The 68th BFI London Film Festival Brings In The Highest In Person Attendance In Ten Years
Share the Force:
Carl Roberts 
12 days of screenings, more than 815 international filmmakers in attendance see the 68th BFI London Film Festival record its highest attendance in a decade.
The 68th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express closed on Sunday 20th October with the European Premiere of Academy Award® winning documentarian Morgan Neville’s PIECE BY PIECE. A vibrant journey through the life of cultural icon Pharrell Williams. All told through the lens of LEGO® animation. In addition to Morgan Neville and Pharrell Williams, the event was attended by an exciting array of special guests from the worlds of music, fashion and sport. The Closing Night Gala took place at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall which returned as the Festival’s Headline Gala and Special Presentation venue for a fourth time since its inaugural year in 2021.
THE DETAILS
The festival attracted its highest attendance in ten years with its fantastic mix of genres, films, and special guests with:
12 days of screenings in London and UK-wide with features, series, shorts, immersive art and extended reality works via LFF Expanded, LFF for Free events, and the LFF Industry Forum reached audiences of230,342, up from 2023’s 194,960, an increase of 18%.
Occupancy across both free and paid-for in-person screenings and events at London venues increased to92%, with 49% of these tickets being booked by first-time LFF attendees
More than 815 international and UK filmmakers, XR artists and series creatives presented their work in person at the Festival
The industry forum welcomed over 3,000 delegates
Over 800 media were accredited to the LFF and attended P&I screenings of 159 films. Filmmakers and talent engaged in 46 red carpets packed with photographers and crews, the festival’s signature Filmmaker Afternoon Teas gave a range of media access to over 50 filmmakers and talent, plus 7 emerging writers from underrepresented backgrounds took part in the LFF’s 7thCritics Mentorship Programme.
KRISTY MATHESON
BFI London Film Festival Director Kristy Matheson said:
“Our biggest thanks go to the artists and industry colleagues from the UK and across the globe who fueled our collective curiosity this year. It was a delight to see audiences engage with each other and this programme – proving once again the joy and comfort we all find in screen culture.”
WE LIVE IN TIME GALA
The Mayor of London’s Gala of WE LIVE IN TIME took place on 17th October at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall. And was attended by the film’s director John Crowley and lead Andrew Garfield. As well as Mayor Sadiq Khan who introduced the film and commented on the importance of the festival to our city. And the power of cinema in bringing audiences together.
THE LFF AUDIENCE AWARDS
Placing audiences at the heart of the Festival, the winners of this year’s LFF Audience Awards. As chosen by members of the public who saw the films during the Festival (including at UK-wide venues) are also announced today. Darren Thornton’s funny and heartwarming comedy-drama FOUR MOTHERS, about one Irish son juggling four very different mothers, takes the Audience Award for Best Feature.
Sophie Compton and Daisy-May Hudson’s HOLLOWAY, which follows six women who were formerly incarcerated at what was once the largest women’s prison in Europe is the winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary. And Jamie Benyon’s TWO MINUTES wins the Audience Award for Best Short Film. For a tale about two brothers, who are interrupted while they are robbing an Off Licence by their grandmother.
CULTURAL HUBS
Audiences flocked to the Festival’s vibrant and bustling cultural hubs. The South Bank where the Headline Gala venue Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall sits alongside BFI Southbank and BFI IMAX. And London’s West End, where partner venues Vue West End, the Prince Charles Cinema, Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), Curzon Soho and Curzon Mayfair showed an array of titles from across the programme.
The Festival also hosted this year’s Archive Special Presentation at Alexandra Palace. Which hosted the World Premiere of SILENT SHERLOCK: THREE CLASSIC CASES, the inaugural programme from the BFI National Archive’s major new project. Funded by Iron Mountain’s Living Legacy Initiative, to fully restore Stoll’s epic Sherlock Holmes film series.
13 features screened at nine UK-wide partner cinemas with additional screenings of THE WILD ROBOT. And ENDURANCE also playing in cities across the UK’s nations and regions. Ten short film nominees were available digitally on BFI Player. And an Industry Forum took place at Picturehouse Central, a busy hub for industry delegates.
815 INTERNATIONAL AND UK FILMMAKERS
The 68th edition welcomed more than 815 international and UK filmmakers. Immersive art and extended reality artists and series creatives to present their work at venues across the capital. The festival kicked off with a press conference for the world premiere of Opening Night Film BLITZ. Led by Steve McQueen with Saoirse Ronan, Elliott Heffernan, Stephen Graham and Benjamin Clementine.
The festival’s highly anticipated series of Screen Talks included acclaimed filmmakers Andrea Arnold. Steve McQueen. Sean Baker. Mike Leigh. Denis Villeneuve. Elizabeth ChaiVasarhelyi. Remarkable acting talents Lupita Nyong’o and Zoe Saldaña as well as the versatile DanielKaluuya discussing his career in front of and behind the camera.
FURTHER GUESTS
Further guests included Ali Abbasi. Alfonso Cuarón. Amy Adams. Andrew Garfield. Angelina Jolie. Ariane Labed. Armando Iannucii. Ashley Park. Ashley Walters. Athina Rachel Tsangari. Austin Peters. Ben Taylor. Benedict Cumberbatch. Bill Nighy. Brett Goldstein. Cate Blanchett. Christopher Andrews. Chris Sanders. Charlie McDowell. Daniel Brühl. Daniel Oriahi. Darren Thornton. David Furnish. Drew Starkey. Edward Berger. Elton John. Emiliana Torrini. Erin Doherty. Fionnula Flannagan. Fiona Shaw. Fernanda Torres. Gary Oldman. Himesh Patel. Harris Dickinson. Hannah Walters.
Himesh Patel. Imogen Heap. Imogen Poots. Ian Bonhôte. Isabella Rossellini. Jia Zhangke. Janicza Bravo. Jane Mingay. Jane Pollard. Jennifer Grey. Jeremy Strong. Jesse Eisenberg. Jacques Audiard. Jonathan Groff. Julianne Moore. Kani Kusruti. Karla SofÃa Gascón. Karan Kandhari. Karan Soni. Katherine Waterson. Kevin Kline. Kevin Macdonald. Laila Abbas. Lily Collins. Lolly Adefope. Lorcan Finnegan. Luca Guadagnino. Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich. Malachi Kirby. Malcolm Washington. Marcelo Cateano. Marianne Jean-Baptiste. Marielle Heller. Mati Diop. Mikey Madison. Natalie Bailey. Noémie Merlant. Nykiya Adams. Pablo LarraÃn. Pauline Black.
Pedro Almodóvar. Pedro Pascal. Peter Ettedgui. R.J. Cutler. Radhika Apte. RaMell Ross. Raoul Peck. Rebecca Hall. Reema Kagti. Richard Curtis. Roshan Sethi. Ralph Fiennes. Sadie Frost. Sacha Baron Cohen. Sam Mendes. Sandhya Suri. Sebastian Stan. Selena Gomez. Selton Mello. Shiori Ito. Simon Otto. Stanley Tucci. Steven Knight. Susan Chardy. Thomasin McKenzie. Twiggy. Uzomaka Aniunoh. William Bridges. Yoel Morales. Zoya Akhtar, and the family of Christopher Reeve.
252 TITLES
The Festival featured an exciting range of 252 titles (comprising features, shorts, series and immersive works) hailing from 79 countries, and featured 63 languages with 44% of works from female and non-binary filmmakers. All features and series screened to UK audiences for the first time, including 38 World Premieres (14 features, 2 series, 19 shorts, 3 immersive), 12 International Premieres (6 features, 4 shorts, 2 immersive) and 21 European Premieres (17 features, 1 series, 3 shorts)
ATTENDANCE
Across the programme, including events for industry delegates and the immensely popular LFF for Free programme, the Festival had 230,342, attendances, the highest in-person attendance in the last ten years. Around half of this year’s bookers for London screenings and events (49%) were new to the LFF and occupancy across the Festival’s London screenings and events has increased to 92%, up from 90% in 2023.
BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS
The winners of this year’s BFI London Film Festival Awards were announced at the festival’s close on 20th October. They were chosen by juries, presided over by Alexandre O. Philippe,(Official Competition), Dionne Edwards(First Feature Competition), June Givanni, (Documentary Competition) and Chloe Abrahams(Short Film Competition). The winners of the competitive awards were:
Winner of the Best Film Award in Official Competition – MEMOIR OF A SNAIL (Dir. Adam Elliot)
Winner of the Sutherland Award in the First Feature Competition – ON FALLING (Dir. Laura Carreira)
Winner of the Grierson Award in the Documentary Competition – MOTHER VERA (Dirs. Cécile Embleton, Alys Tomlinson)
Winner of the Short Film Award in the Short Film Competition – VIBRATIONS FROM GAZA (Dir. Rehab Nazzal)
LFF EXPANDED
LFF Expanded, the immersive and extended reality strand of the BFI London Film Festival, returned for 2024 with a three-week showcase of 12 groundbreaking projects from UK and international artists, filmmakers and creative teams. With four major installations, plus a free programme of XR and gaming works, the programme, presented across multiple London venues, including BFI IMAX, BFI Southbank, Outernet London and the Southbank Centre’s Undercroft, platformed artists working at the cutting-edge of screen technology, incorporating augmented and virtual reality, screen-based installations and immersive sound.
Our LFF Expanded programmes showcased the very best in thought-provoking experiences, with artworks that reimagined the future of health, explored the merging relationship between games and cinema, and invited audiences to gain insight into real-life experiences of ADHD, breast cancer and aphasia. Highlights included IMPULSE: PLAYING WITH REALITY, an award-winning mixed-reality work from Anagram, narrated by Tilda Swinton, that explores what it’s like to live with ADHD. THE GREAT ENDEAVOUR, an awe-inspiring cinematic experience from acclaimed artist Liam Young that envisions a future where we work together to transform the planet through carbon capture.
ARCADE, an installation from Darkfield-offering audiences an interactive narrative that explores the evolving relationship between players and avatars and SUPERRADIANCE: EMBODYING EARTH, a multiscreen video and sound installation from Memo Atken and Katie Peyton, presented at BFI IMAX, that combines AI with dance. This year also marked the first time video games have been showcased at the BFI London Film Festival, with an interactive Games Lounge, featuring five fun and creative projects for audiences to play for free.
LFF FOR FREE
Returning this year, LFF for Free offered audiences a diverse programme of more than 60 events for audiences to attend completely free of charge. Including family events, talks, video games, augmented reality experiences and A Beginners Guide To, a series of lunchtime talks exploring the careers of directors with works in the 2024 Festival. Highlights included an event and accompanying exhibition celebrating 30 years of DreamWorks Animation; an exploration of machinima with the team behind Grand Theft Hamlet, DJ nights inspired by films showing at LFF, including Twiggy, Piece by Piece and Pauline Black: A 2-Tone Story, plus fun and creative activities for children inspired by new films Savages, Blink and That Christmas.
Introducing Carl! As the News Editor at Future of the Force, Carl has been an invaluable member of our team since early 2016. His expertise and dedication have made him an integral part of our editorial staff. Beyond his professional role, Carl is a fervent supporter of Liverpool F.C. and an avid follower of pop culture. He has a deep passion for Halloween, Friday the 13th, and the iconic movie franchises Star Wars and Star Trek.
He can be found either at his neighborhood cinema, enjoying the latest releases on the big screen, or at home streaming the newest blockbuster movies.
