10 Movies We’re Excited About At BFI London Film Festival 2024
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1 month ago
Plus when they'll be in cinemas
Even if you didn’t manage to get your paws on BFI London Film Festival 2024 tickets, it’s worth keeping your eyes and ears peeled so you can figure out what went down a storm and is worth your own trip to the cinema – and what might be worth skipping. Here’s exactly what to expect from the 2024 festival, plus the films that we’ve got on our watchlists.
What Is BFI London Film Festival?
The BFI London Film Festival is an annual 12-day-long festival of movies, television and immersive storytelling that takes place in central London every autumn. It’s open to the public, with a free programme of events running alongside the main programme of film screenings. It is hosted at the Southbank Centre in central London, with additional screenings in nine partner venues across the UK. Meanwhile, a curated programme of free short films will be available digitally for the full duration of the festival (from 9–20 October 2024).
In 2024, 253 films from 79 countries will be shown, with 63 languages represented, all o which shown in the UK for the very first time. The BFI London Film Festival will also present 39 world premieres, 12 international premieres and 21 European premieres.
‘Cinematic ideas materialise in many forms, and this year artists have taken us to some giddy highs and poked at our tender underbellies,’ says Kristy Matheson, BFI London Film Festival Director. ‘Troubled histories linger close to the surface alongside optimistic futures, all explored in unique and creative ways. As the seasons change and we head into the Autumn, we invite everyone to come to the BFI London Film Festival to discover and enjoy the whole spectrum of moving image.’
Is It A Competition?
Yes, BFI London Film Festival is also a competition, with five awards up for grabs. These are:
- Best Film Award
- First Feature Competition for the Sutherland Award, recognising the most original and imaginative directorial debut
- Grierson Award for feature-length documentaries with integrity, originality and social or cultural significance
- Short Film Award
The winner of these awards are chosen by LFF Awards Juries, with the winners announced on 20 October (the final day of the festival), and a surprise screening of the winner of the Best Film Award taking place that evening. Three Audience Awards voted for by festival goers who pick their favourite work they saw at LFF in 2024: Best Feature, Best Short and Best Documentary.
LFF Expanded
Once the main festival has drawn to a close, LFF Expanded will commence, running from 11–27 October. The Festival’s programme of Immersive Art and Extended Reality works, LFF Expanded celebrates the moving image in all of its forms, including immersive media and, for the first time this year, video games. Visitors can expect major installations at Bargehouse at Oxo Tower Wharf, BFI Southbank, BFI IMAX and Outernet London, all free to visit. Discover more about what’s on ta BFI London Film Festival 2024 and how to visit at bfi.org.uk
Movies We’re Excited About At BFI London Film Festival 2024
Blitz
Directed by Steve McQueen, Blitz will receive its World Premiere at BFI LFF 2024, officially opening the festival.
In the face of nightly air raids, East End mum Rita (Saoirse Ronan) grows increasingly worried about her son George’s (Elliott Heffernan) safety. Under the counsel of her father, Gerald (Paul Weller), she makes the heart-wrenching decision to send him to the countryside. But a few hours into his journey, George alights the train, determined to return to Stepney Green and his family.
UK Release Date: 1 November (cinemas); 22 November (Apple TV)
Piece By Piece
Closing the festival is the European Premiere of Morgan Neville’s LEGO® animation rendition of the life of cultural icon Pharrell Williams.
Depicting one’s life story with LEGO® pieces might sound crazy, but for Pharrell Williams it was the only way – employing a medium that could mirror his musical career and creative spirit, defying all genre trappings and allowing audiences to be transported to wonderful places with limitless possibilities.
UK Release Date: 8 November
Joy
The World Premiere of Ben Taylor’s directorial debut.
‘In the late 1960s, nurse and embryologist Jean Purdy (Thomasin McKenzie), scientist Robert Edwards (James Norton) and surgeon Patrick Steptoe (Bill Nighy) conceived that advances in medicine would allow them to oversee the fertilisation of an egg in vitro. The impact should they succeed would be seismic. But for every tiny step forward, the three faced the rancour of the Church, medical and political establishment, who saw their work as an aberration.’
UK Release Date: 15 November (cinemas); 22 November (Netflix)
We Live In Time
The latest film by John Crowley, best known for his work on Brooklyn.
‘Rather than a meet-cute, restaurateur Almut (Florence Pugh) and recent divorcee Tobias’s (Andrew Garfield) first encounter is quite literally a car crash. After such a memorable meeting, an instant spark forms between the pair, overpowering any disagreements they may have about matrimony and children in their future. However, this romance is far from a fairytale when the cruel realities of mortality creep into Tobias and Almut’s lives, leaving them to reassess what they want from their careers and the life they are building together. Spanning the highs and lows of a decades-long relationship, Crowley’s drama is a fresh, funny and deeply moving romance that, thanks to Pugh and Garfield’s incredible chemistry, feels authentic and alive.’
UK Release Date: 1 January 2025
Anora
Having bagged the Palme d’Or at Cannes, Anora is directed by Sean Baker.
‘Baker presents a modern-day Cinderella story about Ani, a young sex worker from Brooklyn, meeting Vanya, a spoiled son of a Russian oligarch, who offers her a glamorous new life of possibility and incredible wealth. Both wildly entertaining and heartbreaking, Anora takes audiences on a freewheeling, rambunctious adventure that escalates to dizzying levels. Drawing comparisons to Pretty Woman, it constantly plays with genre and audience expectations. But what shines through most, as it does in all of his films, is Baker’s love for and unwillingness to judge his characters.’
UK Release Date: 1 November
The Apprentice
Directed by Ali Abbasi, The Apprentice is ‘a stunningly crafted dramatisation of Donald Trump’s early career in New York. Sebastian Stan and Succession’s Jeremy Strong give career-best performances as Trump and Roy Cohn – the notorious attorney who became his mentor just as he was seeking to escape his father’s shadow. Displaying a glint of charm that never fully eclipses Trump’s unwavering ambition, Stan’s portrayal perfectly contrasts with Strong’s, who renders Cohn (previously a key character in Angels in America) as a sinister and fear-mongering practitioner of the dark arts in American public life.’
UK Release Date: 18 October
Maria
‘Angelina Jolie shines as legendary opera singer Maria Callas in Pablo Larraín’s Maria, an empathetic reimagining of her final days in 1970s Paris. Continuing his run of acclaimed and original biopics ( Neruda , Jackie ), Larraín reunites with Spencer writer Steven Knight to explore who Callas really was, away from the fame and tabloid headlines. In poor health, Callas wanders around a picturesque Paris as she recounts to an adoring journalist the highs of her career and litany of past loves. Angelina J olie giv es a transforming performance, capturing the myriad layers and masks of this legendary singer’s personality, from pithy to heartbreakingly vulnerable, while showing flashes of the personality that saw her idolised as an opera star.’
UK Release Date: 10 January 2025
Nightbitch
‘Marielle Heller once again proves to be one of cinema’s most exciting filmmakers as she presents Nightbitch, a fabulous genre-bending exploration of motherhood. Amy Adams’ Mother puts her career on hold to parent her young toddler. The transformation of her feelings, sense of self and relationship to the world spark a change in her that is as liberating as it is radical. Adapted from Rachel Yoder’s acclaimed 2021 novel, Nightbitch is a modern feminist fable that plays on traditional trop es to examine the role of motherhood in a society where women still battle to “have it all”.’
UK Release Date: TBC
The Room Next Door
Starring Julianne More and Tilda Swinton, The Room Next Door is the first English-language feature from Pedro Almodóvar, ased on Sigrid Nunez’s novel, What Are You Going Through.
‘It has been years since long-time friends Ingrid, a best-selling novelist, and Martha, a war journalist, have seen each other. Upon learning of Martha’s cancer diagnosis, Ingrid rushes to her side and they rekindle their bond. With each shared memory, including Martha’s recollections of war and of her fractured relationship with her daughter, their connection grows. Anda deeply personal request from Martha will bound the two women forever.’
UK Release Date: 25 October
Queer
Challengers director Luca Guadagnino is back, this time transporting us to 1940s Mexico City.
‘Daniel Craig dazzles as William Lee, an outcast American expat who becomes infatuated with an elusive younger man while living in Mexico City. He also revels in the city’s nightlife and its colourful, larger than life characters. Jason Schwartzman, Lesley Manville and impressive newcomer Drew Starkey populate Guadagnino’s richly evocative and sensual film, which features a typically immersive score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.’
UK Release Date: TBC
