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
First Feature Competition (Sutherland Award
)
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 [fr] |
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 |
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
