LFF For Free programme announced at the 70th BFI London Film Festival

The 70th BFI London Film Festival (LFF) today unveils an incredible line-up of events for the 2026 edition of LFF for Free.

This year’s programme is headlined by a special collection of short films from the Displacement Film Fund (DFF), presented in person by founder Cate Blanchett and a selection of filmmakers with work in the programme. Guests with films in this year’s LFF, including filmmaker Mark Cousins and actor and activist Adam Pearson, will take part in illuminating talks, while other Festival filmmakers, including Carol Morley, will be the special guests at a live edition of the Girls on Film Podcast. As another adaptation of a classic Jane Austen novel is released in UK cinemas, LFF for Free also welcomes the man who adapted arguably the best-loved screen version of all of Austen’s work, the Award-winning screenwriter, playwright and novelist Andrew Davies, who will discuss his wide-ranging career, from Pride and Prejudice and House of Cards to Bleak House and Bridget Jones.  

Audiences that explore the LFF for Free programme will enjoy a diverse range of fun, playful and thought-provoking free events at BFI Southbank, including illustrated talks, panel discussions, DJ nights and family events, with every event open to all and completely free of charge. 

The BFI London Film Festival is delighted to present a special collection of short films from the Displacement Film Fund (DFF) as the headline moment of this year’s LFF For Free programme. Founded and led by BFI Fellow Cate Blanchett and managed by International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR)’s Hubert Bals Fund, the DFF champions and supports displaced filmmakers, as well as filmmakers with a proven track record of authentic storytelling centred on the experiences of displaced people. 

Timely, surprising and intimate, the shorts in this critically acclaimed collection presented by Cate Blanchett are directed by internationally renowned filmmakers — Maryna Er Gorbach, Mo Harawe, Hasan Kattan, Mohammad Rasoulof and Shahrbanoo Sadat. In Rotation, Maryna Er Gorbach follows a young Ukrainian woman undergoing therapeutic hypnosis as she adapts to life after moving from civilian life to military service, while Shahrbanoo Sadat’s Super Afghan Gym offers an intimate portrait of housewives gathering in a Kabul gym to exercise and talk about their lives and body norms. Allies in Exile, by Hasan Kattan and Fadi Al Halabi, explores the 14-year friendship between two Syrian journalists navigating immigration, anti-refugee hostility and bureaucracy. In Whispers of a Burning Scent, Mo Harawe observes a musician awaiting a decisive court hearing while preparing to perform at a wedding, caught between devotion, dignity and loss. Mohammad Rasoulof’s Sense of Water follows an Iranian writer in exile as he confronts a foreign language and attempts to rediscover the words and emotions needed to write again. 

Beyond the DFF collection, this year’s free talks, workshops and discussions explore a fascinating range of subjects, from the power of storytelling and changing representations on screen to disability, identity, gaming, internet culture, documentary filmmaking and the future of cinema. Award-winning screenwriter, playwright and novelist Andrew Davies, the celebrated writer behind Pride and Prejudice, House of Cards, Bleak House and Bridget Jones, joins us for a conversation about his memoir and remarkable career. Actor, broadcaster and leading disability advocate Adam Pearson joins us to share his experiences and influential advocacy work for more inclusive storytelling and authentic representation in Zero Intention of Living Quietly. Beyond the Screen: How Stories Create Change brings together perspectives from Black women across the filmmaking ecosystem to explore how film can document experience, express identity and create change, while Campaigns for Justice: From the Bradford 12 to Today reflects on community activism and the fight against racism and injustice. Editing the Auteur uncovers the pioneering women editors who have shaped some of cinema’s most celebrated films, while From Console to Cinema explores the increasingly influential relationship between gaming and film and television. 

The programme continues with conversations that examine the ways screen culture shapes how we understand ourselves and the world around us. Acclaimed filmmaker and writer Mark Cousins joins us to discuss The Story of Documentary Film, looking back at a century of documentary filmmaking and its enduring power to challenge, inspire and transform how we see the world. Award-winning podcast hosted by critics Anna Smith Girls On Film Podcast – Live at LFF, returns to the festival with a candid conversation featuring LFF filmmakers, while How to Start a Podcast – Passion Podcasting and Fan Shows offers practical insight into turning a passion for film and television into a podcast. In Praise of Stillness considers the beauty and language of slow cinema, while Into the Web looks at how internet culture is transforming filmmaking and creating new opportunities for emerging and marginalised voices. Interactive workshop Made of Many: Reclaiming Identity Through Storytelling invites participants to explore identity, belonging and culture through visual storytelling. Meanwhile, Dr Darren Gray joins us to discuss his book, Horror and Disability: Representations of Disability in Twenty-First-Century Film and Television examining how contemporary horror is reshaping disability representation in Monstrous? Rethinking Disability in Horror.

Questions of identity, representation and the forces shaping contemporary screen culture are further explored across the programme. No Way Out? Institutions and Black British Screen Stories considers how Black British film and television examine identity, belonging and the institutions shaping contemporary Britain, while Queens of the Night: Female Vampires on Screen traces the evolution of the female vampire as a figure of desire, power and transgression. Reality Check: True Crime and our Obsession with Real Stories looks at how real crime cases become gripping narratives and why audiences remain fascinated, while The Cinema That Changed Everything brings filmmakers together to discuss landmark films and artistic breakthroughs that transformed the medium. The Laughter of the Unheard: How Moving Image Shapes Collective Joy explores how screen culture captures and preserves moments of collective joy. Inspired by I Love Boosters, whether fashion can ever truly function as a form of resistance is explored in The Politics of Looking Good, while The Shape of Water: XR, Immersive Art and Environmental Storytelling considers how immersive technologies can deepen our connection to water and climate change. Versions of Me explores autism, masking and the shifting nature of identity through autistic voices and audience reflection, while We Are Family looks at the intimacy, ethics and emotional complexities of making documentaries about loved ones. What Makes a Man a Man? examines how film, television, social media and online culture shape, challenge and complicate contemporary ideas of masculinity. 

Alongside these conversations, Film in Print returns to LFF For Free for its third year at the BFI Reuben Library, celebrating the ever-thriving world of writing about film, from independent magazines, zines and newsletters to new authors whose books are filling shelves around the country. Across a weekend of conversations and discussions, the programme explores the creative possibilities of independent publishing in Declare Independence: Film Publishing Beyond the Mainstream, the radical potential of personal taste with Embracing (Bad) Taste with Polyester Zine, and the pioneering career of writer, speaker and scholar Helen McCarthy in A Life in Manga and Anime to mark the release of her new book THE MANGA BIBLE. TV critic and broadcaster Scott Bryan looks back at the history and personal impact of queer representation on television in Out Now: A Queer Journey Through Modern Television, while members of the London Film Critics’ Circle share the writing that inspired their careers in The Criticism That Made Me. Scholar and critic Erika Balsom discusses her new collection of essays on 21st Century Film Culture title The Edges of Cinema while horror expert Mike Muncer explores the history and enduring appeal of cinema’s darkest genre in The Evolution of Horror. Finally, Louise Willder offers a witty exploration of the best and worst book-to-film adaptation in The Triumphs and Travesties of Book to Film Adaptation. 

LFF For Free heads to the dancefloor with a series of free DJ nights inspired by films in this year’s festival. NYC After Dark steps into the disco, boogie, synth-pop and new wave sounds of 1980s New York, while Ritmos de América Latina celebrates the rhythms of Latin American cinema with samba, baile funk, cumbia, reggaetón and salsa. Inspired by Carol Morley’s autobiographical 7 Miles Out, the DJ Night 7 Miles Out: Journey to The Haçienda takes audiences on a journey through the indie dance, acid house and Balearic sounds of late-80s and early-90s Manchester, while Club Labor: Back to 2016, inspired by Club Kid, revisits the chart-topping hits of Rihanna, Drake, Beyoncé, Justin Bieber, Fifth Harmony and The Weeknd. 

Younger audiences and families can also get involved with two free family events inspired by films screening at this year’s LFF. Build A Bug invites young audiences to create their own extraordinary insect companions using colourful craft materials, inspired by the tiny heroes of A Mighty Adventure. Meanwhile, The Mermaid Parade, inspired by the animated film Julián, invites children to dream up their own mermaid characters and create vibrant mermaid tails through collage, paint and mixed materials. 

Rounding out the programme, audiences can test their knowledge of cinema in Behind the Screens: The Film Locations Quiz, celebrating Jane Crowther’s new book Behind the screens: 100 iconic locations that made movie history with a quiz exploring the iconic locations behind some of cinema’s most memorable moments. The Man I Love: Remembering the AIDS Crisis offers a space for remembrance and reflection on the HIV/AIDS epidemic through music, poetry, film clips and conversation, honouring those lost and the communities transformed by the crisis.