The full programme for this year's BFI London Film Festival (LFF) is here, promising plenty of exciting new movies to look forward to.
The 2025 edition takes place between 8 and 19 October in London and UK venues, with a stacked line-up of films confirmed today.
Tickets for the festival are being released to the public on 16 September, while BFI members get priority booking on 9 September and Patrons can try and get their hands on some a day earlier on 8 September.
However, if it all seems a bit overwhelming in terms of what to pick, there are a load of exciting new movies on the way involving British talent that are worth getting tickets to see.
Here, Digital Spy has rounded-up a list of 11 British highlights to look forward to.
& Sons
Bill Nighy stars in this "taut family drama" from director Pablo Trapero, which focuses on a reclusive novelist who summons his two sons and shares important information that has a huge ripple effect.
What to Read Next
& Sons is based on the novel of the same name by David Gilbert, and features a packed cast including George MacKay, Noah Jupe, Imelda Staunton, Johnny Flynn and Dominic West, while Women Talking's Sarah Polley has written the screenplay.
Anemone
This new family drama excitingly marks the return of Daniel Day-Lewis to the big screen eight years after his last performance in Phantom Thread – and the actor has co-written it with his son Ronan to boot.
Also starring Sean Bean and Samantha Morton, Anemone examines "bonds between fathers, sons and brothers" as two estranged siblings reunite at a remote cabin and confront their difficult upbringing and trauma.
Bad Apples
A year after her last film Blitz premiered at 2024's LFF, Saoirse Ronan is back with this "provocative" and "unsettling" movie about a teacher struggling with a disruptive student, as she is forced to take matters into her own hands amid her superiors' lack of support.
Bad Apples comes from director Jonatan Etzler and writer Jess O’Kane, and also features performances by Jacob Anderson, Rakie Ayola and Eddie Waller.
The Choral
Written by legendary playwright Alan Bennett, The Choral is set in a Yorkshire village during World War I as local men head off to fight, leaving the choral society depleted. As such, they enlist unlikely teenagers to take part.
Starring Ralph Fiennes, Roger Allam, Mark Addy, Alun Armstrong and Simon Russell Beale, the movie is described as a celebration of "the power of community in the darkest of days", and looks set to be an emotional affair.
Giant
This sports biopic tells the story of boxer Prince Naseem 'Naz’ Hamed (Amir El-Masry), who came from humble beginnings in Sheffield – where he endured racism and Islamophobia – before meeting trainer Brendan Ingle (played by a transformed Pierce Brosnan).
This "thrilling" real-life story documents their close, "unlikely partnership", and comes from writer and director Rowan Athale, with further performances by Katherine Dow Blyton, Olivia Barrowclough and Austin Haynes.
Good Boy
Good Boy is described as a "dark, gripping and twisted thriller" and packs an impressive cast including Stephen Graham, Andrea Riseborough and Anson Boon.
The movie focuses on a 19-year-old unruly criminal called Tommy who is kidnapped and forced to live in a family dynamic, where he must "change his behaviour to become a ‘good boy’" – and promises to be "unsettling" and full of "unbearable suspense".
H Is for Hawk
Claire Foy headlines in this drama about an academic who is grieving for her father, which sends her spiraling. She processes her loss by training a Northern goshawk, with Brendan Gleeson, Denise Gough, Lindsay Duncan and Sam Spruell also starring.
Deadline called H Is for Hawk "the stuff of life" and a movie that "doesn’t pander for tears, but genuinely earns them" in their review.
Hamnet
Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley's new Shakespeare movie has drawn huge acclaim since its recent premiere at the Telluride Film Festival, sitting at a perfect 100% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes. Variety calls it "so emotionally raw as to be almost excruciating".
Based on Maggie O'Farrell's book of the same name, Hamnet tells a fictional tale of the Bard and wife Agnes as the loss of their son inspires the writing of Hamlet, and comes from director Chloé Zhao.
Pillion
Another perfect-scoring movie, Pillion is described as a "charming, sexy and tender" movie about a shy young man called Colin who begins a submissive-dominant relationship with a handsome biker called Ray, and learns about his own boundaries while navigating his sub role.
Starring Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgård as the central duo, the movie was called "a raucous tale of physical and emotional exploration" by Mashable.
Rose of Nevada
This time travelling sci-fi focuses on a ship that mysteriously turns up in a Cornish harbour after disappearing 30 years prior. However, when two men enlist on its crew, they are transported back to the ship's original era.
Starring George MacKay and Callum Turner, Rose of Nevada has a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes, with Little White Lies labelling it "an experience as moving as it is unnerving".
Wasteman
The "intense and claustrophobic" Wasteman focuses on a prison inmate called Taylor whose chances of parole are threatened by a violent new cellmate, Dee, who drags him into violent rivalries with other prisoners.
This "uncompromisingly brutal" thriller stars David Jonsson and Tom Blyth, and comes from director Cal McMau.
The BFI London Film Festival takes place between 8-19 October.
Digital Spy's new print issue is here! Buy Oasis - Live in '25 in newsagents or online, now priced at just £8.99.
Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.
