With work from more than 40 countries, the programme includes fiction, documentary, animation, artists’ moving
image, short film, restored classics from the world’s archives as well as previews of several episodic/series-based
works made for the small screen.
Every screening will be presented with an intro or Q&A from filmmakers and programmers. The Festival also includes
many ways audiences can engage with the Festival for free: LFF Opening screenings of Mangrove in cinemas across
the UK; selected feature films on BFI Player; an international programme of short films featuring established and
breakthrough film talents; Screen Talks with major filmmakers and actors, as well as all online salons and Q&As
across the Festival which will give audiences an opportunity to delve more deeply into themes and talking points
emerging from the programme. The recently announced LFF Expanded strand of XR and Immersive Art will also be
free to access both virtually and at BFI Southbank for the duration of the Festival.
All films are geo-blocked to the UK while all the Festival talks and LFF Expanded are available to experience for free
from anywhere in the world.
As is befitting this audience-facing and innovative edition, this year the Festival Awards are in the hands of the
audience, who will take the place of the Festival’s Official Jury. Viewers engaging with the Festival online will be
invited to vote on Virtual LFF Audience Awards in four categories: Best Fiction Feature, Best Documentary Feature,
Best Short Film, and Best XR. The winners will be announced in a live online ceremony on the final weekend of the
Festival. The IWC Schaffhausen Filmmaker Bursary Award in association with the BFI winner will also be announced at
the Awards Ceremony. The Bursary benefits an outstanding first or second time British writer, director, or
writer/director. The recipient of the award will receive £50,000, which is the most significant of its kind in the UK film
industry and awarded annually.
Source: BFI
Images: image.net
