BFI London Film Festival 2026
Following another challenging and eventful twelve months of film for an industry in constant flux, true cinema returned to the London and UK cinemas beyond courtesy of the the British Film Institute (BFI), as the 70th edition of one of the world’s most accessible major film festivals— the London Film Festival (LFF)—gathered major players of global cinema in the British capital once again for twelve days of sharing their latest efforts with the world’s media and the British public.
Once a again a recent tradition of mixing physical and virtual online events both in the capital and other UK cities continued and brought over 250 titles including features, shorts, upcoming TV series episodes and XR programmes from 88 countries to UK audiences in London’s South Bank as well as the West End and beyond.
As in previous years indie players from across the globe as well as major studios with their own indie labels returned bringing much anticipated titles competing for our attention, up against major streaming players like Netflix, Apple and Amazon who have themselves taken a major chunk of the industry. Once again the films were divided into thematic strands and gala screenings with the star glitz & glamour to match, plus of course a small selection of titles in the festival’s official competition. You can see the full schedule of this year’s LFF feature films and much more on the official BFI site here, and all of our LFF reviews so far here . . . but stay tuned for many more to come.
Screenings
Week 1
Wednesday the 7th
Elsinore
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
The opening night gala this year and the honour of opening the festival saw the return of a recent tradition of a homegrown offering taking the responsibility, this year falling to well-travelled Swiss-Australian actor turned theatre and film director Simon Stone (The Daughter, The Dig) and writer Stephen Beresford (Pride, Tolkien) who brought a UK premiere of their poignant tribute to the spirit of the theatre and portrait of a an actor in crisis ‘Elsinore’.
A biographical character drama centred on the later days and final efforts in the life of British actor Ian Charleson, wrestling with his own mortality as his AIDS diagnosis takes a major physical and psychological toll while he prepares for an unexpected and defining run of Hamlet at the National Theatre, a performance which would turn out to be his last and become the stuff of stage legend as he pours his angst and all that remains of him into the role which somberly reflects his own haunted existence. Stone and Beresford were joined on the red carpet by their stars Andrew Scott, Olivia Colman, Billie Piper, Johnny Flynn, Monica Dolan, David Dawson, Matthew Beard, Paul Chahidi, Luke Thompson, Kadiff Kirwan and Sadie Soverall among others, ‘Elsinore’ is out in select US cinemas on the 20th of November, and in the UK on the 29th of January 2027. You can check out our review here.
Elsinore at the LFF (courtesy of APT)
Petrolheads
Image Source: BFI
Day one this year also saw some participation in several of the festival’s thematic screening strands including the “Love” strand which brought Scandinavian cinema and documentarian Emil Langballe to the LFF, joined by his stars Martin Jensen and Casper Størner for the UK premiere of their touching and life-affirming Danish docu-dramedy ‘Petrolheads’. The tale of Martin the young neurodivergent Dane and his best friend Casper, two car-obsessed mechanics and petrolheads who bond over the complexities of their lives and their shared passion, as they embark on a quest to find Martin’s dream automobile—the 1994 Honda Civic—in this quirky, poignant and personal portrait of friendship and mental disability. ‘Petrolheads’ has no confirmed dates yet.
Petrolheads trailer (courtesy of BFI)
La Perra
Image Source: Lucky Number
The first Wednesday also saw some action in the “Journey” strand of screenings and brought both Chilean cinema and director Dominga Sotomayor back to the LFF, accompanied by her stars Manuela Oyarzún, David Gaete and Selton Mello for the UK premiere of her poignant character study of loss, loneliness and friendship ‘La Perra’. The story of a woman living a simple coastal life on a remote Chilean island with her partner and trying to bury the scars of her past, who forms an unexpected bond with with a special pooch when she finds a litter of abandoned puppies, a new friendship which nourishes her soul but also links her to the trauma of a painful past she tried to leave behind. ‘La Perra’ has no confirmed dates yet.
La Perra trailer (courtesy of BFI)
Thursday the 8th
The Beloved
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
Thursday number one proved to be Spain day ate the LFF with the evening’s Gala screenings bringing a taste of Spanish cinema and writer/director Rodrigo Sorogoyen back to the LFF, flanked by his star Victoria Luengo for the UK premiere of their contemporary father/daughter filmmaking drama ‘The Beloved’.
The story of a celebrated Spanish film director with a complicated and troubled past, whose latest project sees him reach out to his estranged actress daughter for a key role in a politically charged picture, as they’re brought together on set and a tough location shoot by professional need only to be forced face unresolved resentments and the difficulties of their past, but reveal the hope to rekindle a closeness long forgotten. ‘The Beloved’ is out onthe 5th of March 2027 in the UK.
The Beloved at the LFF (courtesy of The Upcoming)
La Bola Negra
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
The day’s second big gala screening and further Spanish cinema offering brought writer/directors Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo to the LFF still fresh from their Cannes success, accompanied by their stars Guitarricadelafuente, Penélope Cruz and Miguel Bernardeau for the UK premiere of their character period drama genre-blending anthology exploration of homosexuality through the ages ‘La Bola Negra’.
A series of stories inspired by the unfinished work of Federico García Lorca, chronicling the experiences of three gay men over different eras in recent Spanish history, all connected by sexuality and desire, pain and inheritance. ‘La Bola Negra‘ is out now in the US on limited release and on the 6th of November in the UK.
La Bola Negra at the LFF (courtesy of Official Pop Drop)
Wicker
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
The pick of Thursday’s other films came in the “Laugh” strand of screenings and brought British-set quirky American comedy cinema to the LFF courtesy of writer/directors Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson, who brought along their stars Nabhaan Rizwan, Ben Ashenden, Elizabeth Debicki, Marli Siu, Alexander Skarsgård, Abigél Szőke Lenk, Olivia Colman, Huston Fischer, Peter Dinklage, Gustav Lindh, Shobu Kapoor, Kiell Smith-Bynoe and Daniel Belus for the UK premiere of their offbeat outsider romantic period fable ‘Wicker’.
The tale of an unmarried middle-aged fisherwoman in a small medieval English village who grows tired of being ridiculed and treated like an outsider, seeking the local basket-maker to commission a very special type of partner—a strapping and sentient wicker husband—who soon proves to be the ideal spouse and quickly ignites resentment and jealousy which threatens their once quiet little village. ‘Wicker’ is out on the 30th of October in UK and US cinemas, you can see our review here.
Wicker at the LFF (courtesy of Official Pop Drop)
The Man I Love
Image Source: MK2 Films
The “Create” strand of screenings also got some play on Thursday as UK audiences were given a taste of American cinema courtesy of writer/director Ira Sachs, as he brought a UK premiere of his latest LGBTQ+ character exploration ‘The Man I Love’. A period drama set in New York City of the late 1980s against the backdrop of the AIDS epidemic, where a street performance artist discovers the promise of love and beauty as he finds himself in an extraordinary moment in time—a point in between great illness and death. ‘The Man I Love’ has no confirmed UK or US dates yet.
The Man I Love trailer (courtesy of BFI)
Friday the 9th
Wild Horse Nine
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
The first Friday this year brought a festival favourite to the LFF and the banks of the river Thames, as Anglo-Irish writer/director Martin McDonagh took aim at the CIA and US 20th century Latin American interventionism with the gala UK premiere of his latest delightful black comedy with timely political overtones ‘Wild Horse Nine’.
An absurdist period political dark spy comedy set shortly before Augusto Pinochet’s 1973 military coup, when a pair of colourful bickering CIA agents are sent on a shadowy mission to Chile’s isolated Easter Island to test their loyalty and professionalism, only for their dark pasts to mix with present conspiracies and a bond with two young local students to throw their partnership and the mission into turmoil. McDonagh was flanked on the LFF red carpet by his stars Sam Rockwell, Mariana di Girolamo, John Malkovich and Steve Buscemi, ‘Wild Horse Nine’ is out on the 6th of November in UK and US cinemas.
Wild Horse Nine at the LFF (courtesy of Official Pop Drop)
I Love Boosters
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
The second of Friday’s big galas brought a taste of idiosyncratic modern American cinema and writer/director Boots Riley (Sorry to Bother You) to the LFF, accompanied by his some of his stars Eiza González, Naomi Ackie and Poppy Liu for the UK premiere of his zany and colourful satirical fashionista war cry against the system ‘I Love Boosters’.
The story of aspiring California fashion designer/hustler “Corvette” and her friends, who form a crew of style bandits that steals clothes from fashion mogul Christie Smith and her stores, only for Smith to then pinch one of her own designs, pushing them to strike back in surrealist style and bring a technicolor battle to the magnate and the whole industry. ‘I Love Boosters’ is out now in the US and on the 30th of October in the UK.
I Love Boosters at the LFF (courtesy of The Upcoming)
Ketticè
Image Source: BFI
Friday also saw some participation in the LFF’s ‘Official Competition’ and brought to it Italian cinema as emerging writer/director Giovanni Tortorici returned to the festival, accompanied by his producer Luca Guadagnino for the UK premiere of his latest meditation on modern Italian adolescence ‘Ketticè’. A Sicilian coming-of-age chronicle set in 2012 and following the fortunes of an aimless 16-year-old lad, facing the challenges of teenagehood and the disapproval of adults and his frustrated mother, as he tries to connect with his young rebellious peers and escape the monotony of their everyday lives. ‘Ketticè’ has no confirmed dates yet.
Ketticè trailer (courtesy of PiperFilm)
Nightborn
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
The pick of the day’s other films came in the ‘Dare’ strand of screenings and brought some welcome pan-European produced Scandinavian horror to the LFF courtesy of Finnish writer/director Hanna Bergholm, who brought along one of her stars Rupert Grint and producer Daniel Kuitunen for the UK premiere of their gory Finnish folk horror ‘Nightborn’. The tale of a Finnish new mother and her British husband making a new rural life for themselves in the Finnish countryside, only for post-natal angst and the pressures of parenthood to turn into a living nightmare when their baby begins to display disturbing traits and a taste for more than milk, as its horrifying true nature is exposed and threatens to destroy the young family in the creepy woods. ‘Nightborn’ is available online now in the US, and on the 30th of October in UK cinemas.
Nightborn trailer (courtesy of BFI)
Saturday the 10th
Bunker
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
On a particularly busy day for Galas at the LFF the first Saturday this year brought French playwright turned writer/director Florian Zeller back to the festival with his Spanish superstar couple Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz in tow, accompanied by their co-stars Jamie Bisping, Sarah Hadland, Amar Chadha-Patel, Karen Ascoe, Adele Marie Heenan and Mark Gatiss for the UK premiere of their timely and politically charged character drama/thriller meditation on capitalism and privilege, the oligarchy class and a terminally divided fearsome and paranoid West ‘Bunker’.
A cinematic portrait of modern ethics, class divisions and a marriage in crisis, centred around an acclaimed Spanish architect and his publisher wife living a privileged life in London, whose stable 17 year marriage is threatened by a neighbour’s building project and when they clash over his latest and most contentious commission—building a lavish bunker for a questionable US tech billionaire to isolate himself from the problems of the world around them. ‘Bunker’ is out in UK cinemas on the 19th of February 2027, with no US dates yet.
Bunker at the LFF (courtesy of Official Pop Drop)
Paper Tiger
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
The day’s second big Gala screening was an American period cinema affair which brought New York writer/director James Gray back to the LFF, accompanied by two of his stars Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver for the UK premiere of his American Dream-gone-wrong family crime drama ‘Paper Tiger’.
A period piece family saga set in the New York of the 1980s, where two disparate brothers looking for their piece of the American dream get caught up in a lucrative industrial cleanup scheme which soon proves too good to be true, as they’re inadvertently plunged into the dangerous underworld of the nascent Russian mafia which threatens to take down their entire family. ‘Paper Tiger’ is out in US cinemas on the 20th of November, and on the 5th of February 2027 in the UK.
Paper Tiger at the LFF (courtesy of Official Pop Drop)
Ray Gunn
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
Saturday’s final big gala screening was an animated affair which finally brought writer/director and animation giant Brad Bird back to the LFF, as he jumps ship to Skydance and collaborates with Netflix for the world premiere of his retro-futurist animated detective sci-fi family adventure ‘Ray Gunn’.
An animated neo-noir set in the giant city of “Metropia”—a huge urban centre dominated by technology where immigrant extra-terrestrial aliens of every kind uncomfortably co-exist with the ruling humans—where down-on-his-luck jaded private investigator “Ray Gunn” takes a job keeping a notorious diva and beguiling music superstar out of trouble, only to be drawn into a murder mystery and find that nothing is as it seems, getting pulled into a power conspiracy and criminal caper where dangerous truths will be revealed. Bird was flanked on the LFF red carpet by his voice stars Scarlett Johansson and Sam Rockwell, ‘Ray Gunn’ streams on Netflix from the 18th of December.
Ray Gunn trailer (courtesy of Netflix)
Gentle Monster
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
The pick of the day’s other screenings came in the “Dare” strand of screenings and was a Franco-German cinema affair which brought Austrian writer/director Marie Kreutzer back to the LFF, joined by her star Léa Seydoux for the UK premiere of their contentious human drama inspired by a scandal that hit close to home ‘Gentle Monster’.
A troubling domestic and legal drama centered on a French musician and mother recently re-located to the German countryside, whose life is turned upside down by an unexpected visit from the police and a serious accusation about her husband, as her life is torn apart by her need to protect her son but also try to remain loyal to a man she loves . . . but who may have done something unforgivable. ‘Gentle Monster’ is out on limited UK cinemas release on the 30th of October and streams on Netflix from the 18th of November.
Gentle Monster at the LFF (courtesy of The Upcoming)
Sunday the 11th
Possible Love
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
Rounding off a busy first weekend for big Gala screenings, the first Sunday this year brought Korean cinema and South Korean writer/director Lee Chang-dong back to the LFF and back to the feature filmmaking fold after 2018’s ‘Burning’, this time flanked by his stars Zo In-sung, Cho Yeo-jeong, Sul Kyung-gu and Jeon Do-yeon for the UK premiere of their contemporary human drama portrait of intertwined lives ‘Possible Love’.
A South Korean chronicle of class divisions and personal drama centred on a director whose chance encounter with a family struggling with unemployment and financial struggle creates a filmmaker-subject opportunity and a new relationship, which is soon challenged when societal backgrounds and personal clashes begin to threaten the collaboration, forcing them all to take a sobering and confronting look a themselves, their families, and the world in which they live. ‘Possible Love’ streams on Netflix from the 6th of November.
Possible Love trailer (courtesy of BFI)
Artificial
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
Sunday’s second big gala screening was a timely American cinema affair which brought acclaimed Italian director and LFF regular Luca Guadagnino back to the festival, as he takes on corporate America and the risk to humanity of the spread of Artificial Intelligence with the UK premiere of biographical character drama ‘Artificial’.
A very current sturdy of the concerns and ethical questions surrounding the spread of this paradigm-shifting technology and the of AI for us all, centred on the American artificial intelligence corporation OpenAI and the extraordinary period which saw its controversial co-founder and CEO Sam Altman pushed out of his position by the board, only to see him return a week later and his opponents to face a reckoning. Guadagnino was joined by his stars Ike Barinholtz, Andrew Garfield, Monica Barbaro, Yura Borisov and Mark Rylance, ‘Artificial’ is out Christmas day on limited release in the US and on the 22nd of January 2027 in UK cinemas.
Artificial at the LFF (courtesy of BBC)
Wildwood
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
The third big gala of the day brought some more animation adventure to the LFF and more evidence of the resurgence of stop-motion from the studio that brought us ‘Coraline’ and ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’, as director Travis Knight brought his voice stars Jacob Tremblay, Peyton Elizabeth Lee and Carey Mulligan for the UK premiere of their fantasy epic ‘Wildwood’.
The tale of a Portland teen whose baby brother is kidnapped by a murder of magical crows, sending her on a quest into a local hidden magical forest to find him, where she meets an array of fantastical figures and creatures and is drawn into an otherworldly adventure but must prevent herself from being plunged too deep into a dark fairy tale before she can re-unite her family. ‘Wildwood’ is out on the 23rd of October.
Wildwood at the LFF (courtesy of BFI)
Primetime
Image Source: Getty Images BFI
The pick of Sunday’s other screenings came in the “Thrill” strand and was somehow not a gala affair yet managed to take over the BFI’s IMAX, as documentarian Lance Oppenheim turned to feature film yet remained true to his real life roots, bringing along his stars Robert Pattinson and Merritt Wever for the UK premiere of intense biographical drama ‘Primetime’.
A dramatisation of a true American media scandal and chronicle of journalist Chris Hansen, riding high from the success of his reality crime series ‘To Catch a Predator’ and his relentless pursuit of online child sex predators in 2006 but struggling to balance professional pressures with the complexities of his personal life and going through his own psychological crisis, headed towards a big sting against a law enforcement official which goes tragically wrong and places him in the crosshairs of the legal system and the public, putting his career under threat. ‘Primetime’ is out on the 30th of October in UK cinemas and now in the US.
Primetime at the LFF (courtesy of BBC)
Week 2 & Awards—->
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