We’re thick in the middle of festival season, with the Venice Film Festival underway as we type, and the Toronto International Film Festival days away. On the horizon, though, is the UK’s biggest event for cinephiles: the 2025 BFI London Film Festival (LFF).
With the programme launch hosted by BFI CEO Ben Roberts and Festival Director Kristy Matheson just now wrapped up, we have the full line-up for the 69th edition of the London Film Festival. A thrilling mix of British talent, awards season potential, and intriguing international projects—there’s plenty on offer for any film fan.
Editor-in-Chief Gavin Spoors and Co-deputy Editor Katie Hogan share ten films that they’re excited to see; including highly-anticipated sequels, Sundance hits, and auteur-driven features.
Father Mother Sister Brother
We haven’t seen Jim Jarmusch since 2019, when he came out with his bizarre zombie low-key comedy, The Dead Don’t Die. This time, the writer-director is going back to a familiar formula with Father Mother Sister Brother. Premiering in competition at Venice, before it reaches LFF, Jarmusch’s latest is a triptych of stories, each taking place in a different country that weave together comedy as well as melancholy. Estranged siblings and parents are forced to face unresolved issues in their relationships.
With an enticing cast of familiar Jarmusch collaborators as well as new ones, including Adam Driver, Cate Blanchett, Tom Waits, Charlotte Rampling and Indya Moore, his latest is one to get excited about. Echoing his past gems such as Coffee & Cigarettes, it’s the underrated, quiet, subtle, and sometimes sad moments where Jarmusch shines best.
Katie Hogan
The Secret Agent
The Secret Agent has already made a splash on the festival circuit. It took home not one but four awards earlier this year at the coveted Cannes Film Festival. One of them was for Kleber Mendonca Filho’s direction, and another for Wagner Moura’s performance in the film. Not surprising when Filho gave us the wildly thrilling Bacurau, and Moura is proving to be an exceptional actor with the likes of Narcos and Civil War. Of course we’re excited that this Brazilian feature is coming to London.
Moura plays technology researcher Marcelo, who is on the run from mercenaries in 1977 Brazil. To make matters more complicated, it’s Carnival week, and he needs to not just get himself out of the city alive, but also his son. This might well end up being a standard thriller, but with Filho behind the helm, we’re confident The Secret Agent will be an unpredictable, entertaining ride.
Gavin Spoors
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
The campaign leading up to the third Benoit Blanc film, with Daniel Craig returning as the eponymous detective, has been nothing short of suspenseful. From the reveal of the title, the cast and that teaser trailer earlier this year, the wait will finally be over. Wake Up Dead Man is set to premiere first at Toronto International Film Festival before heading over to LFF. This third murder mystery from Rian Johnson, featuring one hell of a stellar cast, takes on a very different tone from the previous instalments.
Before it was cosy crimes with comedic turns, but here, we are to expect something more dramatic and darker. Johnson has said to be influenced by Edgar Allen Poe for Wake Up Dead Man and a locked room scenario, which only adds to the suspense. With very little in the way of plot being revealed before its World Premiere, the story is set in a small town, centring around their local church. Blanc is presented, going by the ominous words spoken in the teaser, with ‘an impossible crime’, and we cannot wait to find out what happens next!
Katie Hogan
Pillion
Sundance Film Festival has a knack for showcasing promising feature debuts, and Pillion seems to be another example of that. The sexy drama was a hit at that festival, and will most likely have the same effect in London. Writer and director Harry Lighton dives into BDSM culture within the queer community as Harry Melling’s timid Colin becomes the submissive lover of Alexander Skarsgard’s handsome biker gang leader.
Word on the street is that this is a funny but endearing foray into a subculture we rarely see on the big screen—particularly with such big names attached. With LGBTQ+ rights in danger thanks to the current political and cultural climate, Pillion could be more than a raunchy romp but a vital piece of queer cinema. Bringing Pillion to LFF feels right, considering the film is set in Bromley. This has the potential to not just be an audience hit, but something much bigger.
Gavin Spoors
Rose of Nevada
Not every ghost story is haunting or draws people in, but with a premise such as Rose of Nevada, we at FILMHOUNDS are hooked already. Starring George Mackay and Callum Turner, the story is set in a forgotten fishing village. When a fishing boat, having disappeared along with its crew 30 years before, mysteriously shows up in the village, the few who remember the boat believe this to be a sign. However, the boat must go out again, taking along two new crew members.
After a successful trip, the boat returns once more, but the boat and crew have slipped back in time and the two new members are treated as the original crew. From the mind that brought us Bait and Enys Men, writer-director Mark Jenkin is set to have our hair standing on end once more. As a BFI-backed project, there are already hints that this could be the unsuspected gem of the festival, if Jenkin’s previous films are anything to go by.
Katie Hogan
Bugonia
Last time Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone graced the Royal Festival Hall, they brought the house down with twisted fairytale Poor Things. Now, two years later, the pair return with their latest project, Bugonia. As with anything Lanthimos-related, audience reactions will no doubt be divisive, and we can’t wait to see where people’s opinions land.
Unsurprisingly for Lanthimos, this is a darkly comedic story with venom. Stone plays a powerful CEO who is kidnapped by two conspiracy theorists who believe she’s an alien. Who knows what crazy twists and turns Bugonia will take in answering the question of whether there is indeed an alien. Aside from the plot, another big draw for this film is the actors playing these men: Aidan Delbis (in his feature debut) and the always terrific Jesse Plemons. Having Stone and Plemons together again under Lanthimos’ direction is more than enough to get us excited. Get your tin foil hats ready.
Gavin Spoors
Bad Apples
Bad Apples is not only making its debut (premiere) at Toronto International Film Festival before it heads over to LFF, it is also director Jonatan Etzler’s English-language debut. Having cut his teeth making short films, his debut feature film, the rom-com-drama One More Time, was a Swedish Netflix Original in 2023. However, Bad Apples seems to be a step away in genre, at least.
Based on the novel De Oönskade by Rasmus Lindgren, the satirical thriller centres on primary teacher Maria, played by Saoirse Ronan, who takes drastic action against one disruptive pupil and the fallout from her actions, as well as her astonishment at how the rest of the community reacts. With Nordic humour and hints at genre elements, Bad Apples is already promising something truly unsettling, a film to make us question how far we’d go for peace and harmony. We can already hear that famous line from Hot Fuzz, ‘the greater good’, ringing in our ears.
Katie Hogan
Hamlet
Not to be confused with Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet. Whilst the award-winning Nomadland director is exploring the story of Shakespeare actually writing Hamlet, Oscar-winning filmmaker Aneil Karia is adapting the renowned classic with a stellar cast and a unique take. Riz Ahmed steps into the title role, and is joined by other exceptional performers such as Morfydd Clark, Joe Alwyn, Art Malik and Timothy Spall.
What makes this adaptation so exciting (aside from the cast) is the setting: present-day London within the South Asian community. Shakespeare’s work has seen some interesting modern interpretations, but never one that features a predominantly non-white cast. The iconic playwright has numerous works that feel timeless, and none more so than Hamlet with its themes of appearance and identity—themes that are set to pair perfectly with the culture represented in this film. As well as another brilliant performance from Ahmed, Hamlet could provide a profound take on an already great story.
Gavin Spoors
Alpha
Julia Ducournau is a hard act to follow. Even more so when following her previous films, Raw and Titane, the Palm d’Or winner in 2021. Ducournau’s work is seeped in blood and engine oil, a genre director to her core; it’s difficult to predict what she would create next. Though Alpha didn’t win any awards at Cannes, its presence was still felt as fear was more than just a tactic, but rather the subject matter.
The film centres on 13-year-old Alpha, whose whole world collapses the day she returns home from school with a tattoo, making her mother believe she has contracted a strange new bloodborne disease. Featuring a fantastic international cast including Golshifteh Farahani, Emma Mackay and Tahar Rahim, the buzz for Ducournau’s latest is still growing, with early reviews claiming it to be a ‘cult classic’.
Katie Hogan
The Mastermind
Kelly Reichardt is one of the most criminally underrated filmmakers working today. Yes, her work is often slow and not flashy, but that doesn’t mean Reichardt’s work lacks emotional depth. In fact, the opposite is true. The American writer-director returns to LFF with her latest feature, a heist film set to be unlike anything we’ve seen before. An amateur art thief has his life turned upside down after his first big heist, and Reichardt brings her unique vision and voice to what would otherwise be another crime thriller affair.
The trailer proves that this is one to keep an eye on. Looking as if the film was ripped straight from the 1970s, the lived-in production design and hazy cinematography evoke the visuals of the time, and both seem to pair beautifully with Reichardt’s observational style. Then there’s the cast. Obviously audiences are going to be enticed by Josh O’Connor—one of the most exciting performers right now—but he’s joined by the talented likes of Hope Davis and John Magaro. Reichardt won the top prize at LFF back in 2016, and we think she could make just as much of an impression this time round.
Gavin Spoors
The 69th BFI London Film Festival takes place from 8-19 October at venues in London and across the UK.
Tickets go on sale 16 September. BFI Members book early on 9 September and American Express® Cardmembers can access presale from 12 – 16 September.
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