Two documentaries will play in Official Competition of the 70th edition of the BFI London FF, running 7 – 18 October 2026. The documentary selections are:
- Imperium by Sergei Loznitsa (Germany-France-Italy-Lithuania). The latest in Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor’s series of cinematic essays is a rich and thought-provoking journey through aging, legacy and the intersection between artistic and personal relationships. Molloy and Lawlor (Baltimore, LFF 2023) engage in a witty and moving conversation that explores family history and their latest project, a film about groundbreaking artists Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore. As they analyse this decades-long relationship, they identify parallels between these two artists and their own lives. Act 3 celebrates the power of connection, of artistic exploration and the importance of memory to shape our present and future.
- Act 3 by Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor (Ireland-UK). Archival footage master filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa reframes Soviet history once again, via the revealing gaze of Italian cameramen who captured life there in the early 1970s. The footage Loznitsa uncovered at Rome’s Audiovisual Archive of the Labour and Democratic Movement left him marvelling at the contrast with official Soviet productions from the same era. Opening in Moscow, the film shifts into territories where different traits, beliefs and ethnographic features emerge, revealing the power relations between natives and colonisers. The result is a compelling indictment of Russia’s historical and present-day imperialism.
In total 10 titles films will compete for Best Film, and the winner will be announced on Sunday 18 October.
The films shortlisted for the festival’s other competitive categories, the Grierson Award for Best Documentary, the Sutherland Award for Best First Feature and the Short Film Award will be revealed in September. Winners in all four categories will be chosen by LFF Awards Juries, the members of which will be announced in the coming weeks.
The Audience Awards also return in 2026, following last year’s wins: Chloé Zhao’s period drama Hamnet won the Audience Award for Best Feature Film, and Yemi Bamiro’s documentary Black Is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story won the Audience Award for Best British Discovery.
Kristy Matheson, BFI London Film Festival Director, said: “As we celebrate the 70th edition of the BFI London Film Festival, it’s an honour to have a number of alumni filmmakers represented in the Official Competition alongside those making their first appearance at the festival. Our 2026 competition selection brings an astounding array of filmmaking styles to the screen. As ever, it’s been creatively nourishing for myself and the team to encounter each of these works – we’re excited to share these with audiences in October.”
