The annual festival returns from the 7th to the 18th October.
The 70th BFI London Film Festival has confirmed the complete line up for this year’s festival, joining the previously announced European Premiere of Simon Stone’s Elsinore and the UK Premiere of Jesse Eisenberg’s The Debut.
It has been announced that this year’s Mayor of London’s Gala is the UK Premiere of Danny Boyle’s, while The Patron’s Gala is the International Premiere of Tony Gilroy’s Behemoth!
Also being screened over the 12 days of the festival will be In The Shadows starring Jasmine Jobson as Ramla Ali, the UK’s first female Muslim boxing champion, with Finn Cole playing her husband.
Sean Mathias’ Frank And Percy will see Ian McKellen and Roger Allam reprise their stage roles as two older men who meet while walking their dogs on Hampstead Heath and develop an unexpected friendship.
Elsewhere, Travis Knight directs Wildwood, the latest stop-motion fantasy from Laika, about friends drawn into a magical forest to find a kidnapped infant.
Further world premieres include: Pixar veteran Brad Bird’s latest film Ray Gunn starring Sam Rockwell and Scarlett Johansson, ederico Borgia’s Prince, Mohsen Amiryousefi’s The Banning Curse, and Ken Fero and Tariq Mehmood’s documentary about the Bradford 12, Rebellion.
The programme for this year’s festival will include 169 feature films, while in total there will be 251 titles, comprising features, shorts, series and immersive works, from 88 countries.
Newly announced galas include Danny Boyle’s Venice opener Ink, starring Guy Pearce as Rupert Murdoch alongside Jack O’Connel and Claire Foy; Tony Gilroy’s Behemoth! about a film composer starring Pedro Pascal, Olivia Wilde and Will Arnett; Susanna White’s screen adaptation of Suzie Miller’s play Prima Facie starring Cynthia Erivo; Mike Leigh’s Tender Loving Care, expected to premiere at Telluride; Martin McDonagh’s black comedy Wild Horse Nine with John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell; and Florian Zeller’s Bunker starring Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem.
The Galas also include: Cristian Mungui’s Palme d’Or winner Fjord, Jordan Firstman’s buzzy Club Kid, Paweł Pawlikowski’s Fatherland and Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Minotaur.
Elsewhere, the first feature competition includes three UK productions or co-productions; Ashley Walters’ Animol, which premiered in Berlin, Bertil Nilsson’s TIFF Platform title Masc, which was a 2026 Great 8 project; Lagos-set Sundance award-winner Lady, the feature debut of Olive Nwosu; and UK-India-Greece project Our Share Of Sand from Shalini Adnani, set to premiere at Venice Critics’ Week.
Among those taking part in The Screen Talks series are: Andrew Scott, Cynthia Erivo, Danny Boyle and Sofia Coppola.
Speaking of the news, Kristy Matheson, Artistic Director, BFI Festivals, said: “When this Festival first sprung to life 70 years ago, little more than a decade after the end of the Second World War, British society was in a period of rapid social change. Then, like now, we turn to artists to synthesise our times. And what a vision they have for us in 2026; tumults of the era live inside our programme, but so too do cinematic thrills, moral conundrums and a reoccurring exploration of care and community. If you find yourself in London, or across the UK, this October, the opportunity to experience worlds outside ourselves will be on offer. We hope you can join us.”
To find out more visit: https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp