The 69th edition runs from 8 to 19 October.

The BFI London Film Festival 2025 returns for its 69th edition from Wednesday 8 to Sunday 19 October 2025, bringing twelve days of premieres, galas and conversations across London and select partner venues nationwide. Tickets go on general sale from 10am on Tuesday, 16 September, with early access for BFI Patrons and Members.

Rian Johnson opens the festival with the international premiere of his third Knives Out film, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. Daniel Craig reprises his role as Benoit Blanc, joined by an ensemble that includes Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close and Josh Brolin, ahead of the film’s Netflix release in December.

Closing night belongs to Julia Jackman’s 100 Nights of Hero, a UK premiere that gathers Emma Corrin, Nicholas Galitzine, Maika Monroe, Amir El-Masry, Charli XCX, Richard E. Grant and Felicity Jones. Expect a modern fairytale with a formidable British cast to round off the festivities.

Across the programme, the scale is striking. The festival presents 247 films, series, shorts and immersive works from 79 countries, with every feature and series screening to UK audiences for the first time. The slate includes 27 world premieres, 11 international premieres and 20 European premieres, plus a robust Screen Talks roster featuring Daniel Day-Lewis, Yorgos Lanthimos and Richard Linklater.

A-list highlights thread through the schedule. Look for Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly with George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, Billy Crudup and Riley Keough, Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague and Blue Moon, Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein with Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi, Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone’s Bugonia, and Scott Cooper’s Springsteen chronicle Deliver Me From Nowhere led by Jeremy Allen White. Daniel Day-Lewis also returns in Anemone, a headline-making appearance both on screen and in conversation.

Setting the tone for the season, BFI London Film Festival director Kristy Matheson said: "This autumn we invite audiences to craft their own festival journey across our programme of premiere screenings, dynamic interactive exhibitions and compelling talks programmes with some of cinema's leading practitioners. We look forward to you joining us this year to experience the incredible state of the medium in 2025 - brimming with formal innovations, provocations and essential roadmaps for navigating the world around us.”

GO: https://whatson.bfi.org.uk for more information.