Written by Kianna Best on Sep 1, 2022. Posted in Awards and Festivals

BFI launches their 2022 London Film Festival Programme

Today, Thursday 1 September 2022, BFI launched their London Film Festival (LFF) programme for the upcoming 66th annual event. A slate of premieres and stunning presentations see works from Guillermo del Toro, Rian Johnson and Alejandro Iñárritu. CEO of BFI, Ben Roberts, opened the virtually broadcasted launch along with festival director Tricia Tuttle announcing the festivities that will be returning to London’s Southbank Centre. 

 

 

“The LFF is a cornerstone of our cultural programme and a formidable showcase of the diversity of screen culture,” Roberts stated.

 

The 66th BFI LFF will display 164 feature films, 74 short films, 20 immersive works and 8 new series, with submissions spanning across 60 countries. Tuttle made the announcement of gala headliners, making mention of the diversity of submissions, both in terms of the content that is being shared, as well as those who are creating it. Of the creatives sharing their works, 41% are female and non-binary, with 34% of ethnically diverse backgrounds. 

 

 

“We’re back in cinemas for a large, live scale event, and it really doesn’t get much bigger than our Gala and Special Presentation home, Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall. 

 

With the 58 world premieres that will be showcased at the festival, 24 of them will be feature films. Opening the event will be Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical, directed by Matthew Warchus. The film will star Emma Thompson taking on the fearsome role of Miss Trunchbull and Alisha Weir as Matilda. Rain Johnson’s The Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery will make its European debut for festival audiences. Daniel Craig will be rearing his role as detective Benoit Blanc in the gripping sequel. 

 

Sam Mendes' Empire of Light will also have its European premiere. The “deeply moving love letter to the movies” will star Colin Firth, Michael Ward and Olivia Colman. Mexico will also be bringing note-worthy productions to the stage, from Alejandro Iñárritu’s Bardo, False Chronicles of a Handful of Truths, exploring the disjointedness of global society, and the World premiere of Guillermo de Toro’s Pinocchio, a dark stop motion reworking of the childhood classic that will close out the festival. 

 

The LFF will also see the return of its series programme, will a diverse array of productions, including queer coming of age story High School, based on the memoir of Canadian music artists Tegan and Sara, and marital comedy-drama Mammals scripted by Jerusalem playwright Jez Butterworth, starring James Corden and Sally Hawkins. The English, a modern day Western starring Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer, will make its world premiere at the festival. 

 

 

Tuttle closed the programme launch with passionate words stating: “If there’s something that defines and unifies the works in this year’s LFF, it’s the fearlessness and the ambition of the artists and filmmakers who’ve made the work.”

 

The 66th BFI London Film Festival will occur from 5 to 16 October 2022 with screenings across the UK, and access on BFI Player from 14 to 23 October 2022.