The 69th BFI London Film Festival took place from 8 to 19 October 2025. The competition films were announced on 21 August 2025 while the films for the galas and the strands were revealed on 3 September 2025. The festival showcased 247 films from 79 countries and opened with the 2025 American mystery film Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, written and directed by Rian Johnson, and closed with the 2025 historical fantasy film 100 Nights of Hero written and directed by Julia Jackman.
Juries The jury members were as follows: Main Competition Elizabeth Karlsen, American-British film producer and co-founder of Number 9 Films – Jury president Justin Chang, American film critic and Pulitzer Prize winner Kahlil Joseph, American filmmaker and co-founder of The Underground Museum in Los Angeles
First Feature Competition (Sutherland Award) Kibwe Tavares, British filmmaker and architect – Jury president Anja Fröhner, Head of Programme at Zurich Film Festival Nadia Latif, British theatre maker and film director
Documentary Competition (Grierson Award) Eloïse King, British filmmaker – Jury president Josh Siegel, curator at the Museum of Modern Art and founding director of To Save and Project: The MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation Reece Goodwin, Film & TV Curator at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI)
Short Film Competition Ming-Jung Kuo, British festival programmer – Jury president Matty Crawford, British-Filipino writer and director Lee Ott, animation director
Headline Galas English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Opening Night Gala Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery Rian Johnson United States Closing Night Gala 100 Nights of Hero Julia Jackman United Kingdom, United States American Express Gala Rental Family Hikari United States BFI Patron's Galahttps://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=h-is-for-hawk-lff25 H Is for Hawk Philippa Lowthorpe United Kingdom Mayor of London's Galahttps://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=hamnet-lff25 Hamnet Chloé Zhao United Kingdom Cunard Galahttps://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=jay-kelly-lff25 Jay Kelly Noah Baumbach United States, United Kingdom, Italy Gala After the Hunt Luca Guadagnino United States Ballad of a Small Player Edward Berger United Kingdom Blue Moon Richard Linklater United States, Ireland Bugonia Yorgos Lanthimos United Kingdom The Choral Nicholas Hytner United Kingdom Christy David Michôd United States Die My Love Lynne Ramsay United States Frankenstein Guillermo del Toro United States The History of Sound Oliver Hermanus United States, United Kingdom, Italy Is This Thing On? Bradley Cooper United States It Was Just an Accident یک تصادف ساده Jafar Panahi Iran, France, Luxembourg The Mastermind Kelly Reichardt United States No Other Choice 어쩔수가없다 Park Chan-wook South Korea Nouvelle Vague Richard Linklater France Pillion Harry Lighton United Kingdom Roofman Derek Cianfrance United States Sentimental Value Affeksjonsverdi Joachim Trier Norway, France, Germany Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere Scott Cooper United States Tuner Daniel Roher United States, Canada
Special Presentations English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Afterlives Kevin B. Lee Germany, Belgium, France Broken English Iain Forsyth, Jane Pollard United Kingdom The Death of Bunny Munro Isabella Eklöf United Kingdom Maspalomas Aitor Arregi, Jose Mari Goenaga Spain Now Is When We Are (The Stars) Andrew Schneider United States Sholay Ramesh Sippy India
Competition Official Competition English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Bad Apples Jonatan Etzler United Kingdom Black Is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story Yemi Bamiro United Kingdom, United States Black Rabbit, White Rabbit Shahram Mokri Tajikistan, United Arab Emirates Hair, Paper, Water... Tóc, giấy và nước... Nicolas Graux, Trương Minh Quý Belgium, France, Vietnam Hedda Nia DaCosta United States Our Land Nuestra tierra Lucrecia Martel Argentina, United States, Mexico, France, Netherlands Rose of Nevada Mark Jenkin United Kingdom The Testament of Ann Lee Mona Fastvold United Kingdom The Voice of Hind Rajab صوت هند رجب Kaouther Ben Hania Tunisia, France The World of Love 세계의 주인 Yoon Ga-eun South Korea Highlighted title indicates the 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 Becoming Human Chiet Chea Manusa Polen Ly Cambodia, United States Diamonds in the Sand 孤獨大叔出走中 Janus Victoria Japan, Malaysia, PhilippinesDreamers Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor United Kingdom Ish Imran Perretta United Kingdom Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo) Joel Alfonso Vargas United States My Father's Shadow Akinola Davies Jr. United Kingdom, Nigeria One Woman One Bra Vincho Nchogu Kenya, Nigeria Sink Zain Duraie Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, France Songs of Forgotten Trees Anuparna Roy India A Useful Ghost ผีใช้ได้ค่ะ Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke Thailand, France, Singapore, Germany Highlighted title indicates the section winner.
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 Always 从来 Deming Chen United States, China The Eyes of Ghana Ben Proudfoot United States Life After Reid Davenport United States Only on Earth Sólo en la tierra Robin Petré Denmark, Spain Seeds Brittany Shyne United States Singing Wings Hemen Khaledi Iran, Georgia, Belgium Super Nature Ed Sayers United Kingdom The Travellers Les Voyageurs David Bingong Cameroon, Spain Highlighted title indicates the section winner.
Short Films Competition The following films will compete for the Short Film award. English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Capybaras Los Carpinchos Alfredo Soderguit France, Uruguay, Chile Coyotes Said Zagha Palestine, United Kingdom, France, Jordan Elephant Families Elena Escalante United Kingdom, Spain Happiness Firat Yücel Netherlands, Turkey Hope is Lost Eno Enefiok United Kingdom, North Macedonia Ka Ba Ddi: A Breath, a Move, a Game Alia Syed United Kingdom Magid / Zafar Luís Hindman United Kingdom Nostalgie Kathryn Ferguson United Kingdom We Had Fun Linda Lô France Womb Ira Hetaraka New Zealand Highlighted title indicates the section winner.
Thematic strands Love English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country & Sons Pablo Trapero United Kingdom, Canada Calle Málaga Maryam Touzani Morocco, France, Spain, Germany, Belgium D is for Distance Christopher Petit, Emma Matthews Finland Endless Cookie Seth Scriver, Peter Scriver Canada Father Mother Sister Brother Jim Jarmusch United States, Ireland, France, Italy, Japan Human Resource Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit Thailand Kim Novak's Vertigo Alexandre O. Philippe United States Left-Handed Girl 左撇子女孩 Shih-Ching Tsou United States, United Kingdom, France, Taiwan Love, Brooklyn Rachael Abigail Holder United States Love Me Tender Anna Cazenave Cambet France The Love That Remains Ástin Sem Eftir Er Hlynur Pálmason Iceland, Denmark, France, Finland, Sweden Resurrection 狂野时代 Bi Gan China, France Romería Carla Simón Spain, Germany A Sad and Beautiful World نجوم الأمل و الألم Cyril Aris Lebanon, United States, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Qatar The Souffleur Gastón Solnicki Austria, Argentina The Thing with Feathers Dylan Southern United Kingdom Train Dreams Clint Bentley United States
Debate English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Cover-Up Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus United States The Deal Jean-Stéphane Bron Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium Island of the Winds 大風之島 Hsu Ya-Ting Taiwan, Japan, France John Lilly and the Earth Coincidence Control Office Michael Almereyda, Courtney Stephens United States Kontinental '25 Radu Jude Romania, Brazil, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Luxembourg Love+War Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin United States Mother Мајка Teona Strugar Mitevska North Macedonia, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Bosnia and Herzegovina, India Orwell: 2+2=5 Raoul Peck United States, France Saipan Glenn Leyburn, Lisa Barros D'Sa United Kingdom, Ireland Silent Friend Stille Freundin Ildikó Enyedi Germany, France, Hungary
Laugh English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Fwends Sophie Somerville Australia The Kidnapping of Arabella Il rapimento di Arabella Carolina Cavalli Italy More Life Bradley Banton United Kingdom, Denmark Olmo Fernando Eimbcke United States, Mexico She's the He Siobhán McCarthy United States Twinless James Sweeney United States Untamable Thomas Ngijol France What Marielle Knows Was Marielle weiß Frédéric Hambalek Germany
Dare English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Alpha Julia Ducournau France, Belgium Anemone Ronan Day-Lewis United Kingdom, United States The Assistant Człowiek do wszystkiego Wilhelm Sasnal, Anka Sasnal Poland, United Kingdom Blue Heron Sophy Romvari Canada, Hungary The Chronology of Water Kristen Stewart France, Latvia, United Kingdom, United States The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box) El Diablo Fuma (y guarda las cabezas de los cerillos quemados en la misma caja) Ernesto Martínez Bucio Mexico Dreams Michel Franco United States, Mexico Dry Leaf ხმელი ფოთოლი Alexandre Koberidze Germany, Georgia The Fence Le Cri des Gardes Claire Denis France Good Boy Jan Komasa Poland, United Kingdom Hamlet Aneil Karia United Kingdom The Ice Tower La Tour de glace Lucile Hadžihalilović France, Germany, Italy Lady Samuel Abrahams United Kingdom Magellan Magalhães Lav Diaz Portugal, Spain, Philippines, France, Taiwan Memory of Princess Mumbi Damien Hauser Kenya, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia Short Summer Nastia Korkia Germany, France, Serbia Sirāt Óliver Laxe Spain, France Sound of Falling In die Sonne schauen Mascha Schilinski Germany Straight Circle Oscar Hudson United States, United Kingdom, South Africa
Thrill English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country At the Place of Ghosts Sk+te’kmujue’katik Bretten Hannam Canada, Belgium Balearic Ion de Sosa Spain, France Giant Rowan Athale United Kingdom, United States If I Had Legs I'd Kick You Mary Bronstein United States Lurker Alex Russell United States Miroirs No. 3 Christian Petzold Germany A Private Life Vie privée Rebecca Zlotowski France Retreat Ted Evans United Kingdom The Secret Agent O Agente Secreto Kleber Mendonça Filho Brazil Ultras Ragnhild Ekner Sweden, Denmark, Finland Wasteman Cal McMau United Kingdom
Cult English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country ChaO チァオ Yasuhiro Aoki Japan Decorado Alberto Vázquez Spain, Portugal Exit 8 8番出口 Genki Kawamura Japan Fucktoys Annapurna Sriram United States The Holy Boy La valle dei sorrisi Paolo Strippoli Italy, Slovenia Honey Bunch Madeleine Sims-Fewer, Dusty Mancinelli Canada Reflection in a Dead Diamond Reflet dans un diamant mort Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, France The Vile Majid Al Ansari United Arab Emirates, United States
Journey