The 70th BFI London Film Festival will take place from 7 to 18 October 2026, bringing 251 films, shorts, series and immersive works from 88 countries to venues across London and the UK. The anniversary edition will open with the European premiere of Simon Stone’s Elsinore and close with the UK premiere of Jesse Eisenberg’s The Debut.
Presented by the BFI, the festival will return to its South Bank home at BFI Southbank and the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, while expanding across central-London cinemas, regional partner venues and digital platforms. With premieres, galas, Screen Talks, XR experiences, free public events and industry programming, the 2026 programme positions the LFF as a major meeting point for global cinema and screen culture.
Opening and Closing Galas
Simon Stone’s Elsinore, a drama inspired by the life of actor Ian Charleson, will open the festival on 7 October with its European premiere. The Closing Night Gala on 18 October belongs to Jesse Eisenberg’s The Debut, described as a comic tribute to the world of community theatre.
Danny Boyle’s Ink has been selected as the Mayor of London’s Gala, while Tony Gilroy’s Behemoth! will receive its International Premiere as the Patrons’ Gala. These headline events underline the festival’s mix of established auteurs, new work and films positioned for major international attention.
A Global Programme
The 2026 BFI London Film Festival will present 251 titles from 88 countries over 12 days, spanning feature films, shorts, television and digital series, immersive art, extended reality and gaming. Of the works in the programme, 109 are made by female filmmakers, representing 43 percent of the total selection.
Every feature and series is scheduled to screen in the UK for the first time. The programme includes 33 world premieres, 16 international premieres and 20 European premieres, creating a strong opportunity for audiences to discover films before their wider release.
Major Premieres to Watch
Among the announced world premieres are Travis Knight’s animated Wildwood, Brad Bird’s Ray Gunn, Anthony Wonke’s boxing biopic In the Shadows, Carol Morley’s 7 Miles Out and Michael Winterbottom’s The Trip to the Northern Lights, which reunites Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan.
International premieres include Boots Riley’s I Love Boosters, Tony Gilroy’s Behemoth!, Giovanni Tortorici’s coming-of-age drama Ketticè, Nanette Burstein’s documentary Carl Sagan: We Are Made of Star Stuff and Leonardo Pirondi’s science-fiction fable Tropical Fractals.
The gala programme also includes Danny Boyle’s Ink, Taika Waititi’s adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun, Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine, Mike Leigh’s Tender Loving Care, James Gray’s Paper Tiger and Susanna White’s screen adaptation of Prima Facie.
Screen Talks and Talent
The festival’s Screen Talks will bring leading figures from film and television to audiences in London and Manchester. Confirmed participants include Andrew Scott, Ava DuVernay, Cynthia Erivo, Jesse Eisenberg, John Malkovich, Sofia Coppola, Brad Bird, James Gray, Mahershala Ali, Naomi Ackie and Danny Boyle.
These events extend the festival beyond screenings, offering audiences and emerging creatives an opportunity to hear directly from actors, writers and directors about artistic process, career development and the changing screen industry.
LFF Expanded Returns
LFF Expanded enters its sixth year with nine projects across immersive art, virtual reality, AI and video games. The programme will be presented at BFI Southbank, BFI IMAX and, for the first time, St Martin-in-the-Fields.
Highlights include Marshmallow Laser Feast’s immersive installation Water Body, which explores hidden connections between landscapes, ecosystems and people, and Red the Ocean Around U, an AI-guided digital environment from CrossLucid and writer Orion Facey.
For filmmakers, artists and audiences, the Expanded strand is a reminder that contemporary storytelling no longer lives only on the cinema screen. It increasingly moves across physical spaces, interactive technology and participatory forms of narrative.
Series, Shorts and Competition
LFF Series will showcase international work created for television and digital platforms. The line-up includes The Trip to the Northern Lights, Leo Reich’s comedy It Gets Worse and Marvel Studios’ anticipated miniseries VisionQuest, featuring Paul Bettany returning as Vision and James Spader reprising Ultron.
The Festival’s competition sections will spotlight emerging voices across first features, documentaries and short films. The Sutherland Award competition includes Ashley Walters’ Animol, Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo’s Ben’Imana and Olive Nwosu’s Lady, while the short-film competition nominees will also be available to stream free across the UK on BFI Player from 7 to 25 October.
London and UK-Wide Events
Alongside its core venues, the BFI London Film Festival will take selected titles and a special Screen Talk to 10 partner venues across the UK. Participating cities include Nottingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, Belfast, Sheffield, Newcastle, Bristol and Edinburgh.
The London venues include BFI Southbank, the Royal Festival Hall, BFI IMAX, Curzon Soho, the Prince Charles Cinema, Vue West End, the ICA and St Martin-in-the-Fields. The Royal Festival Hall will host the Galas on its 18-metre screen, while BFI Southbank will offer screenings across its four cinema screens.
Free and Accessible Cinema
The 2026 edition includes LFF for Free, with illustrated talks, panels, workshops, DJ nights, family events and online short-film programming available at no cost. The festival will also offer a limited allocation of £10 tickets for London screenings, plus £6 tickets for audiences aged 25 and under.
The BFI will again work with MediCinema to bring selected festival films to cinema spaces in UK hospitals, enabling patients and their loved ones to experience part of the programme in an accessible setting.
Why the 70th LFF Matters
The 70th BFI London Film Festival is designed as more than a showcase for high-profile premieres. Its programme combines blockbusters, independent productions, debut features, documentary, short-form cinema, television, games and immersive work, reflecting the many ways audiences now engage with storytelling.
For film lovers, it offers a chance to see major titles before release and encounter filmmakers from around the world. For emerging writers, directors, producers and performers, it also demonstrates the value of artistic range: great screen stories can exist in a feature, a short, a series, a documentary or an interactive experience.
Tickets and Programme
Tickets for the 70th BFI London Film Festival go on general sale at 10 a.m. on 17 September 2026. BFI Members receive priority booking from 10 September, Patrons from 9 September, and an additional ticket release is planned for 1 October.
The complete programme, screening timetable and ticket information are available through the official BFI London Film Festival website.
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