The BFI has revealed the full programme for this year’s London Film Festival. Here are some of the highlights.
It’s that time of the year again. The London Film Festival is almost upon us (or at least Londoners) and the BFI has revealed the full programme today. Among the titles you’ll find the usual suspects. The festival is usually a smorgasbord of big titles that have had world premieres at other similar events, but it’s also a great chance to see other, smaller movies.
We already knew Steve McQueen’s Blitz will open the festival while Morgan Neville’s Pharrell Williams Lego biopic will close it – and that the new restoration of Watership Down would screen too. We won’t list the entire programme here, but let’s go through some highlights.
Some of the galas include Marielle Heller’s Nightbitch, in which Amy Adams believes she’s turning into a dog, Luca Guadagnino’s Queer with Daniel Craig, Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths, Sean Baker’s Palme D’Or winner Anora and John Crowley’s We Live In Time, starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh.
As usual, the festival programme is divided into themed strands. These are: Love, Debate, Cult, Laugh, Dare, Experimenta, Create, Journey, Treasures, Expanded, Shorts, Thrill and Family. Some really excellent films can be found in these strands, including Brett Goldstein’s All Of You, Claude Barras’ Savages and Steven Knight’s new TV series A Thousand Blows, starring Stephen Graham.
The action isn’t limited to London, either. Several LFF titles, including Blitz, Anora and Nightbitch, will play in cinemas across the country. The partnering venues are Broadway Cinema in Nottingham, Chapter in Cardiff, Glasgow Film Theatre, HOME in Manchester, MAC in Birmingham, Queen’s Film Theatre in Belfast, Showroom Cinema in Sheffield, Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle and Watershed in Bristol.
There will also be several Screen Talks with acclaimed industry talent, including Denis Villeneuve, Sean Baker, Mike Leigh and Lupita Nyong’o.
If you’re a BFI Patron or a Member, tickets go on sale next week on Monday and Tuesday respectively. If you don’t have a membership with the BFI, public tickets go on sale 17th September before the festival itself takes place 9th-20th October.
You can explore the full programme at your leisure here.
