TBB’S LFF 2026 FILM RECOMMENDATIONS …

The 70th BFI London Film Festival (LFF) kicks off Wednesday 7th October.

Experience 12 days of the best new films, series and immersive storytelling from around the world, taking place 7-18 October in London and across the UK. LFF will celebrate the diverse landscape of international cinema, showcasing films set to entertain and inspire, provoke debate and tackle the urgent issues of our time.

Discover top tips to prepare for the festival, all the information about tickets and booking, £6 tickets for 16 to 25 year olds and access at the festival.

As usual, TBB pulls out the films we’re most excited about …

I LOVE BOOSTERS

Aspiring designer Corvette leads The Velvet Gang, stealing clothes from fashion entrepreneur Christie Smith. But when Smith steals Corvette’s design, the gang fights back against the system.

• Friday 09 Oct 21:15 @Southbank Centre, Royal Festival Hall
• Thursday 15 Oct 18:10 @ BFI Southbank, Screen NFT3
• Saturday 17 Oct 20:45 @ Vue West End, EPIC 2

PRIMA FACIE

Ambitious barrister Tessa is used to defending men accused of sexual assault. When she becomes an accuser herself, she must confront the legal system she trusted.

• Tuesday 13 Oct 21:15 @ Southbank Centre, Royal Festival Hall
• Friday 16 Oct 20:50 @ Vue West End, EPIC 2
• Saturday 17 October 11:00 @ Southbank Centre, Royal Festival Hall

YOUR MOTHER YOUR MOTHER YOUR MOTHER

After his wife’s death, assassin and father-of-three Latif struggles to balance his dangerous profession with parenthood, embarking on a desperate journey to protect his children.

• Saturday 17 Oct 17:45 @ Southbank Centre, Royal Festival Hall
• Sunday 18 Oct 15:00 @ Prince Charles Cinema, Downstairs Screen

IN THE SHADOWS

Discovering an unlikely passion for boxing as a teenager, Ali defies the odds to become an international sporting icon while remaining connected to her past and community.

• Friday 09 Oct 18:15 @ Vue West End, EPIC 2
• Saturday 10 Oct 17:30 @ Curzon Soho Cinema, Screen 1
• Friday 16 Oct 14:45 @ Curzon Soho Cinema, Screen 1

MISTY GREEN

Once a somebody, Misty Green is now barely scraping by. When an old acquaintance offers her a fresh start, she must confront the biggest obstacle standing in her way: herself.

• Monday 12 Oct 18:30 @ Vue West End, EPIC 2
• Sunday 18 Oct 18:15 @ BFI Southbank, Screen NFT1

THE SECRET LIVES OF BABA SEGI’S WIVES

In present-day Nigeria, Baba Segi’s seemingly harmonious household begins to unravel when his university-educated fourth wife struggles to conceive, exposing secrets, shifting loyalties & hidden tensions.

• Wednesday 14 Oct 18:15 @ Vue West End, EPIC 1
• Thursday 15 Oct 20:30 @ BFI Southbank, Screen NFT2

TUTU

Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s fight against Apartheid and pursuit of national reconciliation take centre stage in this portrait of his political life and enduring belief in humanity.

• Saturday 10 Oct 13:10 @ BFI Southbank, Screen NFT1
  Tuesday 13 Oct 21:00 @ Vue West End, EPIC 2

FLORID

Aspiring music producer Jamal experiences psychosis, leaving him, his family and the mental health system struggling to navigate the voices he hears and their impact.

• Thursday 08 Oct 21:00 @ Vue West End, EPIC 2
• Monday 12 Oct 16:30 @ ICA, Screen 1

CLARISSA

As Clarissa prepares for her garden party, memories of a life-changing summer resurface in this exploration of friendship, class and gender in contemporary Nigerian society.

• Monday 12 Oct 20:30 @ Vue West End, EPIC 1
• Tuesday 13 Oct 14:45 @ BFI Southbank, Screen NFT1
• Saturday 17 Oct 20:10 @ BFI Southbank, Screen NFT2

14TH

Ava DuVernay examines the 14th Amendment, exploring its promise of citizenship and equal rights and how those protections are being challenged in contemporary America.

• Monday 12 Oct 18:00 @ BFI Southbank, Screen NFT1
• Friday 16 Oct 13:25 @ BFI Southbank, Screen NFT3
• Sunday 18 Oct 20:30 @ Vue West End, EPIC 1

HOUSE OF THE WIND

Living alone in Yaoundé after her children move abroad, a fiercely independent elderly woman finds unexpected companionship when rebellious youngster Sarah enters her life.

• Thursday 08 Oct 18:30 @ BFI Southbank, Screen NFT3
• Friday 09 Oct 20:15 @ Curzon Soho Cinema, Screen 2
• Friday 09 Oct 20:30 @ Curzon Soho Cinema, Screen 3

LET THEM BE SEEN

Once a Christian sanctuary during apartheid, Tapoleng now navigates shifting beliefs and identities as its community reflects on faith, everyday life and an evolving sense of self.

• Friday 16 Oct 18:40 @ ICA, Screen 1
• Saturday 17 Oct 12:50 @ BFI Southbank, Screen NFT2

MARIE MADELEINE

Opposites Marie and Joseph find their lives unexpectedly intertwined when Joseph’s estranged father begins building a church beside the brothel where Marie works.

• Saturday 10 Oct 12:45 @ Curzon Soho Cinema, Screen 2
• Saturday 10 Oct 13:00 @ Curzon Soho Cinema, Screen 3
• Sunday 11 Oct 20:45 @ BFI Southbank, Screen NFT2

CONGO BOY

Displaced by war, Congolese teenager Robert balances his dreams of a rap career with raising his siblings, while growing political tensions threaten the life he’s rebuilding.

• Sunday 11 Oct 20:30 @ Vue West End, EPIC 1
• Monday 12 Oct 14:00 @ BFI Southbank, Screen NFT2

ANIMOL

Behind bars, Troy is drawn into relationships with dominant kingpin Dion and wisecracking Krystiyan, two men who could either help him survive prison or seal his downfall.

• Sunday 11 Oct 18:25 @ BFI Southbank, Screen NFT1
• Thursday 15 Oct 12:30 @ Vue West End, EPIC 1
• Sunday 18 Oct 21:00 @ BFI Southbank, Screen NFT3

LADY

In a bustling Lagos, a solitary female taxi driver finds community among a group of sex workers as she transports them around the city.

• Saturday 10 Oct 21:00 @ Vue West End, EPIC 1
• Tuesday 13 Oct 12:10 @ BFI Southbank, Screen NFT1

ANA, EN PASSANT

Feeling lost after her beloved grandmother dies, Ana travels from Brazil to Paris to follow in her relative’s footsteps. It’s a journey that allows her to discover more about her family, heritage and, ultimately, herself. Salgado brings her animation radiantly to life, infusing real-life footage that gives greater depth to the bustling surroundings – the vibrant cities to which this textured film is a paean.

• Tuesday 13 October 2026 20:50 @ BFI Southbank, Screen NFT2
• Wednesday 14 October 2026 16:15 @ BFI Southbank, Screen NFT

DAO

Moving between a memorial ritual in Guinea-Bissau and a wedding in France, Dao brings these two rites of passage into intimate conversation, exploring diasporic lives shaped by distance, memory and belonging. Blending fictional narrative with interviews and rehearsal scenes with its performers, Gomis creates a warm, richly layered, jazz-inflected portrait in which lived experience and performance continually illuminate one another.

Thursday 15 October 2026 19:15 @ BFI Southbank, Screen NFT1
Friday 16 October 2026 14:50 @ ICA, Screen 1

I SEE MYSELF (SHORTS)

From silent protests and secret ponderings to vocal uprisings and drastic acts, watch people endeavour to carve a bigger space for themselves in a world that’s trying to box them in.

• Friday 16 Oct 18:15 @ Vue West End, EPIC 2
• Saturday 17 Oct 20:30 @ BFI Southbank, Screen NFT3

ALTERED STATES (SHORTS)

Fractured memories and uncertain fates are examined in shorts featuring our unshakeable resolve.

• Tuesday 13 Oct 17:50 @ Vue West End, EPIC 1
• Saturday 17 Oct 14:50 @ BFI Southbank, Screen NFT2

CALL YOUR BLUFF (SHORTS)

Whether it’s cutting your own hair, winning the lottery, looking for love or livening up a dull day at work, these uk shorts will cover all your comedy needs.

• Thursday 08 Oct 20:30 @ Prince Charles Cinema, Downstairs Screen
• Sunday 11 Oct 12:45 @ BFI Southbank, Screen NFT3

Discover top tips to prepare for the festival, all the information about tickets and booking, £6 tickets for 16 to 25 year olds and access at the festival.