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]
Juries
Main Competition
Documentary Competition
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
Charlotte Regan , British writer and director
Francesca Tomlinson, BFI Film Academy Young Programmer
Rina Yang, cinematographer
Venues
The partner venues for the festival included:[ 8]
London cinemas
Expanded venues
UK-wide cinemas
Official Selection
Galas
The following films were selected for the Galas section, which screens world, European, and British premieres of the most anticipated films.
Special Presentations
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
In Competition
There were five competition sections, each with a different selection of films and different juries.
Official Competition
The following films competed for the Best Film Award.[ 9]
First Feature Competition
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
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
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
Strands
Most of the out-of-competition films have been organised into strands, each based on a different mood or emotion.
Love
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
Debate
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
Laugh
Dare
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
Thrill
Cult
Journey
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
Create
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
Experimenta
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
Family
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
Treasures
Shorts
The short film programme was divided into the following nine sections.
Dialogues Between Past, Present and Future
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
Stories We Tell
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
What Makes Us
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
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
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
The Creeps
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
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
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
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
The following films were screened during the LFF for Free programme.[ 13]
Big Little Lives
Star Imagine UK
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
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
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
Network@LFF Shorts
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
4Love
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
Surprise Film
Ferrari , dir. Michael Mann [ 15]
Awards
Competition
Source:[ 16]
Audience Awards
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
References
^ "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 .