Over 12 days of screenings at the BFI London Film Festival, the event recorded its highest live audience attendance in 10 years, organizers said on Monday.
The festival took place this year from 9 to 20 October with an array of talent premiering or screening some of the year's biggest films, featuring Steve McQueen BlitzSean Baker AnoraAli Abbasi The Apprentice and that of John Crowley We live in time all air at the Royal Festival Hall.
The universal one The wild robot and the LEGO Pharrell biopic Piece by piece were among the highlights of the festival, which gathered an impressive audience of 230,342 people across the UK capital and beyond with feature films, series, shorts, immersive art and extended reality works across various LFF initiatives – an increase of 18 % compared to 2023.
Screen Talks events included appearances from McQueen, Mike Leigh, Denis Villeneuve, Daniel Kaluuya, Zoe Saldana and Lupita Nyong'o, who spoke candidly about their careers and the entertainment industry more generally.
Occupancy at in-person screenings and free and paid events at London venues has risen to 92% this year, new data from the BFI LFF team reveals, with over 815 international and UK directors, XR artists and series creatives presenting the their work in person.
The industry forum welcomed more than 3,000 delegates and over 800 media outlets accredited themselves to the LFF and attended press and industry screenings of 159 films.
Kristy Matheson, director of the BFI LFF, said: “Our greatest thanks go to the artists and industry colleagues from the UK and around the world who have fueled our collective curiosity this year. It has been a pleasure to see audiences interact with each other and with this program, demonstrating once again the joy and comfort we all find in screen culture.”
The festival also revealed the winners of this year's LFF Audience Awards, chosen by audiences who saw the films in London and across the UK. Darren Thornton's comedy-drama Four mothersabout an Irish son juggling four very different mothers, won the audience award for best film.
By Sophie Compton and Daisy-May Hudson Hollowaywhich follows six women formerly incarcerated in what was once Europe's largest women's prison, won the audience award for best documentary.
Jamie Benyon's Two minutes won best short film for its story about two brothers who are interrupted by their grandmother while robbing a store.