2023 film festival
The 67th BFI London Film Festival was a film festival that took place from 4–15 October 2023.[ 2] The competition films were announced on 29 August 2023 while the films for the galas and the strands were revealed on 31 August 2023.[ 3] [ 4] The juries for the various sections of the festival were announced on 19 September 2023.[ 5]
The festival opened with Saltburn , directed by Emerald Fennell ,[ 6] and closed with The Kitchen , directed by Kibwe Tavares and Daniel Kaluuya .[ 7]
Documentary Competition [ edit ] Rubika Shah, British writer and director Jeanie Finlay , British documentary filmmaker Paul Tonta, general manager theatrical acquisitions and film festivals at Madman Entertainment Short Film Competition [ edit ] Charlotte Regan , British writer and director Francesca Tomlinson, BFI Film Academy Young Programmer Rina Yang, cinematographer The partner venues for the festival included:[ 8]
The following films were selected for the Galas section, which screens world, European, and British premieres of the most anticipated films.
Special Presentations [ edit ] The following films were selected for the Special Presentations section.
English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country The Boy and the Heron 君たちはどう生きるか Hayao Miyazaki Japan Cobweb 거미집 Kim Jee-woon South Korea The End We Start From Mahalia Belo United Kingdom Fallen Leaves Kuolleet lehdet Aki Kaurismäki Finland Foe Garth Davis Australia, United States Grime Kids Abdou Cisse United Kingdom Hit Man Richard Linklater United States Housekeeping for Beginners Goran Stolevski North Macedonia, Poland, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, Australia, United States Les Indésirables Bâtiment 5 Ladj Ly France, Belgium Memory Michel Franco Mexico, United States, Chile Occupied City Steve McQueen United Kingdom, Netherlands Priscilla Sofia Coppola United States, Italy The Zone of Interest Jonathan Glazer United Kingdom, United States, Poland
There were five competition sections, each with a different selection of films and different juries.
Official Competition [ edit ] The following films competed for the Best Film Award.[ 9]
First Feature Competition [ edit ] The following films competed for the Sutherland Award , which is awarded to a directorial debut.[ 10]
English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Black Dog George Jaques United Kingdom Earth Mama Savanah Leaf United States, United Kingdom Hoard Luna Carmoon United Kingdom In Camera Naqqash Khalid United Kingdom Mambar Pierrette Rosine Mbakam Belgium, Cameroon Paradise Is Burning Mika Gustafson Sweden, Italy, Denmark, Finland Penal Cordillera Felipe Carmona Chile, Brazil The Queen of My Dreams Fawzia Mirza Canada Sky Peals Moin Hussain United Kingdom Tiger Stripes Amanda Nell Eu Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, France, Germany, Netherlands, Indonesia, Qatar Tuesday Daina O. Pusić United Kingdom, United States
Documentary Competition [ edit ] The following films competed for the Grierson Award, which is awarded to a feature-length documentary.[ 11]
English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Bye Bye Tiberias Lina Soualem France, Palestine, Belgium, Qatar Celluloid Underground Ehsan Khoshbakht United Kingdom, Iran Chasing Chasing Amy Sav Rodgers United States A Common Sequence Mary Helena Clark, Mike Gibisser United States, Mexico Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano على حافة البركان Cyril Aris Germany, Lebanon The Klezmer Project Adentro mía estoy bailando Leandro Koch, Paloma Schahmann Austria, Argentina Queendom Agniia Galdanova France, United States The Taste of Mango Chloe Abrahams United Kingdom, United States
Short Film Competition [ edit ] The following films competed for the Short Film Award.[ 12]
English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country The Archive: Queer Nigerians Simisolaoluwa Akande United Kingdom Area Boy Iggy London Boat People Thao Lam , Kjell Boersma Canada Essex Girls Yero Timi-Biu United Kingdom The Goose's Excuse Mahdy Abo Bahat, Abdo Zin Eldin Egypt, United Kingdom Khabur Nafis Fathollahzadeh Germany, Iran Onset Anna Engelhardt, Mark Cinkevich United Kingdom, Poland The Singer Cora Bissett United Kingdom The Walk Michael Jobling Wells of Despair Sata Taas Netherlands
Most of the out-of-competition films have been organised into strands, each based on a different mood or emotion.
English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country 20,000 Species of Bees 20.000 especies de abejas Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren Spain Àma Gloria Marie Amachoukeli France Banel & Adama Banel et Adama Ramata-Toulaye Sy France, Senegal, Mali Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry Elene Naveriani Switzerland, Germany, Georgia The Eternal Memory La memoria infinita Maite Alberdi Chile Fancy Dance Erica Tremblay United States Girl Adura Onashile United Kingdom Goodbye Julia وداعا جوليا Mohamed Kordofani Sudan, Egypt, Germany, France, Saudi Arabia, Sweden Monster 怪物 Hirokazu Kore-eda Japan Our Body Notre Corps Claire Simon France Perfect Days Wim Wenders Japan Robot Dreams Pablo Berger Spain, France Silver Haze Sacha Polak Netherlands, United Kingdom Slow Marija Kavtaradze Lithuania, Spain, Sweden Tótem Lila Avilés Mexico, Denmark, France Unicorns Sally El Hosaini , James Krishna Floyd United Kingdom
English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Allensworth James Benning United Kingdom Fire Through Dry Grass Alexis Neophytides, Andres "Jay" Molina United States Four Daughters بنات ألفة Kaouther Ben Hania France, Tunisia, Germany, Saudi Arabia The Goldman Case Le Procès Goldman Cédric Kahn France High & Low — John Galliano Kevin Macdonald France, United States, United Kingdom Kidnapped Rapito Marco Bellocchio Italy, France, Germany The Mission Jesse Moss , Amanda McBaine United States On the Adamant Sur l'Adamant Nicolas Philibert France, Japan The Pigeon Tunnel Errol Morris United Kingdom The Rye Horn O corno Jaione Camborda Spain, Portugal, Belgium Shoshana Michael Winterbottom United Kingdom, Italy Wilding David Allen United Kingdom Youth (Spring) 青春 Wang Bing China, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands
English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Animalia Parmi nous Sofia Alaoui France, Morocco, Qatar Behind the Mountains Oura el Jbel Mohamed Ben Attia Tunisia, France, Belgium, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Qatar Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World Nu astepta prea mult de la sfârsitul lumii Radu Jude Romania, Luxembourg, France, Croatia Eileen William Oldroyd United States Foremost by Night Sobre todo de noche Víctor Iriarte [es ] Spain, Portugal, France Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell Bên trong vỏ kén vàng Thien An Pham Vietnam, Singapore, France, Spain Last Summer L'Été dernier Catherine Breillat France Little Girl Blue Mona Achache France, Belgium Music Angela Schanelec Germany, France, Serbia Omen Baloji Belgium, Netherlands, Democratic Republic of Congo, France, South Africa The Peasants Chłopi DK Welchman , Hugh Welchman Poland, Serbia, Lithuania Power Alley Levante Lillah Halla Brazil, France, Uruguay A Prince Un prince Pierre Creton France Red Island L'Île rouge Robin Campillo France, Belgium, Madagascar Samsara Lois Patiño Spain
English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt Raven Jackson United States The Bride Myriam U. Birara Rwanda The Delinquents Los delincuentes Rodrigo Moreno Argentina The Echo El eco Tatiana Huezo Mexico, Germany Expats Lulu Wang United States, Hong Kong Haar Ben Hecking United Kingdom How to Have Sex Molly Manning Walker United Kingdom, Greece If Only I Could Hibernate Баавгай болохсон Zoljargal Purevdash Mongolia, France, Switzerland, Qatar Inshallah a Boy Inshallah Walad Amjad Al Rasheed Jordan, France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt The Lost Boys Le Paradis Zeno Graton Belgium, France The New Boy Warwick Thornton Australia Ramona Victoria Linares Villegas Dominican Republic, United Kingdom The Settlers Los colonos Felipe Gálvez Haberle Chile, Argentina, France, Denmark, United Kingdom, Taiwan, Sweden, Germany Shayda Noora Niasari Australia The Spectre of Boko Haram Le spectre de Boko Haram Cyrielle Raingou Cameroon, France The Sweet East Sean Price Williams United States That They May Face the Rising Sun Pat Collins Ireland, United Kingdom
English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Anita Alexis Bloom, Svetlana Zill United States Anselm Anselm – Das Rauschen der Zeit Wim Wenders Germany Apolonia, Apolonia Lea Glob Denmark, Poland, France Close Your Eyes Cerrar los ojos Víctor Erice Spain, Argentina The Daughters of Fire As Filhas do Fogo Pedro Costa Portugal Croma Kid Pablo Chea Dominican Republic Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project Michèle Stephenson , Joe Brewster United States In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon Alex Gibney Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros Frederick Wiseman France, United States The Pot-au-Feu La Passion de Dodin Bouffant Tran Anh Hung France Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus Neo Sora Japan Swan Song Chelsea McMullan Canada They Shot the Piano Player Dispararon al pianista Fernando Trueba , Javier Mariscal Spain, France, Netherlands This Is Going to Be Big Thomas Charles Hyland Australia You Can Call Me Bill Alexandre O. Philippe United States
English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country The Lost Art of the Future Theo Cuthand Canada A Radical Duet Onyeka Igwe United Kingdom Speech for a Melting Statue Collectif Faire-Part Belgium, Democratic Republic of Congo Wells of Despair Sata Taas Netherlands The Archive: Queer Nigerians Simisolaoluwa Akande United Kingdom Everything Worthwhile Is Done with Other People Rehana Zaman Night Fishing with Ancestors Elizabeth Povinelli Australia Minevissam (I Am Writing) Niki Kohandel United Kingdom Notes from Gog Magog Riar Rizaldi Indonesia Coders Anastasia Sosunova Lithuania Platform Ghosts – Turker, Farmer, Bot Aarti Sunder India Onset Anna Engelhardt, Mark Cinkevich United Kingdom, Poland Gush Fox Maxy United States Pacific Club Valentin Noujaïm France, Qatar It Can't Be That Nothing That Can Be Returned Dana Kavelina Ukraine Timekeepers of the Anthropocene Federico Cuatlacuatl Mexico, United States Tristxtotl Mădălina Zaharia United Kingdom Mangosteen Tulapop Saenjaroen Thailand The Goose's Excuse Mahdy Abo Bahat, Abdo Zin Eldin Egypt, United Kingdom Room in a Crowd John Torres Philippines Tempo Yu Araki Japan All the Days of May Miryam Charles Canada Wood for the Trees Rob Crosse Germany Sunflower Siege Engine Sky Hopinka United States A Throwing Forth Xiao Zhang United States, China Levitate Iván Argote Italy, Spain, France Desert Dreaming Abdul Halik Azeez Sri Lanka Khabur Nafis Fathollahzadeh Germany, Iran
English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Dancing Queen Aurora Gossé Norway Deep Sea (3D) Xiaopeng Tian China Kensuke's Kingdom Kirk Hendry, Neil Boyle United Kingdom, Luxembourg, France The Sacred Cave Daniel Minlo Cameroon, Burkina Faso, France
The short film programme was divided into the following nine sections.
Dialogues Between Past, Present and Future[ edit ] English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country The Archive: Queer Nigerians Simisolaoluwa Akande United Kingdom The Lost Art of the Future Theo Cuthand Canada A Radical Duet Onyeka Igwe United Kingdom Speech for a Melting Statue Collectif Faire-Part Belgium, Democratic Republic of Congo Wells of Despair Sata Taas Netherlands
English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country All the Lights Still Burning Dominic Leclerc United Kingdom Essex Girls Yero Timi-Biu Festival of Slaps Abdou Cissé Only Yourself to Blame Noomi Yates The Scottish Play James Soldan The Singer Cora Bissett Smoking Dolphins Sean Lyons
English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Area Boy Iggy London United Kingdom Blood Vathana Suganya Suppiah United Kingdom, Australia Gorka Joe Weiland United Kingdom Making Babies Faire un enfant Éric K. Boulianne Canada Mother of Mine Jesse Lewis Reece United Kingdom Sound & Colour Emma Foley Ireland
Right Here, Right Now[ edit ] English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Boat People Thao Lam , Kjell Boersma Canada Graveyard of Horses Xiao Xuan Jiang China I Am More Dangerous Dead Majiye Uchibeke United States, Nigeria, United Kingdom Waking Up in Silence Mila Zhluktenko, Daniel Asadi Faezi Ukraine, Germany The Walk Michael Jobling United Kingdom Wildmen of the Greater Toronto Area Solmund MacPherson Canada
For the Haunted and Possessed [ edit ] English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Coders Anastasia Sosunova Lithuania Notes from Gog Magog Riar Rizaldi Indonesia Onset Anna Engelhardt, Mark Cinkevich United Kingdom, Poland Platform Ghosts – Turker, Farmer, Bot Aarti Sunder India
English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Doris Edem Dotse Ghana, United States Foreigners Only Nuhash Humayun Bangladesh, United States The Garden of Heart Olivér Hegyi Hungary, Slovakia Predators Jack King United Kingdom Pu Ekaw Tnod Rebecca Culverhouse Strangers Rob Price The Test Olivia Marie Valdez United States Yummy Mummy Gabriela Staniszewska United Kingdom
No Place Called Home [ edit ] English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Hafekasi Annelise Hickey Australia Now and Then Harris Alvi United Kingdom Rizoo Azadeh Navai Iran, United States South Facing Reneque Samuels United Kingdom Torn Jahfar Muataz Denmark, Sweden
The Land is the Living Witness [ edit ] English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Desert Dreaming Abdul Halik Azeez Sri Lanka Khabur Nafis Fathollahzadeh Germany, Iran Levitate Iván Argote Italy, Spain, France Sunflower Siege Engine Sky Hopinka United States A Throwing Forth Xiao Zhang United States, China
Animated Shorts for Young Audiences [ edit ] English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Pond Lena Von Döhren, Eva Rust Switzerland Swing to the Moon Marie Bordessoule, Adriana Bouissie, Nadine De Boer, Elisa Drique, Chloé Lauzu, Vincent Levrero, Solenne Moreau France The Day I Became a Bird Andrew Ruhemann United Kingdom The Swineherd Magnus Igland Møller, Peter Smith Denmark Once upon a Studio Trent Correy, Dan Abraham United States Ahru Leandro Martinez Argentina Hooba Sem Assink Netherlands Upside Down Dace Rīdūze Latvia
LFF for Free: Shorts [ edit ] The following films were screened during the LFF for Free programme.[ 13]
English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Dragon Slayers United Tom Levinge United Kingdom Lionhead Alvin Yu Gently Kevin Morosky Sleepyhead Milly Garnier Nights Laura Jayne Tunbridge Space Plug Marcus Anthony Thomas
London Calling: Brave Faces [ edit ] English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Seekers Josh Feder United Kingdom Independence Karl Jackson The Girls' Room Tracey Lopes My Brudda Ntando Brown Snow Falls In The Summer Ajuán Isaac George
London Calling: Being Seen [ edit ] English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country The Date Amy Hodge United Kingdom Darwin Story Natasha Tonkin Better Zoe Hunter Gordon Wings Billy Boyd Cape The Call Riffy Ahmed
For 2023 the Network@LFF short films were split into three programmes.[ 14]
English Title Director(s) Production Country Programme 1 Up Greg Francis United Kingdom Muna Warda Mohamed United Kingdom, Somalia VHS Solène Guichard United Kingdom The Heritage Andrew Rutter France Programme 2 Oba Femi Oladigbolu United Kingdom High Tide Johnny Massahi The Last Days Dipo Baruwa-Etti The Mobius Trip Simone Smith Seekers Josh Feder Programme 3 Malcolm Caleb J. Roberts United Kingdom, Ireland Doss House Charlotte James United Kingdom Alo Xenia Glen All The Lights Still Burning Dominic Leclerc Salt Water Town Dan Thorburn
English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Dope Fiend Rosanagh Griffiths United Kingdom Battery Ewan Marshall Pyramid of Disunion Ella Glendining, Jessi Gutch MO <3 KYRA 4EVA Debbie Hannan
Ferrari , dir. Michael Mann [ 15]
Source:[ 16]
Source:[ 15]
Best Feature: Gassed Up , dir. George Amponsah Best Documentary: The Taste of Mango , dir. Chloe Abrahams Best British Film or Work: Festival of Slaps , dir. Abdou Cisse Best Immersive/XR: Murals , Lead artists. Alex Topaller, Daniel Shapiro and Artem Ivanenko ^ "Festival Brochure" . BFI London Film Festival . Retrieved 17 September 2023 . ^ Travis, Ben (31 August 2023). "London Film Festival 2023 Full Line-Up Confirmed" . Empire . Retrieved 31 August 2023 . ^ Ntim, Zac (29 August 2023). "London Film Festival Lineup: Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Kitty Green & Christos Nikou To Play In Competition" . Deadline . Retrieved 31 August 2023 . ^ Ntim, Zac (31 August 2023). "BFI London Film Festival Full Lineup: 'The Book Of Clarence' World Premiere; Scorsese, Miyazaki, Lanthimos & Fincher Among Headline Galas" . Deadline . Retrieved 31 August 2023 . ^ "Competition juries announced for 67th BFI London Film Festival" . BFI . 19 September 2023. Retrieved 2023-10-16 . ^ Ritman, Alex (7 August 2023). "Emerald Fennell's 'Saltburn' to Open London Film Festival" . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 31 August 2023 . ^ "World premiere of Kibwe Tavares and Daniel Kaluuya's The Kitchen to close the 67th BFI London Film Festival" . BFI . 17 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023 . ^ "Full programme announced for 67th BFI London Film Festival" . BFI . 31 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023 . ^ "Official Competition" . BFI London Film Festival 2023 . Retrieved 2023-10-16 . ^ "First Feature Competition" . BFI London Film Festival 2023 . Retrieved 2023-10-16 . ^ "Documentary Competition" . BFI London Film Festival 2023 . Retrieved 2023-10-16 . ^ "Short Film Competition" . BFI London Film Festival 2023 . Retrieved 2023-10-16 . ^ "LFF for Free programme announced, with more than 50 free events" . BFI . Retrieved 7 October 2023 . ^ "NETWORK@LFF Shorts Programmes" . BFI . Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023 . ^ a b "67th BFI London Film Festival brings in record audience and announces LFF Audience Award winners" . BFI . Retrieved 2023-11-12 . The Surprise Film was the biopic sports thriller Ferrari, starring Adam Driver and Penelope Cruz, and directed by Michael Mann, who took part in a Q&A following the screening with Festival Director, Kristy Matheson. ^ "Award winners announced at 67th BFI London Film Festival" . BFI . Retrieved 2023-10-16 .