All The Titles We’re Excited To See At BFI London Film Festival This Autumn

There’s a huge slate of titles for screen lovers coming in the final quarter of the year, including a plethora of fantastic new British television shows. But if you are more partial to the big screen, the annual BFI London Film Festival is the place to be, running from Friday 7 to Sunday 19 October 2026. Boasting a whopping 251 films from 88 countries, whether you’re planning on going in person or you’re wondering how (and when) to catch the big hitters for yourself, here’s everything to know about the 70th edition of the BFI London Film Festival.

BFI London Film Festival 2026: A Guide

The BFI London Film Festival is an annual 12-day festival of movies, television and immersive storytelling that takes place in central London every autumn. Open to the public, locals and visitors alike can also enjoy a free programme of events running alongside the main schedule of film screenings. Key filmmakers to look out for this year, both on and off screen, include Jesse Eisenberg, Sofia Coppola, Taika Waititi, Danny Boyle and Luca Guadagnino, to name a few. 

The BFI London Film Festival is hosted by the British Film Institute at the Southbank Centre in central London, with additional screenings in 10 partner venues across the UK. Meanwhile, a curated programme of free short films will be available digitally for the full duration of the festival.

BFI London Film Festival is also a competition, with five awards up for grabs. These are:

• Best Film Award
• First Feature Competition for the Sutherland Award, recognising the most original and imaginative directorial debut
• Grierson Award for feature-length documentaries with integrity, originality and social or cultural significance
• Short Film Award

The winners of these awards are chosen by LFF Awards Juries and announced on the final day of the festival, with a surprise screening of the winner of the Best Film Award taking place that evening. Alongside these awards, the Audience Awards allow festival goers to pick their favourite works in the Best Feature Film and Best British Discovery categories. 

In 2026, 251 films from 88 countries will be shown at the BFI London Film Festival, 43 percent of which are helmed by female and non-binary filmmakers and all of which are being shown in the UK for the very first time. This includes 33 world premieres, 16 international premieres and 20 European premieres.

‘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,’ says BFI London Film Festival’s artistic director Kristy Matheson. ‘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.’

As with previous editions, the film programme is arranged by themes to encourage discovery. These themes are: Love, Debate, Laugh, Dare, Thrill, Cult, Journey, Create, Experimenta, Family and Shorts.

10 Films On Our Radar

Elsinore

Opening the 2026 BFI London Film Festival is the European premiere of Simon Stone’s Elsinor. Starring Andrew Scott, alongside Olivia Colman, Billie Piper, Johnny Flynn and Luke Thompson, the Stephen Beresford (Pride)-written biopic centres around the true story of renowned stage actor Ian Charleson. Dying of AIDS, he steps into the National Theatre’s production of Hamlet – confronting his own mortality as he prepares to take on the Danish prince. 

Release Date: In UK cinemas from 29 January 2027. 

The Debut

It may be called The Debut, but this film from writer-director Jesse Eisenberg will mark LLF 2026’s curtain call. Featuring Julianne Moore as quiet housewife Mona, she finds she has become a supporting role in her own life; her husband barely acknowledges her presence and their children are on the cusp of fleeing the nest. When, on an impulse, she auditions for a local production of an original musical, Mona suddenly finds herself in the spotlight. 

Release Date: In UK cinemas from 15 January 2027. 

Artificial

Challengers director Luca Guadagnino returns to the festival with his of-the-moment origin story of OpenAI and its co-founder, Sam Altman. Played by Andrew Garfield, Artificial tracks the rise of Open AI and the tumultuous period that saw Altman ousted as CEO of his own company.

Release Date: In UK cinemas 22 January 2027. 

Behemoth!

Missing your on-screen fix of Pedro Pascal? Here, he takes to the screen as cello prodigy Alex – a man who has spent his adult life changing orchestra chairs and lovers’ beds at regular intervals. On the run from his latest fling, he retreats to LA as a session player and into the suspended reality of a film score studio. Dreamt up by director and screenwriter Tony Gilroy, Olivia Wilde and Will Arnett also star. 

Release Date: In UK cinemas 4 December 2026.

Ink

Premiering in honour of the Mayor of London’s Gala, this feisty film from Danny Boyle centres around Rupert Murdoch’s acquisition of The Sun – and how this devil’s pact altered British journalism, and society, forever. Boyle’s kinetic direction is matched by Guy Pearce and Jack O’Connell’s muscular performances as the men who exploded Fleet Street.

Release Date: In UK cinemas 8 January 2027.

Klara and The Sun

Bringing alive Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel of the same name is director and screenwriter Taika Waititi. Starring Jenna Ortega as android Klara, she’s chosen by a young girl named Josie to be her friend and bring joy into her life. It’s not an easy task, considering Josie’s complicated condition and her fraught relationship with her domineering mother (played by Amy Adams).

Release Date: In UK cinemas 23 October 2026.

Prima Facie

In case you missed Jodie Comer’s turn in this critically acclaimed one-woman play, now’s your chance to watch Cynthia Erivo take on this behemoth role. Susanna White’s screen adaptation of Suzie Miller’s play follows Tessa – an ambitious barrister, used to winning and dominating in the courtroom by defending men accused of sexual assault. But when she unexpectedly becomes the accuser in a case, she is forced to confront the legal system that she once trusted. 

Release Date: In UK cinemas 13 November 2026.

A Long Winter

Another one for literature lovers, this winter tale is adapted from Colm Tóibín’s short story of the same name. Directed by Andrew Haigh, he transports us to the snowy plains of Colorado, where we watch Fred Hechinger, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Catríona Balfe as a family imploding over a father and son’s conflicting approaches to manhood. 

Release Date: In UK cinemas 15 January 2027.

Tender Loving Care

In a world that feels increasingly untethered from human connection, the Mike Leigh returns with a thought-provoking and compassionate view of urban life. In contemporary London, social workers Amy and Rosie navigate the stressors and joys of life together, be that work, family or messy dating lives. 

Release Date: 12 February 2027. 

Bunker

After 17 years of marriage, the seemingly stable lives of an acclaimed architect and his publisher wife begin to unravel when he accepts a controversial commission to build a luxury bunker for a tech billionaire. Set against a backdrop of widening class divisions and capitalist excess, Florian Zeller’s psychological thriller is anchored by performances from Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem.

Release Date: In UK cinemas 19 February 2027. 

Where, When & How To Get Tickets

BFI London Film Festival will return from 7 to 19 October 2026, with BFI Southbank and the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall the main venues. Other London venues include Vue West End, the Prince Charles Cinema, Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), Curzon Soho, Curzon Mayfair and Rambert.

Booking is staggered based on membership: BFI Patrons were able to book tickets from 9 September, followed by BFI Members on 10 September and general sale on 17 September. If you miss out, it’s not over: extra tickets were released on 1 October too.

BOOK IT

Films will also be screened at the following partner venues across the UK:

• Broadway Cinema (14-18 Broad St, Nottingham NG1 3AL)
• Chapter Arts Centre (Market Rd, Cardiff CF5 1QE)
• Glasgow Film Theatre (12 Rose St, Glasgow G3 6RB)
• HOME Manchester (2 Tony Wilson Pl, Manchester M15 4FN)
• Midlands Art Centre (Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH)
• Queen’s Film Theatre (20 University Square, Belfast BT7 1PA)
• Showroom Cinema (Paternoster Row, Sheffield S1 2BX)
• Tyneside Cinema (10 Pilgrim St, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 6QG)
• Watershed (1 Canon’s Rd, Bristol BS1 5TX)
• Filmhouse (88 Lothian Rd, Edinburgh EH3 9BZ)

Find out more and book at whatson.bfi.org.uk