BFI London Film Festival 2026
Monday the 12th
Ink
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
The second week at the LFF this year kicked off with a local flavour and in homegrown style when celebrated English director Danny Boyle returned to the festival to head the big “Mayor of London’s Gala” screening, bringing British audiences the UK premiere of his biographical drama portrait of controversial media titans and the transformation of the Western press ‘Ink’.
A period chronicle of the rise of tabloid media and the shifting politically-influential press landscape centred on struggling British broadsheet newspaper “The Sun”, acquired in 1968 by Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch who hires hotshot editor Larry Lamb to change its fortunes, as they lean on sleaze and scandal to give the people what they want and transform it into a lucrative tabloid on the way to building an empire and changing the media, cultural and political landscape of the UK . . . and well beyond. Boyle was flanked on the LFF red carpet by his stars Jonathan Hyde, Guy Pearce, Jack O’Connell, Liz White, Angus Imrie, Brian Gleeson, Abigail Amin, Blake Harrison, Georgie Henley and Patrick Kennedy, ‘Ink’ is out on the 8th of January 2027 in the UK and US.
Ink teaser at the LFF (courtesy of Official Pop Drop)
Being Heumann
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
Monday’s second big gala screening was another biographical period affair which brought American writer/director Siân Heder to the LFF as she continues her cinematic advocacy for disability rights and the human stories behind them after 2021’s ‘CODA’, this time accompanied by her crew and cast John W. Beach, Rob Delaney, Kevin J. Walsh, Sian Heder, Ruth Madeley, David Permut, Kevin Cleary, Jamie D. Ramsay, Bernard Telsey for the UK premiere of their portrait of a 1970s protest ‘Being Heumann’.
A chronicle of the efforts of polio survivor and disability rights activist Judith Heumann to lead an effort against San Francisco’s government and their disability policies, culminating in a 28-day takeover of a federal building in 1977, leading to a change of laws and her rise as the “Mother of the Disability Rights Movement”. ‘Being Heumann’ is out on a limited cinema release on the 6th of November, and streams on AppleTV on the 13th of November.
Being Heumann teaser trailer (courtesy of AppleTV)
Glaxo
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
The festival’s official competition also some action on Monday and brought Latin American cinema when Argentinian writer/director Benjamín Naishtat returned to the LFF, represented by one of his stars Joaquin Bonadeo and crew for the UK premiere of their Argentine era-spanning period neo-noir ‘Glaxo’.
A drama mystery unfolding over multiple decades of political turmoil and military regimes, centred on a group of friends in provincial town dominated by the local Glaxo pharmaceutical factory, whose lives and relationships begin to unravel after a retired police officer Buenos Aires bigshot and his alluring wife move to town, setting off a series of betrayals and revenge during an time of profound change for the country. ‘Glaxo’ has no confirmed dates yet.
Glaxo trailer (courtesy of LuxBox)
VisionQuest
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
Monday also showcased the festival’s expansion in terms of format with the presence of major Hollywood television and a last minute promotional opportunity for Disney, as series creator Terry Matalas was joined by his stars and crew Jonathan Sayer, Lauren Morais, Todd Stashwick, T’Nia Miller, Ruaridh Mollica, Paul Bettany, Terry Matalas, James Spader, Emily Hampshire, Orla Brady, James D’Arcy and Henry Lewis to give UK audiences an exclusive peek at the first two episodes of the latest Marvel superhero series ‘VisionQuest’.
A selection of interconnected stories and a follow-up to Marvel’s ‘WandaVision’ and ‘Agatha All Along’ series recounting the continuing adventures of super synthetic and former Avenger “Vision”, as he faces new challenges and the ghosts of his past while trying to regain his memory and humanity. ‘VisionQuest’ is streaming now on Disney+.
VisionQuest at the LFF (courtesy of Official Pop Drop)
Tuesday the 13th
Behemoth!
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Tuesday this year brought some welcome musicality and a classical taste to the LFF when the big BFI Patrons’ Gala screening brought celebrated American screenwriter-turned-director Tony Gilroy to the rather appropriate Royal Festival Hall red carpet, flanked by his stars Pedro Pascal, Eva Victor and Alexa Swinton for the UK premiere of his cinematic fictional portrait of a premiere classical artist ‘Behemoth!’.
A character study chronicle of a complex and aloof but revered American cello prodigy from a celebrated artistic family, looking to escape the pressures of his profession and the headache of his latest romantic entanglement as he steps away from the limelight and returns to Los Angeles as session player, discovering new purpose when forced to face hard emotional truths and helping to create a score for a new film only to be plunged into a paternity quest which reflects his family legacy, in this ode to artistry and the people who shape music and the movies. ‘Behemoth!’ is out in cinemas on the 4th of December.
Behemoth! at the LFF (courtesy of Official Pop Drop)
Prima Facie
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
The second of the day’s big gala screenings was an Anglo-Australian British cinema affair which brought British director Susanna White to her home festival along with Aussie playwright Suzie Miller, who adapts her own acclaimed stage-play to give LFF audiences the UK premiere of their moral quandary London legal drama and modern portrait of sexual assault victims ‘Prima Facie’.
The timely tale of a high-flying and ambitious barrister who made her name defending men accused of sexual assault, only to be plunged into a crisis of conscience and begin to question the legal system she once upheld after she becomes the victim of sexual assault by a powerful colleague, and is turned into an accuser herself. White and Miller were joined by their stars and producers Elliot Levey, Toheeb Jimoh, Greer Simpkin, Sarah Junillon, Khalid Abdalla, Cynthia Erivo, Elizabeth Dulau, Kevin Loader, Harry Treadaway and David Jowsey, ‘Prima Facie’ is out on the 13th of November in UK cinemas.
Prima Facie trailer (courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing UK)
Rose
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
Perhaps the pick of Tuesday’s other screenings came in the “Dare” strand and was a Germanic period picture affair which brought Austrian actor/casting director turned writer/director Markus Schleinzer back to the LFF, joined by his titular star Sandra Hüller for the UK premiere of their solemn monochrome meditation on historical gender roles ‘Rose’.
A fictional historical drama inspired by real accounts of everyday women throughout European history and set in a 17th-century German village after the devastation of the Thirty Years’ War, following the fate of a scarred and hardened female soldier who infiltrates a strict Protestant rural community disguised as a man and posing as the long-missing heir to a local estate, as she works hard to help re-invigorate the land and restore the village, only for the truth to threaten what she’s built and the hard-won freedom she so values. ‘Rose’ is out on limited release in the US on the 11th of December, and in UK cinemas on the 5th of February 2027.
Rose trailer (courtesy of BFI)
Frank and Percy
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
Tuesday also provided some further homegrown fare and something for a more vintage audience, as director Sean Mathias brought along his legendary stars Sir Ian McKellen, and Roger Allam plus cast & crew including Jamie Anderson, Madeline Silton, Martin Sherman, Naomi George, David Gilbery, John Gore, Ncuti Gatwa and Hugh Skinner for a “Love” strand screening of another adaptation of a hit West End stage show, bringing LFF audiences the world premiere of their later-life portrait of friendship and companionship ‘Frank and Percy’. The life-affirming story of a couple of older Brits who form a friendship whilst walking their dogs on Hampstead Heath, only for their unlikely relationship to blossom into something greater and prove it’s never too late to discover love. ‘Frank and Percy’ has no release dates yet.
Frank and Percy at the LFF (courtesy of HeyUGuys)
Wednesday the 14th
Fatherland
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
The action on the second Wednesday at the LFF this year culminated with the return of acclaimed Polish writer/director Paweł Pawlikowski to the festival for one of the day’s big gala screenings, flanked by his stars Sandra Hüller, Anna Madeley and David Menkin for the UK premiere of his monochrome biographical German period drama ‘Fatherland’.
The Polish auteur’s latest cinematic exploration of post-war Europe and life behind the iron curtain, centred around Nobel Prize-winning author Thomas Mann and his difficult relationship with his formidable daughter Erika, as they set off on an illuminating summer of 1949 road trip across his native Germany after years of foreign exile for opposing the 3rd Reich, only to find a scarred and fractured country which mirrors the divisions in the Cold War world and in his own aristocratic family. ‘Fatherland’ is out on the 23rd of October in the UK and US.
Fatherland at the LFF (courtesy of HeyUGuys)
A Long Winter
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
Wednesday’s second big gala screening was a homegrown but US-set Anglo-Canadian affair which brought British writer/director Andrew Haigh return to the festival with his snow-capped adaptation of the Colm Tóibín novella, treating LFF audiences to the UK premiere of his character study period drama ‘A Long Winter’.
Set in the isolated snow-covered mountains of Colorado and following the fortunes of “Mike”, a conflicted young man returning to his childhood home and a quiet family life after a formative and traumatic time away, only for everything to be turned upside down when his mother unexpectedly disappears and the search for her becomes a search for himself and a struggle to understand his fractured family. Haigh was joined on the LFF red carpet by his stars Martin Freeman, Caitríona Balfe and Fred Hechinger plus producer Tristan Goligher, ‘A Long Winter’ is out in UK cinemas on the 15th January 2027.
A Long Winter at the LFF (courtesy of HeyUGuys)
The Idiot(s)
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
The festival’s official competition also got some play on Wednesday in the form of central European period comedy, as a German-Polish production brought Polish writer/directors Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert’s back to the LFF flanked by their cast & crew Hansjörg Weißbrich, Aleksandr Fomin, Nina Gold, Vicky Krieps, Malgorzata Szumowska, Johnny Flynn, Aimee Lou Wood, Lota Dascioraite, Vladimir Zemtsov, Ilya Stewart and Raphael Roger Levy for the UK premiere of their droll Dostoevsky biographical comedy/drama ode to Russian literary struggle and triumph ‘The Idiot(s)’.
A comedic chronicle of legendary Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky, in self-imposed exile in Germany to escape his creditors and struggling against the pull of booze and gambling, whose devoted wife Anna takes it upon herself to help subdue his vices an re-ignite his creative fires, as he turns a corner on the way to creating some of his most iconic and lucrative works, and she heads towards helping the family take the reins of their destiny whilst she becomes a female publishing pioneer of Russian literature. ‘The Idiot(s)’ has no confirmed dates yet.
The Idiot(s) at the LFF (courtesy of Official Pop Drop)
Godzilla Minus Zero
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
The pick of Wednesday’s other films was another thematic strand screening that somehow managed to avoid being a gala whilst taking up the BFI’s own IMAX, as the “Cult” strand welcomed modern yet period Japanese blockbuster cinema to the festival and treated LFF audiences to a sequel to 2023’s ‘Godzilla Minus One’, further re-invigorating a homegrown legend as writer/director Takashi Yamazaki brought the UK premiere of ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’.
A contemporary yet classic kaiju survival period epic following the fate of the young “Shikishima” family, set in a 1949 Japan still recovering from the war and reeling from the devastation of the titular titan’s rampage two years prior, where questionable government decisions and a new terror threatens everything whilst a familiar foe stirs at the bottom of the sea, all destined for a fateful clash. ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ is out on the 6th of November in the UK and US.
Godzilla Minus Zero trailer (courtesy of Godzilla)
Thursday the 15th
Klara and the Sun
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
The activities on the second Thursday at the festival this year culminated with a return to the LFF for idiosyncratic Kiwi writer/director/producer Taika Waititi, flanked by his cast & crew David Heyman, Rosie Alison, Aislinn Dunster, Elizabeth Gabler, Amy Adams, Jenna Ortega, Natasha Lyonne, Alex G. Scott, Rachel Foreman, Aaran Murphy and Rachel House for a gala screening world premiere of his quirky American adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s poignant life-affirming novel meditation on friendship and sentience ‘Klara and the Sun’.
The quirky and colourful tale of earlier model artificial friend “Klara”, hoping to find a friend whose life she can enrich and released from her store as her dreams come true when gifted youngster “Josie” and her mother take her home, as Klara’s innocence and sunny disposition conquer the darkness of the human world and help to heal the tricky mother-daughter relationship scarred by loss and trauma of her new human family. ‘Klara and the Sun’ is out on the 23rd of October in UK and US cinemas.
Klara and the Sun at the LFF (courtesy of Official Pop Drop)
Tender Loving Care
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
Thursday’s second big gala screening was a homegrown contemporary droll kitchen sink drama affair which brought a British a film legend back to the festival potentially for the last time, as director Mike Leigh returned alongside his stars Kate O’Flynn, Marion Bailey, Alice Bailey Johnson and Paul Jesson with his latest slice of human drama realism reflection of working class Britain, bringing LFF audiences the UK premiere of ‘Tender Loving Care’.
An honest, naturalistic and compassionate contemporary comedy/drama chronicle of human connection and everyday Londoners, centered on two social workers and friends who come together to conquer the stresses of their professions and the joy and heartache of their personal lives, supporting each other as they find worth and happiness in the despair of modern life. ‘Tender Loving Care’ is out in the US on the 4th of December, and in UK cinemas on the 12th of February 2027.
Tender Loving Care at the LFF (courtesy of HeyUGuys)
Act 3
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
The festival’s official competition also some some action on Thursday and brought a documentary flavour to the proceedings when Irish writer/directors Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor continued their series exploring ageing, family and legacy through conversations and true accounts on the big screen, bringing LFF audiences the in-competition UK premiere of ‘Act 3’. A documentary consisting of archival footage and conversations between the two filmmakers and other subjects, as they recount shared memories and absorb others’ experiences, whilst trying to find parallels between themselves and the subjects of their latest project—pioneering early 20th century French avant-garde artists Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore. ‘Act 3’ has no confirmed sates yet.
Act 3 trailer (courtesy of BFI)
Coward
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
The “Love” strand of screenings saw some action on Thursday and brought Belgian cinema and writer/director Lukas Dhont back to the LFF, flanked by his stars Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne for the UK premiere of his LGBTQ+ first crack at a period piece ‘Coward’. A World War I drama set at the height of the conflict on the Western front, where a rookie Belgian soldier desperate to prove his worth meets a comrade with a plan to lift troop morale—staging a theatre show—as the two bond over ways to escape the brutality of the trenches whenever and however they can. ‘Coward’ is out on the 25th of December in the US, and on the 1st of January 2027 in UK cinemas.
Coward trailer (courtesy of BFI)
Friday the 16th
Minotaur
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
The big gala screening of the day on Friday number two this year brought politically reflective Russian cinema to the LFF and acclaimed writer/director Andrey Zvyagintsev back to the festival, accompanied by one of his stars Iris Lebedeva for the UK premiere of his latest nuanced human drama meditation on modern Russia ‘Minotaur’.
A contemporary drama thriller adapted from Claude Chabrol’s 1969 French film ‘The Unfaithful Wife’, set against the backdrop of the Russo-Ukrainian war and unraveling in a small provincial Russian town where a business executive is under pressure from an uncertain world and the corporate responsibility to help feed the Russian military machine, only for a shocking revelation about his private life to mount on top and challenge his principles, throwing his carefully cultivated existence into a chaos and threatening to all end in tragedy. ‘Minotaur’ is out on the 20th of November in the US and the 27th of November in the UK.
Minotaur teaser trailer (courtesy of BFI)
My Notes on Mars
Image Source: BFI
Friday’s proceedings also brought further participation to the official competition and Hungarian cinema to the festival when writer/director Lili Horvát made her LFF debut accompanied by her star Mackenzie Davis plus cast & crew for the UK premiere of her Austro-Hungarian English language debut sci-fi romance ‘My Notes on Mars’.
A relationship character study of love and memory centred on a respected scientist and Mars researcher who goes missing whilst hiking with her husband, only to mysteriously show up weeks later with no memory of her disappearance or anything about her life before it except for her scientific research, as the couple get a new shot at a different life together and a resurgent marriage, while they mystery of her disappearance and who she’s become lingers and casts a shadow over everything. ‘My Notes on Mars’ has no confirmed dates yet.
I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
The day’s other screenings also brought some homegrown action to the festival in the form of a “Debate” strand screening, as British director and LFF regular Clio Barnard brought along her stars Jay Lycurgo, Joe Cole, Anthony Boyle, Daryl McCormack, James Eeles and Lucie Shorthouse for the UK premiere of her British ensemble youthful friendship drama adaptation of the Kieran Goddard novel ‘I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning’.
A study of social structures in modern Britain and a frank and poignant portrait of five Birmingham childhood friends whose bonds are tested through time and coming-of-age into adulthood, as the now thirty-somethings grapple with regrets and resentments, secrets and lies between them which will push their friendship to the edge. ‘I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning’ is out on the 4th of December in the UK.
I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning teaser trailer (courtesy of BFI)
A Good Little Soldier
Image Source: Gaumont
The pick of Friday’s other screenings came in the “Debate” strand and brought further French cinema to the festival, as writer/director Stéphane Brizé brought the UK premiere of his mediation on modern workplace power dynamics and current social norms ‘A Good Little Soldier’. A tense character drama revolving around a new head of HR at a big insurance company in France, whose efforts and determination to make her mark are soon scuppered when she discovers complex politics at her new employer and the troubling truth beneath the surface of the company’s outward DEI policy of support and inclusion, as things inevitably come to a head with serious consequences for her new workplace, her career . . . and her personal life. ‘A Good Little Soldier’ is out on the 25th of November in France, with no UK or US dates yet.
A Good Little Soldier trailer (courtesy of Gaumont)
Saturday the 17th
Fjord
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
A busy day for big gala screenings on Saturday was led by a blend of Scandinavian and Romanian cinema which brought celebrated Romanian writer/director and LFF regular Cristian Mungiu back to the festival with his recent Palme d’Or winner at Cannes in hand, flanked by his cast & crew including Sean Wheelan, Ana Bodea, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Christian Rubeck, Lisa Carlehed, Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve, Tudor Vladimir Panduru and Markus Tønseth for the UK premiere of his Romanian-Norwegian contemporary clash-of-cultures family drama study of immigration and tradition ‘Fjord’.
A frank and unflinching modern cinematic study of European immigration and the balance of tolerance versus conformity and the rule of law, all revolving around a Romanian couple and their young children who settle in small town coastal Norway, only for their traditional values and strict Pentecostal beliefs to clash with the locals and the country’s legal system when one of the children turns up to school with troubling bruises, and the tight-knit community begins to face uncomfortable questions which challenge their ideologies and preconceptions. ‘Fjord’ is out now in the US and on the 13th of November in UK cinemas.
Fjord at the LFF (courtesy of Official Pop Drop)
Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
Saturday’s second big gala screening was an inventive American cinema affair which brought Pakistani-American writer/director Bassam Tariq back to the LFF, accompanied by his stars and producers Adia, Babak Anvari, Mahershala Ali, Lucan Toh and John Cho for the UK premiere of his unconventional crime action/thriller portrait of faith and family ‘Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother’.
A creative contemporary American crime thriller centred on a Houston family man and devout Muslim who works as a skilled and feared assassin in the underworld, struggling to raise three children after his beloved wife dies and trying to keep his two disparate worlds apart, only for all hell to break loose when a hit goes wrong and leaves him scrambling across the city to protect his family from dangerous people. ‘Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother’ is out now in the US and on the 20th of November in the UK.
Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother at the LFF (courtesy of Official Pop Drop)
Club Kid
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
The final and arguably most vibrant gala screening of the day was another American cinema affair which brought actor/writer/director Jordan Firstman to the LFF for his feature directorial debut, joined by his producers and co-stars Galen Core, Reggie Absolom, Kirby Howell-Baptiste and Ryan Heller for the UK premiere of his droll and peppy portrait of unexpected millennial parenthood ‘Club Kid’.
A hopeful and life-affirming modern LGBTQ+ dramedy charting the journey of a fast-living hard-partying queer New York City club promoter, whose wild lifestyle and years of excess are turned upside when he discovers a 10-year-old son he never knew he had, stepping up to the daunting task of being a father whilst working on himself and trying to become the man he never thought he could be, thanks to a nourishing new relationship he could have only dreamt of. ‘Club Kid’ is out on the 6th of November in the US, and on the 8th of January 2027 in the UK.
Club Kid trailer (courtesy of BFI)
7 Miles Out
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
Saturday’s other screenings brought some homegrown participation in the festival’s official competition when British writer/director and LFF regular Carol Morley returned alongside her stars Aidan Gillen, Jessica McHale, Gracie Darlington, Leila Entwistle, Eve Baddeley, Carol Morley, Clare Grogan, Elizabeth Meadows, Misha Mond, Gemma Whelan, Kasper Hilton-Hille and Jim English for the world premiere of her very personal period portrait of British coming-of-age ‘7 Miles Out’.
A poignant British period drama adapted by Morley from her own semi-autobiographical adolescence novel, set the North West of England in the 1970s and 80s and following the fortunes of young “Ann”, still reeling from the troubling death of her beloved father and digging into her friendships to help her cope, whilst finding a welcome escapism and identity in the emerging new-wave and punk movements of the era as she comes of age into adulthood. ‘7 Miles Out’ has no confirmed dates yet.
7 Miles Out trailer (courtesy of BFI)
Sunday the 18th
The Debut
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The final day at this year’s London Film Festival once again featured a light new screening schedule which culminated in the customary big Closing Night Gala, this year proving to be an American cinema affair and tribute to the stage which brought idiosyncratic Hollywood star turned writer/director Jesse Eisenberg back to the LFF, flanked by his star Julianne Moore for the UK premiere of his hilarious and touching ode to community theatre ‘The Debut’.
A droll and delightful love letter to theatrical grass roots centred on a soft-spoken 1990s suburban New Jersey housewife who finds a new voice and purpose when she auditions for the leading role in a new musical at the local theatre, only to get it and discover a whirlwind new world of pressures plus the daunting expectations and determination of the respected and intimidating director, pushing the limits of how far she’ll go to truly find her character . . . with life-affirming and comical consequences. ‘The Debut’ is out in the US on the 11th of December, and on the 15th of January 2027 in UK cinemas.
The Debut at the LFF (courtesy of Official Pop Drop)
Koschka
Image Source: Blinker
The other new film of the final day was German cinema feline affair which came in the “Family” strand of screenings, bringing writer/director Bernd Sahling back to the festival with his stars Sebastian Erbes, Ilkay Yalcin and Bella Mortlock for the UK premiere his latest charming exploration of childhood ‘Koschka’.
The adorable tale of eight-year-old youngster “Jan”, living in Germany with his father and looking forward to a summer in the country with his mother when his plans are turned upside down by the arrival of “Koschka”, a stray cat who follows him home and changes his life, as he forms a strong bond with his new kitty but discovers he has a cat allergy and struggles to keep her a secret . . . only to find that Koschka has her own secrets. ‘Koschka’ has no confirmed dates yet.
Koschka teaser clip (courtesy of BFI)
Awards
This year’s LFF’s awards—something which unlike other festivals has always been a small part of the overall event—saw Sergei Loznitsa’s ‘Imperium’ take the official competition’s ‘Best Film’ award. You can check out all the winners below.
The 70th BFI London Film Festival 2026 LFF Award Winners
Official Competition (Best Film):
‘Imperium’ by Sergei Loznitsa
Documentary Competition (Grierson Award):
‘Concrete Land’ by Asmahan Bkerat
First Feature Competition (Sutherland Award):
‘9 Temples to Heaven’ by Sompot Chidgasornpongse
Short Film Competition (Short Film Award):
‘Aman’ by Rahul Roye
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