London Film Festival 2025 – Most Anticipated

This year’s LFF programme is a line-up for the ages, featuring a plethora of big hitters across galas and special presentations, as well as a multitude of indie and world cinema gems scattered throughout the 11-day line-up. It’s certainly going to be a treat for cinema lovers of all shapes and sizes. With such a stacked programme, how do you single out ones to choose? We’ve asked some journalists for their thoughts to help you pick out some must-watch titles.

For a brief overview of the lineup, we have Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet with Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, re-teaming him with Renate Reinsve. Noah Baumbach’s George Clooney showcase, Jay Kelly, also features alongside Bradley Cooper’s Is This Thing On and a double dose of Richard Linklater with Blue Moon and Nouvelle Vague both on the lineup with Linklater also delivering one of the screen talks. One of the most anticipated is Wake Up Dead Man, the opening film and latest in Rian Johnson’s Knives Out saga.

So what are some of people’s most anticipated titles?

Gavin Spoors of Filmhounds and Movie Marker, among others, said his most anticipated were:

Hamnet – “It has all the ingredients of a heart-wrenching masterpiece: Zhao’s intimate yet epic direction, talented actors in Buckley and Mescal, and what will surely be a moving score from Max Richter. I am ready for this film to break my heart and put it back together”.

Frankenstein – “Whilst reactions out of other festival screenings haven’t been overwhelmingly positive, it’s always a pleasure to see Del Toro’s work on the big screen”.

Wake Up Dead Man – “Rian Johnson is one of the best writers working today, so of course I’m excited to see the latest film in his ridiculously entertaining series. More Benoit Blanc mysteries is a good thing, and the darker direction is tantalising”.

Phil Roberts of Future of The Force said:

“Once again, the BFI’s London Film Festival 2025 has delivered another treasure trove of excellent movies to appease fans of every genre. From Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery to Andy Serkis’ new adaptation of Animal Farm, there’s tons to explore. However, as a lifelong fan of Universal’s classic monsters, I’m most looking forward to experiencing the brilliance of Del Toro’s adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in all its horrific glory”.

It is safe to say that Del Toro’s Frankenstein ranks highly among many most anticipated lists.

Ryan Gaur of Empire, IGN and Skwigly is particularly looking forward to some of the animated films on the lineup.

He’s singled out ChaO, Endless Cookie, Decorado, Border as Interface and Andy Serkis’ Animal Farm as well as various shorts like Capybaras and Hope is Lost. Little Amelie is another big one for him which received a rapturous response out of Cannes and Annecy.

For The People’s Movies’ Robert Ewing, ChaO was another standout alongside Human Resource, Resurrection and Exit 8.

Another major film on the lineup is Lynne Ramsay’s Die My Love, with Radio Harrow’s Matthew Farrelly expressing his delight that it’s featured in the programme. Ramsay is another director delivering a screen talk this year.

Elsewhere, Dimitri Kraus from Movie Marker is excited to see the Hungarian/Canadian film Blue Heron on the line-up from Sophy Romvari. He is also excited to see new films from Lav Diaz, Christian Petzold, Bi Gam and Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit.

It’s certainly an all-encompassing lineup. Personally? Sentimental Value, The Secret Agent, Mark Jenkins’ Rose of Nevada and Park Chan Wook’s No Other Choice are at the top of my most anticipated list, although as ever part of the joy of the festival is discovering a number of unsung gems from across the globe.