How to guide to London Film Festival

How to book tickets for London Film Festival

Tickets go on general sale at 10am on Tuesday 16 September. BFI Members get priority access to booking from 10am on Tuesday 9 September. Tickets can booked online at bfi.org.uk/lff

If there is something in particular that you want to catch, make sure to plan and book as early as possible. The most highly anticipated features and talks tend to sell out very quickly. Fastest fingers first!

STANDBY TICKETS are available on the day. During the festival, check on the festival website at 10am each morning to view any standby availability or get to the box office 30 minutes before the start time to check for any last-minute tickets.

25 & UNDER TICKETS If you're aged 16 to 25, you can sign up for a 25 & Under account to get discounted tickets to films at the festival. Find out more and sign up for your 25 & Under account here.

More useful LFF tips

Be on time!

Unlike in regular film screenings, during the festival all films start straight away at the advertised time! No waiting around for trailer after trailer, it’s straight to the action. Make sure you arrive early – i.e before the listed start time, to ensure you are seated and ready for the film to start. You may be turned away from admission if you arrive late.

Look out for smaller films

While it can be tempting to focus your attention on the biggest names, large festivals like this one present a unique opportunity to watch on the big screen interesting independent films that are unlikely to have mainstream cinema distribution, or which may even go straight to streaming sites after debuting at major festivals.

Focus on one location

The bulk of film screenings take place at South Bank's cinemas and at cinemas in Mayfair and Soho. If you want to fit in a few screenings in one day, it's best to plan your screenings to all be at venues in one neighbourhood. South Bank has tons of great place to grab a bite to eat between screenings, or for a casual coffee between films find a seat at one of the BFI's bars or head next door to the impressive lobby cafe-bars at the National Theatre.

Grab a copy of the festival programme

You can pick up paper copies of the glossy 120-page film festival programme at the BFI Southbank. While the festival website is in-depth and extensive, it's easy to bookmark favourites and mark down tips from other festivalgoers in the programme

Eating out before or after the film

You are spoiled for choice when it comes for venues to grab a meal before or after the film, and great pubs and bars for when you want to stick around and discuss the movies with your friends over a drink or two. Explore our Where to Eat & Drink pages here for inspiration.