The 70th BFI London Film Festival is set to begin in 2 weeks time, the lineup for which is probably the best the festival has seen in some years, from major blockbusters such as GODZILLA: MINUS ZERO to insane animated efforts like WILDWOOD. With this in mind, let’s run through some of the highlights ahead of the festivals start date of 7th October!
ARTIFICIAL (Dir: Luca Guadagnino)
Starring Andrew Garfield as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, following the CEO being both fired and rehired in a matter of days in 2023. ARTIFICIAL was produced by Amazon MGM but was dropped by them when it came to distributing the picture, with NEON later acquiring it setting a theatrical release date of December 25th 2026.
ARTIFICIAL will have a Gala Screening at the London Film Festival on Sunday 11th October with other screenings to follow on Thursday 15th October and Friday 16th October.
WILDWOOD (Dir: Travis Knight)
The geniuses of LAIKA are finally back! It’s been 7 years since LAIKA released MISSING LINK, since then they have been hard at work on their new epic, WILDWOOD. Following two classmates, Prue and Curtis, as they are drawn to an enchanted forest on a quest to rescue Prue’s abducted baby brother.
Travis Knight’s WILDWOOD follows in the footsteps of other LAIKA movies before it, boasting an insane stop motion process of animation, the behind the scenes looks at the movie are very impressive, though that may be an understatement.
WILDWOOD will be receiving a Gala screening on Sunday 11th October and will also screen on Saturday 17th October!
WICKER (Dir: Eleanor Wilson & Alex Huston Fischer)
WICKER follows a single fisherwoman that commissions herself a husband made out of Wicker, sparking outrage across the village. Starring Olivia Colman as the fisherwoman and Alexander Skarsgård as her Wicker husband, we couldn’t be more obsessed with this zany concept.
The makeup work on the Wicker Husband already looks exquisite and we are looking forward to see how far this movie is willing to go, when it screens at London Film Festival on Thursday 8th October, Saturday 10th October and Wednesday 14th October!
GODZILLA: MINUS ZERO (Dir: Takashi Yamazaki)
Three Years after the release of the Academy Award Winning GODZILLA: MINUS ONE released, Godzilla is back on the big screen and in IMAX! In GODZILLA: MINUS ZERO the story of the Shikishima family continues as they are faced with a fresh threat, they thought Godzilla was gone, alas they are mistaken.
The much anticipated sequel is set to screen at the world famous BFI IMAX on Wednesday 14th October, being the first Japanese film to be shot on IMAX. It will also screen at the Prince Charles Cinema on Friday 16th October!
THE DEBUT (Dir: Jesse Eisenberg)
After the success of A REAL PAIN in 2024, earning Kieran Culkin an Academy Award, Jesse Eisenberg is back in the Directors chair with THE DEBUT. Starring Paul Giamatti, Julianne Moore and Halle Bailey, the film follows a housewife that auditions for a part in a musical which is being directed by a domineering individual.
Featuring a performance from Julianne Moore that is already garnering critical acclaim, THE DEBUT is this year’s Closing Night Gala at the London Film Festival on Sunday 18th October!
PRIMETIME (Dir: Lance Oppenheim)
Robert Pattinson is having an extraordinary year, and he is not set to stop anytime soon. Lance Oppenheim’s PRIMETIME follows Robert Pattinson as Chris Hansen, host of TO CATCH A PREDATOR as he sets out to make television history.
Also starring Skyler Gisondo and Merritt Wever, PRIMETIME will screen at the London Film Festival on Sunday 11th October at the BFI IMAX!
ELSINORE (Dir: Simon Stone)
Based on an emotional true story, following actor Ian Charleson as he takes on the lead role in Hamlet while battling AIDS in the very late 1980s. Andrew Scott stars as the inspirational Ian Charleson in a performance we are all highly anticipating.
Simon Stone’s ELSINORE was awarded the International People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival this year ahead of the film being the Opening Night Gala of the London Film Festival on Wednesday 7th October!
VISIONQUEST (Created by Terry Matalas)
The final instalment in Marvel Studios’ WANDAVISION trilogy is finally releasing this October, 2 years after the release of AGATHA ALL ALONG. Following on from the events of the other 2 instalments in the trilogy, Vision is coming out of hiding after being out in the world for a few years, but he is less in touch with his humanity than he would like to be, Paul Bettany stars as Vision and James Spader returns as Ultron.
The first two episodes of VISIONQUEST will premiere at the 70th BFI London Film Festival this year on Monday 12th October, presented by EMPIRE Magazine.
The 70th BFI London Film Festival is set to begin on Wednesday 7th October, while we’ve covered a few highlights, believe me, we are barely scratching the surface, from screen talks with people like Robert Eggers, Cynthia Erivo and Javier Bardem, it’s truly a very special lineup this year and we are in for an awesome few weeks!
