69th BFI London Film Festival submissions are open

Submissions for the 69th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express (October 2025) are now open.

BFI London Film Festival 2023 – audience at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall © Millie Turner

UK features and short films

Final deadline dates for receipt of online submission forms and film screeners

  • UK and Ireland short films (25 mins or less) – Friday 23 May 2025, 17:00 BST
  • UK and Ireland mid-length films (26 to 50 mins) – Friday 23 May 2025, 17:00 BST
  • UK and Ireland feature-length films only (more than 50 mins) – Friday 23 May 2025, 17:00 BST

We are pleased to open our submission for LFF 2025 to UK and Irish short, mid-length and feature films.

Each year the BFI London Film Festival presents a selection of the best in world cinema, showing audiences a wide array of films, representing a variety of languages, genres and filmmaking styles.

The LFF showcases exceptional British filmmaking alongside international work, and the programme spans features, shorts, fiction, documentary, artists’ moving image, restorations, animation, VR, and films for families, alongside titles destined for awards-season glory.

Seeking films for selection, our programmers view films at other festivals, follow alumni filmmakers’ work, and research films in production from UK distributors and international partners, actively tracking new work from different territories.

The submissions process enables us to be open to filmmakers who wish for their films to be considered, so the festival can encounter fresh filmmaking voices that may not reach us by other means, ensuring we consider the widest possible pool of new work, from directorial debuts to established talent.

How to submit

Please read through the guidelines and regulations before submitting a film for our consideration. It won’t take long and is very important to check that your film is eligible. You can download the PDF guidelines and regulations below.

BFI London Film Festival 2025 submission guidelines and regulationsPDF160 KB

Then, for all films, UK and Irish, shorts, mid-length and feature submissions, please complete the online form and PayPal payment.

Submit now

Fees

For UK and Irish feature, mid-length or short films please see point 11 of the guidelines and regulations for information regarding ‘UK production’ classification.

All deadline times are local British time, GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) or BST (British Summer Time). Fees are as follows:

Fee for UK and Ireland feature films

  • Early Bird £35 if received by Wednesday 26 March 2025, 17:00 BST
  • Regular £45 if received Wednesday 26 March 2025, 17:01 BST – Wednesday 7 May 2025, 17.00 BST
  • Late submission £75 if received Wednesday 7 May 2025, 17:01 BST – Friday 23 May 2025, 17:00 BST

Fee for UK and Ireland short and mid-length films

  • Early Bird £18 if received by Wednesday 26 March 2025, 17:00 BST
  • Regular £24 if received Wednesday 26 March 2025, 17:01 BST – Wednesday 7 May 2025, 17:00 BST
  • Late submission £40 if received Wednesday 7 May 2025, 17:01 BST – Friday 23 May 2025, 17:00 BST

For any queries regarding film submissions please email lffsubmissions@bfi.org.uk.