The 70th BFI London Film Festival runs until Sunday 18 October, so there are five days left from today. The programme has 251 features, shorts, series and immersive works from 88 countries, and 33 of them are world premieres. Most of the final week has now sold out. However, four of the films below still had tickets when I went back through the listings on 13 October, and on the weekdays most of the seats left start before 5pm.
For the final five days, the Royal Festival Hall still had Gala seats for A Long Winter, Possible Love and Prima Facie, and Vue West End still had seats for Being Heumann. The other six on this list have sold out. So if you are set on one of those, the BFI releases extra tickets every morning and runs standby queues before each film.
I checked every screening time, ticket price and sold-out flag on the BFI's own festival pages on 13 October 2026. Tickets come and go during the festival, so check the film's page before you set off.
At a glanceBFI London Film Festival: ten films for the final five days
A Long Winter, Andrew Haigh
For anyone who saw All of Us Strangers or 45 Years and wants the next one first.
Andrew Haigh adapts a Colm Tรณibรญn short story here. Fred Hechinger plays Mike, who goes back to his family home in the Colorado mountains. Then his mother disappears in the first snowstorm of the season, and he is left to work things out with his father. The cast also includes Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Caitrรญona Balfe and Kit Connor. It runs 117 minutes.
It is my pick because it is the only Gala in the final five days with two screenings that both still had tickets: Wednesday 14 October at 20:45 and Thursday 15 October at 12:15, both at the Royal Festival Hall. The Wednesday one was down to its last few tickets on 13 October, and the two Saturday screenings at Curzon Soho are sold out.
Wed 14 Oct 20:45 and Thu 15 Oct 12:15, Royal Festival Hall
Section 01 / Galas
The Galas, and which still have seats
Every Gala plays the Royal Festival Hall, and the daytime repeats are where the last seats went.
The Royal Festival Hall is the festival's biggest room, so it is also where the most Gala tickets are. Gala premieres cost ยฃ21 to ยฃ30. In contrast, a repeat Gala screening on a weekday before 5pm costs ยฃ16, and a weekend one before midday costs ยฃ18.
Fatherland, Paweล Pawlikowski
For fans of Ida and Cold War, and of Sandra Hรผller.
Sandra Hรผller plays Erika Mann, who travels with her father, the novelist Thomas Mann, on a book tour through West and East Germany in 1949. At 82 minutes, it is the shortest film on this list. The Wednesday evening screening and the Sunday afternoon one at BFI Southbank were both sold out when I checked. The Thursday matinee still had tickets on 5 October, but by 13 October it had sold out too, so this one is standby only now.
Thu 15 Oct 15:30, Royal Festival Hall. Sold out
Possible Love, Lee Chang-dong
For anyone who has waited since Burning.
This is Lee Chang-dong's first feature since Burning, which played the festival in 2018. A filmmaker meets the family of a man who lost his job, and asks them to be in her documentary about redundant workers. Gradually, the class gap between the two couples starts to show. It is in Korean with English subtitles and runs 164 minutes, so it needs a free afternoon.
Netflix brought it to the festival. That makes a Netflix release likely later, so this is a chance to see it on the Royal Festival Hall screen instead. The Sunday screening at Vue West End was sold out.
Wed 14 Oct 14:15, Royal Festival Hall
Behemoth!, Tony Gilroy
For Michael Clayton and Andor fans.
Tony Gilroy wrote and directed this one. Pedro Pascal plays Alex, a cello prodigy who leaves for Los Angeles and takes work as a session player on film scores. Olivia Wilde and Will Arnett are also in it, and it runs 127 minutes. It was this year's BFI Patrons' Gala. The Friday screening at Vue West End sold out first, and by 13 October the Wednesday 11am repeat had gone as well, so it is standby only.
Wed 14 Oct 11:00, Royal Festival Hall. Sold out
Klara and the Sun, Taika Waititi
For anyone who read the novel, and for older children.
Taika Waititi adapts Kazuo Ishiguro's novel, with Jenna Ortega as Klara, an artificial friend chosen by a sick girl called Josie. Amy Adams plays Josie's mother, and Steve Buscemi and Natasha Lyonne are also in the cast. It is rated 12A and runs 116 minutes. The Thursday evening and Saturday screenings sold out first, and by 13 October the Friday afternoon one had gone too, so it is standby only.
Fri 16 Oct 14:45, Royal Festival Hall. Sold out
Prima Facie, Susanna White
For anyone who saw Jodie Comer in the play, or wished they had.
Suzie Miller adapts her own play for the screen, and Cynthia Erivo plays Tessa, a barrister who defends men accused of sexual assault. Then she becomes the complainant in a case herself. Noma Dumezweni and Toheeb Jimoh are also in it. On Saturday 17 October, it was one of only four London festival screenings that still had tickets when I checked on 13 October.
Sat 17 Oct 11:00, Royal Festival Hall
Being Heumann, Siรขn Heder
For anyone who liked CODA or the documentary Crip Camp.
The British actor Ruth Madeley plays Judith Heumann, the American disability rights campaigner. The film builds to the 28-day occupation of the federal building in San Francisco in 1977. Mark Ruffalo, Dylan O'Brien and Rob Delaney are also in it, and it runs 127 minutes. This is its only screening in the final five days, at Vue West End rather than the Royal Festival Hall.
Fri 16 Oct 14:50, Vue West End
On 13 October, 10 of the 18 weekday screenings that still had tickets started before 5pm.From the BFI's ticket availability page for 14 to 16 October
Section 02 / Beyond the Galas
A documentary, a premiere and a late show
Three films at the smaller cinemas. All three had tickets on 5 October and had sold out by 13 October, so these are standby picks now.
14th, Ava DuVernay
For anyone who watched 13th.
Ten years after 13th, Ava DuVernay turns to the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution. The amendment was adopted three years after the American Civil War and gave citizenship and equal civil rights to all. The film also covers how the current US administration has tried to undo those rights. It runs 108 minutes, and the BFI's content advice includes scenes of graphic violence and racism.
It is the documentary Special Presentation, and both of its remaining screenings had sold out by 13 October. Netflix brought it to the festival, so if you are short of time, it is the one on this list to leave for streaming.
Fri 16 Oct 13:25, BFI Southbank and Sun 18 Oct 20:30, Vue West End. Sold out
In the Shadows, Anthony Wonke
For boxing fans, and for anyone from east London.
This is a world premiere at the festival. Jasmine Jobson plays Ramla Ali, who took up boxing as a teenager in east London and went on to box internationally. Ursula Rani Sarma wrote the screenplay, and Anthony Wonke directs, after years making documentaries. It is in English and Somali, with some subtitles, and runs 117 minutes. Its one screening in the final five days had sold out by 13 October.
Fri 16 Oct 14:45, Curzon Soho. Sold out
The Fox, Dario Russo
For anyone who wants a laugh on the final evening.
In this Australian black comedy, Olivia Colman voices a talking fox. The fox talks a hunter into changing his cheating wife into his idea of an ideal spouse. Emily Browning and Jai Courtney play the couple, and Sam Neill also voices a part. It sits in the festival's Laugh strand, runs 90 minutes and carries the festival's own 18 rating. The Sunday screening had sold out by 13 October.
Sun 18 Oct 21:00, Vue West End. Sold out
One more for Sunday afternoon: Masc, Bertil Nilsson's debut, is in the First Feature Competition. It follows Robin, a young, queer, autistic man moving between temporary jobs in search of a place to belong. It runs 83 minutes, and its 15:30 screening on Sunday 18 October at Vue West End had sold out by 13 October.
Still bookable on 13 October. If you just want a seat, these other festival screenings still had tickets: Az Zeeb, The Slightest Touch and The Banning Curse on Thursday 15 October at 16:00, Act 3 at BFI Southbank on Thursday at 17:00, Dao at the ICA on Friday 16 October at 14:50, and A Place to Heal at Vue West End on Friday at 17:45. The BFI keeps a ticket availability page that refreshes every 30 minutes, so check it before you set off.
Section 03 / Sold out
The big titles that are already sold out
Every screening of these in the final five days was sold out when I last checked.
Artificial. Luca Guadagnino's film about OpenAI and Sam Altman, with Andrew Garfield as Altman, sold out at Vue West End on Thursday and at the Royal Festival Hall on Friday morning. It came to the festival courtesy of NEON, the American distributor.
The Debut. Jesse Eisenberg's Closing Night Gala, with Julianne Moore, plays three times on Sunday 18 October and all three were sold out. Only a fundraising Closing Night ticket was still on sale.
Elsinore. Simon Stone's Opening Night Gala stars Andrew Scott as Ian Charleson, who took over the National Theatre's Hamlet after Daniel Day-Lewis left the production while he was himself dying of AIDS. Olivia Colman plays his doctor, and Billie Piper, Johnny Flynn and Juliet Stevenson are also in it. Its last festival screening, at BFI Southbank on Friday 16 October at 12:30, was sold out. If you miss it, STUDIOCANAL releases it in UK cinemas on 29 January 2027.
Tender Loving Care. Mike Leigh's new film had four screenings between Thursday and Sunday, and all four were sold out.
Misty Green. Chris Rock's comedy, with Rosalind Eleazar, Adam Driver and Daniel Kaluuya, has one screening left, at BFI Southbank on Sunday evening. It was sold out too.
Even so, a sold-out screening is not always a lost cause. The BFI releases extra tickets on the festival homepage after 10am each day. For screenings at BFI Southbank and the Royal Festival Hall, join the standby queue at BFI Southbank 30 minutes before the film, because spare tickets go on sale 15 minutes before it starts. At the other London cinemas, the BFI suggests joining the queue 15 minutes before start time.
Section 04 / Practical
BFI London Film Festival tickets, prices and venues
What a ticket costs, what you can and cannot change, and where the films are showing.
Ticket prices
Standard tickets start at ยฃ10. At BFI Southbank, BFI IMAX, Curzon Soho, the ICA, the Prince Charles Cinema and Vue West End, a weekday screening before 5pm costs ยฃ13. Meanwhile, weekend mornings and every evening cost ยฃ18. Galas cost ยฃ21 to ยฃ30, and the Closing Night Gala costs ยฃ40. Non-members also pay a booking fee of ยฃ1 per ticket online or by phone, up to ยฃ3 per order. However, there is no fee at the BFI Southbank box office.
If you are 16 to 25, a free BFI 25 and Under account gets you ยฃ6 tickets with no booking fee, subject to availability. Concessions for over-60s, students, disabled visitors and anyone on Universal Credit or pension credit cost ยฃ10 on weekdays before 5pm. Note that there are no concessions at the Royal Festival Hall.
No refunds and no exchanges
The BFI does not exchange or refund festival tickets for anyone, for any reason. So only book a screening you are sure you can make. The BFI's terms also say a ticket cannot be resold for more than 20% above its face value.
The venues
The Galas are at the Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall. Most other screenings are at BFI Southbank on Belvedere Road, SE1, next door, and at BFI IMAX by Waterloo. In the West End, the festival also uses Curzon Soho, the Prince Charles Cinema off Leicester Square, Vue West End and the ICA on the Mall. If you have not been to the IMAX, my The Odyssey IMAX 70mm review covers what that screen is like.
Outside London, ten partner venues around the UK are showing a selection of festival films, including Fatherland and Possible Love. Each venue sells its own tickets. Meanwhile, BFI Player has a London Film Festival collection of films from earlier editions to watch at home.
The same week: Frieze London
Frieze London and Frieze Masters run in The Regent's Park on the same days, 15 to 18 October for the public. So if you are in London for both, my Frieze London guide has the tickets by day and the free art nearby.
Section 05 / After the festival
What to book now, and what to wait for
Six of the ten films in this guide came to the festival through MUBI, Sony Pictures Releasing UK or Netflix, so they should come back.
MUBI brought A Long Winter, Fatherland and Paul Thomas Anderson's Cameron Winter at Carnegie Hall to the festival. Similarly, Sony Pictures Releasing UK is behind Klara and the Sun and Prima Facie. Netflix brought Possible Love and 14th.
For that reason, I would book the Galas that you want to see on the big screen first, and leave 14th for Netflix if you are short of time. Smaller films such as Masc are harder to predict, so the festival is the safer chance to see those.
If you would rather keep watching the arthouse titles at home, my MUBI UK guide sets out the four UK prices, including MUBI GO and its weekly cinema ticket. It also has a referral link for a free first month.
And if you are shopping for someone who spent the fortnight at BFI Southbank, my gifts for movie buffs collection is a good place to start.
FAQs about the BFI London Film Festival
When does the BFI London Film Festival 2026 end?
The 70th edition runs from Wednesday 7 to Sunday 18 October 2026. The Closing Night Gala, Jesse Eisenberg's The Debut, plays on Sunday 18 October at the Royal Festival Hall.
How much are BFI London Film Festival tickets?
When I checked on 13 October 2026, standard tickets started at ยฃ10 and weekday matinees at London cinemas cost ยฃ13. Evening and weekend screenings cost ยฃ18, Galas cost ยฃ21 to ยฃ30, and the Opening and Closing Night Galas cost ยฃ40. Anyone aged 16 to 25 can get ยฃ6 tickets through a free BFI 25 and Under account.
Can I get tickets for a sold-out screening?
Sometimes. The BFI releases extra tickets online after 10am each day of the festival. You can also join the standby queue at BFI Southbank 30 minutes before the film, because the BFI releases spare tickets 15 minutes before it starts.
Can I get a refund on a festival ticket?
No. The BFI does not offer exchanges or refunds on festival tickets, for any customer.
Can I watch BFI London Film Festival films at home?
Not the new features while the festival is on. However, BFI Player has a collection of films from earlier editions, and six of the ten films in this guide came through MUBI, Sony Pictures Releasing UK or Netflix, so they should reach cinemas or streaming later.
Where is the BFI London Film Festival held?
Mostly on the South Bank, at the Royal Festival Hall, BFI Southbank and BFI IMAX. It also uses Curzon Soho, the Prince Charles Cinema, Vue West End and the ICA, plus ten partner venues around the UK.
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Disclaimer. Screening times, prices and ticket availability change during the festival, and sold-out screenings can come back on sale. Check the BFI's page for each film before you travel. Cover photograph: the BFI Southbank building on the South Bank, by Ewan Munro, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped, blurred and with text added.
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