The 69th BFI London Film Festival took place from 8 to 19 October 2025.[1] The competition films were announced on 21 August 2025 while the films for the galas and the strands were revealed on 3 September 2025. The festival showcased 247 films from 79 countries and opened with the 2025 American mystery film Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, written and directed by Rian Johnson, and closed with the 2025 historical fantasy film 100 Nights of Hero written and directed by Julia Jackman.[2]
Juries
The jury members were as follows:[3]
Main Competition
- Kibwe Tavares, British filmmaker and architect – Jury president
- Anja Fröhner, Head of Programme at Zurich Film Festival
- Nadia Latif, British theatre maker and film director
Documentary Competition (Grierson Award)
Short Film Competition
- Ming-Jung Kuo, British festival programmer – Jury president
- Matty Crawford, British-Filipino writer and director
- Lee Ott, animation director
Headline Galas
| English Title
|
Original Title
|
Director(s)
|
Production Country
|
| Opening Night Gala
|
| Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery |
Rian Johnson |
United States
|
| Closing Night Gala
|
| 100 Nights of Hero |
Julia Jackman |
United Kingdom, United States
|
| American Express Gala
|
| Rental Family |
Hikari |
United States
|
| Gala
|
| After the Hunt |
Luca Guadagnino |
United States
|
| Ballad of a Small Player |
Edward Berger |
United Kingdom
|
| Blue Moon |
Richard Linklater |
United States, Ireland
|
| Bugonia |
Yorgos Lanthimos |
United Kingdom
|
| The Choral |
Nicholas Hytner |
United Kingdom
|
| Christy |
David Michôd |
United States
|
| Die, My Love |
Lynne Ramsay |
United States
|
| Frankenstein |
Guillermo del Toro |
United States
|
| H Is for Hawk |
Philippa Lowthorpe |
United Kingdom
|
| Hamnet |
Chloé Zhao |
United Kingdom
|
| The History of Sound |
Oliver Hermanus |
United States, United Kingdom, Italy
|
| Is This Thing On? |
Bradley Cooper |
United States
|
| It Was Just an Accident |
یک تصادف ساده |
Jafar Panahi |
Iran, France, Luxembourg
|
| Jay Kelly |
Noah Baumbach |
United States, United Kingdom, Italy
|
| The Mastermind |
Kelly Reichardt |
United States
|
| No Other Choice |
어쩔수가없다 |
Park Chan-wook |
South Korea
|
| Nouvelle Vague |
Richard Linklater |
France
|
| Pillion |
Harry Lighton |
United Kingdom
|
| Roofman |
Derek Cianfrance |
United States
|
| Sentimental Value |
Affeksjonsverdi |
Joachim Trier |
Norway, France, Germany
|
| Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere |
Scott Cooper |
United States
|
| Tuner (surprise film) |
Daniel Roher |
United States, Canada
|
Special Presentations
Competition
Official Competition
| English Title
|
Original Title
|
Director(s)
|
Production Country
|
| Bad Apples |
Jonatan Etzler |
United Kingdom
|
| Black Is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story |
Yemi Bamiro |
United Kingdom, United States
|
| Black Rabbit, White Rabbit |
Shahram Mokri |
Tajikistan, United Arab Emirates
|
| Hair, Paper, Water... |
Tóc, giấy và nước... |
Nicolas Graux, Trương Minh Quý |
Belgium, France, Vietnam
|
| Hedda |
Nia DaCosta |
United States
|
| Landmarks |
Nuestra tierra |
Lucrecia Martel |
Argentina, United States, Mexico, France, Netherlands
|
| Rose of Nevada |
Mark Jenkin |
United Kingdom
|
| The Testament of Ann Lee |
Mona Fastvold |
United Kingdom
|
| The Voice of Hind Rajab |
صوت هند رجب |
Kaouther Ben Hania |
Tunisia, France
|
| The World of Love |
세계의 주인 |
Yoon Ga-eun |
South Korea
|
- Highlighted title indicates the section winner.
First Feature Competition
The following films competed for the Sutherland Award, which is awarded to a directorial debut:
| English Title
|
Original Title
|
Director(s)
|
Production Country
|
| Becoming Human
|
Chiet Chea Manusa
|
Polen Ly
|
Cambodia, United States
|
| Diamonds in the Sand
|
孤獨大叔出走中
|
Janus Victoria
|
Japan, Malaysia, Philippines
|
| Dreamers
|
Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor
|
United Kingdom
|
| Ish
|
Imran Perretta
|
United Kingdom
|
| Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo)
|
Joel Alfonso Vargas
|
United States
|
| My Father's Shadow
|
Akinola Davies Jr.
|
United Kingdom, Nigeria
|
| One Woman One Bra
|
Vincho Nchogu
|
Kenya, Nigeria
|
| Sink
|
Zain Duraie
|
Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, France
|
| Songs of Forgotten Trees
|
Anuparna Roy
|
India
|
| A Useful Ghost
|
ผีใช้ได้ค่ะ
|
Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke
|
Thailand, France, Singapore, Germany
|
- Highlighted title indicates the section winner.
Documentary Competition
The following films will compete for the Grierson Awards, which is awarded to the Best Documentary of the competition.[4]
| English Title
|
Original Title
|
Director(s)
|
Production Country
|
| Always |
从来 |
Deming Chen |
United States, China
|
| The Eyes of Ghana |
Ben Proudfoot |
United States
|
| Life After |
Reid Davenport |
United States
|
| Only on Earth |
Sólo en la tierra |
Robin Petré |
Denmark, Spain
|
| Seeds |
Brittany Shyne |
United States
|
| Singing Wings |
Hemen Khaledi |
Iran, Georgia, Belgium
|
| Super Nature |
Ed Sayers |
United Kingdom
|
| The Travellers |
Les Voyageurs |
David Bingong |
Cameroon, Spain
|
- Highlighted title indicates the section winner.
Short Films Competition
The following films will compete for the Short Film award.
| English Title
|
Original Title
|
Director(s)
|
Production Country
|
| Capybaras |
Los Carpinchos |
Alfredo Soderguit |
France, Uruguay, Chile
|
| Coyotes |
Said Zagha |
Palestine, United Kingdom, France, Jordan
|
| Elephant Families |
Elena Escalante |
United Kingdom, Spain
|
| Happiness |
Firat Yücel |
Netherlands, Turkey
|
| Hope is Lost |
Eno Enefiok |
United Kingdom, North Macedonia
|
| Ka Ba Ddi: A Breath, a Move, a Game |
Alia Syed |
United Kingdom
|
| Magid / Zafar |
Luís Hindman |
United Kingdom
|
| Nostalgie |
Kathryn Ferguson |
United Kingdom
|
| We Had Fun |
Linda Lô |
France
|
| Womb |
Ira Hetaraka |
New Zealand
|
- Highlighted title indicates the section winner.
Thematic strands
Love
| English Title
|
Original Title
|
Director(s)
|
Production Country
|
| & Sons |
Pablo Trapero |
United Kingdom, Canada
|
| Calle Málaga |
Maryam Touzani |
Morocco, France, Spain, Germany, Belgium
|
| D is for Distance |
Christopher Petit, Emma Matthews |
Finland
|
| Endless Cookie |
Seth Scriver, Peter Scriver |
Canada
|
| Father Mother Sister Brother |
Jim Jarmusch |
United States, Ireland, France, Italy, Japan
|
| Human Resource |
Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit |
Thailand
|
| Kim Novak's Vertigo |
Alexandre O. Philippe |
United States
|
| Left-Handed Girl |
左撇子女孩 |
Shih-Ching Tsou |
United States, United Kingdom, France, Taiwan
|
| Love, Brooklyn |
Rachael Abigail Holder |
United States
|
| Love Me Tender |
Anna Cazenave Cambet |
France
|
| The Love That Remains |
Ástin Sem Eftir Er |
Hlynur Pálmason |
Iceland, Denmark, France, Finland, Sweden
|
| Resurrection |
狂野时代 |
Bi Gan |
China, France
|
| Romería |
Carla Simón |
Spain, Germany
|
| A Sad and Beautiful World |
نجوم الأمل و الألم |
Cyril Aris |
Lebanon, United States, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Qatar
|
| The Souffleur |
Gastón Solnicki |
Austria, Argentina
|
| The Thing with Feathers |
Dylan Southern |
United Kingdom
|
| Train Dreams |
Clint Bentley |
United States
|
Debate
| English Title
|
Original Title
|
Director(s)
|
Production Country
|
| Cover-Up |
Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus |
United States
|
| The Deal |
Jean-Stéphane Bron |
Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium
|
| Island of the Winds |
大風之島 |
Hsu Ya-Ting |
Taiwan, Japan, France
|
| John Lilly and the Earth Coincidence Control Office |
Michael Almereyda, Courtney Stephens |
United States
|
| Kontinental '25 |
Radu Jude |
Romania, Brazil, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Luxembourg
|
| Love+War |
Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin |
United States
|
| Mother |
Мајка |
Teona Strugar Mitevska |
North Macedonia, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Bosnia and Herzegovina, India
|
| Orwell: 2+2=5 |
Raoul Peck |
United States, France
|
| Saipan |
Glenn Leyburn, Lisa Barros D'Sa |
United Kingdom, Ireland
|
| Silent Friend |
Stille Freundin |
Ildikó Enyedi |
Germany, France, Hungary
|
Laugh
Dare
| English Title
|
Original Title
|
Director(s)
|
Production Country
|
| Alpha |
Julia Ducournau |
France, Belgium
|
| Anemone |
Ronan Day-Lewis |
United Kingdom, United States
|
| The Assistant |
Człowiek do wszystkiego |
Wilhelm Sasnal, Anka Sasnal |
Poland, United Kingdom
|
| Blue Heron |
Sophy Romvari |
Canada, Hungary
|
| The Chronology of Water |
Kristen Stewart |
France, Latvia, United Kingdom, United States
|
| The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box) |
El Diablo Fuma (y guarda las cabezas de los cerillos quemados en la misma caja) |
Ernesto Martínez Bucio |
Mexico
|
| Dreams |
Michel Franco |
United States, Mexico
|
| Dry Leaf |
ხმელი ფოთოლი |
Alexandre Koberidze |
Germany, Georgia
|
| The Fence |
Le Cri des Gardes |
Claire Denis |
France
|
| Good Boy |
Jan Komasa |
Poland, United Kingdom
|
| Hamlet |
Aneil Karia |
United Kingdom
|
| The Ice Tower |
La Tour de glace |
Lucile Hadžihalilović |
France, Germany, Italy
|
| Lady |
Samuel Abrahams |
United Kingdom
|
| Magellan |
Magalhães |
Lav Diaz |
Portugal, Spain, Philippines, France, Taiwan
|
| Memory of Princess Mumbi |
Damien Hauser |
Kenya, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia
|
| Short Summer |
Nastia Korkia |
Germany, France, Serbia
|
| Sirāt |
Óliver Laxe |
Spain, France
|
| Sound of Falling |
In die Sonne schauen |
Mascha Schilinski |
Germany
|
| Straight Circle |
Oscar Hudson |
United States, United Kingdom, South Africa
|
Thrill
Cult
Journey
| English Title
|
Original Title
|
Director(s)
|
Production Country
|
| Below the Clouds |
Sotto le nuvole |
Gianfranco Rosi |
Italy
|
| The Blue Trail |
O Último Azul |
Gabriel Mascaro |
Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Netherlands
|
| Enzo |
Robin Campillo |
France
|
| La grazia |
Paolo Sorrentino |
Italy
|
| High Wire |
Calif Chong |
United Kingdom
|
| Lucky Lu |
Lloyd Lee Choi |
Canada, United States
|
| Orphan |
Árva |
László Nemes |
Hungary, France, Germany, United Kingdom
|
| A Pale View of Hills |
Kei Ishikawa |
United Kingdom, Japan, Poland
|
| Palestine 36 |
فلسطين ٣٦ |
Annemarie Jacir |
Palestine, United Kingdom, France, Denmark, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan
|
| Portobello (Two episodes) |
Marco Bellocchio |
Italy, France
|
| The President's Cake |
مملكة القصب |
Hasan Hadi |
Iraq, United States, Qatar
|
| Promised Sky |
Promis le ciel |
Erige Sehiri |
France, Tunisia, Qatar
|
| Redoubt |
Värn |
John Skoog |
Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Poland, Finland, United Kingdom, Switzerland
|
| The Son and the Sea |
Stroma Cairns |
United Kingdom, United States
|
| Têtes Brûlées |
Maja-Ajmia Yde Zellama |
Belgium
|
| Two Prosecutors |
Sergei Loznitsa |
France, Germany, Romania, Latvia, Netherlands, Lithuania
|
| Weightless |
Vægtløs |
Emilie Thalund |
Denmark
|
Create
| English Title
|
Original Title
|
Director(s)
|
Production Country
|
| Ariel |
Lois Patiño |
Spain, Portugal
|
| BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions |
Kahlil Joseph |
United States
|
| DJ Ahmet |
Georgi M. Unkovski |
North Macedonia, Czech Republic, Serbia, Croatia
|
| Duse |
Pietro Marcello |
Italy, France
|
| Future Botanica |
Marcel van Brakel, Hazal Ertürkan |
Netherlands
|
| Khartoum |
الخرطوم |
Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy Ahmad, Timeea Mohamed Ahmed, Philip Cox |
Sudan, United Kingdom, Germany, Qatar
|
| Mare's Nest |
Ben Rivers |
United Kingdom, France, Canada
|
| Moss & Freud |
James Lucas |
United Kingdom, New Zealand
|
| Peter Hujar's Day |
Ira Sachs |
United States
|
| The Stranger |
L'Étranger |
François Ozon |
France, Belgium
|
Experimenta
| English Title
|
Original Title
|
Director(s)
|
Production Country
|
| The Memory of Butterflies |
La memoria de las mariposas |
Tatiana Fuentes Sadowski |
Peru, Portugal
|
| With Hasan in Gaza |
Kamal Aljafari |
Germany, Palestine, France, Qatar
|
Family
| English Title
|
Original Title
|
Director(s)
|
Production Country
|
| Animal Farm |
Andy Serkis |
Canada, United Kingdom, United States
|
| Finding Optel |
Jesse Brown, Mikayla Joy Brown |
South Africa
|
| Little Amélie or the Character of Rain |
Amélie et la métaphysique des tubes |
Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han |
France, Belgium
|
| The Songbird’s Secret |
Le Secret des Mésanges |
Antoine Lanciaux |
France
|
| Whispers in the Woods |
Le Chant des forêts |
Vincent Munier |
France
|
Short films
The short film programme was divided into the following sections. Short films already mentioned within the Short Films competition are not included.
Are You Kidding?
| English Title
|
Original Title
|
Director(s)
|
Production Country
|
| Little Monsters |
Les Petits Monstres |
Pablo Léridon |
France
|
| Candy Bar |
Nash Edgerton |
Australia
|
| Crab No. 7 |
Victor Nauwynck, Shir Ariya |
United Kingdom
|
| Mother Goose |
Joanna Vymeris |
United Kingdom
|
| The Wasp or The Sheer Beauty of Accepting Yourself |
Cass Virdee |
United Kingdom
|
| Party Animal |
Ali Gill |
United Kingdom
|
| End of Play |
Edem Wornoo |
United Kingdom
|
| Whitch |
Hoku Uchiyama |
United States
|
Discovering Home
| English Title
|
Original Title
|
Director(s)
|
Production Country
|
| Ackee and Saltfish |
Jasmin Nunes |
United Kingdom
|
| Seventeen |
Ajuan Isaac-George
|
| So Here We Are |
Warren Mendy, Mahaila Palmer
|
| I Saw the Face of God in the Jet Wash |
Mark Jenkin
|
| Under the Wave Off Little Dragon |
Luo Jian
|
Mapped Out Futures
| English Title
|
Original Title
|
Director(s)
|
Production Country
|
| Forgotten Routes |
Varta Arutiunian |
United Kingdom
|
| My Blood is Palestinian |
Jay Scanlan-Oumow, Omar Ismail
|
| Baby |
Simisolaoluwa Akande
|
| Original Sin |
Amrou Al-Kadhi
|
| Highway to the Moon |
Letitia Wright
|
Pulling the Rug Out
| English Title
|
Original Title
|
Director(s)
|
Production Country
|
| Chimera |
Eamonn Hearns |
United Kingdom
|
| Flock |
Mac Nixon |
United Kingdom
|
| Speak with the Dead |
Stephanie Paris |
United States
|
| Shiny Precious Things |
Villő Krisztics |
United Kingdom
|
| God is Shy |
Jocelyn Charles |
France
|
| Grandma is Thirsty |
Kris Carr |
United Kingdom
|
Roots and Branches
| English Title
|
Original Title
|
Director(s)
|
Production Country
|
| You Can Call Me Lou |
Georgia Zeta Gkoka |
United Kingdom, Greece
|
| Beyond the Rush |
Niyadre |
United Kingdom
|
| Chikha |
Zahoua Raji, Ayoub Layoussifi |
France, Morocco
|
| Dust to Dreams |
Idris Elba |
Nigeria
|
Show Me Who I Am
| English Title
|
Original Title
|
Director(s)
|
Production Country
|
| The Devil and the Bicycle |
Sharon Hakim |
France
|
| 22+1 |
Pippa Bennett-Warner |
United Kingdom
|
| Red Egg & Ginger |
Olivia Owyeung |
United Kingdom
|
| Sweet Talkin’ Guy |
Dylan Wardwell, Spencer Wardwell |
United Kingdom
|
| Crusts |
India Sleem |
United Kingdom
|
| Dark Skin Bruises Differently |
Susan Wokoma |
United Kingdom
|
Experimenta Shorts
- Anatomy of Place, Sites of Becoming
| English Title
|
Original Title
|
Director(s)
|
Production Country
|
| The House Was There Before Me |
Elian Mikkola |
Canada
|
| Fugue Notes |
Selina Ershadi |
New Zealand
|
| Radius Catastrophe |
Jad Youssef |
Lebanon
|
- Back and Forth Across the Line
| English Title
|
Original Title
|
Director(s)
|
Production Country
|
| Border as Interface |
Petra Szemán |
United Kingdom, Japan
|
| Nsala |
Mickael-sltan Mbanza |
Congo
|
| The Conjured Ones |
Los Conjurados |
Humberto González Bustillo |
Venezuela, Argentina
|
| Terror Element |
Anna Engelhardt, Mark Cinkevich |
United Kingdom, Netherlands
|
- Cadences of Refusal
| English Title
|
Original Title
|
Director(s)
|
Production Country
|
| Daria's Night Flowers |
Maryam Tafakory |
Iran, United Kingdom, France
|
| New Territories (Spectacle is King) |
Rhea Storr |
United Kingdom
|
| Tuktuit: Caribou |
Lindsay McIntyre |
Canada
|
| Another Other |
Bex Oluwatoyin Thompson |
United States
|
| Morning Circle |
Basma al-Sharif |
Germany, Canada, United Arab Emirates
|
- In the Clouds Flecks of Memories Pass By
| English Title
|
Original Title
|
Director(s)
|
Production Country
|
| The Early Sun, Red as a Hunter's Moon |
Adam Piron |
United States
|
| She's Waiting for the Sunset |
Martyna Ratnik |
Lithuania
|
| Nothing Out of the Island: Bridges |
Nada fuera de la Isla: Puentes |
Dalissa Montes de Oca Mosquea |
Dominican Republic, United States
|
| Half Memory |
Ufuoma Essi |
United Kingdom, United States, France
|
- Shadows of the Living
| English Title
|
Original Title
|
Director(s)
|
Production Country
|
| Primate Visions; Macaque Macabre |
Natasha Tontey |
Indonesia, Switzerland
|
| Hedgehog Cakes: Sweet Weapon of Terror |
Zhenia Stepanenko |
Ukraine
|
| Fragments for Venus |
Alice Diop |
Italy, France
|
| Resurrect Me as a Parasite |
Gabi Dao, Lou Lou Sainsbury |
United Kingdom, Netherlands, Canada
|
Animated Shorts for Younger Audiences
| English Title
|
Original Title
|
Director(s)
|
Production Country
|
| Mushroom's Life |
Sēnes dzīve |
Ēvalds Lācis |
Latvia
|
| Cardboard |
J.P. Vine |
United Kingdom
|
| Snow Bear |
Aaron Blaise |
United States
|
| The Naughty Seat |
David Johnson |
United Kingdom
|
| House Trap |
George Hampshire |
Netherlands
|
| The Big Bad Wolf |
Leo Wright |
United Kingdom
|
| ForeverGreen |
Nathan Engelhardt, Jeremy Spears |
United States
|
Archive
Awards
The following awards were presented:[5]
In competition
References
External links