The festival will run from the 7th to the 18th October.
It has been announced that the Closing Night Gala for the 70th BFI London Film Festival will be the UK premiere of The Debut, written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg.
This new film marks the return to the festival for Eisenberg, following on from 2024’s ‘A Real Pain’.
The Debut sees a shy woman being cast in a local production of an original musical. Under the spell of the strong-willed and enigmatic director, she loses herself in the role and the high-stakes world of this community theatre production.
This film is set to star Jesse Eisenberg, Julianne Moore, Paul Giamatti, Halle Bailey, Havana Rose Liu, Bernadette Peters, Colton Ryan, Lilli Cooper, Maulik Pancholy and Bonnie Milligan.
Speaking of the news, Jesse Eisenberg, said: “I am both honored and honoured to be bringing The Debut to the 70th BFI London Film Festival. What a wonderful thrill to be the Closing Night gala, and I can’t wait to share the incredible performances by the cast with a London audience.”
This year’s festival will be taking place in a wide range of venues including:
- The Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall returns as the gala venue
- BFI Southbank is the home of the competition programme, Screen Talks and LFF for Free events
- The UK’s biggest screen BFI IMAX will once again host LFF screenings
- Four partner cinemas in London’s West End include Curzon Soho, Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), Prince Charles Cinema and Vue West End
- Ten festival venues across the UK include 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, Filmhouse in Edinburgh and Watershed in Bristol
- Press and industry screenings and the LFF Industry Forum takes place at Picturehouse Central
In addition to UK-wide screenings at the Festival venues, audiences will also be able to explore LFF programmes past and present with a special collection of films on BFI Player.
The full programme of films taking part of the festival will be announced on the 2nd September.