Other jurors across London’s competitions include Sally Hawkins, James McAvoy, James Corden and Dexter Fletcher.

British producer Jeremy Thomas to to head the Official Competition jury at the 58th BFI London Film Festival (Oct 8-19).

Thomas’s career as producer and executive producer spans Nicolas Roeg’s Bad Timing (1978), Bernardo Bertolucci’s Oscar-winner The Last Emperor (1987), David Cronenberg’s Crash (1996), Wim Wender’s Pina (2011) and Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive (2013).

He will preside over a jury that comprises last year’s Best Film Award nominee Ahmad Abdalla (Rags & Tatters), actress Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine), film producer and programme advisor Lorna Tee (Postcards from the Zoo), actor James McAvoy (X-Men: Days of Future Past) and film critic Scott Foundas.

Jury members who will present work at the festival include Abdalla, whose film Decor receives its world premiere; Hawkins, who features in Morgan Matthews’ debut feature X + Y; and James McAvoy who stars in The Disappearance Of Eleanor Rigby, newly added to the Love section, where the actor will be joined by writer/director Ned Benson.

The titles in competition are

  • Dearest (Chi) dir. Peter Ho-Sun Chan
  • The Duke Of Burgundy (UK) dir. Peter Strickland
  • The Falling (UK) dir. Carol Morley
  • A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (US) dir. Ana Lily Amirpour
  • Girlhood (Fra) dir. Céline Sciamma
  • The Keeping Room (US) dir. Daniel Barber
  • Leviathan (Rus) dir. Andrey Zvyagintsev
  • The New Girlfriend (Fra) dir. François Ozon
  • Phoenix (Ger) dir. Christian Petzold
  • The President (Geo) dir. Mohsen Makhmalbaf
  • Son Of A Gun (Aus) dir. Julius Avery
  • Timbuktu (Fra) dir. Abderrahmane Sissako

The awards ceremony will take place on Oct 18.

First Feature Competition

The Sutherland Award in the First Feature Competition will be presided over by producer Luc Roeg, whose own film We Need To Talk About Kevin won the Best Film Award at the festival in 2011. 

His fellow jurors are the actors Ian Hart (The Bridge) and Hermione Norris (Spooks), producer and president of production at eOne Xavier Marchand, and director-cinematographer-writer, Ben Rivers (Two Years at Sea).

  • ‘71 (UK) dir. Yann Demange
  • Butter On The Latch (US) dir. Josephine Decker
  • Catch Me Daddy (UK) dir. Daniel Wolfe
  • Difret (Eth) dir. Zeresenay Berhane Mehari
  • Gente De Bien (Fra) dir. Franco Lolli
  • The Goob (UK) dir. Guy Myhill
  • Labour Of Love (Ind) dir. Adityavikram Sengupta
  • Macondo (Aus) dir. Sudabeh Mortezai
  • Second Coming (UK) dir. Debbie Tucker Green
  • Something Must Break (Swe) dir. Ester Martin Bergsmark
  • Theeb (Jor) dir. Naji Abu Nowar
  • The Tribe (Ukr) dir. Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy

Documentary Competition

The Grierson Award in the Documentary Competition will be presided over by director-writer-producer Sophie Fiennes (The Perverts Guide To Ideology).

She is joined by producer-director Roy Ackerman (The House I Live In), producer and Storyville editor Nick Fraser, Dogwoof head of distribution Oli Harbottle, and filmmaker Penny Woolcock (1 Day).

  • The Green Prince (Ger) dir. Nadav Schirman
  • Guidelines (Can) dir. Jean-François Caissy
  • Hockney (UK) dir. Randall Wright
  • The Immortalists (US) dir. Jason Sussberg
  • In The Basement (Aus) dir. Ulrich Seidl
  • Maidan (Net) dir. Sergei Loznitsa
  • National Gallery (US) dir. Frederick Wiseman
  • Ne Me Quitte Pas (Net) dir. Sabine Lubbe Bakker, Niels Van Koevorden
  • The Possibilites Are Endless (UK) dir. Edward Lovelace, James Hall
  • Silvered Water, Syria Self Portrait (Syr) dir. Ossama Mohammed, Wiam Simav Bedirxan
  • Stray Dog (US) dir. Debra Granik
  • Tender (Aus) dir. Lynette Walworth

Best British Newcomer

 The Best British Newcomer Award recognising new British talent is presented to the most promising writer, actor, producer or director with no previous track record in feature films or television.

Jury president is film producer Finola Dwyer (An Education). Her jury consists of writer Monica Ali (Brick Lane), actor-writer James Corden (Gavin & Stacey), director-actor-writer Dexter Fletcher (Sunshine on Leith), and screenwriter Matt Greenhalgh (Nowhere Boy).

  • Guy Myhill: writer-director The Goob
  • Florence Pugh: supporting actor The Falling
  • Sameena Jabeen Ahmed: actor Catch Me Daddy
  • Rebecca Johnson: writer-director Honeytrap
  • Taron Egerton: actor Testament Of Youth
  • Daniel Wolfe & Matthew Wolfe: writers/directors Catch Me Daddy
  • Alex Lawther: supporting actor The Imitation Game

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