“Every festival our team falls head over heels for ideas and artistic imagination, but 2025 has left us breathless,” BFI festivals director Kristy Matheson tells Broadsheet. “We can’t wait to share this program, full of innovations, provocations and essential road maps for navigating the world around us.”
100 Nights of Hero (Closing night gala)
October 19, 7.15pm, Royal Festival Hall
Our closing night film from the brilliantly talented Julia Jackman is a bold and beautiful fairytale made by an incredible home-grown team and featuring an all-star cast, including Emma Corrin, Nicholas Galitzine, Maika Monroe, Amir El-Masry, Richard E Grant and Charli xcx.
Pillion (Headline gala)
October 18, 9pm, Royal Festival Hall
Harry Lighton’s charming, sexy and moving debut stars Harry Melling as a shy young man who finds his place in the world as the submissive to a handsome biker played by Alexander Skarsgård. This is a tender and surprisingly funny film that you will gladly submit to.
Broken English (Documentary special presentation)
October 11, 8.50pm, BFI Southbank NFT1
Directors Jane Pollard and Iain Forsyth (20,000 Days on Earth, The Extraordinary Miss Flower) expertly rewire the documentary genre with this inventive and soulful portrait of the late cultural icon Marianne Faithfull, who’s joined onscreen by Tilda Swinton, George MacKay, Beth Orton, Courtney Love and Nick Cave.
N O W I S W H E N W E A R E (the stars) (Immersive special presentation)
October 3–19, 9.30am–9pm, Rambert Studio
Step into total darkness and become the centre of a shifting constellation. This breathtaking journey through light and sound is an immersive installation that invites you to explore the cosmos – and your inner self – one luminous moment at a time.
Black Is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story (Official competition)
October 9, 6pm, BFI Southbank NFT1
Photographer to the greats, collaborator in African liberation movements and archivist of Harlem culture, Kwame Brathwaite’s impact on Black culture is undeniable. A touching tribute to a forgotten photographer, freedom fighter and activist, who helped popularise the transformative “Black is beautiful” movement.
The London Film Festival runs from Wednesday October 8 to Sunday October 19.
