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BFI London Film Festival

Annual film in London,

Annual film in London,

FieldValue
nameBFI London Film Festival
logoBFI London Film Festival logo.jpg
captionBFI London Film Festival
founded
last[2025](2025-bfi-london-film-festival)
locationLondon, England
website
mainCurrent: [69th BFI London Film Festival](2025-bfi-london-film-festival)
previous[68th](2024-bfi-london-film-festival)
next70th

The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. Founded in 1957, the festival runs for two weeks every October.

In 2016, the BFI estimated that around 240 feature films and 150 short films from more than 70 countries are screened at the festival each year.

History

At a dinner party in 1953, at the home of film critic Dilys Powell of The Sunday Times, attended by film administrator James Quinn, guests discussed the lack of a film festival in London. Quinn went on to start the first London Film Festival, which took place at the new National Film Theatre (now renamed BFI Southbank) from 16 to 26 October 1957. The first festival screened 15–20 films that were already successful at other festivals, including Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood (which opened the festival), Satyajit Ray's Aparajito, Andrzej Wajda's Kanał, Luchino Visconti's White Nights, Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal, Federico Fellini's Nights of Cabiria and Elia Kazan's A Face in the Crowd. The first edition was sponsored by The Sunday Times.

The second festival saw the introduction of the Sutherland Trophy, an annual award for "the maker of the most original and imaginative film introduced at the National Film Theatre during the year", which was awarded to Yasujirō Ozu for Tokyo Story. The third festival featured François Truffaut's The 400 Blows, for which he famously turned up to the festival without a ticket and unable to speak English.

Richard Roud became festival director in 1960, the first year that a British film was shown at the festival; the world premiere of Karel Reisz's Saturday Night and Sunday Morning.

The 1962 festival featured the first midnight matinee, Tony Richardson's The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner.

A new strand of the festival called London Choices was added in 1965 which featured debut and lesser-known features. One of the first London Choices features was Dear John, directed by Lars-Magnus Lindgren.

1967 saw the first features films directed by women screened - Shirley Clarke's Portrait of Jason, Agnès Varda's Les Créatures and Věra Chytilová's Daisies.

Jean-Luc Godard's first English language film, One Plus One, was shown under the London Choices strand in 1968. After the screening, Godard punched producer Iain Quarrier in the face on stage for changes Quarrier made to the film's ending.

1970–1983

Ken Wlaschin became the festival director in February 1970 and expanded the size and diversity of the festival. A recently opened second screen at the NFT was also used. David Lynch's short film The Grandmother was also shown in 1970.

The 1971 festival was expanded to include a directors' section, featuring the premiere of Mike Leigh's feature film debut Bleak Moments. Between 13 and 29 November 1972, 44 films were screened in two categories; one for established directors and one for younger directors. The 1974 festival opened on 18 November and featured 60 films starting with the premiere of Peter Hall's Akenfield. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was screened in a members-only screening due to it not being classified by the BBFC. Similar screenings were held for The Beast in 1975 and Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom in 1977.

Due to financial restrictions, the 1978 festival was shortened from 21 to 16 days and there was hardly any publicity. It opened with a spotlight on new Australian cinema, starting with Phillip Noyce's Newsfront and films by Bruce Beresford and Donald Crombie. The festival made a special concession to allow six of the films selected for the festival to also be screened at Time Out's 10th Anniversary Film Festival in September 1978 without changing the regulation stating that LFF films must be British premieres.

The 25th festival opened on 4 November 1981 with a gala presentation of Gallipoli attended by Charles, Prince of Wales, the BFI patron, and Diana, Princess of Wales. It was the largest ever to date, featuring 127 films. It closed on 22 November with the British film Priest of Love directed by Christopher Miles. The 1982 festival opened 11 November 1982 with 4 independent British films - Claude Whatham's The Captain's Doll, Peter Greenaway's The Draughtsman's Contract, Barney Platts-Mills' Hero and Mai Zetterling's Scrubbers

Expansion

In 1984, Wlaschin's role as program director for the National Film Theatre (NFT) and festival director was split, with The Guardian film critic Derek Malcolm taking over as festival director, initially temporarily, and Sheila Whitaker as NFT program director.

The 1985 festival was expanded to feature 161 films and ran from 14 November to 1 December, opening with Akira Kurosawa's Ran and closing with Michael Cimino's Year of the Dragon and Peter Greenaway's A Zed & Two Noughts.

The films were grouped into regional categories. In 2009, these were: Galas and Special Screenings, Film on the Square, New British Cinema, French Revolutions, Cinema Europa, World Cinema, Experimenta, Treasures from the Archives, Short Cuts, and Animation.

Since 1986, the festival has been "topped and tailed" by the opening and closing galas, which have become major red-carpet events in the London calendar. The opening and closing galas are often world, European, or UK premiere screenings, which take place in large venues in central London. They are attended by the cast and crew of the films and are introduced by the festival director, the film's director or producers, and often the actors themselves.

The 30th edition of the festival in 1986 opened with Nicolas Roeg's Castaway on 13 November and closed with Ken Russell's film Gothic on 30 November. The festival had a "post script" the next day on 1 December with a Royal charity performance of Labyrinth attended by the Prince and Princess of Wales.

1987–1996

Sheila Whitaker, who had been the manager of the National Film Theatre, The closing gala was held on 29 November featuring Stephen Frears' Sammy and Rosie Get Laid.

During her period as director, Whitaker continued to expand the festival. By the end of her tenure as director in 1996, the festival had grown to include screenings of over 200 films from around the world, more venues had been added, and more tickets were sold to non-BFI members. She also began the festival's practice of including newly restored films from the National Film Archive and overseas institutions.

The 1989 festival expanded the number of venues, with the festival showing films in South London for the first time with the addition of the Ritzy Cinema in Brixton and the Brixton Village Cultural Centre. The Screen on the Green in Islington and the Rio Cinema, Dalston were also added as venues. It featured Max Ophüls La signora di tutti (1934) in tribute to former festival director Richard Roud who had died in February 1989.

The 1990 festival featured 180 films compared to 145 in the previous year. It included a section Focus on Hong Kong which featured the world premiere of Jackie Chan's Armour of God II: Operation Condor. The festival also featured the world premieres of Mike Leigh's Life Is Sweet and Anthony Minghella's Truly, Madly, Deeply (under the title Cello).

The 1991 festival was dedicated to David Lean, who had died earlier in the year. The festival opened with the world premiere of Mike Newell's Enchanted April and closed with the European premiere of Mark Peploe's debut film Afraid of the Dark.

In 1993, the Children's London Film Festival was re-incorporated into the main festival. The opening night film was the European premiere of James Ivory's The Remains of the Day.

The 1994 festival opened with the world premiere of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein directed by Kenneth Branagh.

Due to classification issues, special permission was needed from Westminster City Council to screen Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers in 1994 and David Cronenberg's Crash in 1996. The 1996 festival featured Shane Meadows' debut film Small Time.

1997–2011

Adrian Wooton was appointed festival director and Sandra Hebron as festival programmer in 1997.

From 2000, the festival was sponsored by Regus and became known as the Regus London Film Festival. The first festival under Regus opened with Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous on 1 November 2000 and closed on 16 November with Born Romantic. The 2002 festival was held 6–21 November, attracting a then record 110,000 visitors, opening with Stephen Frears' Dirty Pretty Things and closing with Thaddeus O'Sullivan's The Heart of Me.

Hebron became artistic director of the festival in 2003, replacing Wooton. The same year, the festival's sponsor was changed to The Times and became known as The Times BFI London Film Festival.

The fiftieth edition of the festival opened 18 October 2006 with the European premiere of Kevin McDonald's The Last King of Scotland. It also featured the European premieres of Todd Field's Little Children and Anthony Minghella's Breaking and Entering. It closed on 2 November with Babel.

Previously a number of festival awards were presented at the Closing gala, but in 2009, with the aid of some funding from the UK Film Council, a stand-alone awards ceremony was introduced. The UK Film Council helped fund the festival for three years until it was abolished in 2011.

In 2009 the festival, whilst focused around Leicester Square (Vue West End, Odeon West End and Empire) and the BFI Southbank in central London, also screened films across 18 other venues – Curzon Mayfair Cinema, ICA Cinema on The Mall, The Ritzy in Brixton, Cine Lumière in South Kensington, Queen Elizabeth Hall on the South Bank, David Lean Cinema in Croydon, the Genesis Cinema in Whitechapel, The Greenwich Picturehouse, the Phoenix Cinema in East Finchley, Rich Mix in Old Street, the Rio Cinema in Dalston, the Tricycle Cinema in Kilburn, the Waterman Art Centre in Brentford and Trafalgar Square for the open air screening of short films from the BFI National Archive. The 2009 Festival featured 15 world premieres including Wes Anderson's first animated feature, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Sam Taylor-Wood's feature début Nowhere Boy, about the formative years of John Lennon, as well as the Festival's first ever Archive Gala, the BFI's new restoration of Anthony Asquith's Underground, with live music accompaniment by the Prima Vista Social Club. European premieres in 2009 included Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Micmacs, Scott Hicks' The Boys Are Back and Robert Connolly's Balibo, as well as Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni's The Well and Lucy Bailey and Andrew Thompson's Mugabe and the White African.

In 2009, directors travelling to London to introduce their latest work included Michael Haneke (Cannes Palme d'Or winner, The White Ribbon), Atom Egoyan (Chloe), Steven Soderbergh (The Informant!), Lone Scherfig (An Education), Ang Lee (Taking Woodstock), Jane Campion (Bright Star), Gaspar Noé (Enter The Void), Lee Daniels (Precious), Grant Heslov (The Men Who Stare at Goats), and Jason Reitman (Up in the Air). In addition to Fantastic Mr. Fox and Up in the Air, George Clooney supported his role in The Men Who Stare at Goats. The Festival also welcomed back previous alumni such as John Hillcoat (The Road), Joe Swanberg (Alexander The Last) and Harmony Korine (Trash Humpers), whilst also screening films from Manoel de Oliveira (Eccentricities of a Blonde-Haired Girl), Jim Jarmusch (The Limits Of Control), Claire Denis (White Material), Ho-Yuhang (At The End Of Daybreak), Todd Solondz (Life During Wartime), and Joel and Ethan Coen (A Serious Man).

American Express became the festival's principal sponsor in 2010 and the name changed to the BFI London Film Festival.

2012–2017

Clare Stewart was appointed as head of exhibition at the BFI in August 2011 replacing Hebron and was the festival's director from the 2012 edition. Under Stewart, a formal competition was organised in 2012; films were organized into strands such as "Love", "Debate", "Dare" and "Thrill" and films started to be screened outside of London.

The 2013 festival opened with Captain Phillips and closed with the world premiere of Saving Mr. Banks,

248 films were screened in 2014 and the festival saw a record attendance of 163,000.

The Odeon West End, which accounted for 23% of admissions in 2014,

The 60th edition of the festival saw the opening of the temporary Embankment Garden Cinema, in Victoria Embankment Gardens. In the first 60 years of the festival, it had shown 27 films by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 19 by Satyajit Ray and 18 by Jean-Luc Godard.

BFI London Film Festival today

While the programme still retains the 'festivals' feel, it also now shows new discoveries from "important and exciting talents" in world cinema. Whilst it continues to be first and foremost a public festival, it is also attended by large numbers of film professionals and journalists from all over the world. Importantly, it offers opportunities for people to see films that may not otherwise get a UK screening along with films that will get a release in the near future. Some films are accompanied by Q&A sessions which give the audience unique access to the filmmaker and/or a member of the cast and offer insight into the making of the film and occasionally an opportunity for the audience to engage directly and ask questions. Other than these events, the screenings at the Festival are quite informal and similar to the normal cinema experience.

Stewart took a sabbatical for the 2018 edition of the festival and her deputy, Tricia Tuttle stood in as interim artistic director. She became artistic director in December 2018. Current film programmers include Kate Taylor (Senior Programmer), Michael Blyth and Laure Bonville.

The 2018 festival opened with the European premiere of Steve McQueen's Widows. It saw the first film at the festival to premiere outside London with the UK premiere of Mike Leigh's * Peterloo* being held at HOME in Manchester on 17 October

The 2019 edition opened with Armando Iannucci's The Personal History of David Copperfield which was shown at the Odeon Leicester Square and at the Embankment Garden Cinema.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, the 2020 festival featured up to 50 online films with only 12 films being shown in London and around the United Kingdom. The festival opened with the European premiere of Steve McQueen's Mangrove and closed with Ammonite, directed by Francis Lee.

The 2021 festival opened with the world premiere of Jeymes Samuel's The Harder They Fall at Royal Festival Hall.

Tuttle stepped down as festival director after the 2022 festival and was replaced by Kristy Matheson.

Programmes

The Festival is organized in various sections:

  • Galas
    • Opening Night Gala - Film that screened on the opening night.
    • Closing Night Gala - Film that screened on the closing night.
    • Headline Galas - About 10 films, including American Express Gala, Mayor of London's Gala and BFI Patrons' Gala, to name a few.
    • Festival and Strand Gala - Red carpet galas of themed strands: Cult, Dare, Thrill, Debate, Love, Laugh, Family, Journey, Create, and Treasures.
  • Special Presentations - Focus on new works from major directors. This section includes Documentary, Experimenta, BFI Flare and other Special Presentations.
  • Strands - Films were organized according to themes to encourage discovery and to open up the Festival to new audiences. The themes include:
    • Love - films that are sweet, passionate and tough, as well as charts the highs and lows of many kind of love from around the globe.
    • Debate - features films that are amplify, scrutinize, argue, surprise and thrives on conversation.
    • Laugh - celebrates humour in all its form, from laugh-out-loud comedy to dry and understated
    • Dare - features in-your-face, up-front and arresting films that take audience out of their comfort zones
    • Thrill - features nerve-shredders that get audience on the edge of their seats
    • Cult - features films that are mind-altering and classifiable, as well as sci-fi and horror genre
    • Journey - focused on the journey or the destination that transport and shift the perspectives of audience
    • Create - features films that channel the electricity of creative process and celebrating artistic expression in all its form
    • Experimenta - features films and videos by artists that revolutionize and reshape the vision of cinema
    • Family - showcases films for the young and the young at heart
    • Treasures - brings recently restored cinematic classics from archives around the world
    • Expanded - showcases immersive art and extended reality (XR) content
  • In Competition - celebrate the highest creative achievements of British and international filmmakers.
    • Official competition - films are competing for the Best Film Award.
    • First Feature Competition - films are competing for the Sutherland Award.
    • Documentary Competition - films are competing for the Grierson Award.
    • Audience Awards
    • Short Film Award - recognizes short from works with a unique cinematic view.

Surprise film

Derek Malcolm introduced a screening of an unannounced film during the festival each year known as the Surprise Film.

For the 50th anniversary of the festival, rather than one surprise film, there were 50 screenings of a surprise film around London.

List of festival editions

EditionDatesOpening FilmClosing FilmSutherland Trophy
116–26 October 1957*Throne of Blood*
26–14 October 1958*H-8**Tokyo Story*
312 October – 1 November 1959*A Midsummer Night's Dream**The World of Apu*
4archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114074156/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/event/2845archive-date=14 January 2009url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/event/2845title=London Film Festival: 4th}}*Les jeux de l'amour**L'Avventura*
517–31 October 1961*Lola**Il Posto*
616–30 October 1962*Le Caporal épinglé**Paris Belongs to Us*
715–30 October 1963*The Funny Side of Life**Muriel*
826 October – 8 November 1964*The Umbrellas of Cherbourg**Hamlet*
94–18 November 1965*A Blonde in Love**Pierrot le Fou*
1021 November – 4 December 1966*The Shameless Old Lady**The Man Who Had His Hair Cut Short*
1120 November – 3 December 1967*La Marseillaise**Samurai Rebellion*
1219 November – 5 December 1968*The Fireman's Ball**If....**The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach*
1317 November – 3 December 1969*My Night at Maud's**Boy*
*Sweet Hunters**L'Amour fou*
1416 November – 2 December 1970*L'Enfant sauvage**Quiet Days in Clichy**The Conformist*
1515 November – 1 December 1971*Trafic**Four Nights of a Dreamer*
1613–29 November 1972*Company limited**The Hour of the Furnaces*
1720 November – 7 December 1973*Payday**Ludwig: Requiem for a Virgin King**Pirosmani*
1818 November – 8 December 1974*Akenfield**The Ferocious One**Martha*
1917 November – 7 December 1975*Winstanley*
*Requiem for a Village**The Middleman**The Travelling Players*
2015 November – 5 December 1976*The Devil's Playground**The Killing of a Chinese Bookie**In the Realm of the Senses*
2114 November – 4 December 1977*[1900](1900-film)**A Woman of Paris**Hitler: A Film from Germany*
2214–30 November 1978*Newsfront**The Sailor's Return**The Scenic Route*
2315 November – 2 December 1979*Those Wonderful Movie Cranks**My Brilliant Career*
*Breaking Away**The Herd*
2413–30 November 1980*Kagemusha**Raging Bull**The Falls*
*Two Stage Sisters*
254–22 November 1981*Gallipoli**Priest of Love**No Mercy, No Future*
2611–28 November 1982*The Captain's Doll*
*The Draughtsman's Contract*
*Hero*
*Scrubbers**The Missionary*
*Privates on Parade**Elippathayam*
2717 November – 4 December 1983*Finally, Sunday!**Loose Connections**Sans Soleil*
2814 November – 2 December 1984*Gremlins**The Thief of Baghdad**This Is My Country*
EditionDatesOpening GalaClosing GalaSutherland TrophySurprise Film
2914 November – 1 December 1985*Ran**Year of the Dragon*
*A Zed & Two Noughts**Yellow Earth**A Chorus Line*
3013 November – 1 December 1986*Castaway**Gothic**Comrades**The Color of Money*
3111–29 November 1987*Dark Eyes**Sammy and Rosie Get Laid**Terrorizers*/*Yeelen*
3210–27 November 1988*Things Change**For Queen and Country*
3310–26 November 1989*Parenthood**What Time Is It?**Pathfinder*
348–25 November 1990*Texasville**The Sheltering Sky**The Fabulous Baker Boys*
356–21 November 1991*Enchanted April**Afraid of the Dark**On the Wire*
365–22 November 1992*Peter's Friends**Blade Runner - The Director's Cut**Proof*
374–21 November 1993*The Remains of the Day**Farewell My Concubine**Vacas*
38magazine=Screen Internationaldate=18 November 1994page=4title=Festivals}}*Mary Shelley's Frankenstein**Léon**The Scent of Green Papaya**Bullets Over Broadway*
392–19 November 1995*Strange Days**Casino**The Silences of the Palace*
407–24 November 1996*The First Wives Club**Blood and Wine**Bob's Weekend*
416–23 November 1997* Keep the Aspidistra Flying ** One Night Stand **The Life of Jesus*
425–22 November 1998* Little Voice ** Bulworth **The Apple*
433–18 November 1999*Ride with the Devil**American Beauty **Ratcatcher*
441–16 November 2000*Almost Famous**Born Romantic**You Can Count on Me*
457–22 November 2001*Gosford Park**K-PAX**The Warrior*
466–21 November 2002* Dirty Pretty Things**The Heart of Me**Carnages*
4722 October – 6 November 2003*In the Cut**Sylvia**Osama*
48magazine=Varietyurl=https://variety.com/2004/film/markets-festivals/london-fest-slots-two-1117909691/date=27 August 2004title=London fest slots twoaccess-date=20 January 2020}}*Vera Drake**I Heart Huckabees**Tarnation**Sideways*
4919 October – 3 November 2005*The Constant Gardener**Good Night, and Good Luck**For the Living and the Dead*
5018 October – 2 November 2006*The Last King of Scotland**Babel**Red Road*Multiple films
5118–27 October 2007*Eastern Promises **The Darjeeling Limited**Persepolis*
5215–30 October 2008*Frost/Nixon**Slumdog Millionaire**Tulpan*
EditionDatesOpening GalaClosing GalaSutherland TrophyBest FilmSurprise Film
5314–29 October 2009*Fantastic Mr. Fox **Nowhere Boy **Ajami**Un prophète**Capitalism: A Love Story*
5413–28 October 2010*Never Let Me Go**[127 Hours](127-hours)**The Arbor**How I Ended This Summer*
55url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-14650127#sa-link_location=more-story-8&intlink_from_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Fuk-england-london-15474897&intlink_ts=1579381150850&story_slot=1-satitle=London Film Festival to begin with Anthony Hopkins filmwebsite=BBC Onlinedate=24 August 2011access-date=18 January 2020}}*[360](360-film)**The Deep Blue Sea**Las Acacias**We Need to Talk About Kevin*
[56](2012-bfi-london-film-festival-awards)10–21 October 2012*Frankenweenie**Great Expectations**Beasts of the Southern Wild**Rust and Bone*website=BFIurl=https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=surprisefilm2017&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id=archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211208101747/https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=surprisefilm2017&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id=url-status=deadarchive-date=8 December 2021title=Surprise Filmaccess-date=22 January 2020}}
579–20 October 2013* Captain Phillips**Saving Mr. Banks**Ilo Ilo**Ida**The Grandmaster*
588–19 October 2014*The Imitation Game**Fury**The Tribe**Leviathan**Birdman*
597–18 October 2015* Suffragette**Steve Jobs**The Witch**Chevalier**Anomalisa*
60url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/announcements/60th-bfi-lff-announces-full-programmewebsite=BFItitle=The 60th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express® announces full 2016 programmedate=3 September 2018access-date=18 January 2020}}*A United Kingdom**Free Fire**Raw**Certain Women**Sully*
61website=Screen Dailyurl=https://www.screendaily.com/news/bfi-london-film-festival-unveils-2017-line-up/5121839.articletitle=BFI London Film Festival unveils 2017 line-uplast=Muellerfirst=Mattdate=31 August 2017access-date=18 January 2020}}*Breathe**Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri**The Wound**Loveless**Lady Bird*
62url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/lff-62-mike-leigh-peterloo-manchesterwebsite=BFItitle=Mike Leigh's Peterloo announced as first ever BFI London Film Festival premiere outside Londondate=16 August 2018access-date=18 January 2020}}*Widows**Stan & Ollie**Girl**Joy**Green Book*
63magazine=Varietyurl=https://variety.com/2019/film/festivals/bfi-london-film-festival-chief-tricia-tuttle-amps-up-festive-atmosphere-1203355776/title=BFI London Film Festival Chief Tricia Tuttle Amps Up Festive Atmospherelast=Barracloughfirst=Leodate=2 October 2019access-date=18 January 2020}}*The Personal History of David Copperfield**The Irishman**Atlantics**Monos**Uncut Gems*
647–18 October 2020*Mangrove**Ammonite*N/A*Another Round*
656–17 October 2021*The Harder They Fall**The Tragedy of Macbeth**Playground**Hit the Road**C'mon C'mon*
[66](2022-bfi-london-film-festival)5–16 October 2022*Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical**Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery**[1976](1976-film)**Corsage** The Menu*
[67](2023-bfi-london-film-festival)last=Khomamifirst=Nadialast2=first2=last3=first3=date=2023-10-03title=London film festival: privilege and poverty collide in big British cinema showcaselanguage=en-GBwork=The Guardianurl=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/oct/03/london-film-festival-saltburn-kitchenaccess-date=2023-10-16issn=0261-3077}}*Saltburn**The Kitchen**Paradise is Burning**Evil Does Not Exist**Ferrari*
[68](2024-bfi-london-film-festival)9–20 October 2024*Blitz**Piece by Piece**On Falling**Memoir of a Snail**Saturday Night*
[69](2025-bfi-london-film-festival)8–19 October 2025*Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery**[100 Nights of Hero](100-nights-of-hero)**One Woman One Bra**Landmarks**Tuner*

List of festival directors

DirectorFromTo
Richard Roud19601969
Ken Wlaschin19701983
Derek Malcolm19841986
Sheila Whitaker19871996
Adrian Wooton19972002
Sandra Hebron20032011
Clare Stewart20122017
Tricia Tuttle20182022
Kristy Matheson2023Present

Awards

The categories highlight both emerging and established talent.

  • The Sutherland Trophy – for the most original and innovative first feature in the London Film Festival. Named after the BFI's patron, The 5th Duke of Sutherland, this award boasts recipients as noteworthy as Ray, Bertolucci, Fassbinder, Godard and Antonioni.
  • The Grierson Award – for the best feature-length documentary in the festival. This award is given jointly by the LFF and the Grierson Trust which commemorates the pioneering Scottish documentary-maker John Grierson (1898–1972), famous for Drifters and Night Mail. The Grierson Trust has a long-standing tradition of recognising outstanding films that demonstrate integrity, originality and technical excellence and social or cultural significance.

From 2009, a new standalone awards ceremony was launched which included the following awards:

  • Best Film – celebrates creative, original, imaginative, intelligent and distinctive filmmaking.
  • Best British Newcomer Award – celebrates new and emerging British film talent and recognises the achievements of a new writer, producer or director who demonstrates real creative flair and imagination with their first feature.
  • BFI Fellowships – the Festival showcases both the work of new filmmakers and established ones, and presenting two Fellowships provides a fitting contrast to those Awards recognising new talent.

2004

;The Sutherland Trophy :Tarnation, dir. Jonathan Caouette ;7th FIPRESCI International Critics Award :Aaltra, dir. Gustave de Kervern and Benoît Delépine ;The Alfred Dunhill UK Film Talent Award :A Way of Life, dir. Amma Asante ;9th Annual Satyajit Ray Award :The Woodsman, dir. Nicole Kassell ;TCM Classic Shorts Award :Nits, dir. Harry Wootliff

2005

;The Sutherland Trophy :For the Living and the Dead, dir. Kari Paljakka ;8th FIPRESCI International Critics Award :Man Push Cart, dir. Ramin Bahrani ;The Alfred Dunhill UK Film Talent Award :Producer Gayle Griffiths ;The 10th Annual Satyajit Ray Award :Pavee Lackeen, dir. Perry Ogden ;The Grierson Award for Best Documentary :Workingman's Death, dir. Michael Glawogger ;TCM Classic Shorts Award :Jane Lloyd, dir. HAPPY (Directing duo Guy Shelmerdine and Richard Farmer (director))

2006

;The Sutherland Trophy :Red Road, dir. Andrea Arnold ;9th FIPRESCI International Critics Award :Lola, dir. Javier Rebollo ;The Alfred Dunhill UK Film Talent Award :Producer Mark Herbert ;The 11th Annual Satyajit Ray Award :The Lives of Others, dir. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck ;The Grierson Award for Best Documentary :Thin, dir. Lauren Greenfield ;TCM Classic Shorts Award :Silence Is Golden, dir. Chris Shepherd

2007

;The Sutherland Trophy :Persepolis, dir. Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud ;10th FIPRESCI International Critics Award :Unrelated, dir. Joanna Hogg ;The Alfred Dunhill UK Film Talent Award :Sarah Gavron, director of Brick Lane ;The 12th Annual Satyajit Ray Award :California Dreamin', awarded posthumously to director Cristian Nemescu ;The Grierson Award for Best Documentary :The Mosquito Problem and Other Stories, dir. Andrey Paounov ;TCM Classic Shorts Award :À bout de truffe, dir. Tom Tagholm

2008

;The Sutherland Trophy :Tulpan, dir. Sergey Dvortsevoy ;11th FIPRESCI International Critics Award :Three Blind Mice, dir. Matthew Newton ;The 13th Annual Satyajit Ray Award :Mid-August Lunch, dir. Gianni Gregorio ;The Grierson Award for Best Documentary :Victoire Terminus, dir. Florent de la Tullaye and Renaud Barret ;TCM Classic Shorts Award :Leaving, dir. Richard Penfold and Sam Hearn

2009

In 2009, a new annual standalone awards ceremony was launched to showcase the work of imaginative and original filmmakers and to reward distinctive and intriguing work.

The Awards took place at the Inner Temple on 28 October 2009 and were hosted by Paul Gambaccini. Winners of the Sutherland Trophy, Best British Newcomer and Best Film received the inaugural Star of London award designed by sculptor Almuth Tebbenhoff.

;Best Film :Un prophète, dir. Jacques Audiard ;The Sutherland Trophy :Ajami, dir. Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani ;Best British Newcomer Award :Jack Thorne, writer of The Scouting Book For Boys ;The Grierson Award for Best Documentary :Defamation, dir. Yoav Shamir ;BFI Fellowships :Filmmaker – Souleymane Cissé :Actor – John Hurt

Judges

  • Best Film: Anjelica Huston, John Akomfrah, Jarvis Cocker, Mathieu Kassovitz, Charlotte Rampling, Iain Softley
  • The Sutherland Trophy: Paul Greengrass, David Parfitt, Matt Bochenski, Gillian Wearing, Molly Dineen, Mark Cosgrove, Kerry Fox, Sara Frain, Michael Hayden, Sandra Hebron
  • Best British Newcomer Award: Lenny Crooks, Christine Langan, Tessa Ross, Tanya Seghatchian, Michael Hayden, Sandra Hebron
  • The Grierson Award: Nick Broomfield, Ellen Fleming, Christopher Hird, Michael Hayden, Sandra Hebron

2010

;Best Film :How I Ended This Summer, dir. Alexei Popogrebski ;The Sutherland Trophy :The Arbor, dir. Clio Barnard ;Best British Newcomer Award :Clio Barnard, director of The Arbor ;The Grierson Award for Best Documentary :Armadillo, dir. Janus Metz ;BFI Fellowship :Filmmaker – Danny Boyle

2011

;Best Film :We Need to Talk About Kevin, dir. Lynne Ramsay ;The Sutherland Trophy :Las Acacias, dir. Pablo Giorgelli ;Best British Newcomer Award :Candese Reid, actress in Junkhearts ;The Grierson Award for Best Documentary :Into the Abyss: A Tale of Death, A Tale of Life, dir. Werner Herzog ;BFI Fellowships :Filmmaker – David Cronenberg :Actor – Ralph Fiennes

2012

Main article: 2012 BFI London Film Festival Awards

2013

Pawel Pawlikowski, best known for his films My Summer of Love and Last Resort, won the Best Film award for his black and white social drama Ida, his first film shot in his native Poland. Pawlikowski, at the time, was a visiting tutor at the National Film and Television School in Buckinghamshire and one of his pupils there, Anthony Chen, picked up the Best First Feature prize for Ilo Ilo.

2014

Leviathan was named the Best Film at the London Film Festival Awards on 18 October 2014, at a ceremony where the main prizes went to Russia, Ukraine (Best First Feature, The Tribe) and Syria (Best Documentary, Silvered Water), three countries at the centre of long-running conflicts. The winning film-makers all said they hoped that culture could help to restore peace to their countries.

2015

At a London Film Festival declared by its director Clare Stewart to be promoting strong women in the industry, both in front of and behind the camera, the theme continued into the awards, with the Best Film being named as the Greek comedy Chevalier, directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari. The winner of the Sutherland Award for Best First Feature, The Witch, was described by the jury as "a fresh, feminist take on a timeless tale." Another woman was honoured with the Grierson Award for the best documentary; the Australian filmmaker Jennifer Peedom, who was shooting Sherpa as a devastating avalanche struck the Himalayas, in April 2014. And the Oscar-winning Cate Blanchett described how she was "deeply honoured and dumbstruck" at being awarded a BFI Fellowship.

2016

Following the previous year's festival aimed to celebrate strong women in the film industry, 2016 was partly designed to better reflect the diverse audiences in society; the festival opened with a film directed by a black director and the BFI Fellowship was awarded to Steve McQueen. Most of the awards, once again, had strong female themes – either being directed by women, about women or both. Kelly Reichardt's Certain Women won the Official Competition, while Raw, by the French director Julia Ducournau, won the Sutherland Award for the Best First Feature. Noting that there are still too few opportunities for female directors, Ducournau said, "It's about time that things are starting to change. It's good that doors are now being opened." The Grierson Award for the best documentary went to Starless Dreams, filmed inside a rehabilitation centre for juvenile delinquent women in Iran. For the first time, the London Film Festival ran a competition for the best short film. This went to Issa Touma, Thomas Vroege and Floor Van Der Meulen for the documentary 9 Days – From My Window in Aleppo. Touma, a Syrian photographer who regularly returns to Aleppo, said it was important for intellectuals, academics and artists not to desert the country. "You can't change anything from far away," he said.

2017

Accepting the prestigious BFI Fellowship at the 2017 London Film Festival Awards, director Paul Greengrass acknowledged that it had been a difficult week for the film industry, on the day that Harvey Weinstein was expelled from the Academy that hands out the Oscars. He said the industry had to act and words were not enough. The Best Film on the night went to Russia's Loveless, making Andrey Zvyagintsev the second director to have won the honour twice. South Africa's John Trengove won the Best First Film award for The Wound. Lucy Cohen's Kingdom of Us, about the aftermath of a suicide, was named the Best Documentary. And Patrick Bresnan's The Rabbit Hunt won the third Best Short Film prize.

2018

;Best Film :Joy, dir. Sudabeh Mortezai :(Special mention: Birds of Passage, dir. Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra) ;The Sutherland Award :Girl, dir. Lukas Dhont ;The Grierson Award for Best Documentary :What You Gonna Do When the World's on Fire?, dir. Roberto Minervini ;Short Film Award :Lasting Marks, dir. Charlie Lyne

2019

;Best Film :Monos, dir. Alejandro Landes :(Special commendations: Honey Boy, dir. Alma Har'el; Saint Maud, dir. Rose Glass) ;The Sutherland Award :Atlantics, dir. Mati Diop :(Special commendation: House of Hummingbird, dir. Bora Kim) ;The Grierson Award for Best Documentary :White Riot, dir. Rubika Shah ;Short Film Award :Fault Line (Gosal), dir. Soheil Amirsharifi :(Special commendation: If You Knew, dir. Stroma Cairns)

2020

;Best Film :Another Round, dir. Thomas Vinterberg ;Best Documentary :The Painter and the Thief, dir. Benjamin Ree ;Best Short Film :Shuttlecock, dir. Tommy Gillard ;Best XR/Immersive Art :To Miss the Ending, created by David Callanan and Anna West ;IWC Schaffhausen Filmmaker Bursary Award :Cathy Brady

2021

;Best Film :Hit the Road, dir. Panah Panahi

;Best First Feature Film :Playground, dir. Laura Wandel

;Best Documentary :Becoming Cousteau, dir. Liz Garbus

;Best XR/Immersive Art :Only Expansion, created by Duncan Speakman

;Best Short Film Competition :Love, Dad, dir. Diana Cam Van Nguyen

;Audience Award :Costa Brava, Lebanon, dir. Mounia Akl

2022

Main article: 2022 BFI London Film Festival

;Best Film :Corsage, dir. Marie Kreutzer

;Best First Feature Film (Sutherland Award) :1976, dir. Manuela Martelli

;Best Documentary (Grierson Award) :All That Breathes, dir. Shaunak Sen

;Best XR/Immersive Art :As Mine Exactly, created by Charlie Shackleton

; :I Have No Legs, and I Must Run, dir. Yue Li

;Audience Award – Feature :Blue Bag Life, dir. Lisa Selby, Rebecca Hirsch Lloyd-Evans, Alex Fry

;Audience Award – Short :Drop Out - Ade Femzo

2023

Main article: 2023 BFI London Film Festival

;Best Film :Evil Does Not Exist, dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi

;Best First Feature Film (Sutherland Award) :Paradise Is Burning, dir. Mika Gustafson

;Best Documentary (Grierson Award) :Bye Bye Tiberias, dir. Lina Soualem

;Best Short Film Competition :The Archive: Queer Nigerians, dir. Simisolaoluwa Akande

2024

Main article: 2024 BFI London Film Festival

;Best Film : Memoir of a Snail, dir. Adam Elliot

;Best First Feature Film (Sutherland Award) : On Falling, dir. Laura Carreira

;Best Documentary (Grierson Award) : Mother Vera, dirs. Cécile Embleton, Alys Tomlinson

;Best Short Film Competition : Vibrations from Gaza, dir. Rehab Nazzal

2025

Main article: 2025 BFI London Film Festival

;Best Film : Landmarks, dir. Lucrecia Martel

;Best First Feature Film (Sutherland Award) : One Woman One Bra, dir. Vincho Nchogu

;Best Documentary (Grierson Award) : The Travelers, dir. David Bingong : (Special Mention: Always, dir. Deming Chen)

;Best Short Film Competition : Coyotes, dir. Said Zagha

;Audience Award for Best Feature Film : Hamnet, dir. Chloé Zhao

;Audience Award for Best British Discovery : Black Is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story, dir. Yemi Bamiro

References

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