BFI London Film Festival 2025: full line-up, juries and how to see it

The BFI London Film Festival 2025 line-up has been announced, unveiling galas, competitions, premieres and industry events across the capital from 8–19 October. Centred at BFI Southbank and the Royal Festival Hall, this year’s programme includes 166 feature films from a total of 251 works spanning 79 countries.

Audiences can expect high-profile galas, new UK voices in the first feature competition, a range of international documentaries and shorts, and the return of the audience awards. For industry and festival-goers alike, there is also a new Expanded Industry Day on 15 October, hosted with Southbank Centre.

Galas and special presentations

This year brings 24 headline galas, up from 15 in 2024, alongside six special presentations. Opening night features Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery directed by Rian Johnson, while closing night presents Julia Jackman’s 100 Nights Of Hero.

Other major galas include:

• Hamnet (Chloé Zhao) with Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal
• Frankenstein (Guillermo del Toro)
• Die, My Love (Lynne Ramsay)
• The History Of Sound (Oliver Hermanus)
• Is This Thing On? (Bradley Cooper), inspired by the life of comedian John Bishop
• Ballad Of A Small Player (Edward Berger)
• Nouvelle Vague (Richard Linklater)
• Sentimental Value (Joachim Trier)
• The Mastermind (Kelly Reichardt)

Special presentations include H Is For Hawk (Philippa Lowthorpe), Sholay – Director’s Cut, and Isabella Eklöf’s new series The Death Of Bunny Munro.

Competitions and juries

The Official Competition jury is led by producer Elizabeth Karlsen, joined by critic Justin Chang and filmmaker Kahlil Joseph. Titles in contention include Hedda, Landmarks, Rose Of Nevada, The Testament Of Ann Lee and The Voice Of Hind Rajab.

The First Feature (Sutherland Award) Competition showcases new voices, with UK titles such as Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor’s Dreamers, Imran Perretta’s Ish and Akinola Davies’ My Father’s Shadow. This jury is headed by filmmaker Kibwe Tavares.

For documentaries, the Grierson Award jury is led by Eloïse King, with selections including Super Nature, Only On Earth and The Eyes Of Ghana. Meanwhile, the Short Film Competition is chaired by Ming-Jung Kuo.

Broader programme

The festival’s programme strands once again cover a wide range of cinema, with Debate, Dare, Thrill, Cult, Journey, Create, Family and Experimenta.

Highlights include:

• Debate: Raoul Peck’s Orwell: 2+2=5 and Radu Jude’s Kontinental ’25
• Dare: Kristen Stewart’s The Chronology Of Water and Aneil Karia’s Hamlet
• Thrill: Rowan Athale’s UK boxing drama Giant (world premiere) and Ted Evans’ Retreat
• Cult: Paolo Strippoli’s The Holy Boy and Majid Al Ansari’s The Vile
• Journey: Paolo Sorrentino’s La Grazia and Annemarie Jacir’s Palestine 36
• Create: James Lucas’s Moss & Freud and Pietro Marcello’s Duse
• Experimenta: Hotel London by Ahmed Alauddin Jamal and With Hasan In Gaza by Kamal Aljafari
• Family: Andy Serkis’s animated Animal Farm and Aaron Blaise’s Snow Bear

The Screen Talks series adds further draw, with conversations from Yorgos Lanthimos, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jafar Panahi, Tessa Thompson and Kelly Reichardt.

Industry and audience

A new LFF Expanded Industry Day takes place on 15 October, with a focus on immersive and cross-media work. The festival will also tour across the UK under LFF On Tour, visiting 11 partner venues including the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford and Edinburgh’s Filmhouse.

Audiences will have the chance to vote for both Best Feature Film and Best British Feature Film, ensuring the public remain central to the festival’s decisions.

The BFI London Film Festival 2025 line-up balances global premieres with homegrown stories, confirming its role as both a showcase of international cinema and a platform for UK filmmakers. From the red-carpet glamour of the galas to experimental shorts, it offers London audiences a concentrated view of cinema’s breadth in just under two weeks.

For more features exploring London’s history and cultural heritage, follow EyeOnLondon for insightful storytelling you can trust.

[Image Credit | BFI]

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