BFI London Film Festival 2024: program

Far from being an event reserved for critics and VIPs, LFF remains the most accessible of all the world’s major film screenings. This means that everyone has the opportunity to join the 11-day movie marathon of the most anticipated new releases – which have already earned their awards at other prestigious international competitions, but have not yet been released in wide distribution. A total of 255 films will be shown in cinemas in London, as well as other cities in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland during the festival.

When London Film Festival 2024 takes place

This year’s LFF runs from Wednesday, October 9 through Sunday, October 20. It will open with a screening of Steve McQueen’s World War II drama The Blitz, starring Saoirse Ronan. It will premiere at the Royal Festival Hall and cinemas across the UK.

Pharrell Williams’ new film Piece by Piece, a documentary biopic made entirely with LEGO animation techniques, will “bring the curtain down” on the film festival on October 20, also at the Royal Festival Hall. The singer-rapper-actor will attend the presentation in person.

Where it takes place

As in recent years, LFF goes well beyond the capital. The main venue is the South Bank: Royal Festival Hall, BFI IMAX, BFI Southbank and Bargehouse. In addition, screenings take place in five London partner cinemas: Curzon Mayfair, Curzon Soho, ICA, Prince Charles Cinema and Vue West End.

Outside London, you can join the LFF at a number of cinemas including Broadway Cinema in Nottingham, Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff, Glasgow Film Theatre, MAC in Birmingham, Belfast’s Queen’s Film Theatre, Showroom Cinema in Sheffield, Newcastle’s Tyneside Cinema and Watershed in Bristol.

When tickets go on sale

• September 9, 10:00 a.m. – priority reservations for BFI Patrons will become available;
• September 10, 10:00 a.m. – priority booking will open for BFI members;
• September 17, 10:00 a.m. – ticket sales will open to the public;
• October 3, 10:00 a.m. – tickets for select screenings and events will go on sale.

More information on pricing and activity schedules can be found on the official event website.

What to expect from the Screen Talks program

The Screen Talks program will include interviews and discussions with British director and screenwriter Andrea Arnold (“Aquarium,” “Wuthering Heights,” “Red Road”), Sean Baker (“Tangerine,” “The Florida Project.” “Anora), Steve McQueen (“Hunger”, “Widows”, “Blitz”), Zoe Saldana (“Avatar”, “Guardians of the Galaxy”), Denis Villeneuve (“Dune”, “Arrival”) and many other iconic representatives of modern cinema.

• Andrea Arnold – October 19, 12:30pm, BFI Southbank NFT1;
• Sean Baker – October 12, 1:30 p.m., Curzon Soho Screen 1;
• Daniel Kaluuya – October 9, 11:30 a.m., Picturehouse Central;
• Mike Lee – October 20, 3:15pm, BFI Southbank NFT1;
• Steve McQueen – October 9, 2pm, BFI Southbank NFT1;
• Lupita Nyong’ o – October 14, 12:30pm, BFI Southbank NFT1;
• Zoe Saldana – October 12, 3pm, BFI Southbank NFT1;
• Elizabeth Chai Vasarheli and Jimmy Chin – October 13, 3pm, BFI Southbank NFT3;
• Denis Villeneuve – October 12, 11:30 a.m., Southbank Centre.

5 most anticipated premieres

“Blitz,” Steve McQueen

Named after the Nazi bombing campaign in London in 1940 and 1941, the movie is the story of nine-year-old evacuee George (Elliott Heffernan) who tries to return to London, to his mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) and grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller). The director himself notes that above all – “this is a movie about Londoners.” The film not only captures the spirit of how the British experienced the tragedy of the Blitz, but also shows the real state of people who are desperately trying to reunite with each other during the war.

“The Room Next Door,” Pedro Almodóvar.

Pedro Almodóvar’s first English-language film starring Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore. The action begins in sitcom style. A famous writer is about to refuse to sign her new book, a novel about the fear of death, when a friend informs her that her former colleague Martha (Swinton) is dying of cancer.

The true greatness of this adaptation of Sigrid Núñez’s best-selling novel What You’re Going Through lies in the way Almodóvar uses melodrama to discreetly tell the story of a broken America. Ingrid (Moore) and Marta experience a death, make plans to avoid arrest, and encounter an anti-wake instructor.

“Anora,” Sean Baker

“Anora” – a film by independent American director Sean Baker – became one of the most unexpected victories in Cannes 2024 and the winner of the main prize of the competition – the Palme d’Or. The two main male parts in the tape went to Russian actors – Yura Borisov and Mark Eidelstein. The picture, which tells the story of a Russian-speaking stripper who marries the son of Russian oligarchs, earned an eight-minute ovation of the hall in Cannes. Sean Baker dedicated his win to “all sex workers and laborers past, present and future”.

“Bird,” Andrea Arnold.

Twelve-year-old Bailey (Nikia Adams) is a kid who knows no peace. She lives in a squat in Kent with her older brother Hunter (Jason Buda) and her tattooed-to-the-eyes father Bug (Barry Keoghan), a sparkling man-child who defines the word “chaos” with his every move and word. Early in the movie, set on a few hazy summer days, Bug announces to Bailey that he’s going to marry his girlfriend on Saturday, an obsession that competes for his attention with a crazy project to extract hallucinogens from a toad to finance the wedding.

“Maria,” Pablo Larraín

The biopic about Maria Callas, starring Angelina Jolie, will tell about the last years of the greatest opera singer, which she spent in Paris in the 70s. This period of Callas’ life was laden with extraordinary, partly mystical and controversial events. She practically never left her apartment and died at the age of 53, after which her body was cremated and her ashes were stolen. At the same time, there is also a conspiracy theory surrounding the singer’s death, expressed in particular by her friend and director Franco Zeffirelli, who stated in 2004 that the singer could have been poisoned by her closest friend Vasso Devetzi. The prototypes of Jackie Kennedy and Aristotle Onassis appear in the movie. And the director of the film is happy to combine his 2 main passions – cinema and opera.