanova France, United States The Taste of Mango Chloe Abrahams United Kingdom, United States Highlighted title indicates section winner.
Short Film Competition The following films competed for the Short Film Award.
English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country The Archive: Queer Nigerians Simisolaoluwa Akande United Kingdom Area Boy Iggy London United Kingdom Boat People Thao Lam, Kjell Boersma Canada Essex Girls Yero Timi-Biu United Kingdom The Goose's Excuse Mahdy Abo Bahat, Abdo Zin Eldin Egypt, United Kingdom Khabur Nafis Fathollahzadeh Germany, Iran Onset Anna Engelhardt, Mark Cinkevich United Kingdom, Poland The Singer Cora Bissett United Kingdom The Walk Michael Jobling Wells of Despair Sata Taas Netherlands Highlighted title indicates section winner.
Strands Most of the out-of-competition films have been organised into strands, each based on a different mood or emotion. Love English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country 20,000 Species of Bees 20.000 especies de abejas Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren Spain Àma Gloria Marie Amachoukeli France Banel & Adama Banel et Adama Ramata-Toulaye Sy France, Senegal, Mali Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry Elene Naveriani Switzerland, Germany, Georgia The Eternal Memory La memoria infinita Maite Alberdi Chile Fancy Dance Erica Tremblay United States Girl Adura Onashile United Kingdom Goodbye Julia وداعا جوليا Mohamed Kordofani Sudan, Egypt, Germany, France, Saudi Arabia, Sweden Monster 怪物 Hirokazu Kore-eda Japan Our Body Notre Corps Claire Simon France Perfect Days Wim Wenders Japan Robot Dreams Pablo Berger Spain, France Silver Haze Sacha Polak Netherlands, United Kingdom Slow Marija Kavtaradze Lithuania, Spain, Sweden Tótem Lila Avilés Mexico, Denmark, France Unicorns Sally El Hosaini, James Krishna Floyd United Kingdom
Debate English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Allensworth James Benning United Kingdom Fire Through Dry Grass Alexis Neophytides, Andres "Jay" Molina United States Four Daughters بنات ألفة Kaouther Ben Hania France, Tunisia, Germany, Saudi Arabia The Goldman Case Le Procès Goldman Cédric Kahn France High & Low — John Galliano Kevin Macdonald France, United States, United Kingdom Kidnapped Rapito Marco Bellocchio Italy, France, Germany The Mission Jesse Moss, Amanda McBaine United States On the Adamant Sur l'Adamant Nicolas Philibert France, Japan The Pigeon Tunnel Errol Morris United Kingdom The Rye Horn O corno Jaione Camborda Spain, Portugal, Belgium Shoshana Michael Winterbottom United Kingdom, Italy Wilding David Allen United Kingdom Youth (Spring) 青春 Wang Bing China, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands
Laugh English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Asog Seán Devlin Philippines, Canada Bonus Track Julia Jackman United Kingdom The Book of Solutions Le Livre des solutions Michel Gondry France Daaaaaalí! Quentin Dupieux The Hypnosis Hypnosen Ernst De Geer Sweden, Norway, France Molli and Max in the Future Michael Lukk Litwak United States The Nature of Love Simple comme Sylvain Monia Chokri Canada, France La práctica Martín Rejtman Argentina, Chile, Portugal Poolman Chris Pine United States Shortcomings Randall Park Terrestrial Versesآیههای زمینی Ali Asgari, Alireza Khatami Iran
Dare English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Animalia Parmi nous Sofia Alaoui France, Morocco, Qatar Behind the Mountains Oura el Jbel Mohamed Ben Attia Tunisia, France, Belgium, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Qatar Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World Nu astepta prea mult de la sfârsitul lumii Radu Jude Romania, Luxembourg, France, Croatia Eileen William Oldroyd United States Foremost by Night Sobre todo de noche Spain, Portugal, France Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell Bên trong vỏ kén vàng Thien An Pham Vietnam, Singapore, France, Spain Last Summer L'Été dernier Catherine Breillat France Little Girl Blue Mona Achache France, Belgium Music Angela Schanelec Germany, France, Serbia Omen Baloji Belgium, Netherlands, Democratic Republic of Congo, France, South Africa The Peasants Chłopi DK Welchman, Hugh Welchman Poland, Serbia, Lithuania Power Alley Levante Lillah Halla Brazil, France, Uruguay A Prince Un prince Pierre Creton France Red Island L'Île rouge Robin Campillo France, Belgium, Madagascar Samsara Lois Patiño Spain
Thrill English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country The Animal Kingdom Le Règne animal Thomas Cailley France The Buckingham Murders Hansal Mehta India, United Kingdom Copa '71 Rachel Ramsay, James Erskine United Kingdom Culprits J Blakeson Gassed Up George Amponsah Lost in the Night Perdidos en la noche Amat Escalante Mexico, Germany, Netherlands Lubo Giorgio Diritti Italy, Switzerland Only the River Flows 河边的错误 Shujun Wei China Shame on Dry Land Axel Petersén Sweden, Malta Stolen Karan Tejpal India Unmoored Caroline Ingvarsson United Kingdom, Poland, Sweden
Cult English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country The Beast La Bête Bertrand Bonello France, Canada Birth/Rebirth Laura Moss United States Late Night with the Devil Cameron Cairnes, Colin Cairnes Australia Nightwatch – Demons Are Forever Nattevagten - Dæmoner går i arv Ole Bornedal Denmark Red Rooms Les chambres rouges Pascal Plante Canada Scala!!! Jane Giles, Ali Catterall United Kingdom Stopmotion Robert Morgan Vincent Must Die Vincent doit mourir Stéphan Castang France, Belgium
Journey