The return of the London Film Festival: 2025’s programme is predictably packed with intrigue. Here are some of the films not to miss
One year shy of its 70th anniversary, the London Film Festival returns this October, bringing hundreds of new films to the capital. Some have never played anywhere before, while others have been the darlings of this year’s international festival circuit, having generated buzz in Cannes, Toronto and Venice.
As ever, there’s an overwhelming array to choose from. If you feel spoiled for choice, here are our picks for the best films to catch at the London Film Festival 2025, running 8 – 19 October. Tickets are available on the festival website, although programmers this year are encouraging a ‘turn up and see approach’ as there are often returns for favourite films, or there’s the option of being spontaneous and booking something on the day.
London Film Festival 2025: the 9 films to catch
Hundred Nights of Hero
Charli XCX makes her acting debut in this historical fantasy based on the graphic novel of the same name, by Isabel Greenberg. Following an overwhelmingly positive reception at its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival last month, this farcical interpretation of classical folk lore storytelling follows Cherry, a young woman whose marriage is forced into question when her husband’s friend tries to seduce her. Also starring Emma Corrin, Felicity Jones and Nicholas Galitzine.
No Other Choice
Park Chan-wook, the South Korean director of cult thriller Oldboy, returns with this satirical black comedy based on the American novel The Ax by Donald Westlake. Having debuted at number one in the Korea Box Office, the satire received incredible reviews at the Venice Film Festival. It follows a paper mill manager who loses his job but comes up with a shocking plan to get his way back onto the hamster wheel. Expect jet black hilarity.
Exit 8
Inspired by the video game of the same name, Exit 8 takes place almost entirely in a Tokyo subway. Pegged as a bleak psychological horror, early reviews suggest this is perhaps style over substance, but genre-defining nonetheless. It follows an unnamed Japanese man trapped in an infinite corridor. The further he goes, the weirder it gets. Can he escape, and is this even real?
Left Handed Girl
Shot entirely on an iPhone, this feature – as well as offering bucket loads of PR for Apple – is supposedly absorbing, both for its visuals and its three intertwined stories. By Taiwanese director Shih-Ching Tsou and co-writer Sean Baker, Left-Handed Girl follows a single mother and her two daughters, who as they arrive in Taipei to start a new life.
Is This Thing On?
Surely one of the least likely films to have made it to production, Bradley Cooper’s homage to the northern British comedian John Bishop is playing at the London Film Festival 2025. Starring Will Arnett and Laura Dern, the film follows a middle-aged comedian going through a divorce but trying to find new purpose in his life.
Fucktoys
Annapurna Sriram’s debut feature about a lady who has been cursed and must slaughter a lamb to relieve herself from the spell is surely one of this year’s zaniest entries. We follow AP as she explores the fictional Trashtown, attempting to break the curse by raising a thousand dollars. It’ll come as no surprise that Fucktoys contains scenes of drug use, nudity and… sex.
Palestine 36
Despite the obvious thematic relevance, this piece is a historic drama, set in 1936 and following a set of villagers revolting against British colonial rule. Starring Jeremy Irons and Palestinian actors Hiam Abbass and Yasmine Al Massri, it follows one man navigating between Jerusalem and Palestine during the conflict.
Jay Kelly
George Clooney plays a famous actor and Adam Sandler his manager in this road trip movie about male friendship, legacy and self-discovery. From Noah Baumbach, who was Oscar nominated for The Squid and the Whale, Marriage Story and Barbie, Jay Kelly received a ten-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival, although not all critics have been so enamoured by it, with some rewarding just one star.
She’s The He
Billed as a subversive gender-swap comedy, She’s The He is a “love letter” from trans filmmaker Siobhan McCarthy to their young self, and all trans youth. The plot centres around best friends Alex and Ethan, who launch a plan to convince people they’re not gay, and pretend to come out as trans instead. As their scheme unfolds, they start to wonder question their own identities.
For more information on the London Film Festival 2025 go to whatson.bfi.org.uk
Bfi film festival, Southbank: where to watch films at the festival
The majority of the London Film Festival screenings take place on the Southbank. Venues include the BfI Southbank, the BFI Imax and the Royal Festival Hall within the Southbank Centre. Films and events ranging from interactive art experiences and Q+As with film-making talent will also take place at Curzon Mayfair, Curzon Soho, the Institute of Contemporary Arts and the Prince Charles Cinema.
Read more about the London Film Festival, including news and reviews, at City AM Life&Style.