London Film Festival
More than 250 films make their cinematic debut in South Bank at the UK's biggest film festival.
Dates
07 Oct
-
18 Oct 2026
Ticket Information
Tickets from £10
Location Info
- Address
- BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, London, UK
- AccessAble Link
- View Accessibility Info
The 70th edition of the BFI London Film Festival brings more than 250 new films to the South Bank to make their cinematic debut on the biggest screens in town.
Taking place from 7–18 October, the UK's biggest film event spreads out across the South Bank with film screenings and events happening at the BFI Southbank, BFI IMAX and at the Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall.
The LFF programme is huge, covering all genres of cinema from across the world, including dozens of indie and mainstream film premieres by a host of established and emerging directors.
For film lovers, this is one of London's most exciting film celebrations, with star-studded red carpet premieres taking place at the Royal Festival Hall every day of the festival, plus plenty of pre- and post- screening Q&As with cast and crew from the films featured, offering even more insights into the creative process and the wonderful world of filmmaking.
TICKETS & BOOKING
This is Britain’s biggest film event and tickets are always likely to sell out fast for the most anticipated features!
For the best chances to get your hands on the hottest tickets, we recommend signing up to become a BFI Member. In addition to priority booking one week ahead of the general public, members also get loads of discounts and access to exclusive member events and screenings at the BFI Southbank year-round. Find out about how to become a member here.
Save the dates!
- Wed 2 Sep 11am: Programme revealed
- Wed 9 Sep 10am: Priority booking for BFI Patrons
- Thu 10 Sep 10am: Priority booking for BFI Members
- Thu 17 Sep 10am: Tickets on general sale
- Thu 1 Oct 10am: Extra tickets released for some screenings and events
- Wed 7 – Sun 18 Oct: London Film Festival takes place
As this is a festival, all films start promptly at their advertised start times with no trailers. Make sure to be at your seats at the advertised time!
London Film Festival highlights
This annual event is a true celebration of film with an incredible programme of events taking place every day of the festival.
Gala Screenings
Among the many highlights every year are the 'Gala Screenings'. These special red carpet premieres see the biggest Hollywood stars descending on the South Bank to launch what often go on to become major Oscar contenders. The Red Carpet Gala screenings take place at the Royal Festival Hall where you can book a ticket to join an audience of thousands to watch the films debut on an immense screen, or simply find a spot to watch the stars turn out to walk London's glitziest red carpet.
Screen Talks
Another big highlight of the annual festival programme are the Screen Talks. These events see some of the biggest names in contemporary filmmaking discussing their work. This year's line-up of Screen Talks includes interviews with Cynthia Erivo, John Malkovich, Sophia Coppola and Andrew Scott.
LFF Awards
The festival's competitions are a celebration of the most innovative new films and showcase an incredible range of talent from across the world. Every year at the festival, you can watch brand new films in contention for the Best Film Award, the Sutherland Award for First Features, the Grieson Award for documentaries and the Short Film Award. This year's hot tips in competition include The Idiot(s), Sumo: Spirit Weighs Nothing and The Difficult Bride.
Festival Strands
The hundreds of films showing across the festival that are not in competition or on the red carpet are curated into different strands to make navigating the huge programme a little easier. Broadly, each strand can be characterised as exploring a different emotion or perspective, reflecting the often shape-shifting nature of genres in 21st-century cinema. This year's festival is divided into stands labelled: Love, Debate, Laugh, Dare, Thrill, Cult, Journey, Create and Experimenta. There is also a special Family film programme for younger audiences as well as a rich selection of short films.
LFF for Free
The London Film Festival has a rich programme of free events taking place at the Festival Café at BFI Southbank, including talks and debates, short film screenings, DJ nights and more.
While LFF for Free talks and workshops are free to attend, you should book in advance to guarantee entry (tickets are over-allocated to account for no-shows, and are on a first-come, first-served basis – arrive early to avoid disappointment!). Ticket booking for LFF for Free events opens on Thu 1 Oct at 10am.