Explore the 68th BFI London Film Festival: Gala Highlights and More | My Soho Times

Roll up, roll up, arts editor Gillian Smith shares a glimpse into this year’s BFI London Film Festival!

Movie madness and galas galore – excuse the alliteration, but the London Film Festival 2024 is coming up fast. The ball starts rolling on October 9^th, thereafter it’ll be total immersion for film fans and cineastes alike, until the 20^th that is, when everyone emerges blinking into the daylight. Just in time for Halloween, but that’s a whole other story.

Usually with the LFF, I kick off with the opening and closing films and fill in the gaps in between thereafter. This year I’m going rogue (well at least chronological) and following a more trad character arc:  beginning, middle and end. Don’t judge me. The headline and special presentations are to die for this year.

Just to whet your appetite though, let’s run through this year’s talent list. And a pretty formidable one it is too.  

Directors, some of: Steve McQueen, Sean Baker, Jacques Audiard, Pedro Almodóvar, Andrea Arnold, Marielle Heller, Luca Guadagnino, Pablo Larraín, Roshan Sethi, Mike Leigh, Mohammad Rasoulof. To name but a few.

Actors & talent, a random selection: Saoirse Ronan, Pharell Williams, Elton John, Amy Adams, John David Washington, Angelina Jolie, Samuel L. Jackson, Stanley Tucci, Ralph Fiennes and festival regular, Tilda Swinton. 

So, as briefly as I know how, to business.  Opening night gala is Steve McQueen’s visually stunning Blitz, featuring Saoirse Ronan and newcomer Elliot Heffernan, loose in London during the bombing raids of World War ll. Score by Hans Zimmer. Bound to be sold out.

The idea of a city and its denizens, in war or peace, is a recurring theme his year.  As explained by Kristy Matheson, the Festival Director, in her opening programme remarks. “We’ve returned time and again to the idea of the city – specifically London, with its multi-layered histories and global citizenship – to craft a programme that serves as a cinematic mirror for shapes previously unseen. But also as a point of reflection.  We invite you to explore our Festival as you would a city; visit the famous landmarks, but be sure not to miss the hidden side streets and embrace the unknown – there’s riches for the curious.”

Sage advice.  And as in a city, you need to look where you’re going.  A good set off point is a quick stroll around the awards category. Competition is keen this year and a range of talent is showcased in the Official, First Feature, Documentary, Short Film and Audience Awards. 

Next stop, the Galas; listed below are some of the most intriguing.

AMERICAN EXPRESS GALA: Elton John: Never Too Late follows the veteran performer on his final US  tour. Directed by R.J. Cutler and David Furnish.

HEADLINE GALA: Anora, Sean Baker’s modern-day Cinderella flick was this year’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner. 

HEADLINE GALA: Andrea Arnold’s latest hard-hitter is Bird, featuring Barry Keoghan as a stranger in a strange land (in this case, Gravesend) who befriends a 12-year-old girl.

BFI PATRONS’ GALA:  Hard Truths. Mike Leigh returns to the BFI London Film Festival with this uncompromising portrait of contemporary family life in London. The film reunites him with the formidably talented Marianne Jean-Baptiste, whose breakout performance in his 1996 Secrets and Lies paved the way for her stellar career. Good to see them back together again. 

BFI FLARE SPECIAL PRESENTATION: A Nice Indian Boy.  We’re told it’s impossible not to say ‘I do’ to Roshan Sethi’s delightful romantic comedy, starring Karan Soni and Jonathan Groff.  I would not be a bit surprised.

HEADLINE GALA : Amelia Pérez. French auteur Jacques Audiard’s Cannes prize winner is an entertaining, Mexico-set musical odyssey.

HEADLINE GALA: The Room Next Door.  Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton shine in Pedro Almodóvar’s first English-language feature, an adaptation of Sigrid Nunez’s What Are You Going Through.

HEADLINE GALA: Maria. Angelina Jolie takes on the role of legendary opera singer Maria Callas in Pablo Larraín’s reimagined biopic, which hones in on the diva’s final days in 1970s Paris. One for the paparazzi, as well as the fans.

And for your further viewing pleasure, a Special Presentation selection:

The Wild Robot, directed by Chris Sanders.  From the co-director of How to Train Your Dragon comes a journey of survival, love and selflessness, featuring gorgeous animation and impressive voice performances.

The Seed of The Sacred Fig: Iran’s Mohammad Rasoulof’s gripping dissidentdrama, about an official whose ambitions bring him intoconflict with his family and the system he serves.

Queer. Luca Guadagnino’s latest, alongside Challengers writer Justin Kuritzkes.Mexico City in the 1940s is the location of this adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ semi-autobiographical novel. Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey, Lesley Manville and Jason Schwartzman star.

The Piano Lesson. Director: Malcom Washington. Two scions of the talented Washington family unite with John David starring and Malcom directing. Samuel L. Jackson and Danielle Deadwyler also feature in an adaptation of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play.

And if you’re seeking a little something outside the mainstream, look no further, I say. A wealth of content is available for your delectation, handily grouped into categories catering for all tastes.

Film Categories

DARE pushes the boundaries, THRILL is a wild ride, EXPERIMENTA does what it says on the tin, CREATE allows for a range of ideas, LAUGH, well you’ve just got to. SHORTS naturally are small but perfectly formed and EXPANDED, well… seeing is believing, or so they say. And as for CULT, well queue here for mind-altering experiences. There are archive faves with TREASURES and something for the tinies with FAMILY.

After all this (and it’s not one you want to miss) comes the Closing Night Gala, Piece by Piece. A joyous and unusual offering, it chronicles the life of cultural icon Pharrell Williams via Lego animation. Not something you see every day. It’s directed by Morgan Neville and it’s a genre-defying gaze at the star’s career with a star-studded (Lego) cast of interviewees that includes Jay-Z, Missy Elliot, Gwen Stefani and Busta Rhymes. Catch it if you can.

I could go on, but by now I reckon the ball’s in your court, and it’s time for y’all to delve deep into the LFF website all by yourselves and get those seats booked. You won’t regret it.  Happy hunting.

The 68th BFI London Film Festival takes place from 9-20 October at venues in London and across the UK.  Tickets go on sale on the 17 September. www.bfi.org.uk/lff

Written by Gillian Smith

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