When you’re going to see the latest release at a cinema, you never really know what you’re going to get.
But the joy of a film festival is that every hand-picked flick is guaranteed to be a reel treat.
And the most prestigious of all London’s cinematic binge fests is returning for an incredible 68th edition this October: the BFI London Film Festival.
If you’ve never been to the BFI Southbank, there’s a 99% chance you’ve at least walked past it: it’s the low-slung building crouched on the Southbank beneath Waterloo Bridge. The BFI is the UK’s leading light when it comes to film, funding budding film makers and celebrating the diversity of storytelling on film that’s made both here and around the world. And the BFI Southbank is its physical HQ, with daily screenings across four plush cinema rooms; a library of books on film; and a mediatheque where you can trawl through their massive archive of film & TV.
And once a year, the venue becomes a central hub for the star-studded London Film Festival, which brings together the year’s most scintillating dramas, comedies and animation from around the world, ranging from small-budget indie flicks to Hollywood blockbusters. Basically, if it’s good, and it will enrich your life in some way, it’ll be on show here.
Blitz (Steve McQueen)
This year’s LFF takes place from 9th-20th October at the BFI and other cultural gems like the Southbank Centre and the ICA. As always, some of the highest-profile events are the gala screenings of hotly-anticipated new releases. This year, you can score tickets to watch the new Elton John documentary, Never Too Late; Steve McQueen’s stunning WWII-era epic, Blitz; Sean Baker’s much talked-about Anora, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes; Mike Leigh’s latest film set in contemporary London; and Pedro Almodóvar’s first English-language feature, starring Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore. And because this is a big, son-of-a-gun festival, many of those big names will be in attendance for Q&As, panel discussions and talks, including director Alfonso Cuarón, actors Daniel Kaluuya and Lupita Nyong’o, and the cast & crew of the latest TV series from Succession creator Jon Brown.
Sugar Island (Johanné Gómez Terrero)
But there’s also so much more, including the family friendly films; the documentaries; the shorts; the experimental artsy stuff; the newly-restored treasures from the golden age of cinema; and the spin-off strands, including BFI Flare, which spotlights LGBTQ+ stories and filmmakers, and BFI Expanded, which explores the evolving limits of cinema with a programme of genre-bending work including 360° films, VR, and interactive experiences like Darkfield’s Arcade.
And if it all feels like too much choice? You can always plump for the Surprise Film screening on 16th October, which isn’t revealed until the title credits roll. In the past, audiences have been treated to The Menu and Lady Bird…
…so it’s definitely more treat than trick.
NOTE: The 68th BFI London Film Festival takes place from 9th-20th October 2024. You can see what’s on, and book tickets starting from £5 on the BFI LFF website.
BFI Southbank | Belvedere Road, South Bank, London SE1 8XT
Missing this year’s fest? Cosy up in one of London’s best cinemas all year round