The 70th edition of the BFI London Film Festival is under way - and there’s plenty for movie lovers to get excited about.
From Amy Adams to Pedro Pascal, legendary directors to newcomers on the scene, fan favourites to foreign masterpieces, the upcoming festival promises to be one of the best.
London’s iconic cinemas, including BFI’s own Southbank cinema, will host an array of films from around the world through until Sunday, October 18.
Billie Piper and Andrew Scott attending the European premiere of Elsinore at the Southbank Centre, on Wednesday, October 7
PA
Here are the films The Standard is most excited about, and why you should be too.
Elsinore
Starring: Andrew Scott, Olivia Colman, Billie Piper, Sadie Soverall, Johnny Flynn, Luke Thompson, Monica Dolan and Joe Locke
It follows the story of actor Ian Charleson, who took on the role of Hamlet at the National Theatre in the final few months of his life while terminally ill from Aids.
As he transforms into one of Shakespeare’s most famous characters for the performance of a lifetimes, the bard’s own meditations on mortality and grief begin to mirror his own life.
Andrew Scott stars in Elsinore
Anthony Dickenson
Why we’re excited
This film has already received acclaim following debut screenings at various autumn festivals. Many have already deemed Scott to be in contention for the Best Actor awards at the Academy Awards, in a performance hailed by critics as "astonishing" and “for the ages".
Behemoth!
Starring: Pedro Pascal, Olivia Wilde, Eva Victor, Alexa Swinton, Kaya Ralls, Erik Griffin, Jobeth Williams, Margarita Levieva, with Hank Azaria and Will Arnett.
Pedro Pascal stars as Alex Serian, a gifted child prodigy turned classical musician who, following a bad relationship, flees from Chicago, the city he has called home for 20 years.
Back in his native LA, he begins recording film scores and dealing with the family business, embarking on a music-powered journey that will “change him forever”.
Pascal’s character embarks on a musical journey that will ‘change him forever’
Searchlight Pictures
Pedro Pascal stars as Alex Serian, a gifted child prodigy turned classical musician
Searchlight Pictures
Why we’re excited
Behemoth! marks Tony Gilroy’s first film in 14 years, arriving four years after his major commercial and critical success with the Disney+ series Andor. The director is best known for his work on the Jason Bourne series.
Ink
Starring: Jack O'Connell, Guy Pearce and Claire Foy
In 1969, Rupert Murdoch, played by Guy Pearce, acquired The Sun, hiring gifted editor Larry Lamb to change the paper’s fortunes. Their ensuing Fleet Street partnership went on to change both British journalism and society forever.
Jack O'Connell stars in Ink
Studio Canal/Netflix
Why we’re excited
Boyle’s movie is based on a 2017 West End play that racked up four Olivier Award nominations in 2018, whilst its Broadway adaptation in 2019 won two Tony Awards.
La Bola Negra
Starring: Guitarricadelafuente, Miguel Bernardeau, Carlos González, Milo Quifes, Penélope Cruz, Lola Dueñas and Glenn Close.
The Spanish-language film explores LGBT heritage across three interconnected stories of three men in 1932, 1937, and 2017. It is inspired by and pays tribute to murdered Spanish poet and playwright Federico García Lorca.
Why we’re excited
The film, directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, known together as Los Javis, took Cannes by storm in May, receiving a 20-minute ovation before winning Best Director for Calvo and Ambrossi.
A bidding war for the US rights broke out over the film, which was ultimately won by Netflix in a deal worth around $4–5million.
The Spanish-language film explores LGBT heritage across three interconnected stories of three men
Netflix
Bunker
Starring: Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Stephen Graham, Paul Dano, Patrick Schwarzenegger
A celebrated architect, played by Barden, is offered the chance to secretly design a survival bunker for a billionaire who is convinced that the end of the world is coming. As he gets lured in by the controversial project, his wife, played by Cruz, begins to question their 17-year-long relationship.
Penélope Cruz leads a star-studded cast in Bunker
Pathé Mediawan
Why we’re excited
The film is written specifically for real-life couple Cruz and Bardem, as well as being directed by Florian Zeller, a French filmmaker who won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Father in 2021.
Club Kid
Starring: Jordan Firstman, Cara Delevingne, Diego Calva and Travis Jackson
The comedy-drama film, written, directed, and starring Jordan Firstman, follows a washed-up New York party promoter who sees his hectic lifestyle brought to a standstill when he discovers he has a 10-year-old son he knew nothing about.
Why we’re excited
During its world premiere at the 79th Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section, it received a seven-minute standing ovation.
A heated bidding war promptly followed, which was ultimately won by A24 for $17million.
Being Heumann
Starring: Ruth Madeley, Mark Ruffalo, Dylan O'Brien, Madeline Delp, and Rob Delaney
The historical drama centres on Judy Heumann, known as the “Mother of the Disability Rights Movement”.
Being Heumann follows the inspiring story of Judy Heumann
AppleTV
It explores her historic 28-day occupation of San Francisco's Federal Building in 1977, as she united protesters in a fight for accessibility laws and equal rights.
Why we’re excited
Oscar-winning filmmaker Siân Heder (CODA) is at the helm, with its depiction of different types of disabliities being praised as “stirring stuff”.
Fjord
Starring: Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve, and Lisa Loven Kongsli
Fjord stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve
Le Pacte
A Norwegian woman, played by Reinsve, relocates with her Conservative Christian husband, played by Stan, and their five children to a close-knit remote coastal town. Their world is soon turned upside down when suspicions around their children’s wellbeing place the rigid parents under intense scrutiny.
Why we’re excited
The film premiered in the main competition of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival in May, where it received a 12-minute standing ovation and won the Palme d'Or, François Chalais Prize, FIPRESCI Prize, Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, and Prix de la Citoyenneté.
Klara and The Sun
Starring: Jenna Ortega, Amy Adams, Mia Tharia, Natasha Lyonne and Steve Buscemi
Taika Waititi’s dystopian science fiction film sees Ortega play Klara, a solar powered Artifical Friend (AF) who is chosen by sickly child Josie to be her companion, bringing light to Josie and her family’s complicated world.
Sony Pictures
Why we’re excited
The film is an adaptation of the best-selling 2021 novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, acclaimed British-Japanese author whose novel Never Let Me Go was adapted into a 2010 film starring Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield and Keira Knightly.
Ortega also said that she was drawn to the role of ever-optimistic Klara “who’s very different from the characters that I’ve been playing recently,” she told Empire, expressing her desire not to be type cast.
Paper Tiger
Adam Driver and Miles Teller star as two businessmen brothers
Neon
Starring: Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, and Miles Teller
Set in 1980s New York, two brothers who pursue a lucrative business opportunity end up finding themselves caught up in a scheme that involves the Russian Mafia. The promise of easy money soon turns into real danger, testing their bond as siblings as their family is pushed to the edge.
Why we’re excited
The film had its world premiere in competition for the Palme d'Or at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival on May 16, where it received a 10-minute standing ovation.
I Love Boosters
Starring: Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Robin Thede, Poppy Liu, LaKeith Stanfield, Will Poulter, Don Cheadle and Demi Moore
The absurdist crime comedy follows a crew of professional shoplifters - known as “Boosters” - who target high-end designer (Moore) by stealing her clothes and reselling them at a lower price.
The absurdist crime comedy follows a crew of professional shoplifters
LFF
The film quickly spirals from a simple heist movie into wild sci-fi territory as it delivers a powerful social commentary.
Why we’re excited
An all-star cast tells this anti-capitalist story which has been dubbed a “maximalist delight” and praised for its wacky humour with Monty Python undertones.
A Long Winter
Starring: Fred Hechinger, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Caitríona Balfe, D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai and Kit Connor
A Long Winter stars Fred Hechinger
MUBI
Set in a remote mountain farm during a harsh winter, a young man searches for his mother after she walks out into a blizzard following a family argument that stemmed from her alcoholism.
Why we’re excited
From Andrew Haigh, the acclaimed director of All of Us Strangers, the movie set in remote Colorado has been praised as a “fascinating, affecting and enigmatic” look into male loneliness.