Hirokazu Kore-eda, Carol Morley & Lili Horvát In Competition At London Film Festival
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- BFI London Film Festival announced ten titles for its Official Competition at the 70th edition, spanning the UK, Ireland, Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan and Poland.
- Hirokazu Kore-eda's "Look Back" is among the entries — a coming-of-age story following two girls who bond over their shared dream of becoming manga artists.
- Carol Morley's "7 Miles Out" adapts her semi-autobiographical novel about her adolescence in Stockport during the 70s and 80s and her father's suicide, with a new-wave punk soundtrack.
- Sergei Loznitsa's "Imperium" uses archival footage from Italian cameramen in 1970s Soviet territory, which the festival describes as "a compelling indictment of Russia's historical and present-day imperialism."
- The 70th edition runs October 7-18, with Festival Director Kristy Matheson calling this year's selection "an astounding array of filmmaking styles."
- Other competition titles include Rubaiyat Hossain's Bangladeshi feminist body horror "The Difficult Bride," May el-Toukhy's post-WWII Danish drama "Woman Unknown," and Giovanni Tortorici's "Ketticè," produced by Luca Guadagnino and starring Monica Bellucci.
Why it matters: The 70th edition lineup spans ten countries and mixes LFF alumni with first-time participants, reinforcing the festival's commitment to international arthouse cinema. With jury members still to be named, the October 18 awards become LFF's main competitive draw — and a notable platform for auteurs from Kore-eda to Loznitsa.
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