It is quickly approaching the time of year UK cinephiles look forward to most… London Film Festival (LFF). As the BFI get ready for the 70th LFF, a lot of us will be speculating what could feature in the line-up.
Two crucial announcements have already been made for the opening and closing films. Elsinore will open the festival. The film stars Andrew Scott as Scottish actor Ian Charleson. It is set during the final months of his life, when he portrayed Hamlet at the National Theatre, whilst dealing with complications from AIDS. The film will premiere first at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September, with its premiere at LFF marking its European premiere.
The closing film is Jesse Eisenberg’s The Debut starring Julianne Moore, a shy woman who is cast in a local theatre show and Paul Giamatti, a strong-willed and respected director. As preparation for the show progresses, she loses herself in the high-stakes world of community theatre. The film will also be prepared at TIFF in September and will be released by A24 in the US in December.
Here are ten films we are sure will feature in the line-up this year.
Behemoth!
The opening and closing films of LFF revolve around the theatre. Behemoth! starring Pedro Pascal as a renowned cellist who returns to LA to compose film scores seems fitting of that general theme. Olivia Wilde, Eva Victor, Will Arnett and Hank Azaria are set to star alongside Pascal.
The film was selected as the New York Film Festival’s Centrepiece and is written and directed by Tony Gilroy. He is best known for writing the first three films in the Bourne franchise and for Oscar nominations for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for Michael Clayton.
Tender Loving Care
Mike Leigh is no stranger to LFF, with a few of his films featuring in previous festival line-ups. Vera Drake opened the festival in 2004; Another Year came to the 54th edition of LFF, and Hard Truths most recently came to the 68th edition of LFF.
Tender Loving Care, his newest film, will screen at TIFF in the Special Presentations line-up. It follows Amy, who works in child protection services, and moves in with her friend Rosie, a social services officer. Amy’s elderly parents are grappling with their own crisis and worrying about her. The cast includes Kate O’Flynn, Marion Bailey, Paul Jesson and Alice Bailey Johnson.
Fjord*
Winner of the Cannes Palme d’Or and starring two actors who are well-known at LFF, Fjord is on our list of films to look out for in the line-up.
Inspired by real events, the film takes place in Norway and stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve as a religious conservative couple with five children. They have moved to a remote Norwegian village, and after a teacher spots bruises on one of the children, they are suspected of child abuse. The film follows how they deal with the scrutiny and ensuing legal proceedings.
Stan previously attended LFF for The Apprentice, which was in the festival’s Official Competition. Stan was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar. Reinsve has had a main role in two films which have come to LFF, The Worst Person in the World and Sentimental Value. She received an Oscar nomination for the latter.
* The new trailer for the film has since confirmed it is part of the festival
Prima Facie
Adapted from the 2019 stage play, Prima Facie is another film scheduled to premiere at TIFF and hopefully feature in the LFF line-up. The film stars Cynthia Erivo as Tessa Ensler a defence barrister from a working-class background who is raped by a colleague. Susanne White will direct the film adaptation from a screenplay written by Suzie Miller who wrote the stage play. White is best known for directing the BBC Jane Eyre miniseries and episodes of Andor.
Cynthia Erivo has a long history with the festival. Widows was the opening night gala film in 2018, and Harriet screened in 2019 as part of the festival’s journey strand.
La Bola Negra
Winner of the Best Director Award at Cannes for Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, La Bola Negra was acquired by Netflix for US distribution. This followed a competitive bidding war between numerous studios. The film stars Guitarricadelafuente, Carlos González and Miguel Bernardeau, focusing on the interconnected lives of three gay men.
Alongside Cannes, the film will also come to Sydney Film Festival, San Sebastián International Film Festival, TIFF and Melbourne International Film Festival.
Rose
Rose premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and won the Silver Lion for Best Leading Performance for Sandra Hüller. Hüller portrays Rose, a soldier who claims to be the missing heir of an abandoned farmland. The film is written and directed by Markus Schleinzer, also known for his directorial debut film, Michael, which premiered at Cannes in the Main Competition.
Sandra Hüller is not a stranger to the festival. In 2023, Zone of Interest and Anatomy of a Fall both came to the London Film Festival. In 2026, she may make a return with two films if Rose and Fatherland make the line-up.
Wildwood
Last year’s LFF was absent of a family-friendly film, unlike the 2024 edition, which featured The Wild Robot. Wildwood is an epic stop-motion fantasy animated film based on the 2011 novel. The film focuses on two classmates, Prue McKeel (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) and Curtis Mehlberg (Jacob Tremblay). They find themselves drawn into a magical forest to save Prue’s kidnapped brother.
Wildwood is due to be released theatrically on October 23 in the US. Given its late October release date, the film would be a great addition to the festival and a family-friendly film to be enjoyed by all.
Paper Tiger
James Gray’s Paper Tiger was one of two American films premiering in competition at Cannes earlier this year. The film stars Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller. Following two brothers who pursue a business opportunity, the story follows Gary (Driver) and Irwin (Teller) as they get embroiled with the Russian mafia.
The film is set to open NYFF this year, and it was acquired by Neon for North American rights. It will release on November 13 in select US theatres before expanding wider the following week.
Wicker
Adapted from the short story by Ursula Wills-Jones, Wicker is a romantic fantasy comedy with a star-studded line-up. The film follows an ostracised fisherwoman (Olivia Coleman) who pays a local basketmaker to weave her a husband. Suddenly, the wicker man (Alexander Skarsgård) comes to life, and their romance makes the villagers jealous.
The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by Black Bear Pictures. Black Bear distributed last year’s surprise film, Tuner. Could Wicker feature in the line-up as an expected or unexpected feature?
Fatherland
Pawel Pawlikowski is known for his historical films, Ida and Cold War. Fatherland, his newest feature, is set to complete this historical trilogy. The film focuses on Erika (Sandra Hüller) and Thomas Mann (Hanns Zischler). It is set in Cold War-era Germany, as Thomas Mann delivers various lectures.
Fatherland had a world premiere at Cannes in competition, where Pawlikowski won the Best Director Award. It screened at the Sydney Film Festival in June and has been chosen as the Sarajevo Film Festival’s opening film alongside the line-up for the Adelaide Film Festival.
The 70th BFI London Film Festival runs from October 7th to October 18th 2026.
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