OUR MOST ANTICIPATED FILMS OF THIS YEAR’S LONDON FILM FESTIVAL
words NATALIE GAL
all images courtesy of BFI
Dear Reader, we’ve gathered a selection of films, our absolute favourite discoveries that will soon light up London’s screens. This year feels like a wave of truly remarkable cinema. There is less emphasis on over-the-top spectacle and eye-catching theatrics, and more on storytelling and the raw complexity of characters. It feels as though we are entering a new era of filmmaking, one that resembles the honesty of cinema’s golden past.
THE LADY (2025)
Directed and written by Samuel Abrahams, The Lady tells the story of Lady Isabella (Sian Clifford), a grand heiress and aristocrat who longs for the limelight. She joins a local talent group and hires a struggling director (Laurie Kynaston), eager for work. Believing he is there to document the life of a great aristocrat, he soon discovers that reality is far more mysteriou, filled with questions that demand answers and secrets we’re desperate to uncover.
Sian Clifford, who proved outstanding in Fleabag, brings her unique rhythm and ability to find harmony with her co-stars. We’re especially excited to see her share the screen with Juliet Cowan, Laurie Kynaston, and Olisa Odele.
NOUVELLE VAGUE (2025)
I have a confession: I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited for a film. Nouvelle Vague follows the legendary director Jean-Luc Godard (Guillaume Marbeck), alongside Jean Seberg (Zoey Deutch) and Jean-Paul Belmondo (Aubry Dullin), during the making of Breathless, a film that needs no introduction.
Set in the mid-1950s leading into the revolutionary 1960s, cinema was undergoing a seismic shift. Films became bolder, sexier, more conceptual, and existential. The auteur theory was born, directors gained control and freedom — and they used it. Breathless was only the beginning, followed by Vivre sa vie (1962), Contempt (1963), and Masculin Féminin (1966). Godard was the visionary behind it all.
Now, in this film, he’s no longer behind the camera but still shapes the story. Alongside him, we’ll encounter icons of the time like Agnès Varda, Jean Cocteau, and Éric Rohmer. We couldn’t be more thrilled.
THE FENCE / LE CRI DES GARDES (2025)
This film unfolds like a stage play brought to the screen. Set in Africa, Orn (Matt Dillon) lives in a hut with his colleague Cal (Tom Blyth). After a tragic accident claims the life of a worker, a man arrives to collect his brother’s body.
Directed by Claire Denis, and based on Black Battles with Dogs by Bernard-Marie Koltès, the film is a masterclass in tension and mystery. Its theatrical roots are evident, it is precise, sharp, and charged with lingering emotions that feel as if they belong in the theatre hall.
THE HOUSE WAS THERE BEFORE ME (2025)
Directed by Elian Mikkola, this experimental horror-documentary explores the life of a queer couple during the pandemic. It captures the strange in-between state we all experienced, blurred lines between reality and dream, inside and outside, isolation and connection.
The film uses nostalgic home-video aesthetics, reminiscent of childhood camcorder footage, to weave a haunting and intimate narrative. A bold, innovative concept we can’t wait to see on the big screen.
ROOFMAN (2025)
This is the last story you’d expect to be true — but it is. Roofman follows Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum), who escapes prison and hides out in a Toys “R” Us for six months, waiting for the law to lose its grip on him. But love complicates his plan when he falls for Leigh (Kirsten Dunst), a local divorced mother.
Equal parts suspenseful and heartfelt, the film is funny yet gripping, pulling us to the edge of our seats. Despite the unbelievable circumstances, the characters feel so human, we understand them, we root for them, and we can’t look away.
