2024 BFI London Film Festival explained
The 68th BFI London Film Festival was a film festival that took place from 9–20 October 2024. The competition films were announced on 29 August 2024 while the films for the galas and the strands were revealed on 4 September 2024.[1] [2]
Steve McQueen's historical drama Blitz opened the festival on 9 October 2024, being the third film by McQueen to do so after Widows in 2018 and Mangrove in 2020.[3] Morgan Neville's animated documentary film Piece by Piece closed the festival on 20 October 2024.[4]
Juries
The jury members were as follows:[5]
Main Competition
Documentary Competition (Grierson Award)
- June Givanni, Guyanese-British curator, archivist, and founder of the June Givanni Pan-African Cinema Archive – Jury president
- Ella Glendining, British writer and director
- Raul Niño Zambrano, creative director of Sheffield DocFest
Short Film Competition
- Chloe Abrahams, Sri Lankan-British writer and director – Jury president
- Simisolaoluwa Akande, British director
- George Jaques, British filmmaker
Venues
The partner venues for the festival included:[6] [7]
London cinemas
Expanded venues
UK-wide cinemas
Official Selection
Galas
The following films were selected for the Galas section, which screens world, European, and British premieres:[8]
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|
| Opening Night Gala |
|---|
| Blitz | Steve McQueen | United Kingdom, United States |
| Closing Night Gala |
|---|
| Piece by Piece | Morgan Neville | United States |
| American Express Gala |
|---|
| | R.J. Cutler, David Furnish | United States |
| Mayor of London's Gala |
|---|
| We Live in Time | John Crowley | United Kingdom, France |
| Cunard Gala |
|---|
| Joy | Ben Taylor | United Kingdom |
| BFI Patron's Gala |
|---|
| Hard Truths | Mike Leigh | United Kingdom, Spain |
| Family Gala |
|---|
| That Christmas | Simon Otto | United Kingdom |
| Headline Gala |
|---|
| Anora | Sean Baker | United States |
| The Apprentice | Ali Abbasi | Canada, Denmark, Ireland |
| Bird | Andrea Arnold | United Kingdom, France, Germany, United States |
| Conclave | Edward Berger | United Kingdom, United States |
| Emilia Pérez | Jacques Audiard | France |
| Maria | Pablo Larraín | Italy, Germany, United States |
| Nightbitch | Marielle Heller | United States |
| The Room Next Door | La habitación de al lado | Pedro Almodóvar | Spain |
|
Special Presentations
The following films were selected for the Special Presentations section:
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|
| All We Imagine As Light | Payal Kapadia | France, India, Netherlands, Luxembourg |
| The Ballad of Suzanne Césaire | Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich | United States |
| Dahomey | Mati Diop | France, Senegal, Benin |
| Endurance | Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Natalie Hewit | United Kingdom, United States |
| Harvest | Athina Rachel Tsangari | United Kingdom, Germany, Greece, France, United States |
| I’m Still Here | Ainda Estou Aqui | Walter Salles | Brazil, France |
| A Nice Indian Boy (BFI Flare Special Presentation) | Roshan Sethi | United States, Canada |
| Nickel Boys | RaMell Ross | United States |
| The Piano Lesson | Malcolm Washington |
| Queer | Luca Guadagnino | Italy, United States |
| A Real Pain | Jesse Eisenberg | United States, Poland |
| The Seed of the Sacred Fig | دانهی انجیر معابد | Mohammad Rasoulof | Iran, Germany, France |
| Silent Sherlock (1921–1923) | Maurice Elvey, George Ridgwell | United Kingdom |
| The Summer Book | Charlie McDowell | Finland, United Kingdom |
| The Wild Robot | Chris Sanders | United States | |
In Competition
There were four competition sections, each with a different selection of films and different juries.
Official Competition
The following films competed for the Best Film Award:
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|
| April | Dea Kulumbegashvili | France, Italy, Georgia |
| Bring Them Down | Christopher Andrews | Ireland, Unied Kingdom, Belgium |
| The Extraordinary Miss Flower | Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard | United Kingdom |
| Four Mothers | Colin Thornton, Darren Thornton | Ireland, United Kingdom |
| Living in Two Worlds | ぼくが生きてる、ふたつの世界 | Mipo O | Japan |
| Memoir of a Snail | Adam Elliot | Australia |
| On Becoming a Guinea Fowl | Rungano Nyoni | Zambia, United Kingdom, Ireland |
| Thank You for Banking With Us | Laila Abbas | Palestine, Germany |
| Under the Volcano | Pod wulkanem | Damian Kocur | Poland |
| Vermiglio | Maura Delpero | Italy, France, Belgium |
| The Wolves Always Come at Night | Чоно үүр шөнөөр ирдэг | Gabrielle Brady | Australia, Mongolia, Germany | |
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 |
|---|
| Crocodile Tears | Tumpal Tampubolon | Indonesia, France, Singapore, Germany |
| Hanami | Denise Fernandes | Switzerland, Portugal, Cape Verde |
| Happyend | Neo Sora | Japan, United States |
| Last Swim | Sasha Nathwani | United Kingdom |
| My Eternal Summer | Min evige sommer | Sylvia Le Fanu | Denmark |
| Olivia & the Clouds | Olivia & Las Nubes | Tomás Pichardo Espaillat | Dominican Republic |
| On Falling | Laura Carreira | United Kingdom, Portugal |
| Santosh | Sandhya Suri | United Kingdom, France, Germany |
| September Says | Ariane Labed | Ireland, United Kingdom, Germany |
| To a Land Unknown | Mahdi Fleifel | United Kingdom, Palestine, France, Greece, Netherlands, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia |
| Who Do I Belong To | ماء العين | Meryam Joobeur | Tunisia, France, Canada, Norway, Qatar, Saudi Arabia | |
Highlighted title indicates the section winner.
Documentary Competition
The following films competed for the Grierson Award, which is awarded to a feature-length documentary.
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|
| Collective Monologue | Monólogo colectivo | Jessica Sarah Rinland | Argentina, United Kingdom |
| Holloway | Sophie Compton, Daisy-May Hudson | United Kingdom |
| Kamay | Ilyas Yourish, Shahrokh Bikaran | Afghanistan, Belgium, France, Germany |
| Mother Vera | Cécile Embleton, Alys Tomlinson | United Kingom |
| Rising Up at Night | Tongo Saa | Nelson Makengo | Democratic Republic of Congo, Belgium, Germany, Burkina Faso, Qatar |
| Seeking Mavis Beacon | Jazmin Renée Jones | United States |
| The Shadow Scholars | Eloise King | United Kingdom |
| Witches | |
|
Highlighted title indicates the section winner.
Short Film Competition
The following films competed for the Short Film Award.
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|
| Adura Baba Mi | Juliana Kasumu | United Kingdom |
| Cold Snap | Ellen Evans |
| Dragfox | Lisa Ott |
| I Don't Want to Be Just a Memory | Sarnt Utamachote | Germany |
| Magic Candies | Amedama | Nishio Daisuke | Japan |
| Mother's Day | Emily Burnett | United Kingdom |
| See It, Say It | Nez Khammal |
| Stomach Bug | Matty Crawford |
| Two Refusals (Would We Recognize Ourselves Unbroken?) | Suneil Sanzgiri | United States |
| Vibrations from Gaza | | Palestine, Canada |
|
Highlighted title indicates the section winner.
Strands
Most of the out-of-competition films have been organised into strands, each based on a different mood or emotion.
Love
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|
| All of You | William Bridges | United Kingdom |
| All Shall Be Well | 從今以後 | | Hong Kong |
| At Averroès & Rosa Parks | Averroès & Rosa Parks | | France |
| Grand Tour | | Portugal, Italy, France |
| I'm Your Venus | | United States |
| Motherboard | Victoria Mapplebeck | United Kingdom |
| Patrice: The Movie | Ted Passon | United States |
| Pavements | Alex Ross Perry |
| Queens of Drama | Les Reines du drame | | France, Belgium |
| Sex | | Norway |
| Tarika | Stadoto | Milko Lazarov | Bulgaria, Germany, Luxembourg |
| Weightless | Sulla terra leggeri | Sara Fgaier | Italy |
| When Fall Is Coming | Quand vient l'automne | | France |
| When the Light Breaks | Ljósbrot | | Iceland, Netherlands, Croatia, France |
|
Debate
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|
| 2073 | | United Kingdom |
| Black Box Diaries | | Japan, United States, United Kingdom |
| The Cats of Gokogu Shrine | Gokōgu no Neko | | Japan, United States |
| Families like Ours | Familier som vores | | Denmark, France, Sweden, Czechia, Belgium, Norway, Germany |
| I'm Nevenka | Soy Nevenka | | Spain |
| The Invasion | | Netherlands, France, United States |
| Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989 | Göran Hugo Olsson | Sweden, Finland, Denmark |
| Julie Keeps Quiet | Julie zwijgt | Leonardo Van Dijl | Belgium, Sweden |
| The Listeners | | United Kingdom |
| Three Kilometres to the End of the World | Trei kilometri până la capătul lumii | | Romania |
| Youth (Homecoming) | 青春 | | France, Luxembourg, Netherlands |
|
Laugh
Dare
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|
| Bionico's Bachata | La bachata de Bionico | Yoel Morales | Dominican Republic |
| Caught by the Tides | 风流一代 | | China |
| Cidade; Campo | | Brazil, Germany, France |
| Diciannove | Giovanni Tortorici | Italy, United Kingdom |
| Don't Cry, Butterfly | Mu’a trên cánh bU’ó’m | Dương Diệu Linh | Vietnam, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia |
| Eight Postcards from Utopia | Opt ilustrate din lumea ideală | Radu Jude, Christian Ferencz-Flatz | Romania |
| Familiar Touch | Sarah Friedland | United States |
| Fire of Wind | Fogo do Vento | Marta Mateus | Portugal, Switzerland, France |
| My Stolen Planet | Sayyareye dozdide shodeye man | Farahnaz Sharifi | Germany, Iran |
| The Nights Still Smell of Gunpowder | As Noites Ainda Cheiram a Pólvora | Inadelso Cossa | Mozambique, France, Germany, Portugal, Netherlands, Norway |
| Pepe | Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias | Dominican Republic, Namibia, Germany, France |
| Formosa Beach | Praia Formosa | Julia de Simone | Portugal, Brazil |
| Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass | | United Kingdom, Poland, Germany |
| Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat | | Belgium, France, Netherlands |
| Sugar Island | Johanné Gómez Terrero | Dominican Republic, Spain |
| Việt and Nam | Trong lòng đất | | Vietnam, Philippines, France, Singapore, Netherlands, Italy, Germany |
|
Thrill
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|
| Aïcha | Mehdi M. Barsaoui | Tunisia, France, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Qatar |
| Architecton | | Germany, France |
| La cocina | | Mexico, United States |
| Eat the Night | | France |
| Ghost Trail | Les Fantômes | Jonathan Millet | France, Germany, Belgium |
| Maldoror | | Belgium, France |
| Marco, the Invented Truth | Marco, la verdad inventada | Aitor Arregi, Jon Garaño | Spain |
| Misericordia | Miséricorde | | France, Spain, Portugal |
| Skincare | Austin Peters | United States |
| Stranger Eyes | 默視錄 | | Singapore, Taiwan, France, United States |
| A Thousand Blows | | United Kingdom |
|
Cult
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|
| The Balconettes | Les Femmes au balcon | | France |
| Bury Your Dead | Enterre Seus Mortos | Marco Dutra | Brazil |
| Chain Reactions | | United States |
| Fréwaka | Aislinn Clarke | Ireland |
| Sister Midnight | Karan Kandhari | United Kingdom |
| The Surfer | Lorcan Finnegan | Australia, Ireland |
| The Wailing | El llanto | Pedro Martín-Calero | Spain, Argentina, France |
| The Weekend | Daniel Oriahi | Nigeria |
|
Journey
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|
| After the Long Rains | Baada Ya Masika | Damien Hauser | Kenya, Switzerland |
| The Assessment | Fleur Fortuné | United Kingdom, Germany, United States |
| Baby | Marcelo Caetano | Brazil |
| Eephus | Carson Lund | France, United States |
| Ellis Park | | Australia |
| The End | | Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, United Kingdom, Sweden |
| Flow | | Latvia, Belgium, France |
| Good One | | United States |
| Layla | | United Kingdom |
| Look into My Eyes | | United States |
| My Everything | Mon inséparable | Anne-Sophie Bailly | France |
| Sebastian | | United Kingdom, Belgium, Finland |
| Shambhala | | Nepal, France, Norway, Turkey, Hong Kong, Taiwan, United States, Qatar |
| Sujo | Astrid Rondero, Fernanda Valadez | Mexico, United States, France |
| | Ian Bonhôte, Peter Ettedgui | United Kingdom, United States |
| Treading Water | Gino Evans | United Kingdom |
| The Village Next to Paradise | | Austria, France, Somalia |
|
Create
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|
| Abiding Nowhere | Tsai Ming-liang | Taiwan, United States |
| | | United States, France |
| Grand Theft Hamlet | | United Kingdom |
| It's Not Me | C'est pas moi | | France |
| One to One: John & Yoko | | United Kingdom |
| Pauline Black: A 2-Tone Story | Jane Mingay |
| The Stimming Pool | The Neurocultures Collective (Sam Chown Ahern, Georgia Bradburn, Benjamin Brown, Robin Elliott-Knowles, Lucy Walker, Steven Eastwood) |
| Superboys of Malegaon | | India |
| Twiggy | Sadie Frost | United Kingdom |
| Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other | Jacob Perlmutter, Manon Ouimet | United Kingdom, Denmark, United States |
| The Way We Talk | Adam Wong Sau-Ping | Hong Kong |
|
Experimenta
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|
| The Treasury of Human Inheritance | Alexis Kyle Mitchell | Canada, United Kingdom |
| Notes: Remembered and Found | Maria Anastassiou | United Kingdom, Cyprus |
| Direct Action | | Germany, France |
| A Fidai Film | Kamal Aljafari | Palestine |
| A Night We Held Between | Noor Abed |
| + No Exorcism Film | Komtouch Napattaloong | Thailand |
| Small Hours of the Night | Daniel Hui | Singapore |
|
Family
Treasures
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|
| Manthan (1976) | | India |
| Manji (1964) | | Japan |
| María Candelaria (1943) | | Mexico |
| The Sealed Soil (1977) | Khake sar beh mohr | Marva Nabili | Iran |
| The Talk of the Town (1942) | | United States |
|
Shorts
The short film programme was divided into the following nine sections.
Family Ties
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|
| Trouble | Sarah Blok | United Kingdom |
| Pigs | Julia Jackman |
| Us Four | Alex Peake |
| Space(s) | Luke "Frsh" Fannin |
| Two Minutes | Jamie Benyon |
|
Honouring Traditions
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|
| Midnight Rising | Aileen Ye | United Kingdom, Netherlands |
| Iranian Yellow Pages | Anna Snowball | United Kingdom |
| Irpinia | Jameisha Prescod |
| Travelling Home | Juliet Klottrup |
| Roots that Reach Toward the Sky | Jess X. Snow | United States, Canada |
| Red Soil | Joshua Ighodaro | United Kingdom |
| Salone Love | Tajana Tokyo |
|
I Don't Wanna Force a Smile
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|
| Not Surgery Hours | Tia Salisbury | United Kingdom |
| The Nobody | Razan Madhoon |
| Happy Meat | Matt Green |
| Gender Reveal | Mo Matton | Canada |
| Bob's Funeral | Jack Dunphy | United States |
| The Real Thing | Charlie Fink | United Kingdom |
|
Sleepless Nights
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|
| Sylvia | Tárá Ayeni | United Kingdom |
| Mosquito Lady | Kristine Gerolaga | United States |
| The Awakening | Al Campbell | United Kingdom |
| Outside Noise | Ethan Evans |
| Dream Creep | Carlos A. F. López | United States |
|
Trials and Tribulations
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|
| Hermit | Daniel Raggett | United Kingdom |
| Karavidhe | Eoin Doran |
| Rhoda | Alex Lawther |
| Fierce-ish Grace | Amaya Owen Rowlands |
| In Heat | Rory Fleck Byrne |
|
Wondering, Wandering
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|
| And Granny Would Dance | Maryam Mohajer | United Kingdom |
| A Short Film About Kids | Ibrahim Handal | Palestine |
| Dawn Every Day | Amir Youssef | Egypt |
| Liminal Roots | Aliyah Harfoot | United Kingdom |
| What’s the Film About? | Poorva Bhat |
|
Animated Shorts for Younger Audiences
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|
| Coo-rage | Alina Milkina | Netherlands |
| Love at First Waf | Louise Le Toullec, Helene Gouil | France |
| Who’s Wrong? | Vems Fel? | Stina Wirsén, Linda Hambäck | Sweden |
| The Brave Locomotive | Andrew Chesworth | United States |
| The Odd Carrot | Inese Pavēne | United Kingdom |
| Freelance | Luciano A. Muñoz Sessarego, Magnus I. Møller, Peter Smith | Denmark |
| Yuck | | Loïc Espuche | France |
|---|
| The Child of the Waves | L'Enfant des vagues | Valentine Hilarin, Gaelle Bejjani, Yuhan Wang, Martin Gross, Noam Szwarc, Sofian Pourquery-de-Boisserin |
| Hello Summer | Ahoj leto | Martin Smatana, Veronika Zacharová | Slovakia, Czechia, France |
|
A Stream of Echoes
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|
| File No. 2304 | A.S.M. Kobayashi | Canada, United States |
| At the Verge of Wordlessness | Alaa Abu Asad | Netherlands |
| Avant Seriana | Before Seriana | Samy Benammar | Canada, Algeria |
| Crocodile Nest | Nido de Cocodrilo | Jazmin Rojas Forero | Colombia, Germany |
|
Right in the Substance of Them a Trace of What Happened
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|
| Non/Living | Müge Yildiz | Turkey, Finland |
| Two Stones | Rua Kōhatu | Noel Meek | New Zealand |
| Hexham Heads | Chloë Delanghe, Mattijs Driesen | Belgium |
| The Flesh of Language | Amanda Rice | Ireland |
| Hemel | Danielle Dean | United Kingdom |
| Our Lady Who Burns | Nossa Senhora Que Queima | Alice dos Reis | Portugal |
|
Surprise Film
Saturday Night, dir. Jason Reitman
Awards
The following awards were presented:[9]
In competition
- Best Film: Memoir of a Snail by Adam Elliot
- Best First Feature (Sutherland Award): On Falling by Laura Carreira
- Special Mention: Olivia and the Clouds by Tomás Pichardo Espaillat
- Best Documentary (Grierson Award): Mother Vera by Cécile Embleton & Alys Tomlinson
- Special Mention: The Shadow Scholars by Eloise King
- Best Short Film: Vibrations from Gaza by Rehab Nazzal
- Special Mention: Dragfox by Lisa Ott
Audience awards
Voting for the audience awards closes on 23 October. Winners will be announced later in October.
Notes and References
- Web site: London Film Festival: Dea Kulumbegashvili’s ‘April’ And Barry Keoghan Pic ‘Bring Them Down’ To Play In Competition. Deadline. Zac. Ntim. 29 August 2024. 6 September 2024.
- Web site: 2024-09-04 . Full programme announced for 68th BFI London Film Festival . 2024-09-04 . BFI . en . 2024-09-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240904150652/https://www.bfi.org.uk/london-film-festival/news/full-programme-68th-bfi-london-film-festival . live .
- Web site: Steve McQueen's 'Blitz' To Open London Film Festival As World Premiere. Zac. Ntim. Deadline Hollywood. July 1, 2024. July 2, 2024. July 11, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240711122425/https://deadline.com/2024/07/steve-mcqueen-blitz-london-film-festival-world-premiere-saoirse-ronan-harris-dickinson-stephen-graham-1235998279/. live.
- Web site: Ramachandran . Naman . 2024-09-04 . Angelina Jolie, Daniel Craig, Elton John, Andrew Garfield, Saoirse Ronan Titles Among BFI London Film Festival Full Lineup . 2024-09-04 . Variety . en-US.
- Web site: Competition juries announced for 68th BFI London Film Festival. BFI London Film Festival. 27 September 2024. 20 October 2024. 2 October 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20241002230219/https://www.bfi.org.uk/london-film-festival/news/competition-juries-2024#:~:text=This%20year's%20competition%20jury%20presidents,June%20Givanni%20and%20Chloe%20Abrahams.. live.
- Web site: LFF on tour. British Film Institute. 6 September 2024.
- Web site: Venues. British Film Institute. 6 September 2024. 6 September 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240906232938/https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=venues&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id=. live.
- Web site: Ntim . Zac . 2024-09-04 . BFI London Film Festival Lineup: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi & Jimmy Chin To Debut 'Endurance', Baker, Heller, Berger & Abbasi's Trump Movie Among Headline Galas — Full List . 2024-09-04 . Deadline . en-US.
- Web site: Adam Elliot’s ‘Memoir Of A Snail’ heads BFI London Film Festival 2024 winners. ScreenDaily. Ben. Dalton. 20 October 2024. 22 October 2024. 15 November 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20241115122624/https://www.screendaily.com/news/bfi-london-film-festival-unveils-2024-award-winners/5198327.article. live.
