The BFI has announced the lineup for the 2025 edition of the BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival.

Now in its 39th edition, the festival is one of the most significant and long-standing queer film events in the LGBTQIA+ calendar.

Taking place at BFI Southbank from the 19th to the 30th of March, BFI Flare is divided into three thematic programme strands; Hearts, Bodies and Minds. This year includes 34 world premieres, with 56 features, 1 series and 81 shorts from 41 countries.

Opening the festival is the international premiere of The Wedding Banquet, Andrew Ahn's comedy which recently had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. The cast includes Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone, and Kelly Marie Tran.

The festival's closing night film is the UK premiere of writer-directors Filipe Matzembacher and Marcio Reolon's Night Stage. This feature follows an actor and a politician who begin a secret affair and discover they both have a fetish for having sex in public places.

Other notable films include Rebecca Lenkiewicz's directorial debut Hot Milk, starring Emma Mackey, Fiona Shaw and Vicky Krieps; London-set A Night Like This, starring Alexander Lincoln, Jack Brett Anderson and David Bradley; Ponyboi—which premiered at Sundance in 2024—starring River Gallo, Dylan O'Brien and Victoria Pedretti; and South Korean comedy Manok, directed by Yu-jin Lee.

Additionally, Five Films for Freedom—a selection of shorts from the festival line-up—will be available to stream for free online for audiences globally for the duration of the festival. Since its launch in 2015, Five Films for Freedom films has been viewed by 26 million people, in over 202 countries and principalities.

Tickets for BFI Flare go on sale on 25th February 2025 for BFI members, while general sale opens on 27th February 2025. The full programme is available online.