The BFI London Film Festival (LFF) has lifted the lid on its customary line-up of awards-season hopefuls and domestic premieres of festival favourites for its annual gathering, set to take place from 5-16 October, an earlier time in the month than usual. Celebrating its 66th edition this year, it will host 164 features across its line-up, with 23 of them being world premieres. At the official launch earlier this week, the festival was also proud to announce that 41% of the programme will be composed of female and non-binary directors, with 34% made by ethnically diverse directors and creators. Over 60 countries are represented in the line-up.

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The festival’s big, star-studded gala screenings include Sam Mendes’ 1980s-set drama Empire of Light [+lee también:
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ficha de la película]; and Darren Aronofsky’s collaboration with a makeup-clad Brendan Fraser in the theatrical adaptation The Whale. Its highest-profile world premieres are of a family-friendly sort, although they are still very prestigious; of these, Matthew Warchus's (Pride [+lee también:
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Female solidarity and the fight for justice are also key issues that the festival seeks to highlight, as seen in their gala selections of the Weinstein exposé drama She Said by Maria Schrader, Women Talking by Sarah Polley and Chinonye Chukwu’s Till.

BFI CEO Ben Roberts stated that he was “immensely proud of the BFI London Film Festival and the talented team who take it from strength to strength every year”. Furthermore, he said, “They continue to find creative ways of reaching new audiences across the UK, including through our free programme and a wider range of work, such as our series, VR and immersive works. The LFF provides a vital platform for global filmmakers, and I’m excited to see such a bold and expansive range of films, more world premieres than ever and an incredible range of debuts from UK directors.”

Tricia Tuttle, the festival’s director, also said, “If there is something that unites these brilliant but disparate works, it’s the boldness and ambition of their filmmakers and creators. As we emerge from an unprecedented period of disruption and change – a global health crisis, instability, climate change – artists are our North Star, helping guide us and shape our understanding in a complex and often confusing world.”

The line-ups for the festival’s competitive sections are as follows:

Official Competition

Argentina, 1985 - Santiago Mitre (Argentina/USA)
Brother - Clement Virgo (Canada)
Corsage [+lee también:
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entrevista: Marie Kreutzer
entrevista: Marie Kreutzer
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The Damned Don’t Cry [+lee también:
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Enys Men [+lee también:
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entrevista: Mark Jenkin
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Godland [+lee también:
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entrevista: Elliott Crosset Hove
entrevista: Hlynur Pálmason
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Nezouh [+lee también:
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Saint Omer [+lee también:
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entrevista: Alice Diop
entrevista: Kayije Kagame
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First Feature Competition

1976 - Manuela Martelli (Chile/Argentina/Qatar)
Blue Jean [+lee también:
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entrevista: Georgia Oakley
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Jeong-sun - Jeong Ji-hye (South Korea)
Joyland - Saim Sadiq (Pakistan)
Medusa Deluxe [+lee también:
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Our Lady of the Chinese Shop - Ery Claver (Angola)
Robe of Gems - Natalia López Gallardo (Argentina/Mexico)
Rodeo [+lee también:
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entrevista: Lola Quivoron y Julie Ledru
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Documentary Competition

All That Breathes [+lee también:
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entrevista: Shaunak Sen
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All the Beauty and the Bloodshed - Laura Poitras (USA)
Casa Susanna [+lee también:
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entrevista: Sébastien Lifshitz
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The Future Tense - Christine Molloy/Joe Lawlor (Ireland/UK)
Kanaval: A People’s History of Haiti in Six Chapters - Leah Gordon/Eddie Hutton Mills (Haiti/UK)
Lynch/Oz - Alexandre O. Philippe (USA)
Name Me Lawand [+lee también:
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What About China? - Trinh Minh-ha (USA/China/Singapore)