London Film Festival 2020 Programme Lineup Announced

The BFI have revealed the full lineup of the latest London Film Festival, which is set to take place from 7-18 October 2020 in a radically different form to any other year. Due to Coronavirus and the subsequent lockdown of towns and cinema audiences, almost all the features are set to be screened via a virtual style of exhibition. Just four titles, the popular heavy-hitters of the bunch, will be playing only in cinemas. 

You can find the full list of feature films down below.

These in-person exclusive movies are bookended by Steve McQueen’s Mangrove and Francis Lee’s Ammonite, a lesbian romantic drama and period film about the British palaeontologist Mary Anning. The virtual showings include some great auteurs of world cinema: Tsai Ming-Liang’s Days and Lav Diaz’s Genus Pan join debuts such as Farnoosh Samadi’s 180° Rule and the Esiri brothers’ This Is My Desire, suggesting that the switch to digital has not affected the number of intriguing and invigorating international releases.

Alongside these, expect to see a number of movies that are already building up a huge buzz in US festivals: Josephine Decker’s Shirley, Spike Lee’s film version of David Byrne’s American Utopia, and Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor, the latter of which seems to fit in comfortably with the visceral body-horror of his father’s work. Each film screened, whether virtually or in-person, will run at specific times and with introductions and possible Q+A sessions.

The festival have stated that new focuses include ‘episodic work, recognising the increasing blurring of the lines between television and film; and XR & immersive art, presented in our virtual platform’. Extended reality experiences will be located on the BFI website and screenings will take place in BFI Player. As before, films are split into separate, sponsored sections such as ‘Journey,’ ‘Dare,’ and ‘Debate.’ Devoted cinephiles will no doubt be hugely excited by the ‘Treasures’ section, which features a landmark restoration of the once-lost Iranian classic Chess of the Wind (1976).

Without further delay, here is the full list of feature films screening at this year’s LFF:

Laugh

Honeymood (Talya Lavie, Israel)

Kajillionaire (Miranda July, US)

Never Gonna Snow Again (Małgorzata Szumowska, Michał Englert; Poland, Germany) 

Journey

Another Round (Thomas Vinterberg, Denmark) 

Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets (Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross; US) 

A Day-Off For Kasumi Arimura (Hirokazu Kore-Eda, Japan) 

Genus Pan (Lav Diaz, Philippines) 

Gold For Dogs (Anna Cazenave Cambet, France)

I Am Samuel (Pete Murimi, Kenya) 

Limbo (Ben Sharrock, UK)

Nomadland (Chloé Zhao, US) – Cinema Only

Notturno (Gianfranco Rosi; Italy, Germany, France)

The Reason I Jump (Jerry Rothwell, UK)

The Salt In Our Waters (Rezwan Shahriar Sumit; Bangladesh, France) 

Stray (Elizabeth Lo, US)

This Is My Desire (Arie Esiri, Chuko Esiri; Nigeria) 

Dare

Bad Tales (Fabio D’innocenzo, Damiano D’innocenzo; Italy)

A Common Crime (Francisco Márquez; Argentina, Brazil, Switzerland)

The Intruder (Natalia Meta; Argentina, Mexico)

Mogul Mowgli (Bassam Tariq, UK)

New Order (Michel Franco, Mexico)

Shirley (Josephine Decker, US)

Siberia (Abel Ferrara; Italy, Germany, Mexico)

Wildfire (Cathy Brady; UK, Ireland)

Create

David Byrne’s American Utopia (Spike Lee, US)

Delia Derbyshire: The Myths And Legendary Tapes (Caroline Catz, UK)  

The Disciple (Chaitanya Tamhane, India)

The Painter And The Thief (Benjamin Ree, Norway)

Striding Into The Wind (Wei Shujun, China)

Zanka Contact (Ismaël El Iraki; France, Morroco, Belgium)

Love

After Love (Aleem Khan, UK)

Ammonite (Francis Lee, UK) – Cinema Only

Cicada (Matt Fifer, Kieran Mulcare; US)

Days (Tsai Ming-Liang, Taiwan)

Farewell Amor (Ekwa Msangi, US)

Herself (Phyllida Lloyd, UK)

If It Were Love (Patric Chiha, France)

Supernova (Harry Macqueen, UK

Undine (Christian Petzold, Germany)

Cult

Possessor (Brandon Cronenberg; Canada, UK)

Relic (Natalie Erika James; Australia, US)

Rose: A Love Story (Jennifer Sheridan, UK)

Debate

180° Rule (Farnoosh Samadi, Iran)

200 Meters (Ameen Nayfeh, Palestine)

African Apocalypse (Rob Lemkin, UK)

Identifying Features (Fernanda Valadez; Mexico, Spain) 

Industry (Lena Dunham, Tinge Krishnan, Ed Lilly; UK)

Mangrove (Steve Mcqueen, UK) – Cinema Only 

One Man And His Shoes (Yemi Bamiro, UK)

Shadow Country (Bohdan Sláma, Czech Republic)

Time (Garrett Bradley, US)

Ultraviolence (Ken Fero, UK)

Family

Soul (Pete Docter, Kemp Powers; US) – Cinema Only

Wolfwalkers (Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart; Ireland, Luxemburg, France)

Treasures

The Cheaters (Paulette Mcdonagh, Australia, 1930)

The Chess Game Of The Wind (Mohammad Reza Aslani, Iran, 1976)

Friendship’s Death (Peter Wollen, UK, 1987)