Cate Blanchett, Adam Pearson and Andrew Davies lead BFI London Film Festival’s free programme

You don’t need a cinema ticket to get involved with this year’s BFI London Film Festival. More than 40 free events are coming to BFI Southbank this October, spanning filmmaker talks and live podcasts to horror, gaming, DJ nights and family workshops.

One of the biggest draws is Cate Blanchett, who will present a collection of shorts from the Displacement Film Fund, which she founded to support displaced filmmakers and stories centred on displacement. The programme includes work by filmmakers from Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia and Iran.

Elsewhere, A Different Man actor and disability advocate Adam Pearson will discuss his career and campaigning for authentic representation, while filmmaker Mark Cousins looks back over a century of documentary cinema. Pride and Prejudice and Bridget Jones screenwriter Andrew Davies will revisit his career and discuss his memoir An Unsuitable Boy: A Life in Scripts.

Film fans can also delve into everything from female vampires and true crime to slow cinema, queer television, disability in horror and the relationship between gaming and Hollywood. The Girls on Film podcast will record a live festival edition, while the returning Film in Print strand includes events devoted to independent publishing, manga and anime, film criticism and horror.

And it isn’t all sitting and talking. Four free DJ nights range from 1980s New York and Latin American music to the sounds of Manchester’s Haçienda era and a nostalgic trip back to the hits of 2016, while younger visitors can get involved with free craft events.

With everything free, the programme offers an accessible way to experience the festival beyond its film screenings – although advance booking is recommended, with tickets released on 1^st October.

The editorial unit

LFF for Free takes place at BFI Southbank from 9^th to 18^th October 2026 as part of the 70th BFI London Film Festival. Booking opens at 10am on 1^st October. Visit the website here.