2025 BFI London Film Festival

Last updated
69th BFI London Film Festival
Opening film Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Closing film 100 Nights of Hero
Location London, United Kingdom
Founded1957
No. of films247
Festival date8–19 October 2025
Website whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp
BFI London Film Festival

The 69th BFI London Film Festival will take place from 8 to 19 October 2025. [1] The competition films were announced on 21 August 2025 while the films for the galas and the strands were revealed on 3 September 2025. The festival will showcase 247 film from 79 countries and open with the 2025 American mystery film Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery , written and directed by Rian Johnson and close with the 2025 historical fantasy film 100 Nights of Hero written and directed by Julia Jackman. [2]

Contents

Juries

The jury members were as follows: [3]

Main Competition

First Feature Competition (Sutherland Award)

Documentary Competition (Grierson Award)

Short Film Competition

Headline Galas

English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production Country
Opening Night Gala
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery Rian Johnson United States
Closing Night Gala
100 Nights of Hero Julia JackmanUnited Kingdom, United States
American Express Gala
Rental Family Hikari United States
Gala
After the Hunt Luca Guadagnino United States
Ballad of a Small Player Edward Berger United Kingdom
Blue Moon Richard Linklater United States, Ireland
Bugonia Yorgos Lanthimos United Kingdom
The Choral Nicholas Hytner United Kingdom
Christy David Michôd United States
Die, My Love Lynne Ramsay United States
Frankenstein Guillermo del Toro United States
H Is for Hawk Philippa Lowthorpe United Kingdom
Hamnet Chloé Zhao United Kingdom
The History of Sound Oliver Hermanus United States, United Kingdom, Italy
Is This Thing On? Bradley Cooper United States
It Was Just an Accident یک تصادف ساده Jafar Panahi Iran, France, Luxembourg
Jay Kelly Noah Baumbach United States, United Kingdom, Italy
The Mastermind Kelly Reichardt United States
No Other Choice 어쩔수가없다 Park Chan-wook South Korea
Nouvelle Vague Richard Linklater France
Pillion Harry Lighton United Kingdom
Roofman Derek Cianfrance United States
Sentimental Value Affeksjonsverdi Joachim Trier Norway, France, Germany
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere Scott Cooper United States
Tuner (surprise film) Daniel Roher United States, Canada

Special Presentations

English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production Country
AfterlivesKevin B. LeeGermany, Belgium, France
Broken EnglishIain Forsyth, Jane PollardUnited Kingdom
The Death of Bunny Munro (series; ep. 1–2) Isabella Eklöf United Kingdom
Maspalomas Aitor Arregi, Jose Mari GoenagaSpain
Now Is When We Are (The Stars) Andrew Schneider United States
Sholay (director's cut) Ramesh Sippy India

Competition

Official Competition

English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production Country
Bad Apples Jonatan EtzlerUnited Kingdom
Black Is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite StoryYemi BamiroUnited Kingdom, United States
Black Rabbit, White Rabbit Shahram Mokri Tajikistan, United Arab Emirates
Hair, Paper, Water... Tóc, giấy và nước...Nicolas Graux, Trương Minh Quý Belgium, France, Vietnam
Hedda Nia DaCosta United States
Landmarks Nuestra tierra Lucrecia Martel Argentina, United States, Mexico, France, Netherlands
Rose of Nevada Mark Jenkin United Kingdom
The Testament of Ann Lee Mona Fastvold United Kingdom
The Voice of Hind Rajab صوت هند رجب Kaouther Ben Hania Tunisia, France
The World of Love 세계의 주인 Yoon Ga-eun South Korea
Highlighted title indicates the section winner.

First Feature Competition

The following films competed for the Sutherland Award, which is awarded to a directorial debut:

English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production Country
Becoming HumanChiet Chea ManusaPolen LyCambodia, United States
Diamonds in the Sand 孤獨大叔出走中Janus VictoriaJapan, Malaysia, Philippines
Dreamers Joy Gharoro-AkpojotorUnited Kingdom
Ish Imran PerrettaUnited Kingdom
Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo) Joel Alfonso VargasUnited States
My Father's Shadow Akinola Davies Jr. United Kingdom, Nigeria
One Woman One BraVincho NchoguKenya, Nigeria
Sink Zain Duraie Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, France
Songs of Forgotten Trees Anuparna Roy India
A Useful Ghost ผีใช้ได้ค่ะRatchapoom BoonbunchachokeThailand, France, Singapore, Germany
Highlighted title indicates the section winner.

Documentary Competition

The following films will compete for the Grierson Awards, which is awarded to the Best Documentary of the competition. [4]

English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production Country
Always 从来Deming ChenUnited States, China
The Eyes of Ghana Ben Proudfoot United States
Life After Reid Davenport United States
Only on Earth Sólo en la tierraRobin PetréDenmark, Spain
SeedsBrittany ShyneUnited States
Singing WingsHemen KhalediIran, Georgia, Belgium
Super NatureEd SayersUnited Kingdom
The TravellersLes VoyageursDavid BingongCameroon, Spain
Highlighted title indicates the section winner.

Short Films Competition

The following films will compete for the Short Film award.

English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production Country
CapybarasLos CarpinchosAlfredo SoderguitFrance, Uruguay, Chile
CoyotesSaid ZaghaPalestine, United Kingdom, France, Jordan
Elephant FamiliesElena EscalanteUnited Kingdom, Spain
HappinessFirat YücelNetherlands, Turkey
Hope is LostEno EnefiokUnited Kingdom, North Macedonia
Ka Ba Ddi: A Breath, a Move, a GameAlia SyedUnited Kingdom
Magid / ZafarLuís HindmanUnited Kingdom
NostalgieKathryn FergusonUnited Kingdom
We Had FunLinda LôFrance
WombIra HetarakaNew Zealand
Highlighted title indicates the section winner.

Thematic strands

Love

English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production Country
& Sons Pablo Trapero United Kingdom, Canada
Calle Málaga Maryam Touzani Morocco, France, Spain, Germany, Belgium
D is for DistanceChristopher Petit, Emma MatthewsFinland
Endless Cookie Seth Scriver, Peter ScriverCanada
Father Mother Sister Brother Jim Jarmusch United States, Ireland, France, Italy, Japan
Human Resource Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit Thailand
Kim Novak's Vertigo Alexandre O. Philippe United States
Left-Handed Girl 左撇子女孩 Shih-Ching Tsou United States, United Kingdom, France, Taiwan
Love, Brooklyn Rachael Abigail HolderUnited States
Love Me Tender Anna Cazenave Cambet France
The Love That Remains Ástin Sem Eftir Er Hlynur Pálmason Iceland, Denmark, France, Finland, Sweden
Resurrection 狂野时代 Bi Gan China, France
Romería Carla Simón Spain, Germany
A Sad and Beautiful World نجوم الأمل و الألمCyril ArisLebanon, United States, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Qatar
The Souffleur Gastón Solnicki Austria, Argentina
The Thing with Feathers Dylan Southern United Kingdom
Train Dreams Clint BentleyUnited States

Debate

English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production Country
Cover-Up Laura Poitras, Mark ObenhausUnited States
The Deal Jean-Stéphane Bron Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium
Island of the Winds大風之島Hsu Ya-TingTaiwan, Japan, France
John Lilly and the Earth Coincidence Control Office Michael Almereyda, Courtney StephensUnited States
Kontinental '25 Radu Jude Romania, Brazil, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Luxembourg
Love+War Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin United States
Mother Мајка Teona Strugar Mitevska North Macedonia, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Bosnia and Herzegovina, India
Orwell: 2+2=5 Raoul Peck United States, France
Saipan Glenn Leyburn, Lisa Barros D'SaUnited Kingdom, Ireland
Silent Friend Stille Freundin Ildikó Enyedi Germany, France, Hungary

Laugh

English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production Country
FwendsSophie SomervilleAustralia
The Kidnapping of Arabella Il rapimento di Arabella Carolina Cavalli Italy
More LifeBradley BantonUnited Kingdom, Denmark
Olmo Fernando Eimbcke United States, Mexico
She's the HeSiobhán McCarthyUnited States
Twinless James Sweeney United States
UntamableThomas NgijolFrance
What Marielle Knows Was Marielle weißFrédéric HambalekGermany

Dare

English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production Country
Alpha Julia Ducournau France, Belgium
Anemone Ronan Day-Lewis United Kingdom, United States
The AssistantCzłowiek do wszystkiego Wilhelm Sasnal, Anka SasnalPoland, United Kingdom
Blue Heron Sophy Romvari Canada, Hungary
The Chronology of Water Kristen Stewart France, Latvia, United Kingdom, United States
The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box)El Diablo Fuma (y guarda las cabezas de los cerillos quemados en la misma caja)Ernesto Martínez BucioMexico
Dreams Michel Franco United States, Mexico
Dry Leaf ხმელი ფოთოლი Alexandre Koberidze Germany, Georgia
The Fence Le Cri des Gardes Claire Denis France
Good Boy Jan Komasa Poland, United Kingdom
Hamlet Aneil KariaUnited Kingdom
The Ice Tower La Tour de glace Lucile Hadžihalilović France, Germany, Italy
Lady Samuel AbrahamsUnited Kingdom
Magellan Magalhães Lav Diaz Portugal, Spain, Philippines, France, Taiwan
Memory of Princess MumbiDamien HauserKenya, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia
Short SummerNastia KorkiaGermany, France, Serbia
Sirāt Óliver Laxe Spain, France
Sound of Falling In die Sonne schauen Mascha Schilinski Germany
Straight Circle Oscar HudsonUnited States, United Kingdom, South Africa

Thrill

English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production Country
At the Place of Ghosts Sk+te’kmujue’katik Bretten Hannam Canada, Belgium
Balearic Ion de SosaSpain, France
Giant Rowan AthaleUnited Kingdom, United States
If I Had Legs I'd Kick You Mary Bronstein United States
Lurker Alex RussellUnited States
Miroirs No. 3 Christian Petzold Germany
A Private Life Vie privée Rebecca Zlotowski France
Retreat Ted EvansUnited Kingdom
The Secret Agent O Agente Secreto Kleber Mendonça Filho Brazil
UltrasRagnhild EknerSweden, Denmark, Finland
Wasteman Cal McMauUnited Kingdom

Cult

English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production Country
ChaO チァオYasuhiro AokiJapan
Decorado Alberto Vázquez Spain, Portugal
Exit 8 8番出口Genki KawamuraJapan
Fucktoys Annapurna SriramUnited States
The Holy Boy La valle dei sorrisiPaolo StrippoliItaly, Slovenia
Honey Bunch Madeleine Sims-Fewer, Dusty Mancinelli Canada
Reflection in a Dead Diamond Reflet dans un diamant mort Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, France
The Vile Majid Al Ansari United Arab Emirates, United States

Journey

English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production Country
Below the Clouds Sotto le nuvole Gianfranco Rosi Italy
The Blue Trail O Último Azul Gabriel Mascaro Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Netherlands
Enzo Robin Campillo France
La grazia Paolo Sorrentino Italy
High WireCalif ChongUnited Kingdom
Lucky Lu Lloyd Lee Choi Canada, United States
Orphan Árva László Nemes Hungary, France, Germany, United Kingdom
A Pale View of Hills Kei IshikawaUnited Kingdom, Japan, Poland
Palestine 36 فلسطين ٣٦ Annemarie Jacir Palestine, United Kingdom, France, Denmark, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan
Portobello (Two episodes) Marco Bellocchio Italy, France
The President's Cake مملكة القصبHasan HadiIraq, United States, Qatar
Promised Sky Promis le ciel Erige Sehiri France, Tunisia, Qatar
RedoubtVärnJohn SkoogSweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Poland, Finland, United Kingdom, Switzerland
The Son and the Sea Stroma CairnsUnited Kingdom, United States
Têtes BrûléesMaja-Ajmia Yde ZellamaBelgium
Two Prosecutors Sergei Loznitsa France, Germany, Romania, Latvia, Netherlands, Lithuania
WeightlessVægtløsEmilie ThalundDenmark

Create

English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production Country
ArielLois PatiñoSpain, Portugal
BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions Kahlil Joseph United States
DJ Ahmet Georgi M. UnkovskiNorth Macedonia, Czech Republic, Serbia, Croatia
Duse Pietro Marcello Italy, France
Future BotanicaMarcel van Brakel, Hazal ErtürkanNetherlands
Khartoum الخرطومAnas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy Ahmad, Timeea Mohamed Ahmed, Philip CoxSudan, United Kingdom, Germany, Qatar
Mare's Nest Ben Rivers United Kingdom, France, Canada
Moss & FreudJames LucasUnited Kingdom, New Zealand
Peter Hujar's Day Ira Sachs United States
The Stranger L'Étranger François Ozon France, Belgium

Experimenta

English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production Country
The Memory of ButterfliesLa memoria de las mariposasTatiana Fuentes SadowskiPeru, Portugal
With Hasan in GazaKamal AljafariGermany, Palestine, France, Qatar

Family

English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production Country
Animal Farm Andy Serkis Canada, United Kingdom, United States
Finding OptelJesse Brown, Mikayla Joy BrownSouth Africa
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain Amélie et la métaphysique des tubesMaïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho HanFrance, Belgium
The Songbird’s SecretLe Secret des MésangesAntoine LanciauxFrance
Whispers in the WoodsLe Chant des forêts Vincent Munier France

Short Films

The short film programme was divided into the following sections. Short films already mentioned within the Short Films competition are not included.

Are You Kidding?

English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production Country
Little MonstersLes Petits MonstresPablo LéridonFrance
Candy BarNash EdgertonAustralia
Crab No. 7Victor Nauwynck, Shir AriyaUnited Kingdom
Mother GooseJoanna VymerisUnited Kingdom
The Wasp or The Sheer Beauty of Accepting YourselfCass VirdeeUnited Kingdom
Party AnimalAli GillUnited Kingdom
End of PlayEdem WornooUnited Kingdom
WhitchHoku UchiyamaUnited States

Discovering Home

English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production Country
Ackee and SaltfishJasmin NunesUnited Kingdom
SeventeenAjuan Isaac-George
So Here We AreWarren Mendy, Mahaila Palmer
I Saw the Face of God in the Jet WashMark Jenkin
Under the Wave Off Little DragonLuo Jian

Mapped Out Futures

English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production Country
Forgotten RoutesVarta ArutiunianUnited Kingdom
My Blood is PalestinianJay Scanlan-Oumow, Omar Ismail
BabySimisolaoluwa Akande
Original SinAmrou Al-Kadhi
Highway to the Moon Letitia Wright

Pulling the Rug Out

English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production Country
ChimeraEamonn HearnsUnited Kingdom
FlockMac NixonUnited Kingdom
Speak with the DeadStephanie ParisUnited States
Shiny Precious ThingsVillő KriszticsUnited Kingdom
God is ShyJocelyn CharlesFrance
Grandma is ThirstyKris CarrUnited Kingdom

Roots and Branches

English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production Country
You Can Call Me LouGeorgia Zeta GkokaUnited Kingdom, Greece
Beyond the RushNiyadreUnited Kingdom
ChikhaZahoua Raji, Ayoub LayoussifiFrance, Morocco
Dust to Dreams Idris Elba Nigeria

Show Me Who I Am

English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production Country
The Devil and the BicycleSharon HakimFrance
22+1Pippa Bennett-WarnerUnited Kingdom
Red Egg & GingerOlivia OwyeungUnited Kingdom
Sweet Talkin’ GuyDylan Wardwell, Spencer WardwellUnited Kingdom
CrustsIndia SleemUnited Kingdom
Dark Skin Bruises DifferentlySusan WokomaUnited Kingdom

Experimenta Shorts

Anatomy of Place, Sites of Becoming
English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production Country
The House Was There Before MeElian MikkolaCanada
Fugue NotesSelina ErshadiNew Zealand
Radius CatastropheJad YoussefLebanon
Back and Forth Across the Line
English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production Country
Border as InterfacePetra SzemánUnited Kingdom, Japan
NsalaMickael-sltan MbanzaCongo
The Conjured OnesLos ConjuradosHumberto González BustilloVenezuela, Argentina
Terror ElementAnna Engelhardt, Mark CinkevichUnited Kingdom, Netherlands
Cadences of Refusal
English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production Country
Daria's Night FlowersMaryam TafakoryIran, United Kingdom, France
New Territories (Spectacle is King)Rhea StorrUnited Kingdom
Tuktuit: CaribouLindsay McIntyreCanada
Another OtherBex Oluwatoyin ThompsonUnited States
Morning CircleBasma al-SharifGermany, Canada, United Arab Emirates
In the Clouds Flecks of Memories Pass By
English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production Country
The Early Sun, Red as a Hunter's MoonAdam PironUnited States
She's Waiting for the SunsetMartyna RatnikLithuania
Nothing Out of the Island: BridgesNada fuera de la Isla: PuentesDalissa Montes de Oca MosqueaDominican Republic, United States
Half MemoryUfuoma EssiUnited Kingdom, United States, France
Shadows of the Living
English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production Country
Primate Visions; Macaque MacabreNatasha TonteyIndonesia, Switzerland
Hedgehog Cakes: Sweet Weapon of TerrorZhenia StepanenkoUkraine
Fragments for Venus Alice Diop Italy, France
Resurrect Me as a ParasiteGabi Dao, Lou Lou SainsburyUnited Kingdom, Netherlands, Canada

Animated Shorts for Younger Audiences

English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production Country
Mushroom's LifeSēnes dzīveĒvalds LācisLatvia
CardboardJ.P. VineUnited Kingdom
Snow Bear Aaron Blaise United States
The Naughty SeatDavid JohnsonUnited Kingdom
House TrapGeorge HampshireNetherlands
The Big Bad WolfLeo WrightUnited Kingdom
ForeverGreenNathan Engelhardt, Jeremy SpearsUnited States

Archive

English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production Country
The Girls (1978)ගැහැණු ළමයි Sumitra Peries Sri Lanka
Hotel London (1987)Ahmed Alauddin JamalUnited Kingdom
La Paga (1962) Ciro Durán Colombia, Venezuela
Mortu Nega (1988) Flora Gomes Guinea-Bissau
Wild Style (1982) Charlie Ahearn United States

Awards

The following awards were presented: [5]

In competition

References

  1. Tabbara, Mona (3 September 2025). "BFI London Film Festival unveils 2025 line-up". ScreenDaily .
  2. Boyce, Laurence (4 September 2025). "The BFI London Film Festival lifts the lid on the titles for its 69th edition". Cineuropa . Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  3. "Competition juries announced for 69th BFI London Film Festival". BFI. 1 October 2025. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  4. Ntim, Zac (3 September 2025). "BFI London Film Festival: Chloé Zhao's 'Hamnet' & Kate Moss Biopic 'Moss & Freud' Among Headline Titles — Full List". Deadline . Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  5. Dalton, Ben (19 October 2025). "BFI London Film Festival winners led by Lucrecia Martel's 'Landmarks'". ScreenDaily . Retrieved 19 October 2025.