Winners revealed for the LFF Audience Awards 2025

The 69th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express closed on Sunday 19 October with the UK premiere of Julia Jackman’s 100 Night of Hero, a bold and beautiful fairytale based on Isabel Greenberg’s graphic novel. In addition to Julia Jackman, the event was attended by the all-star cast including Emma Corrin, Maika Monroe, Amir-El Masry, Felicity Jones and Richard E. Grant. The Closing Night Gala took place at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall which returned as the festival’s gala venue for a fifth time since its inaugural year in 2021.

BFI London Film Festival Director Kristy Matheson said: “Our biggest thanks go to the artists who generously shared their unique views of the world with us this year. Across screenings, talks, exhibitions, immersive experiences, it was a delight to see industry and audiences engage with each other and this programme – proving once again the joy and comfort we all find in screen culture.”

Placing audiences in London and across the UK at the heart of the Festival, the LFF invited them once again to vote for their favourite films. Academy Award winner Chloé Zhao’s deeply affecting period drama Hamnet, based on author Maggie O’Farrell’s acclaimed novel, was chosen as the Audience Award for Best Feature Film. The Mayor of London’s Gala of Hamnet took place on 11 October at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall with the Mayor Sadiq Khan introducing the film with Chloé Zhao and cast and crew members including Jesse Buckley and Paul Mescal.

Justine Simons OBE, Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries, said: “This year’s record-breaking BFI London Film Festival showed why it is one of the world’s best celebrations of cinema. I am delighted that Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Hamnet, which was screened as the Mayor’s Gala, has won the Audience Award for Best Feature Film. The Mayor and I are proud to support our capital’s film industry — a global success story — as we build a better London for everyone.”

The winner of the Audience Award for Best British Discovery is Yemi Bamiro’s inspiring documentary Black Is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story, a touching tribute to the forgotten photographer, freedom fighter and activist, who helped popularise the transformative ‘Black is Beautiful’ movement. Bringing his story to light, this film sees family and friends honour his artistry, and features insights from Gabrielle Union, Alicia Keys and Jesse Williams The world premiere of Black Is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story took place on 9 October at BFI Southbank with Yemi Bamiro, producer Joanna Boateng and the film team in attendance as well as Kwame Brathwaite Jr.

The festival featured an exciting range of 252 titles (comprising features, shorts, series and immersive works) hailing from 79 countries, and featured 39 languages with 41% of works from female and non-binary filmmakers. All features and series screened to UK audiences for the first time, including 28 world premieres (7 features, 1 series, 19 shorts, 1 immersive), 11 international premieres (11 features, 1 short) and 20 European premieres (12 features, 7 shorts, 1 immersive).

Across the programme, including events for industry delegates and the immensely popular LFF for Free programme, the festival had 235,853 attendances. Around half of this year’s bookers for London screenings and events (47%) were new to the LFF and occupancy across the festival’s London screenings and events has increased to 94%, up from 92% in 2024.

The 70th BFI London Film Festival dates are Wednesday 7 October to Sunday 18 October 2026.