BFI London Film Festival - when do tickets go on sale and what's on?

Film junkies will be sure to have the upcoming BFI London Film Festival marked in their calendars but a lot of people may be wondering what’s actually shown at the festival and how to get tickets. From would-be critics to casual cinema goers, there’s a showing for everyone at the Southwark-based festival of film.

The BFI Film Festival is one of the leading European film festivals, alongside Cannes, Venice International Film Festival and the Berlinale. Held at the BFI Southbank, the festival sees an array of actors walk their red carpet each year.

This year’s festival will be held from October 9 to 20 and will see a program of premieres, special presentations, talks and galas. Of course, there will also be a series of awards handed out to both films and documentaries.

READ MORE: See David Tennant in Macbeth during limited London run - here's how to get tickets

And while there will be lots of showings of more ‘high-brow’ films, there will still be something for the more casual film-watcher to enjoy. The full programme has now been released, with tickets already on sale for BFI Film Festival events.

How to book tickets?

Tickets can be booked from the BFI Film Festival website. BFI has a series of thematic strands to help their viewers pick what to watch. They can also be purchased by calling the BFI or by going to the BFI Southbank in person. For under 25s, there will also be the opportunity to purchase £5 tickets for the film festival's events.

The BFI has created a series of thematic collections, called strands, to help viewers find films to watch. This year the strands are called love, debate, laugh, dare, thrill, cult, journey, creates, experimenta, shorts, expanded, family and treasures. Tickets for the BFI premieres and other events can also be booked on their website.

What’s on at the BFI Film Festival?

There’s a whole series of films on each day at the BFI Film Festival, from October 9 to October 20. There will be films with famous faces such as Blitz, featuring Saoirse Ronan, and JOY starring Thomasin McKenzie, James Norton and Bill Nighy.

There’s also a series of talks planned with actors and actresses such as Lupita Nyong’o, Zoe Saldaña and Daniel Kaluuya set to address viewers. There will even be DJ nights, with live music at the BFI Bar at Southbank.

The festival will also be a time for recognising some of the best in films, with 11 films in official competition. There will also be awards for the most ‘original and imaginative’ directorial debut, documentary and short film.

Got a story? Please get in touch at katherine.gray@reachplc.com

Stay up to date with London's most exciting events, newest restaurants and latest deals with our What's On newsletter, Going Out Out. You can sign up HERE .