2020 BFI London Film Festival will world premiere Pixar’s ‘Soul,’ ‘Ammonite’ to close fest

Erik Anderson September 8, 2020

The BFI London Film Festival will play the UK from October 7-18

The 2020 edition of the BFI London Film Festival will be a hybrid event, with in person theatrical screenings as well as virtual ones to accommodate being in the age of the coronavirus pandemic.

Disney/Pixar’s newest animated feature Soul will have its world premiere at LFF before debuting in theaters in November. Francis Lee’s Ammonite, which is set to world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next week, will close LFF on October 18. Steve McQueen’s Mangrove will open the festival and along with Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland will be among the titles available for theatrical-only viewing.

Harry Macqueen’s gay romance Supernova, starring Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci, will also play in theaters and online; as will Aleem Khan’s After Love, and Christian Petzold’s Undine.

“We’ve been so encouraged by the adventurousness of filmmakers and rights holders, the unwavering support of our collaborators and the spirit of unity and experimentation,” said Tricia Tuttle, BFI London Film Festival director. “We have accelerated so many of our longer term plans in just a few months – especially our desire to offer audiences across the UK greater access to the LFF.

“We all want to be back in cinemas, seeing films on the big screen, together, immersed. But we also want to keep seeing new cinematic storytelling from all parts of the world, hearing different voices and perspectives; this version of LFF delivers on both of those aims.”

“Although it’s been born out of crisis, this year’s edition of the LFF will be our most accessible yet,” added Ben Roberts, BFI CEO. “Thanks to the many talented and dedicated teams across the BFI, and the encouragement of our partners and industry colleagues – we have shaped a festival that suggests a future for bringing filmmakers and film lovers together.”

36 short films will also play as part of the programme, across six genre categories as well as 22 VR works in a new dedicated virtual exhibition space called The Expanse.

Full list of LFF 2020 features

V = virtual

T = theater

180° Rule (Iran) dir. Farnoosh Samadi – V

200 Meters (Pal) dir. Ameen Nayfeh – V

A Common Crime (Arg-Braz-Switz) dir. Francisco Márquez – V

A Day-Off Of Kasumi Arimura (Jap) dir. D. Hirokazu Kore-Eda – Journey (Series), V

African Apocalypse (UK) dir Rob Lemkin – V

After Love (UK) dir. Aleem Khan – V + T

Ammonite (UK) dir. Francis Lee – Closing Film, T

Another Round (Den) dir. Thomas Vinterberg – V + T

Bad Tales (It) dir. Fabio D’innocenzo, Damiano D’innocenzo – V

Bloody Nose, Empty Pocket (US) dir. Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross – V

The Cheaters (Aus) dir. Paulette Mcdonagh v V

The Chess Game Of The Wind (Iran) dir. Mohammad Reza Aslani – V

Cicada (US) dir. Matt Fifer, Kieran Mulcare – Love, V

Days (Tai) dir. Tsai Ming-Liang – V

David Byrne’s American Utopia (US) dir. Spike Lee – V + T

Delia Derbyshire: The Myths And Legendary Tapes (UK) dir. Caroline Catz – V

The Disciple (Ind) dir. Chaitanya Tamhane – V

Farewell Amor (US) dir. Ekwa Msangi – V

Friendship’s Death (UK) dir. Peter Wollen – V

Genus Pan (Phi) dir. Lav Diaz – V

Gold For Dogs (Fr) dir. Anna Cazenave Cambet – V

Herself (UK) dir. Phyllida Lloyd – V + T

Honeymood (Isr) dir. Talya Lavie – V

I Am Samuel (Ken) dir. Pete Murimi – V

Identifying Features (Mex-Spa) dir. Fernanda Valadez – V

If It Were Love (Fr) dir. Patric Chiha – V

Industry (UK) dir. Lena Dunham, Tinge Krishnan, Ed Lilly (Series) – V

The Intruder (Arg-Mex) dir. Natalia Meta – V

Kajillionaire (US) dir. Miranda July – V

Limbo (UK) dir. Ben Sharrock – V

Mangrove (UK) dir. Steve Mcqueen – T

Mogul Mowgli (UK) dir. Bassam Tariq – V + T

Never Gonna Snow Again (Pol-Ger) dir. Małgorzata Szumowska, Michał Englert– V

New Order (Mex) dir. Michel Franco – V

Nomadland (US) dir. Chloé Zhao – T

Notturno (It-Ger-Fr) dir. Gianfranco Rosi – V

One Man And His Shoes (UK) dir. Yemi Bamiro – V

The Painter And The Thief (Nor) dir.Benjamin Ree – V

Possessor (Can-UK) dir.Brandon Cronenberg – V

The Reason I Jump (UK) dir. Jerry Rothwell – V

Relic (Aus-US) dir.Natalie Erika James – V

Rose (UK) dir.Jennifer Sheridan – V

The Salt In Our Waters (Bang-Fr) dir. Rezwan Shahriar Sumit – V

Shadow Country (Cze) dir. Bohdan Sláma – V

Shirley (US) dir. Josephine Decker – V + T

Siberia (It-Ger-Mex) dir. Abel Ferrara – V

Soul (US) dir. Pete Docter, Kemp Powers – T

Sound For The Future (UK-China) dir. Matt Hulse – V

Stray (US) dir. Elizabeth Lo – V

Striding Into The Wind (China) dir. Wei Shujun – V

Supernova (UK) dir. Harry Macqueen –, V + T

This Is My Desire (Eyimofe) (Nigeria) dir. Arie Esiri, Chuko Esiri – V

Time (US) dir. Garrett Bradley – V + T

Ultraviolence (UK) dir. Ken Fero – V

Undine (Ger) dir. Christian Petzold – V + T

Wildfire (UK-Ire) dir. Cathy Brady – V

Wolfwalkers (Ire-Lux-Fr) dir. Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart – V

Zanka Contact (Fr-Mor-Bel) dir. Ismaël El Iraki – V

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.