BFI London Film Festival
Experience the best new films first, with a range of virtual premieres available to enjoy online and in cinemas 7-18 October 2020
Join us at this year's festival. Everyone is invited.
Screening Today
BaitBait
Drama201989 minsDirector: Mark Jenkin
Simmering tensions between locals and newcomers in a modern-day Cornish fishing village reach boiling point in this hugely acclaimed British independent film.
Notting HillNotting Hill
Comedy1999124 minsDirector: Roger Michell
Richard Curtis and Hugh Grant followed Four Weddings with this featherlight, frequently funny romance between an ordinary bloke and a visiting Hollywood starlet.
Full Metal JacketFull Metal Jacket
War1987117 minsDirector: Stanley Kubrick
Recruits move from the brutal US Marine training bootcamp – into the nightmare of war.
The Miseducation of Cameron PostThe Miseducation of Cameron Post
Drama201892 minsDirector: Desiree Akhavan
Chloë Grace Moretz is the girl who finds her tribe with fellow ‘sinners’ at a religious camp where they are told to pray the gay away.
SnowpiercerSnowpiercer
Science Fiction2013126 minsDirector: Bong Joon-ho
After a global catastrophe launches the world into a new ice age, the last of humanity are trapped on a high-speed train that circles the globe infinitely.
The AssassinThe Assassin
Action and Adventure2015106 minsDirector: Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s mesmerising, visually stunning tale of love and honour was Sight and Sound magazine’s best film of 2015.
The Frightened WomanThe Frightened Woman
Drama196986 minsDirector: Piero Schivazappa
A rich sadist kidnaps a woman to subject to his elaborate S&M games, but she soon turns the tables... Piero Schivazappa's erotic thriller explodes with eye-popping psychedelic production design.
SuspiriaSuspiria
Horror1977101 minsDirector: Dario Argento
Dario Argento’s phantasmagoric gothic nightmare blends operatic violence, disorienting dream logic and hyper-real visuals to create a horror classic.
The Perfect CandidateThe Perfect Candidate
Drama2019105 minsDirector: Haifaa Al-Mansour
Celebrated Saudi director Haifaa Al Mansour (Wadjda) returns with an inspiring drama about a young doctor unexpectedly becoming an electoral candidate.
A Prophet [Un prophète]A Prophet [Un prophète]
Crime2009156 minsDirector: Jacques Audiard
Jacques Audiard’s award-winning crime drama chronicles the rites of passage and eventual rise to power of a young French Arab. Tough, taut, truthful.
Bicycle ThievesBicycle Thieves
Drama194889 minsDirector: Vittorio De Sica
Vittorio De Sica’s story of a father and son searching for a stolen bicycle on the streets of Rome is a classic of post-war Italian cinema.
King of New YorkKing of New York
Crime1990103 minsDirector: Abel Ferrara
Christopher Walken is the dogged drug-lord determined to keep his empire together, in Abel Ferrara's brutally gritty crime thriller.
PasoliniPasolini
Biopic201484 minsDirector: Abel Ferrara
Willem Dafoe plays the controversial filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini in this dark, daring drama about the director’s final days, from Abel Ferrara.
La dolce vitaLa dolce vita
Drama1960175 minsDirector: Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini’s masterpiece depicting seven hedonistic days in the life of a tabloid journalist (Marcello Mastroianni) as he searches for the sweet life.
CharadeCharade
Thriller1963113 minsDirector: Stanley Donen
Charm is the byword in the screwball thriller that pits Cary Grant on the trail of Audrey Hepburn and her late husband’s missing millions.
ShirleyShirley
Biopic2018107 mins
Going nowhere with a novel about the disappearance of a local girl, writer Shirley Jackson gets the inspiration she needs when two young newlyweds come to stay.
Butterfly VisionButterfly Vision
Drama2022107 minsDirector: Maksym Nakonechnyi
Lilia, a 28-year-old aerial reconnaissance expert, returns home from the war in Donbas, but her traumatic experiences re-emerge in an unexpected and dreamlike manner.
SupernovaSupernova
Drama202097 minsDirector: Harry Macqueen
Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci shine as a long-term couple dealing with the onset of illness in this warm and tender drama.
NotturnoNotturno
Documentary2020100 minsDirector: Gianfranco Rosi
Veteran documentarian Gianfranco Rosi’s delicate and poignant meditation journeys into the border communities of Iraq, Kurdistan, Syria and Lebanon.
Farewell AmorFarewell Amor
Drama2019102 mins
Migration, memory and the importance of home are deftly explored in this affecting feature debut, which sees a New York-based Angolan man finally reunited with his wife and daughter.
Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-PowerBrainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power
Documentary2022107 minsDirector: Nina Menkes
You may never look at film the same way again after watching this illuminating journey, which deconstructs the male gaze in cinema.
An Avocado PitAn Avocado Pit
Drama202220 mins
A trans woman and a cis man meet on the streets of Lisbon. They come from different realities but soon find common ground, challenging and laughing their way into each other’s arms.
Gold for Dogs [De L'Or Pour les Chiens]Gold for Dogs [De L'Or Pour les Chiens]
Drama202099 minsDirector: Anna Cazenave Cambet
The provocative tale of a young woman lost in Paris represents a dazzling debut showcase for writer/director Anna Cazenave Cambet and fearless lead Tallulah Cassavetti.
Sound for the FutureSound for the Future
Documentary2020102 minsDirector: Matt Hulse
An affectionate and hilarious reconstruction of the story of The Hippies, Britain’s youngest punk band, formed by artist Matt Hulse and his siblings in 1979.
Framing AgnesFraming Agnes
Documentary202275 minsDirector: Chase Joynt
Trans lives vaulted by the medical establishment are re-imagined by an all-star cast including Zackary Drucker, Angelica Ross and Silas Howard.
2020 Short film programmes
Kids Will Be Kids
Children worldwide can be unruly, wild and unmanageable. This is all part of growing up, even if it sometimes means going beyond the limits. These films, from the backstreets of Accra in Ghana and the Australian Outback, to rural life in India and Wales, and the dog-eat-dog world of a British estate, perfectly illustrate this.
My Time to Shine
Whether or not the world is a kind and accepting place, these films present grand visions of strength and self-discovery. And on life’s rocky road, there is something to be said for being certain about the person you are.
Secrets & Lies
Less peaks, more troughs. Whether it’s secrets or lies, these very personal stories range from the everyday to the far out, with characters who exude resilience and self-determination.
This is the Rhythm of My Life
Music, film, faith, costumes and colour lift our spirits and allow us to dream. Strip them away and life might be simpler, but it's the strength we find in these things that brings us together and, like the characters in these films, makes us eternally interesting.
UK Focus
A chance to see some of the best in UK filmmaking talent, with a varied and diverse selection of stories. Crossing genres and styles, from horror and comedy to animation and powerful drama, this is a vital snapshot of new British filmmaking that’s not to be missed
A Family Affair: The Films of Yasujirō Ozu
An anniversary season celebrating Yasujirō Ozu that explores the filmmaker’s dissection of the family life.
Experimenta
Films by artists that revolutionise and reshape our vision of cinema.
The best of previous festivals
Subscription
DogtoothDogtooth
Drama200993 minsDirector: Yorgos Lanthimos
Yorgos Lanthimos' scary, witty tale of a dysfunctional Greek family is original, ingenious and sadly relevant as a study of parent-child relationships
The Headless WomanThe Headless Woman
Drama200886 minsDirector: Lucrecia Martel
A woman is plagued by paranoia after she hits something – or someone – with her car in Lucrecia Martel’s acclaimed psychological thriller.
The Last of EnglandThe Last of England
Animation & Artists Moving Image198791 minsDirector: Derek Jarman
Derek Jarman's passionate and poetic lament on the rise of Thatcherism and corporate dealings.
DaisiesDaisies
Comedy196673 minsDirector: Věra Chytilová
Two self-confessed hedonists wreak wanton havoc in Věra Chytilová's visually spectacular neo-dadaist farce.
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past LivesUncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
Fantasy2010109 minsDirector: Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Apichatpong's Cannes prizewinner, about an ailing man revisiting his past, is a measured, lyrical evocation of mysterious beauty and quiet humanity
OrphéeOrphée
Drama195096 minsDirector: Jean Cocteau
Magical retelling of the Orpheus myth by poet, playwright, artist and filmmaker Jean Cocteau.
Taxi TehranTaxi Tehran
Drama201581 minsDirector: Jafar Panahi
Following a personally difficult but artistically rewarding spell making films under house arrest, Jafar Panahi is back on the streets of Tehran.
GomorrahGomorrah
Crime2008132 minsDirector: Matteo Garrone
Matteo Garrone's unnervingly authentic Naples crime drama won the Grand Prix at Cannes before inspiring a hit TV series.
Rentals
Free FireFree Fire
Action and Adventure201790 minsDirector: Ben Wheatley
Ben Wheatley’s (High-Rise, Sightseers) all-guns-blazing bullet opera, starring Brie Larson, Cillian Murphy and Armie Hammer.
A United KingdomA United Kingdom
Drama2016111 minsDirector: Amma Asante
Amma Assante (Belle) directs this impassioned drama starring David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike depicting an interracial romance that changed the world.
NerudaNeruda
Biopic2016110 minsDirector: Pablo Larraín
Pablo Larraín's bold, inventive detective thriller offers an electrifying contemplation of the Chilean poet's life on the run in the late 1940s.
TrumboTrumbo
Biopic2015124 minsDirector: Jay Roach
Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad, Argo) gives a cracking performance as Dalton Trumbo, the Oscar-winning screenwriter who became a Hollywood outcast.
The LobsterThe Lobster
Science Fiction2015118 minsDirector: Yorgos Lanthimos
Colin Farrell, Ben Whishaw and Rachel Weisz star in this bleakly hilarious dystopian drama from Yorgos Lanthimos (Dogtooth).
The Pearl ButtonThe Pearl Button
Documentary201582 minsDirector: Patricio Guzmán
Patricio Guzmán’s lyrical, illuminating follow-up to Nostalgia for the Light explores the fateful role played by water in Chile’s tragic history.
High-RiseHigh-Rise
Science Fiction2016119 minsDirector: Ben Wheatley
Ben Wheatley's savage and brilliant adaptation of JG Ballard's dystopian satire, starring Tom Hiddleston.
The Forbidden RoomThe Forbidden Room
Animation & Artists Moving Image2015119 minsDirector: Guy Maddin
Gleeful and hypnotic, Guy Maddin and Evan Johnson’s phantasmagoric opus reworks improvised rushes into a demented homage to B-movies.
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BFI London Film Festival
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BFI London Film Festival Presents
A place to meet the world's top films and their creators, the BFI London Film Festival represents global cinema at its deep, diverse best.
Festival Archive Treasures
Film preservation and restoration is a vital part of our work. This collection represents moments in time, salvaged for a second chance to awe, enrich and entertain a new audience. They reflect human endeavour, on and off screen.
Coming soon
Upcoming films for your watchlistThere are currently no upcoming films.