The 68 th BFI London Film Festival has announced the full programme line-up, which will be presented in cinemas and online, across the UK.
The LFF will present a vibrant and diverse programme of 253 features, shorts, series and immersive works from 79 countries, featuring 63 languages playing across the 12 days of the festival. This includes 112 works made by female and non-binary filmmakers – 44% of the programme.
World Premieres
From filmmakers and artists include: Steve McQueen’s BLITZ which opens the festival, Ben Taylor’s Cunard Gala JOY starring Thomasin McKenzie, James Norton and Bill Nighy, the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation’s restoration SILENT SHERLOCK, Darren Thornton’s Irish comedy film FOUR MOTHERS, spellbinding performance film from Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard THE EXTRAORDINARY MISS FLOWER, thriller series A THOUSAND BLOWS from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, the latest documentary from Oscar®-winning directing duo Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin ENDURANCE, Sophie Compton and Daisy-May Hudson’s transformative female prison documentary HOLLOWAY, magical Bulgarian drama TARIKA from Milko Lazarov, Laila Abbas’ gripping tale of two sisters THANK YOU FOR BANKING WITH US, Family Gala THAT CHRISTMAS directed by Simon Otto and starring Brian Cox, Jodie Whittaker and Bill Nighy, Eloise King’s eye-opening investigative documentary THE SHADOW SCHOLARS, Adam Wong Sau-Ping’s touching Hong Kong drama THE WAY WE TALK, Manchester-set debut feature from Gino Evans TREADING WATER, and the BFI’s restoration of one of the UK’s greatest animated films Martin Rosen’s WATERSHIP DOWN.
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International Premieres include: the Mayor of London’s Gala WE LIVE IN TIME by John Crowley starring Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield, BFI Flare Special Presentation Roshan Sethi’s A NICE INDIAN BOY starring Karan Soni and Jonathan Groff, Sadie Frost’s inspirational biographical documentary TWIGGY on the 1960s icon, Kimberly Reed’s investigative documentary I’M YOUR VENUS following the murder of the Paris Is Burning star, Jane Mingay’s biographical documentary following impactful musician and artist PAULINE BLACK: A 2-TONE STORY.
European Premieres include: the American Express Gala of R.J. Cutler and David Furnish’s, ELTON JOHN: NEVER TOO LATE, William Bridges’ ALL OF YOU starring and co-written by Brett Goldstein and Imogen Poots, Natalie Bailey’s off-beat Australian comedy AUDREY, remarkable documentary BLINK following a family dealing with blindness from Edmund Stenson and Daniel Roher, debut from Christopher Andrews BRING THEM DOWN starring Barry Keoghan, Christopher Abbott and Colm Meaney, writer-director Mipo O’s anticipated sixth feature LIVING IN TWO WORLDS, Jazmin Jones’ unconventional investigative documentary SEEKING MAVIS BEACON, the Thiele brothers’ absurdist comedy SOFA, SO GOOD, mysterious thriller THE LISTENERS starring Rebecca Hall from series creator Jordan Tannahill, Malcom Washington’s directorial debut adapted from August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning masterwork THE PIANO LESSON starring Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington and Pedro Martín-Calero’s Nigerian-set thriller THE WEEKEND.
Audiences will enjoy a rich programme of fiction, documentary, animation, artists’ moving image, short film, newly restored classics from the world’s archives, and exciting international works made in immersive and episodic forms. LFF for Free will return to the Festival with a compelling range of talks and short films alongside imaginative, playful events and filmmaker Q&As, in-person at BFI Southbank and at gallery@oxo. The Festival will also be accessible UK-wide via free short films on BFI Player, including the films nominated for Best Short, which viewers will be able to enjoy from 9 – 20 October.
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 68 th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express takes place from Wednesday 9 October – Sunday 20 October 2024.
For the full programme and more information head to the BFI London Film Festival site.
