The BFI today announces the full speaker and events line-up for the 2026 BFI London Film Festival Industry Forum.
Following previously announced Spotlight Conversations with acclaimed UK producers James Wilson and Pippa Harris, this year’s edition will also feature director and producer Danny Boyle interviewed by Matt Belloni for The Town podcast on 9 October, 3pm as Puck brings its Stories of the Season to the BFI London Film Festival stage for the first time. The pair will delve into the state of the UK film industry, and Boyle’s most recent work as a director and producer on the Murdoch drama, Ink.
On 10 October, 11:30am, costume designer PC Williams (We Are Lady Parts, My Father’s Shadow, The End We Start From) will be in conversation with British-Nigerian filmmaker and visual artist, Akinola Davies Jr (My Father’s Shadow). They will deep dive into the art and craft of costume design across different genres, locating the space for experimentation and the importance of encouraging and creating opportunities for emerging talent. The event is in association with Variety.
The Industry Forum opens on 8 October, 11:30am with a panel of cinema programmers reflecting on the state of the UK’s cinema exhibition industry following a record-breaking spring-summer 2026 season, from indie horror breakout Obsession to the blockbuster frenzy for The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Ben Lyndon – Head of Cinema Programme at Curzon, Carol McKay – Director of Programming at Picturehouse Cinemas and Madeleine Mullett – Programme Manager at BFI IMAX will share insights into audience trends, the impact of recent releases in shaping their future programmes, and how they work with both mainstream and independent films. The event is in association with Screen International and will be hosted by its Awards & Box Office Editor, Charles Gant.
This year’s programme also includes a panel on 12 October, 11:30am with international producers from Ireland, Spain, Norway and Brazil; Alan Maher (Everybody Digs Bill Evans), Adrià Monés (The End Of It), Dyveke Bjørkly Graver (Fjord) and Rodrigo Teixeira (Paper Tiger, I’m Still Here). The panellists will discuss their experiences of co-productions, addressing the business and funding opportunities as well as the creative challenges often embedded in cross-country collaborations. The event will be hosted by podcaster and programmer, Wendy Mitchell, and is produced in association with The Hollywood Reporter.
In collaboration with Sheffield DocFest and hosted by its Creative Director, Raul Niño Zambrano, a panel with directors Theo Rollason (Queer Edward II), Nanette Burstein (Carl Sagan: We Are Made of Star Stuff), Rafael Guendelman (Az Zeeb) and the BFI National Archive’s Simon McCallum on 13 October, 11:30am, will explore the process of working with archives while shaping a creative storyline.
The fourth edition of ‘Fade In’ on 11 October, 11:30am, will feature a panel hosted by Take Three’s Programme Director, Holly Daniel, showcasing new exciting voices in screenwriting; Travis Alabanza, Gemma Bedeau, Paul Carey, Alice Clark, Alex Mathias and Carly Mills. From live performances on stage to writing for board games, the combined experience of this year’s panellists encompasses theatre, film, episodic drama, children’s programmes, graphic novels and games.
Acclaimed UK producer Pippa Harris will be interviewed by Edith Bowman for a Spotlight Conversation on 12 October, 3pm, discussing her pioneering work, including the hugely ambitious and much-anticipated quartet The Beatles films, directed by Sam Mendes – also her Neal Street co-founder, which is currently in production. As one of the most acclaimed and dynamic producers working in film and television today, Pippa’s work has had a huge impact with audiences all over the world and includes Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA-winning films Hamnet and 1917, Oscar and BAFTA-nominated Revolutionary Road, Jarhead and The Magic Faraway Tree and some of our best loved TV productions including Call the Midwife, Penny Dreadful, Britannia, The Hollow Crown and Stuart: A Life Backwards.
James Wilson, one of the UK’s most exciting independent film producers, will draw on his 30+ years in the business, in a Spotlight Conversation with journalist Danny Leigh on 8 October, 3pm, discussing his incredible career and bold creative collaborations. James recently produced NAZA (Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor) which won the Special Jury Prize at this year’s Venice International Film Festival. He has worked with visionary independent filmmakers to great creative and commercial success on films that include the Oscar and BAFTA-winning The Zone of Interest and Under the Skin (Jonathan Glazer), You Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsay), The Voice of Hind Rajab (Kaouther Ben Hania), Hamlet (Aneil Karia), 20,000 Days on Earth (Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard) and The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology (Sophie Fiennes).
The popular LFF Expanded Industry Day returns on 15 October at Picturehouse Central, once again supported by the venue. Bringing together the latest work in XR, gaming, immersive and beyond, the day offers a full programme of talks, showcases, funding surgeries and networking.
A Works-in-Progress showcase sits at the heart of proceedings, spotlighting six boundary-pushing projects. These range from DARKFIELD's participatory audio premonition PILGRIMS and AΦE's solarpunk AR reimagining of Peter and the Wolf to Comfort Arthur's animated VR documentary Ursula, Humira Imtiaz's mixed-reality The Kids are Halal, and Keiken's open-world adventure Morphogenic Angels: Alchemy of Perspectives. Guests can also sign up to intimate Work-in-Progress Roundtables, where artists and teams open up their process through direct creative conversation with small groups.
Beyond the showcase, the day gives practitioners rare, direct access to the people funding immersive work. One-to-one Surgery Sessions with the BFI Doc Society Fund, the BFI Filmmaking Fund and the BFI National Lottery Audience Projects Fund offer invaluable insight and guidance on development, production and touring support. Two industry talks bookend the schedule, The Venue of the Future: Designing Spaces for Immersive Experiences and From Niche to Where We Are Now: Making Immersive Work a Must-See, before the day closes with networking drinks in the Members' Bar. The Industry Day provides a timely opportunity to explore where immersive work is heading and to meet the people shaping its future.
The Industry Day runs alongside LFF Expanded, the BFI London Film Festival's showcase of Immersive Art, Extended Reality and Video Gaming works (3–18 October 2026). Now in its sixth year, LFF Expanded continues to invite audiences to explore powerful new ways of telling stories on screen. This year, nine projects spanning immersive art, virtual reality, AI and video gaming are presented at BFI IMAX, BFI Southbank Atrium and new venue, St Martin-in-the-Fields.
Kristy Matheson, BFI London Film Festival Director, says: “This year’s Industry Forum brings together an exceptional group of filmmakers and industry voices, including both UK and international talent whose work is having a real impact on cinema around the world. From world class producers, directors and craftspeople to programmers, writers and archivists, we’re proud to showcase the remarkable range of people shaping cinema today, while creating opportunities for the wider industry to come together, exchange ideas and build new connections.”
Silvia Angrisani, BFI London Film Festival, Industry Programme Manager, adds: “We wanted to bring together practitioners with very different perspectives and experiences, from filmmakers at the top of their game to cinema programmers taking the pulse on what audiences are gravitating towards and the craftspeople exploring the creative possibilities of their disciplines. We’re delighted to continue creating space for emerging voices bringing new formats and conversations to the Forum. As always, it’s a programme designed to offer both insight and practical opportunities for delegates to meet and find potential collaborators.”
https://www.bfi.org.uk/
In addition to the programme of in-person panel discussions, the LFF Industry Forum offers a targeted range of events for industry delegates, creating valuable opportunities for creatives and industry professionals to meet and make new connections with UK and international colleagues seeking potential creative and business collaboration.
The fourth edition of New Waves co-production meetings will see a group of 12 experienced producers from France meeting UK producers to explore collaboration on new projects. The event is organised by the BFI and the Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC) in partnership with the Institut français in the UK and Unifrance. The day (Friday 9 October) will be preceded by an invitation-only networking reception on Thursday 8 October hosted by Institut français UK to celebrate UK-France co-productions and to meet representatives from the CNC.
Supporting UK screen-based businesses and talent, and increasing opportunities for international collaboration, the 2026 Industry Forum features a variety of talent development initiatives, as part of the UK Talent Days focus in partnership with the British Council. The UK Talent Days are also supported by the BFI Industry Supporters: Amazon MGM Studios, Apple TV, Netflix, Paramount Pictures, The Walt Disney Studios, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros. Discovery. Activity includes the seventh edition of the Works-in-Progress showcase for new UK work; the BFI NETWORK@LFF programme for UK-based writers, directors and producers; and a new series of roundtable meetings between the writers of the "Fade In" panel and a selection of invited international and UK producers and the LFF Critics Mentorship Programme. An exclusive BFI Film Academy event will also showcase how the organisation is evolving its flagship UK-wide training programme.
Film London’s Production Finance Market
The PFM (6-7 October), which has helped forge countless long-term business connections, is the only event of its kind in the UK. From encouraging new business relationships to attaching international sales companies and securing various forms of investment in film projects, PFM is invaluable for producers and financiers alike. Main PFM is for projects from established producers, while the New Talent Strand highlights and supports emerging filmmakers on their first or second feature. Upstream, Film London’s showcase of early-stage projects ripe for adaptation into film, TV or games will also take place during PFM for the first time. Attendance to take meetings is by invitation only (applications closed in June). However, spaces to attend the keynote and panel (6 October) are available to accredited LFF industry delegates on a first come, first served basis. RSVP is essential, please contact
Industry accreditation is open to UK and international filmmakers and individuals working in a professional capacity in film and/or wider screen sectors. Full information on this year’s Industry Forum is available on the BFI website.