October is one of the biggest months in the UK’s film calendar, as cinephiles from around the world flock to the capital for the BFI London Film Festival. We’ve spotlighted some of our favourite titles from last year’s edition, which are available for community cinemas to screen now through our Booking Scheme.

Close Your Eyes (Dir. Victor Erice)

Legendary director Victor Erice’s (The Spirit of the Beehive, El Sur) long awaited return to filmmaking screened in the Create strand of last year’s LFF. Close Your Eyes follows the case of a missing Spanish actor, which is brought back to light by a TV programme in this compelling reflection on identity, memory, and filmmaking.

Paradise is Burning (Dir. Mika Gustafson)

Mika Gustafson’s tale of three sisters from a working-class area of Sweden navigating the fine line between freedom and the realities of growing up, won the prestigious Sutherland Award for Best First Feature at last year’s festival.

In Camera (Naqqash Khalid)

After having it’s UK premiere at the London Film Festival, Naqqash Khalid’s darkly comic and sharply satirical In Camera went on to be nominated for two British Independent Film Awards. The film follows aspiring actor Aden, who, sick of the nightmarish grind of the audition circuit and its micro-aggressions, takes it upon himself to change his life and find a new part to play.

Banel & Adam (Ramata-Toulaye Sy)

After opening in-competition at the Cannes Film Festival, Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s poetic and beautifully made Banel & Adama played at 67th London Film Festival. Sy’s debut film follows a young couple living in a remote village in northern Senegal. Their perfect everlasting love seems on a collision course with their family’s traditions as drought strikes their community.

Totém

Lila Avilés follow up to their highly acclaimed The Chambermaid follows the 7 year-old Sol and her family as they prepare for a surprise party and come to realise their world is about to change dramatically. Totém premiered in the festival’s Love strand in 2023.