The festival’s usual themed sections (Love, Debate, Laugh, Dare, Thrill, Cult, Journey, Create, Experimenta, Family, Treasures and Shorts) are back in full swing, making the vast programme abit easier to navigate, encouraging discovery and opening up the festival to new audiences.
Below, we’ve selected four key highlights from each strand; however, the complete programme features 251 titles in total, including new releases, TV series, restorations and more, can be found at bfi.org.uk.
Love
All of aSudden by Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Frank and Percy by Sean Mathias
Pakeezah (1972) by Kamal Amrohi
The Slightest Touch by Rachel Fleit
Debate
Gentle Monster by Marie Kreutzer
I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning by Clio Barnard
Musk by Alex Gibney
My Undesirable Friends: Part II – Exile by Julia Loktev
Laugh
Wicker by by Alex Huston Fischer, Eleanor Wilson
The History of Concrete by John Wilson
It Gets Worse by Leo Reich
Lali by by Sarmad Khoosat
Dare
At Night by Beatrice Gibson
My Wife Cries by Angela Schanelec
Filipiñana by Rafael Manuel
Mary Madeleine by Gessica Généus
Thrill
Moonglow by Isabel Sandoval
The Meltdown by Manuela Martelli
Josephine by Beth de Araújo
The Match by Juan Cabral, Santiago Franco
Cult
The Devils (1972) by Ken Russell
The Face of Horror by Anna Biller
The Blood Countess by Ulrike Ottinger
Godzilla Minus Zero by Takashi Yamazaki presented at the BFI IMAX
Nightborn by Hanna Bergholm
Journey
VisionQuest by Christopher J. Byrne, Gandja Monteiro, Vincenzo Natali, Terry Matalas
The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives by Daniel Oriahi
In the Shadows by Anthony Wonke
No Good Men by Shahrbanoo Sadat
Create
Congo Boy by Rafiki Fariala
Zero Intention of Living Quietly by Edward Lovelace
The Echo Chamber by Andrea Pallaoro
The Story of Documentary Film – The 1990s by Mark Cousins
Family
Iron Boy by Louis Clichy
Julián by Louise Bagnall
My Friend the Sun by Alejandra Pérez
A Mighty Adventure was directed by ToeYuen
Experimenta
Hanabi by Ana Vaz
Landscapes of Shame by Patrick Hough
all that appears solid is built on blood by Izdihar Afyouni, Gelare Khoshgozaran
Masao Adachi Takes aPassport Photo by Kamal Aljafari
Shorts
Treasure Island by Miryam Charles
Aman by Rahul Roye
Daughters of the Late Colonel by Elizabeth Hobbs
Free Eliza (Notes on Anatomical Imperfection) by Alexandra Matheou
Plus, LFF Expanded brings 9projects that fall within the categories of immersive art, extended reality or video games, inviting audiences to discover new frontiers of storytelling as part of the festival programme.
The 70th BFI London Film Festival runs from 7–18 October, 2026. Visit bfi.org.uk for the full programme.