The 70th BFI London Film Festival is taking place from 7 to 18 October 2026. 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. 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.
The complete line-up was revealed on 2 September 2026. 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.
Screening venues
Seven London venues will screen the films during the festival's run:
BFI Southbank BFI IMAX Institute of Contemporary Arts Prince Charles Cinema Royal Festival Hall Vue West End Curzon Soho
Juries The jury members were as follows:
Main Competition
Main competition jury will select the winner of the best film award.
Sam Pollard, American film director, editor, producer, and screenwriter – Jury president
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: 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, and Artificial to have Gala screening on October 11.
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 Behemoth! Tony Gilroy United States Mayor of London's Gala Ink Danny Boyle United Kingdom GalaArtificialLuca GuadagninoUnited 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:
Official Competition The official competition lineup includes: 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 Country9 Temples to Heaven Sompot ChidgasornpongseThailand, Singapore, France, Norway, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Qatar Animol Ashley Walters United KingdomBen'Imana Marie Clémentine DusabejamboRwanda, Gabon, France, Norway, Ivory CoastA Common StoryUna storiaAnna FogliettaItaly 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 KingdomOur 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 CanadaThe Calf Doll Ankur Hooda IndiaConcrete Land Asmahan Bkerat Jordan, Palestine Concrete Turned to Sand Jessica Johnson, Ryan Ermacora CanadaDependence Grace Harper Brighouse CanadaOnce 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, FranceDaughters 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 KingdomLandscapes of Shame Patrick Hough Ireland-United Kingdom Mon Taxi Meriem Sakrouhi Morocco, United States Treasure IslandL’île aux trésors Miryam Charles CanadaWhite Musk Fatima Wardy Sudan, United States
Thematic strands Love English Title Original Title Director(s) Production CountryAll of a SuddenSoudain / Ryusuke HamaguchiFrance, Japan, Germany, BelgiumCoward Lukas DhontBelgium, 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, IrelandGentle MonsterMarie KreutzerAustria, France, GermanyGood Little SoldierUn bon petit soldatStéphane BrizéFranceI See Buildings Fall Like Lightning Clio Barnard United Kingdom, France, United StatesMuskAlex GibneyUnited Kingdom, United StatesMy Undesirable Friends: Part II – ExileJulia LoktevUnited States
Laugh English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country The Banning Curse Mohsen Amiryousefi, Mohsen Amiryousefi Iran The Fox Dario Russo AustraliaThe History of Concrete John Wilson United States Hot Water Ramzi Bashour United States Lali Sarmad Khoosat PakistanWicker Eleanor Wilson, Alex Huston Fischer United States, United Kingdom
Dare English Title Original Title Director(s) Production CountryA Day in the Life of Jo: Chapter PhaedraMia mera sti zoi tis tzo: kefalaio FaidraJacqueline LentzouGreece, Germany, France Chronicles from the Siege وقائع زمن الحصار Abdallah Al-Khatib Algeria, France, PalestineChronovisor Jack Auen & Kevin Walker United States EverytimeSandra WollnerAustria, Germany Filipiñana Rafael Manuel Singapore, United Kingdom, Philippines, France, NetherlandsA Man of His TimeEmmanuel MarreBelgium, FranceMary Magdalene Gessica GénéusHaiti, 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 CountryBlack Church Bay Rhys Marc Jones United Kingdom The Dreamed AdventureDas Geträumte AbenteuerValeska GrisebachGermany, France, Austria, BulgariaElephants in the Fog तिनीहरूAbinash Bikram ShahNepal, France, Germany, Brazil, NorwayFuriesRami KodeihLebanon, BrazilJosephine Beth de Araújo United States The Liberation Guy Nattiv United Kingdom, United States, New ZealandThe Match Juan Cabral and Santiago FrancoArgentinaMoonglow Isabel Sandoval PhilippinesPrimetimeLance OppenheimUnited States
Cult English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country The Blood Countess Die Blutgräfin Ulrike Ottinger Austria, Luxembourg, GermanyThe 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 KingdomRogue Trooper Duncan Jones United KingdomThe UnknownArthur HarariFrance, Italy
Journey English Title Original Title Director(s) Production CountryAna, en passant Fernanda SalgadoBrazil, Portugal, FranceA Bit of Lightکمی نورAli AsgariIran, Switzerland, Italy, Canada, TurkeyClarissa Arie Esiri and Chuko EsiriUnited States, Nigeria, EgyptEverest: The Other SideElizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy ChinUnited States, China, NepalLa Gradiva Marine AtlanFrance, Italy Misty Green Chris Rock United StatesNo Good Men Kabul JanShahrbanoo SadatGermany, France, Norway, Denmark, AfghanistanLa PerraDominga SotomayorChile, BrazilA Place to Heal15/18Cédric KahnFrance The Station Al Mahattah Sara Ishaq Yemen, Netherlands, France, Jordan, Germany, Norway
Create English Title Original Title Director(s) Production CountryCameron Winter at Carnegie HallPaul Thomas AndersonUnited States Congo Boy Rafiki Fariala Central African Republic, France, Democratic Republic of Congo, ItalyThe Echo ChamberAndrea PallaoroItaly, BelgiumJoy of JoysJonathan GlazerUnited KingdomThe Man I Love Ira SachsUnited States, France Supporting Role მეორეხარისხოვანი როლი Ana Urushadze Georgia, Estonia, Türkiye
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