The best films to see at the 2024 London Film Festival: from Blitz to Nightbitch

Twelve days of red carpet thrills, 39 world premieres, 253 films (in a mind-boggling 63 different languages, FYI). Well, the London Film Festival is back in town from October 9th.

In addition to the usual clutch cracking films, there are screen talks with cinematic geniuses such as Andrea Arnold, Steve McQueen, Denis Villeneuve and Daniel Kaluuya, as well as immersive art and free events.

If you’re stuck for choice on what to buy tickets for, here are dozens of delicious films to get you started with Tickets and programs at whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff

Here’s how to spread the local flavor: the opening gala /and/ the world premiere of a London story, made by a Londoner, who is one of the best directors on the planet. Steve McQueen tells the story of a young boy (Elliott Heffernan) who jumps on a train to take him to safety, determined to return to his family in the broken East End. Saoirse Ronan, Stephen Graham, Harris Dickinson, Kathy Burke and, er, Paul Weller provide starry fire-power. I can already hear the sirens clapping. October 9 (7pm); 10 (3.20pm); 11 (2.45pm); 18 (8.50pm)

The closing gala may seem crazy, but that’s how Pharrell Williams wants Morgan Neville to film his life story: in Lego animation. Even if you’re just a little curious about one of the creative renaissance men of the 21st century, it’s all going to be amazing as Jay-Z, Missy Elliott, Daft Punk and Snoop Dogg (with his own voice) join him to tell his story. brick by brick. 20 October (19.15 and 20.40)

Unlike Pretty Woman, to which it is compared, Sean Baker’s Anora has the cinematic edge and emotional edge to win the Palme d’Or at Cannes this year. Young Brooklyn sex worker Ani (Mikey Madison, surely a superstar after this performance) is swept off her feet, and vice versa, by Vanya, the son of a Russian oligarch. In news of a whirlwind marriage, the chaotic ride gets even wilder as Vanya’s disapproving parents enter New York. October 11 (9:10 p.m.); 15 (11.45); 20 (8pm)

I was forced back to tears just watching the trailer for this. The romance that began when Florence Pugh ruined Andrew Garfield’s car career with highs and lows as heartless cruelty plagued their relationship for decades. John Crowley previously made Brooklyn, but you’ll need a bigger box of tissues for this one. October 17 (6pm); 18 (11.30); 20 (9.15pm)

What did Jacques Audiard, the master modern French auteur, do with classics like A Prophet and The Beat That My Heart Skipped? Well, a Spanish-language musical fantasy about a Mexican cartel boss undergoing a gender transition probably wouldn’t be one of your first guesses. Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez lead the Cannes multi-winning ensemble. Really, looking forward to this. October 11 (6pm); 14 (2.40pm); 20 (5.30pm)

Is Amy Adams – really – a dog? There was a confused internet response to the trailer for Nightbitch. Maybe, maybe not … One thing that is certain is that Marielle Heller (Can You Forgive Me?) has created a fairy tale about motherhood, because Adams put her career on hold to take care of her young children – only entering comics and surrealism. the world after the dark of freedom. October 16 (6pm); 17 (12pm); 20 (3pm)

A welcome back to the grand old chronicler of British life, Mike Leigh. Reunited with Secrets & Lies star Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Leigh is as emotional as ever (clue in the title). Jean-Baptiste plays Pansy, whose grief with life has exploded unstoppable criticism all around him (including some hilariously choice lines). With families already on their eggshells, tensions rise during Mother’s Day weekend. Raw, yes, but you know he’ll have a heart of gold. October 14 (6pm); 16 (14.30); 20 (8.30pm)

You’ve heard this before: an old expat becomes infatuated by an elusive young man in exotic climes. However, when Luca Guadagnino seductively directs Daniel Craig as the protagonist of William Burroughs’ semi-autobiographical novel, and the setting is hot, saucy 1940s Mexico City… everything sounds rather irresistible, isn’t it. October 17 (8:45 p.m.); 18 (2.15pm); 19 (2.45pm)

Now that Saltburn-mania is running, we can enjoy Barry Keoghan just as his unnerving brilliant screen presence. Despite the brutal debut of Christopher Andrews (in competition at the festival) Keoghan’s pitting against Poor Things’ Christopher Abbott as the younger generation could not break the blood feud between the rival Irish sheep-livestock family is not for the faint of heart. Pet lovers with sensitive triggers should be warned. October 18 (8:40 p.m.); 20 (6.40pm)

Like Aardman immersed in the grimy, strangely gothic, Oscar-winning Adam Elliot stop-motion story of twins separated during their childhood in 1970s Australia is our choice to win the best film. And it’s got all the kookiness cult cineastes want because Gilbert is sent to live with religious fundamentalists, while Grace shacks up with swingers (who once made love to John Denver and played ping-pong with Fidel Castro). Bonus: Sarah Snook, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Nick Cave are on voice duty. October 10 (8:40 p.m.); 12 (12.30); 18 (8.20pm)

From far beyond the shores of Western filmmaking comes our choice to take the best debut prize: Sandhya Suri’s gnarly, intellectually thrilling north-Indian police procedural with a fierce feminist edge. After the death of her cop husband, housewife Santosh (Shahana Goswami) is reluctant to inherit her job under a local scheme, so she is plunged into the horrors of the caste system and misogyny after a teenage girl is murdered. October 13 (2:50 p.m.); 18 (5.10pm)

Okay, so it’s not a movie, but we couldn’t resist a sneak peek (not on Disney+ until 2025) of the first two episodes of the new drama from Peaky Blinders creator Steve Knight. Two best friends (Malachi Kirby and Francis Lovehall) arrive in 1880s London from Jamaica and encounter the twin dangers of a notorious veteran boxer (Stephen Graham) and the leader (Erin Doherty) of an all-female gang. Things can only get wilder… October 11 (6pm)

Biopic serial nonconformist Pablo Larraín (Jackie, Spencer, Neruda) looks behind the opera mask of Maria Callas in the reimagining of the legend’s last days in 1970s Paris. Angelina Jolie (not dead enough for Callas) fleshes out the soul of the sick singer when she wanders the French capital, tallying her life for adoring journalists. October 18 (6pm); 19 (11.15); 20 (12.30pm)